johnnyiv

They seem to be moderately priced and make 6 - 10 inch subwoofer with mounting depth < 3 inches...

jjker

I think you'd be surprised. Bass is moving air. All you need with smaller woofers if more of them. 3 or 4 sixes could easily keep up with 1 ten. This also gives you flexibility with how to power them. I know JL audio has woofers (I think the W6 series) that present a 4 ohm load to the amplifier when used in threes. If you plan on using high current amplifiers, this "loading down" may be beneficial for you.

Also, the 6" drivers should respond much faster to input, and decay much faster once the signal disappears, simply because of their lower weight, and less cone area. This should give you a tighter, more defined bass.

Good luck.

nycebo

jjker, spot on man. In my old cars when I use to mod out the audio big time, I never went bigger than 8s and 10s because the tight bass was much better represented in the style of music I prefer. then again if you like to rap, 12s will give you that shudder.

What stinks now is that it's just not worth modding the heck out of the audio because you can't take it with you. So, the notion of that little sub on the passenger side is not a bad idea since it's pretty reasonably priced. I figure it and a new amplifier would be all you need to get acceptable sound. But boy do I miss my 600 watt, 11 speaker, DSP baby from years ago!

porsche-t

I am using two JL Audio 6W0 (6") in my box and the bass is a good as the one JL Audio 10W0 in my Volvo V70.

jjker

Well, I know this isn't perfect (because speaker diaphaqms are conical, not just circular) but it does help put things in perspective when comparing woofer sizes. Area of a circle is "Pi multiplied by radius squared"

for a 10" = 3.1415 x 25 = 78.54 square inches

for a 6" = 3.1415 x 9 = 28.27 square inches

So, (3) 6" woofers are bigger than a 10" (84.81 square inches).

You can easily see how the larger woofer has a big advantage in moving air, as their diplacement squares as size increases. This makes them more efficient, not necessarily better. It's that old rule: "there's no replacement for displacement". Same goes for woofers. But, you CAN get there with multiple small ones.

Have a great day, guys.

leslie

Nycebo,

You mentioned the small sub in the passenger footwell.
By that do you mean the Bose factory solution where there is a bass box strapped to the side of the passenger footwell?

I ask because I went and ordered the parts from the dealer for the bass box (sans sub) from the boss system. I couldnt bear the thought of having an aftermarket box in the car so I went the whole hog and purchased the bose box. Bloody expensive!

nycebo

Leslie, what did the enclosure cost you? As mentioned above, AI Design has one that looks damn good and they are selling it with a JL Audio woofer for $795. It's called the Ai Design S-Box : Porsche 996 - Carpet Edition (and the carpet is exactly the Metropol Blue that I need in my car). Of course, you still need to buy an amplifier to drive it. And, if you get either solution, you probably will need to buy a new floor mat (if Bose OEM, you'll need it for sure).

I'm heading up to see the product on Saturday afternoon so I will report back on it.

JR944

I have a similar setup to Porsche-T. Two 7" JL's pointed down in a custom enclosure behind the rear seats, driven by a small PerfectPower amp mounted in the trunk. It is WAY enough for me. I'm no audiophile, but it's the best sounding system in a Porsche I've ever heard.

Joe

himself

Did any of you folks with custom boxes (or added woofers) just upgrade the bass? Did you start with base-factory or upgraded-factory?

And lastly, how many watts are you pushing the bass with? I'm not in the know but would expect that a couple hundred watts would push 2 6" woofers plenty in a small car.

Thanks in advance,

-td

_______________________
2000 C2 - grey / grey -> bone stock (until tomorrow, then + a parrot 3200)

JR944

TD: The system was installed by a previous owner. I was told that the remainder of the system is still factory, but I haven't pulled any speaker covers to see myself. The amp is pretty small physically.

I replaced the factory Harmon Kardon head unit with a TrafficPro (which was a Porsche option at that time). HK told me that the TrafficPro is exactly the same as the factory units except for the user interface and of course the GPS.

Supposedly, the factory HK head units are pretty decent. The factory external amp and speaker are made by Nokia and are the weak links in the system. If you're on a budget, I'd just add the external amp to drive the subs and see how you like it.

Joe

Armando Ramirez

I got pretty much the same setup (pair 10" Orion subs, they did not have the JL's in stock when I got it done and did not want to wait) custom box exact size needed to be able to put up rear seat.
3 pairs of MB-Quart Q series with the Q crossovers and an Xtant Xe604 amp.

Removed spare tire to mount amp and cross overs against fire wall....
More base than I need and the Sarah Brightman and Billy Idol never sounded better.

You don't need a huge base speakers to get the base you need...I got way more than I need.

leslie

Nycebo,

I got them for US$ equivalent of $1300.

I know. I know. Very ouch but I just couldnt bear to go aftermarket. And besides, locally, the installers are pretty poor in terms of fabrication and workmanship. Flip side is that they are all pretty cheap as compared to US or Europe.

nycebo

Leslie,

That's not too bad, considering. Did you need to buy a new amp to drive the subwoofer, or did it come inside the enclosure? Also, I take it that the speaker was manufactured by Harmon Kardon?

As I mentinoned, I'll be investigating this in detail tomorrow and get back to you with the recommendations. I don't know if you saw the site, but the AI Design product looks identical to stock but with a very good driver (woofer....JL Audio).

leslie

Nycebo,

I ordered the enclosure (placing a substantial deposit with them in the process) without the sub or the amp from the local porsche dealer. Figured I would figure out which sub to fit with my car stereo guy when the enclosure comes (still a couple of weeks away). I saw the AI design site but realised that they prob dont make them for RHD cars.

I already have a 4 channel brax amp which I want to reuse together with keeping the CDR 220 head unit. Speakers are likely to be Dynaudio 3 way units and I am thinking of also adding a Alpine 701 pre amp to allow for time alignment to the setup. But as mentioned, I would prob sit down with the stereo guy and figure it all out when the sub enclosure comes.

nycebo

I went by the AI Design shop on Saturday afternoon. Matt, the founder, and all the guys working with him seem like really genuine and great guys who love their business. He showed me the enclosure and it is a really nice work of art that bolts right into the OEM position and is held in place by a bolt in the exact same location so no interior mods are necessary. It uses an 8" JL Audio woofer and the construction quality looks extraordinarily tight. At this point, I'm quite anxious to get that puppy installed. But, your suspicion is likely correct though in that I don't think they made the enclosure for a right hand drive car.

Anyway, I was really impressed by their facility and even more so by the work on the cars that they have done there (everything from audio to performance mods and interior enhancement). Net net, by the time I finished talking with Matt, it was pretty clear that I'll be installing some other upgrades in addition to the subwoofer. He recommended Focal separates up front in the stock door enclosures, JL audio coax speakers in back, and Alpine digital amplifiers (one 4 channel and one 1 channel) to power it all. Best part, I can keep the head unit to keep the stock look. Once everything gets done, I'll be sure to report back here and let you know how it all went, how it looks, and best part, how it sounds.