I want 2-3 sub woofers. I can DIY it, but have questions.................

Motoxrdude

Active Member
Hmm....well, I do remember there was an option within my soundcard software that I never figured out yet how to unlock that may solve the problum you stated. As for Base and Bass, There was no little spell check in the toolbar on this computer...

Your sound card IS NOT AN AMPLIFIER. Stop being a dumbass and just listen to us for once. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HOOK 3 SUBS TO ONE AMP. Just buy a decent amp and a decent sub, not a decent amp and 3 shitty subs. One decent sub will outperform 3 shitty ones. It is all about quality over quantity when it comes to audio.
 

dmw2692004

New Member
Your sound card IS NOT AN AMPLIFIER. Stop being a dumbass and just listen to us for once. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HOOK 3 SUBS TO ONE AMP. Just buy a decent amp and a decent sub, not a decent amp and 3 shitty subs. One decent sub will outperform 3 shitty ones. It is all about quality over quantity when it comes to audio.

Thank. You. ADE, please listen to him.
 

Crash5291

New Member
car stereos are loud because mobile amplifiers are a lot less expensive
the install is the key, the equitment is only as good as the install allows it to be.
you can get 4000w rms @ 1 ohm in a car for ~$800, that same power for your home would cost upwards of $1500-2000.
100Watts in a home and a 100watts in a car are 2 totally different animals. Also home equipment is required to actually make the power they claim. in car audio there is not written requirement, some manufactures follow a standards system they implemented a few years ago but its not a requirement. buy a home amp thats rated to put out 150 x 2 and it will. buy a mobile amp thats rated for 2000 i would have to see the certified test to prove it. then its also what voltage and input signal were used at what ohm load?
For instance, i'm only an armature at system design, and with 2000w rms, two 15" kicker L7's in 9 cubic feet, tuned to 33hz, i only managed to hit a 143.6dB on the termlab, while there's a guy by the name of mark potts, who hit 150dB with a single 15" type-r, and about the same power, as well as a guy named dominic iraggi who managed an ungodly 169dB with a wall of 6x9 drivers............
is that with a 33hrz tone or did you find the vehicals resonant peak and use it to your advantage? (if your going for pure SPL) tune the box to work with the car to get the most.





Just buy a decent amp and a decent sub, not a decent amp and 3 shitty subs. One decent sub will outperform 3 shitty ones. It is all about quality over quantity when it comes to audio.

Indeed, go look at good home systems and see what they are running for a sub. a single 10 - 12 inch driver can make a lot of bass if its boxed and powered correctly.


I hate listening to crappy systems, distortion makes my skin crawl. kids these days seem to think thats how bass is supposed to sound though :rolleyes:
my one front speaker in the truck has a slight voice coil rub when turned up i can hear it drives me nuts my friends think i'm hearing things.

Anyway, if you want to annoy your neighbors. have fun :D but i will tell you this my system in my room will knock the pictures off the walls but go outside and it almost inaudible from 50' away. the house soaks up a lot of the sound.

Joe
 

heyman421

banned
100Watts in a home and a 100watts in a car are 2 totally different animals


is that with a 33hrz tone or did you find the vehicals resonant peak and use it to your advantage?

There's nothing that requires home audio manufacturers to make the power they claim, either. Birthsheets, benchtesting, or the new CEA2006 standard benchmarkings are the only way to know what an amp is actually putting out, regardless of whether it's a home audio or car audio amplifier.

The numbers i stated were benchmarked, i was referencing a lanzar opti4000D which is rated for 4000w rms @ 1 ohm, and tested 4,763w rms @ 1 ohm on 14.6v and 367A, roughly 88% efficient, which is pretty good for a PWM regulated power supply fed amplifier.

Said amp can be had for $800 plus shipping brand new.

And my 143dB was a 0dB 40hz test tone. My box wasn't tuned for SPL, but rather a daily box. I'm a sucker for LOWWWWWWWS, and you're right, if i was aiming for purely a SPL install, i would have tuned much higher, since my car has a natural resonance in the 55-60hz range, but i'd lose out on any 30-40hz output, and have a disgustingly high f3.
 

heyman421

banned
And ADE:

2x cone area (doubling your speakers, or upgrading sizes) = ~3dB increase in sound
2x your power per driver = ~3dB increase
porting a sealed box = ~3dB increase


+3dB = 2x acoustical energy output
-3dB = 1/2 acoustical energy output
~9dB = 2x as loud to the ear

i typed that out in words, but it ended up being really lengthy. Bottom line, is that you're wasting your time.

i don't know what size your current setup is, but if you have a 6.5" driver, a single 15 would be 5 times bigger.

