Thread: Getting new subs want opinons.

When I had my system setup with the 312RS's the most common comment people made were "it needs more bass" The system was setup with a shure mic and a spectrum analyzer and I set it up to be as flat as possible with both windows about an inch down. Dropping the windows seemed to help standing wave a lot. With windows up I just dropped the bass down alittle most of the time.

A few friends thought it was one of the best sounding systems they had heard. It was near flat down to 50Hz with a few dB gain between 30-40Hz. When I swep the 312RS in the box they were very very good from 30Hz to 1200Hz without a crossover. They have a somewhat short excursion and a rating of 350W per coil. But they sound REALLY tight and flat. Theres no comparison between them and your typical Alpine or kicker sub that seems to produce 60Hz and have a steep roll off on both sides.


Wish I still had access to that spectrum analyzer. All the ones we have at work here only do above 100MHz. They do up to 15GHz tho, but totally useless for audio. Also used to have access to a distortion analyzer.

Originally Posted by matt5112

If your bass is louder with the windows down you're doing it wrong.

Doesn't that mean your box is to small or something stipid like that?? I'm probably wrong but i tried. Lol

You learn something new everyday... I have a lot more to learn then.

Flat isn't best. I wish I knew the names for different listening curves but flat isn't all that fun and doesn't always appear transparent. Flat sound is awkward to me. Btw, my R12's, measured properly, are flat up through 1000hz

Flat is easier to tune towards curves

...just make sure the install doesn't screw it up ;P

I800 : btw, i'm building another amp. Gonna build a 50x2 amp to drive the pair of a/d/s spkrs on my desk at work.

And I800 : are you talking about the fletcher and munson curves? I prefer to listen at the proper volume level when possible rather then EQ the hell out of the sound. But thats just me.

This is where me and matt differ...

I really don't know much about Home Audio but in car audio I believe time alignement and R/L EQ are important. However, I do realize that there is a problem with over-processed sound. I perceive the vehicle environment in such a way that it "passively" processes the sound and creates bias dependent on variables that you'd never find inside a home. Unless you're building the vehicle from the ground up I just don't see an affordable solution. There's tricks to reconcile issues here and there but there will never be generic reasoning that can cover all bases. That's why I feel processing is more important in CA vs. HA.

One technique that I believe will add to any vehicle...

Rear fill that is....

• Bandpassed ~300hz thru ~3000hz
• 20ms delay
• R-L signal
• Attenuated to supplement a front stage vs. competing

Oh ya! I have some spare a/d/s/ speakers too

Maybe I can copy your application?!

Well I would actually say that the delay was caused with the sub not blending properly with the mid-bass up front. Many people state that theory will explain why subs do not need T/A. However, I have noticed a difference with mid-bass interaction based on delay.

The reason kick panels are so great is because path length is so important with the wave lengths of ~300hz up to about 1500hz. We want the mids as far from the listener as possible in a vehicle. Another benefit is the proximity of the tweeter to the mid itself allowing it to blend better and create a single point source. This is a must when using passive cross overs imo. In the end, these two advantages takes care of the predominant issues of installing within your vehicle.

There's obviously a whole world of hurt associated with car installs but I'd rather steer away from defraction and reflection issues that are inherent to doors and dashboards. I will say that putting the tweeter as close as possible to a window displaces reflection to the 17khz and above. It changes based on the proximity to the window due to real world wave lengths but it's a quick tip for when looking at tweeter locations.