Help with Recommended Box/Amp/Etc

[28BlusLater]

Hey,

The speakers in my car sound fine, but the subwoofer isn't even audible. I thought it was blown since I used to be able to feel it, so I took the car in and they said it works fine. I seriously don't hear/feel it at all anymore and it isn't even up that loud. So I figured I would put a subwoofer in so I can actually get bass out of my music apart from the woofers on the doors. I remembered that a friend had two subwoofers that were never even opened so they gave them to me. I have a smaller car, so I just want to put one of these in my car. It's the Alpine 12" SWS-1243D: http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/vi...-1243d/default. What are your opinions on this subwoofer anyways? I have never really dealt with car audio, I've always just focused on home theater so please excuse any stupid questions.

Since I have the subwoofer, is all I need is a box, amp, and to pay for installation, correct? I don't want to go somewhere and get ripped off. What enclosure should I get? I don't know much about car subwoofers, I'm not sure what amps would work with this subwoofer. Can I please have some suggestions?

I don't want to spend too much money here, so please recommend things that are good in quality but not too expensive.

[28BlusLater]

Nobody uses the Car Audio section of this Forum, do they? Haha.

[VictorQ]

Originally Posted by 28BlusLater

Nobody uses the Car Audio section of this Forum, do they? Haha.

Whats your budget and I can give you an idea on how to match enclosures with subs and subs to amps?

[28BlusLater]

Originally Posted by VictorQ

Whats your budget and I can give you an idea on how to match enclosures with subs and subs to amps?

Didn't see you responded, sorry for the delayed response.

I don't have a set budget, but I guess whatever is going to make my subwoofer secure without me needing to replace anything. Not looking for the best stuff (most expensive) on the market.

I have the Alpine SWS-1243D subwoofer. I just need an amp that will power this correctly without overpowering or not giving it enough power and an enclosure that works well with this subwoofer.

According to the Internet, it's 900 watts peak and 300 watts RMS. It's a 12" subwoofer by the way.

[VictorQ]

Originally Posted by 28BlusLater

Didn't see you responded, sorry for the delayed response.

I don't have a set budget, but I guess whatever is going to make my subwoofer secure without me needing to replace anything. Not looking for the best stuff (most expensive) on the market.

I have the Alpine SWS-1243D subwoofer. I just need an amp that will power this correctly without overpowering or not giving it enough power and an enclosure that works well with this subwoofer.

According to the Internet, it's 900 watts peak and 300 watts RMS. It's a 12" subwoofer by the way.

Here are some things to look into. First you must find out what size enclosure works for the sub. Sonic Electronix is a great place for car audio gear. You need to determine the recommended cubic volume the sub needs to work properly without damaging it. Look into this website, go to features and specs, it'll tell you the recommended size box.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...SWS-1243D.html

Next question to ask yourself is what kind of sound are you looking for? A ported or sealed box? If trunk space is an issue, a sealed box would be smaller. Decide on what type of sound you're looking for and I'll help you with a box.

As for an amp goes. That sub is a dual voice coil, so can handle 2ohms. Lower the ohms, more power you can draw from the amp. In my opinion for the price and sound quality this amp is a bargain. I've heard other amps in its price range and they just sound cold to me. This amp has great warm tight sound to it and is 300 watts at 2ohms so you can push the sub hard and it'll keep taking the abuse.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-PA-400.1.html

Next thing is power/ground cords. It's very important to have a good set of power/ground cord. My suggestion is to just go with a 4 gauge cords simply because they'll provide good power transfer and are "safer" for the amp then an 8 gauge. Plus if you ever have the upgrade bug, most amps minimum are 4 gauge so you'll be all set.

Plus in my opinion I'd also buy capacitor, just an option though. It's like having a reserve battery. Amps run on volts obviously. Especially with subs they draw volts from your car battery which can, not always, give you headlight or interior light dimming. a capacitor gives yous amp the volts needed, so it doesn't draw this from your car battery. Also keeps the volts at a steadier level in turn keeps your amp performing the way it was intended to. I find the benefits worth the small cost. You'll have tighter more constant power.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...912UM-CAP.html

[28BlusLater]

Originally Posted by VictorQ

Here are some things to look into. First you must find out what size enclosure works for the sub. Sonic Electronix is a great place for car audio gear. You need to determine the recommended cubic volume the sub needs to work properly without damaging it. Look into this website, go to features and specs, it'll tell you the recommended size box.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...SWS-1243D.html

Next question to ask yourself is what kind of sound are you looking for? A ported or sealed box? If trunk space is an issue, a sealed box would be smaller. Decide on what type of sound you're looking for and I'll help you with a box.

As for an amp goes. That sub is a dual voice coil, so can handle 2ohms. Lower the ohms, more power you can draw from the amp. In my opinion for the price and sound quality this amp is a bargain. I've heard other amps in its price range and they just sound cold to me. This amp has great warm tight sound to it and is 300 watts at 2ohms so you can push the sub hard and it'll keep taking the abuse.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-PA-400.1.html

Next thing is power/ground cords. It's very important to have a good set of power/ground cord. My suggestion is to just go with a 4 gauge cords simply because they'll provide good power transfer and are "safer" for the amp then an 8 gauge. Plus if you ever have the upgrade bug, most amps minimum are 4 gauge so you'll be all set.