If you have a 8" a single 15 would be 3.5 times bigger.

If you have a 10" a single 15 would be 2.25 times bigger.

Not to mention the drivers need to be identical, with identical power, in phase with each other, and in identical enclosures, or you will actually LOSE output compared to what you have now due to cancellation.
 
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mega10169

New Member
If you plan on plugging your sound card to an amplified sub, or an amp then a sub you NEED a pre-amplifier to control the subs volume or else the sub will be as loud as your Volume Control is set to, which is what you don't want.
 

ADE

banned
OK OK how about this, I forget the whole speaker system thing and get a BOOM Chair. It has 5.1 surround sound build right in it and has a bass right under your butt so racing games look, sound and feel real. Like I said, I prefur simulation over sound when it comes to a bass. And I think it does OK at sound too. Having 60 subs would certainly out do the people next door, but quite possibly could get me arrested.....
 

heyman421

banned
now something like that might be fun

i always wanted one of those 'reactor' vests back in the day for playing genesis

i think aura made them
 

Crash5291

New Member
There's nothing that requires home audio manufacturers to make the power they claim, either. Birthsheets, benchtesting, or the new CEA2006 standard benchmarkings are the only way to know what an amp is actually putting out, regardless of whether it's a home audio or car audio amplifier.
Ok, i was under the imprestion that the Home electronics did indeed have a standard to follow. ya the CEA2006 is what i was referring too. although it could use better requirements.

The numbers i stated were benchmarked, i was referencing a lanzar opti4000D which is rated for 4000w rms @ 1 ohm, and tested 4,763w rms @ 1 ohm on 14.6v and 367A, roughly 88% efficient, which is pretty good for a PWM regulated power supply fed amplifier.
Yes, indeed a nice amp. and worth the $800 bones. but not all company's do things right.
And my 143dB was a 0dB 40hz test tone. My box wasn't tuned for SPL, but rather a daily box. I'm a sucker for LOWWWWWWWS, and you're right, if i was aiming for purely a SPL install, i would have tuned much higher, since my car has a natural resonance in the 55-60hz range, but i'd lose out on any 30-40hz output, and have a disgustingly high f3.
Kool, and really 143dB @ 40Hz isn't too shabby at all. I'm only pushing ~127dB so im told, in my truck (regular cab F150) with a single 10" ported 2.7ft cubed @ 35Hz if i remeber right, and about ~100 -125wrms crappy Xplode "800watt" amp @4ohm but it was free so why pass.
 

death734

New Member
one thing i like about my subwoofer is it have a input and an output
so i could hook up as many subs as i want
if you want 3+ subs (1 being the sub that came with your system) then my recommendation would be to buy some subs with an input/output so then you can just use a splitter from the computer, 1 end going to the 5.1 system and the other end going to a headphone to rca converter.
then just run the rca wire to the sub in and another from the sub output to the input on another sub and do that as many times as you want. then synchronize the volumes and use the computer volume ajustments
 

Motoxrdude

Active Member
one thing i like about my subwoofer is it have a input and an output
so i could hook up as many subs as i want
if you want 3+ subs (1 being the sub that came with your system) then my recommendation would be to buy some subs with an input/output so then you can just use a splitter from the computer, 1 end going to the 5.1 system and the other end going to a headphone to rca converter.
then just run the rca wire to the sub in and another from the sub output to the input on another sub and do that as many times as you want. then synchronize the volumes and use the computer volume ajustments

Sorry, it doesn't work like that. You would put a ton of strain on your amp and the ohms would kill it if you didn't wire it all correctly(which, no offense, i dont think ADE would be able to do). That and, connecting the output of an amp to another amp would fry at least one of the amps. Either way, it just won't work, or sound good at all.
 

heyman421

banned
death734 just said he has an output on his subwoofer, the preamp rca's can be daisychained from one unit to another

he's talking about a self-amplified subwoofer, and linking the preamp signal from the soundcard to multiple subwoofers

it has nothing to do with hooking multiple drivers up to an amp, in fact, it has nothing to do with an amplifier at all
 

death734

New Member
its an rca output. not speaker wire. these subwoofers have built in amplifiers
so the computer sends an audio signal, then its split and 1 end go to the subs input then that sub takes the signal and repeats it to the output (you do the same thing with the output in car sub woofer amps)
 
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