Hi,

What are some decent subwoofers in the sub $250 bracket from online stores?

What is the best position for a 12" in a 3rd gen for sound quality?

And, how many liters can those fiberglass subwoofer boxes at the rear corners get to without making them stick out too much, look out of place or take up too much trunk space?

Why online stores?? In all honesty im not going to suggest anything for that.

There is no "best" position, if you dont have Time Alignment the closer to you the better, if not I got good results from making a box in the spare wheel well, and good results from a fiberglass box in the quarter panel. My box is about 35L's which I built it at that for that sub, Shoot has also done one at a guess I would say his is about 20L's.

Hi,


What is the best position for a 12" in a 3rd gen for sound quality?




the boot

Peaandham, I rather online stores as they are half price compared to local stores and for my budget I will be able to get something better.
What brands do you suggest?

Rush, thanks for the invaluable advice.

Peaandham, I rather online stores as they are half price compared to local stores and for my budget I will be able to get something better.
What brands do you suggest?


I dont suggest brands because they all have their own traits, one does not sound all round better than the other, I wont suggest woofers that can be found online as opposed to buying one from a local I find it a conflict of interest, but perhaps someone else can help you out.

Check the CA&E For Sale Threads for something good in there.
http://www.caraudio.com.au/forums/

Wouldn't shipping about kill the price difference?

I bought a 2nd hand RF Punch 12" from Lifestyle store in Nth Parramatta on a sale night - $70.
It's a sealed wedge shape box and sounds better than a 10" ported that it replaced.
Good thing about the wedge is it fits in the rear seat foot well and that back/butt massage is the best location for it. :)

I've heard of on-line sellers with Vibe brand being reasonably well rated. I have no idea how it would compare to the brands I'm used to though (eg: RF, Earthquake, Hifonics)

Those FG boxes can get up to 1.5 cf in the side of a magna, without being cumbersome.. You could use up most of the side with the woofer box, you'll never miss the space, even with a smaller box, you'll still have the hinge there in the road of storage, so consider that space all yours....

Sort your Box first.. Find a sub to suit your box... Ported for loud, sealed for SQ.... The wrong sub in the right box can sound horrid, weak and frustrating...

I measured mine today, with water. 28 litres. or 1 Cubic foot... And it got a little modification ;)

Thanks everyone.
I live in Canberra and with no exaggeration it will cost me at the very least double to buy at a local store than online, shipping included.

I am leaning towards the Rockford Fosgate P3D4-12:
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/product_details.aspx?itemid=120422

The box I am likely to get one of those ready made sealed boxes which range from 24-28L which seems about right for this subwoofer. Aiming for at least 16mm thickness.

Can anyone recommend something better/different?

I like the RATS site for looking at the Rockfords tuners recommended boxes.
http://rats.rockfordfosgate.com/

http://rats.rockfordfosgate.com/tier3.asp?p_side_nav=2&locale=en_US&p_vehicle_type_id=3&p_series_id=31&p_component_type_id=3#ajax_getSubwoofers.asp?local e=en_US&p_vehicle_type_id=3&p_series_id=31&p_component_type_id=3&p_subwoofer_item_id=120421

Note the 0.7 Db rated increase when moving from a 500 RMS Amd to the 700...

i have a 12" Alpine SWS12D4, which was $170 posted on ebay, happy with the sound, only 500wRMS though

Heres a link to your rockford sub. I can recommend buying through audiosavings on ebay, as on 2 occasions i got my stuff exactly 7 days after making payment shipped all the way from the U.S. International post is sometimes faster than our local post :nuts:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-P3D4-12-12-1200-Watt-Dual-4-Ohm-Car-Subwoofer-/300879280043

I bought a Clarion SW1251 12" subwoofer (250w RMS/700w peak, 4 ohm) in a slim wedge slot-port box for $170 (I think) in an Autobarn mid year clearance last year. While I havent fitted upto mine, we trialled it in Marty's car and was happy with the result.
Ultimately, it comes down to what's powering it as to what you get, and what you want out if it. Sort out your amp then go from there.
In my case it will be running off a class AB 4x100 Cadence ZRS-C9 amp, so will match nicely, given the modest output figures.

Mitsu Miyagi, it seems it's slightly cheaper overall to buy the Rockford subwoofer in Australia rather than eBay US.

Ammerty, I am not positive what amp I will get but it will be a monoblock of at least 300wrms @ 4 ohm and I would like it to have enough power to be able to run a second subwoofer. Not that I plan to, but just to have the option to upgrade later

I run a 250wrms JL Audio 12" in a JL ported & carpeted wedge that fits very snug in the space just before the ski hatch. So good actually, that I don't need to secure the enclosure down, it stays put even after some enthusiastic driving! The woofer & slot port faces the ski hatch opening.
This orientation gave me the best sonic results, by far. The flip side is that being a 45 litre enclosure, I do lose noticeable boot space & the wedge completely blocks access to the ski hatch opening & I've had to modify the spare tyre lid as the sub & amp overlap where it originally hinged from, so I've also lost some access ease for the spare.

I like what some of the members have done with the sub enclosure being in the spare wheel well & making a carpeted MDF/Ply recess to install the amp & wiring. I'm wanting to do something like this as I like the clean professional & uncluttered look of it while giving me back full boot access. As long as there's not too much sub bass degradation, I'd be happy with this compromise.
Otherwise I might go the direction of getting 2 compact encosures either side of the ski hatch & flush mounting the amp in the middle.

Thanks ADM,
Since this post though I've already purchased the sub and amp combo and made a custom fiberglass/MDF box to suit. The subwoofer fires through the ski port

Got any pics of that. We always like to see that custom work.

It isn't completely finished and needs some final touches (ie, carpeting and fake panel) so no pics

Why not a 8" in the rear parcel shelf?

I've considered that but I knew it would be neither loud enough nor sound good enough that way