I'm looking at putting in 4- 10" subs in my cat and need some sub input and education. The subs will probably not be boxed. I was advised by a stereo shop to install a brand called "ACS" (?). These subs do not require boxes and are a marine grade sub. When I asked the installer if these subs were any good he hesitated and said they were ok for a marine grade sub. My question is: Are boxes necessary? Are there any good non boxed subs out there? These subs will be mounted in the open and may get wet. They for sure will get alot of sun! I will pushing the subs with a Audiobahn 2 channel amp. Help!
The sub enclosure is more important than the sub you use. Plan and spend the money to build the right sub enclosures....
In a boat due to space considerations, sealed is usually the way to go
I have 4 10" Infinity Kappa Perfects and IMO they are awesome.......
Some other good ones are JL Audio, Shiva's, Phoenix Gold. Oh and if you can afford them and throw enough watts at em - JBL GTi's.
[ April 04, 2003, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: rivercrazy ]
River Crazy,
Thanks for the info. I'm running 8 infinity Kappa 6.5 marine speakers. I was thinking about staying with the same brand for subs. Why?, I really don't know. But I figured I'd throw it out on the board for input. As far as boxing the subs I really hate to lose the space but, then again I want to do it right the first time.
Kicker L7s boxed boxed boxed boxed
I would be a little wary of free-air "marine grade" subs.
Other than corrosion resistant parts...what is the difference? Not much...except maybe the price tag.
IMHO, if you boat at Havasu, you probabaly don't need "marine grade" subs. Although they may get wet, there is no salt, and if you take care of your boat, they dry out rather quickly in the dry, hot desert air.
Very few subs are paper these days, so most quality subs can put up with a little water splashed on them. An old installers trick is to spray Scotch Guard on them...if your really worried.
As for the boxes, I am yet to see a boat that can't have boxes...some just take more time (money) and imagination/sacrafice than others...
[ April 05, 2003, 05:35 AM: Message edited by: Havasu Hangin' ]
Personally I would go with boxes. But I have heard a few people talk good about JL Audio's free air subs. JL are great subs but I personally have not heard the free air subs. Like HH I would not worry about them being marine.
Free air subs aren't meant to be run loose. They are meant to operate in an infinite baffle. In otherwords, they have a high Qts value. They work OK in a trunk with the back wave being isolated to the trunk and the front wave going through the rear seat into the passenger compartment.
Having four motors and a lot of power will shake your boat but you won't have much audible bass if the front and rear waves from the speaker are allowed to cancel each other.
I would rather have two properly boxed 8s than four loose 10s. I'm with these guys, see what you can do to get some boxes in there. You should be able to find drivers that will perform very nicely with 7 to 9 liters of volume in a sealed enclosure.
If it were me, I'd look at one of the long throw offerings with passive radiators. You should be able to get some serious bass efficiency out of tiny cubes.
By the way, I also think marine grade is not necessarily a straight ahead representation. There's no speaker going that will stand up to water around the voice coil and most of the cones are poly these days with rubber or foam surrounds. They should stand up to the odd splash of water. I'd be more worried about MDF or particle board enclosures swelling up when they get wet.
-- Tom
[ April 04, 2003, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Tom Brown ]
I too have Infinity marine grade woofers. 8" and 10". There not sealed in a box either. They sound ok? I would think there would be a port next to the sub to help the air flo, but there is no ports on my boat! The builder said qood quailty sub don't need ports. I think he is blowing smoke up my ass! I'm ready to drill holes just don't know what size? Any help would be appreciated.
mmered8299:
I would think there would be a port next to the sub to help the air flo, but there is no ports on my boat! The builder said qood quailty sub don't need ports. I think he is blowing smoke up my ass! I'm ready to drill holes just don't know what size? Any help would be appreciated.Ports are not to help air flow, ports are to allow the reflected soundwaves from the box to escape.
Good quality subs don't need ports? Have your friend sneak up behind this guy, and kneel down behind him. Next time he makes a stupid statement like that, push him over your friend and tell him to get off the playground...
If you don't have boxes, you don't need ports. A port is tuned to a frequency depending on the design specs of the sub (and box). A port will usually give you a 3db increase, similar to adding another sub (since you are now using the front and rear sound waves, without cancellation).
The downside to ported boxes is that they can be noisy (air passing in-n-out), and they usually need a bigger box (more room). Also, since there is no sealed airpressure to act as a suspension, it's best to install a subsonic filter so your sub doesn't try to produce some inaudible low frequencies, and overexcursion occurs.
Some people like the sound of sealed boxes, saying they sound "tighter". I think it's a personal preference...like "what kind of beer to you prefer"? There are some great subs out there that are designed for ported enclosures.
As for your situation, tell your installer to stop being so lazy, install some boxes, and make that thing pound!
...who cares if you don't have room for the frills anymore (like an anchor, lifevests, etc.)...
[ April 05, 2003, 08:06 AM: Message edited by: Havasu Hangin' ]
off the top of my head i can think of a couple areas to build boxes on your boat without messing with storage space.
Your driver seat base is approx. 3x2x2. Ill bet you can close it off underneith to create a box there.
You could make some custom boxes on the side panels at the back of the boat. The area gets pretty wide towards the floor.they would be long and skinny but I think it would work.
The ideal spot would be to give up 18" of flat surface under your front seats and glass a box into each sponson.
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