what gauge is your stereo wire?

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 1:25 pm

Ok so I might have been a little off on the fuse situation. I did not have the full understanding. I was wrong, sorry.

Now as for the bandpass situation:

"Sealed can handle the most power at higher volume and plays deeper. Ported and bandpass just gives you more output with less wattage. But bandpass you can't tell if the sub is distorting or not"

Taken from the Sounddomain forums.

"A bandpass can produce higher SPL than ported, but only in a very narrow frequency range."

Also taken from the Sounddomain forums.

Bandpass boxes are designed to have a higher output with less power, same as vented/ported boxes. The "myth" about bandpass boxes are the fact that they usually are sold with shiity subs (Jensen) and therefore they make them sound good. Most music typically sounds like shit in a bandpass enclosure, if u buy a prefab box, supposedly a bandpass built specifically for that sub can make it sound good, I don't know personally. Ported and Sealed both give good quality with good power handling.

There is always arguements going on about which box type should be used. It all matters as to what sounds good to the individual. If you want louder music and still wanna have some space, go ported. More quality is sealed. If you have like 1 sub and quality u don't care about and have plenty of space go bandpass if you want. To each his own.

bitSLAP · Post by **bitSLAP** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 3:15 pm

I'd just like to add that bandpass designs have been considerably improved. Some, like my favorite box, the decware death box (http://www.decware.com) sound very good. The "varo vent" design is a tuned port that has a wider resonant range. The result is a box that sounds good, hits very low, and has higher power handling.

There is a flip side to making a "cheap sub sounding better". The higher power tolerance of bandpass allows for the use of more sensitive subs, providing more detail, and faster response. I would not be suprised if you could give an infinity perfect 10 as much growl as a 40 lb Audiobahn monstrocity.

Viperoni · Post by **Viperoni** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 7:00 pm

The Variovent's have been around for a little while.
They're another re-incarnation of the aperiodic design.
Basically they let you use a smaller box than a sealed box for the particular woofer, while maintaining the same Q as a bigger box, and they smooth out the impedance curve of the woofer.

The type of box you need depends on the music; most rap is best with bandpass boxes - most output.
Note that not all bandpass boxes have low group delays (high impact)

BTW: Audiobahn subs are for SPL, not for SQ like the Infinities

My Orion XTR in a custom tuned bandpass box (that means appropriate sized front and rear chambers, with a correctly tuned port) has been slamming for the last 3 years.
And I only have a kicker impulse amp (35x2/100x1 RMS)
The passband is quite narrow, but it hits nicely within the passband; although some lower notes make the driver really start moving, as opposed to the notes within the passband the sub barely moves.

The wider the passband in a bandpass box, the lower the efficiency and the bigger the box.

cjinx · Post by **cjinx** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 1:07 pm

I'm still selling that Kicker ZR360 for $350 shipped.... I take Paypal, money orders, fingers, arms, etc.....

Viperoni · Post by **Viperoni** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 1:16 pm

Now theres an amp that would need a 4guage power cable

I wish I could use it

LikeLinus · Post by **LikeLinus** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 2:43 pm

I really wouldn't use anything but a sealed encloser either way. You get tighter base and better sound quality out of a sealed enclose.

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 4:19 pm

Exactly my reasoning LL. I'm more of a "quality freak" than a "loudness freak".

Viperoni · Post by **Viperoni** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 5:26 pm

No doubt at all, sealed boxes for SQ, if the sub is made for sealed boxes.
Some subs will sound better and have tighter bass in vented boxes than in sealed boxes.

LikeLinus · Post by **LikeLinus** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 6:05 pm

Yeah its true that some subs will sound better in a ported or vented box as to sealed if they were designed for it. But in general of all the subs i've used in the past, sealed enclosures pound for pound (pun intended) sound the best and hit harder/tighter to all frequ. I'm not looking for "huge" boom like i was when i was 16

I'm more for tight controlled bass and accoustics now. Go figure!

Viperoni · Post by **Viperoni** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 6:13 pm

LL, it all comes with tastes in music.
Right now I like hip-hop/rap, so a bandpass box is almost what I need.
Maximum output in a narrow freq range with acceptable group delay.
But in a couple years if I start liking, say, Jazz, I'd definetely need to put the sub into a sealed or vented box.

Jim Z · Post by **Jim Z** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 10:09 pm

I'm running 4 gauge from the battery to my cap, two pairs of 8 gauge from the cap to the blocks, and then 8 gauge in pairs to both amps.

Alpine CDA-D852 head unit
Alpine MRV-T757 bridged into subwoofer (400w RMS x1)
Alpine MRV-F407 powering front and rear speakers (60w RMS x4)
Alpine SPR-175A 6.5" R-series components up front
Alpine SPS-1329S 5.25" coaxials in rear
Alpine SWR-1240 subwoofer, in stealth center console enclosure (properly sized so the sub doesn't sound like scheiße).

All of this in a standard cab Ram.

LikeLinus · Post by **LikeLinus** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 10:10 pm

I guess thats true...but even with some rap....sealed enclosers deliver some tight pounding bass...and as my personal preference..i always dug that. Alot of people just want the deep loud ass bass, no matter SQ....so it's all about personal taste..you are definately right about that.

Because i just got a new f150 extended cab in January...i could only put 8" subs under the seat. I REALLY wanted 10's (cause you can just about get 12" thump but actually get better mhz range and tightness) but they just wont fit. I ended up selecting JL Audio W3's with dual voice coils so i could throw a good bit of wattage at them and turn them up. Surprisingly they sound pretty darn good. They dont hit "low" but they are the little woofers that could! They do pound. I'm running them in at a 2ohm load on a PPI amp putting out around 350 watts peak...about 300 non peak. Thats a good 150-175 per sub...a good bit for 8" woofers. They are high quality though. I'd love to see some w3 12" with about 300 watts to them...smokin!

Still love solobarics though

PreDatoR · Post by **PreDatoR** » Wed Jun 06, 2001 12:10 am

The Infinity i have is an old one. Its 4 ohm and i think its 600 watt maxx can't remember the RMS on it and don't wanna pull it out of the box. Its in a small sealed box right now. I know i need more power on it. That legacy amp is cheap and underpowers that speaker but it works for me right now. The box its in is actually one i built to the Kicker Solobaric specs. ITs as air tight as tight can get. I know its a little on the small side for this infinity. Thought about porting it but have other things that are too important right now. I use to have a Solobaric and a Phosgate 200ix AMP powering it. Should have never sold that stuff off but when yer hurtin' for cash you get rid of the uneccessary items and those were on the list. That combo in the back of my F-150 i had played hell on your ear's. And got me 2 noise pollution tickets...lol

Jim Z · Post by **Jim Z** » Wed Jun 06, 2001 12:30 am

Thought about porting it

if you want a ported box, you'll need to build a new one. If you just stick a port in that small box it'll sound like garbage.

Viperoni · Post by **Viperoni** » Wed Jun 06, 2001 6:52 am

Very true about the box construction.
The better sealed, the better sound.
out of ANY kind of box.

Also true about the vented box; most are a bit bigger than the correctly sized sealed box for that particular sub.

PCA Forums

what gauge is your stereo wire?

Hey Reg!!