Plus in my opinion I'd also buy capacitor, just an option though. It's like having a reserve battery. Amps run on volts obviously. Especially with subs they draw volts from your car battery which can, not always, give you headlight or interior light dimming. a capacitor gives yous amp the volts needed, so it doesn't draw this from your car battery. Also keeps the volts at a steadier level in turn keeps your amp performing the way it was intended to. I find the benefits worth the small cost. You'll have tighter more constant power.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...912UM-CAP.html

Thanks for the detailed response and links.

The type of sound I'm looking for is more quality and will sound accurate and clean. Not what's just loud. In fact, I won't be cranking the subwoofer or trying to shake the car. The whole reason I'm doing all of this is to replace my stock subwoofer that barely gives any output to the point where I can't even hear it.

My trunk is huge, but don't want the subwoofer taking up TOO much space.

I don't want to damage the woofer or the coils, would the 2 ohms do any damage? I don't see myself upgrading or anything, I just want something that will sound good (not too loud or anything) and will just leave it. I pour enough money into my home theater system, I don't need to do that with my car haha.

Just to ensure those problems do not occur, I'll get the capacitor.

[VictorQ]

Originally Posted by 28BlusLater

Thanks for the detailed response and links.

The type of sound I'm looking for is more quality and will sound accurate and clean. Not what's just loud. In fact, I won't be cranking the subwoofer or trying to shake the car. The whole reason I'm doing all of this is to replace my stock subwoofer that barely gives any output to the point where I can't even hear it.

My trunk is huge, but don't want the subwoofer taking up TOO much space.

I don't want to damage the woofer or the coils, would the 2 ohms do any damage? I don't see myself upgrading or anything, I just want something that will sound good (not too loud or anything) and will just leave it. I pour enough money into my home theater system, I don't need to do that with my car haha.

Just to ensure those problems do not occur, I'll get the capacitor.

A sealed box is definitely what you'll be wanting then, personally I enjoyed sealed boxes for the simple reason, proper tuned ported boxes can sound great. To find a prefabricated box that's tuned properly can be difficult so sealed is always a safe bet.

I'd go with either of these two boxes. My personal opinion I'd go with the second box. The second box is slightly larger, giving a little more output in the frequency range plus its prefilled with poly-fill which will help tighten that bass for a "smoother" sound through the frequency range. Nothing wrong with the first box, just a bit smaller. You can always buy a bag of poly-fill for $10.00. Some people don't feel the poly-fill does anything however I hear the difference.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ute-SS-12.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...te-MSHF12.html

Nope 2ohms would be perfect for that sub plus that amp I suggested is suited to run 300 watts at 2 ohms which is the RMS for that sub meaning even pushing the sub/amp at it's hardest won't cause damage. It's all about proper gain setting that cause the real damage to subs/coils. You can run double the watts to the sub however will have to cut back on the gain setting which it turns make the sub "quieter" so to speak. At the recommended RMS of 300 watts you could run the gain around 75% to full and run the optimum settings for the sub to sound its best.

I hear you with already spending too much money on home audio loll... Never the less I still suggest doing it right and go with a 4 gage wire set.

So if it were me and I were to be setting this all up this is what I would buy.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-PA-400.1.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...te-MSHF12.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...AMP48-CAP.html

Do you already have a non-factory CD/radio in your vehicle?

[28BlusLater]

Originally Posted by VictorQ

A sealed box is definitely what you'll be wanting then, personally I enjoyed sealed boxes for the simple reason, proper tuned ported boxes can sound great. To find a prefabricated box that's tuned properly can be difficult so sealed is always a safe bet.

I'd go with either of these two boxes. My personal opinion I'd go with the second box. The second box is slightly larger, giving a little more output in the frequency range plus its prefilled with poly-fill which will help tighten that bass for a "smoother" sound through the frequency range. Nothing wrong with the first box, just a bit smaller. You can always buy a bag of poly-fill for $10.00. Some people don't feel the poly-fill does anything however I hear the difference.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ute-SS-12.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...te-MSHF12.html

Nope 2ohms would be perfect for that sub plus that amp I suggested is suited to run 300 watts at 2 ohms which is the RMS for that sub meaning even pushing the sub/amp at it's hardest won't cause damage. It's all about proper gain setting that cause the real damage to subs/coils. You can run double the watts to the sub however will have to cut back on the gain setting which it turns make the sub "quieter" so to speak. At the recommended RMS of 300 watts you could run the gain around 75% to full and run the optimum settings for the sub to sound its best.

I hear you with already spending too much money on home audio loll... Never the less I still suggest doing it right and go with a 4 gage wire set.

So if it where me and I were to be setting this all up this is what I would buy.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-PA-400.1.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...te-MSHF12.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...AMP48-CAP.html

Do you already have a non-factory CD/radio in your vehicle?

Sounds good! Thanks again. Yeah, I spent a lot of money on my home theater system it's not cheap! Haha.

When my car was purchased, I wanted to get a navigation system in my car that didn't come with it. The radio/CD isn't stock.

[VictorQ]

Originally Posted by 28BlusLater

Sounds good! Thanks again. Yeah, I spent a lot of money on my home theater system it's not cheap! Haha.

When my car was purchased, I wanted to get a navigation system in my car that didn't come with it. The radio/CD isn't stock.

No problem, you're welcome!

Ahh ok thats a good thing. You'll have to also pick up some RCAs to send the audio signal from you navigation system to the amp.