Subwoofer box or no box?

genes|s · Jul 18, 2009, 01:31 PM

I have a pair of 10" subwoofers and a crappy amp that was given to me for free and I have it installed. The enclosure takes a lot of much needed space in my trunk. I was wondering what would happen if I take the subwoofers out of the box and mount them to the back of the seat facing towards inside of the car. That way I can have my subwoofers and still take very less space. I was thinking of mounting them at the bottom half of the seat so it takes the space that can't be used anyways, since the seat is slanted.

It's simple but I have attached a MS PAINT drawing of what I want to do.

Basically, will the subwoofer make any bass using the proposed method? Perhaps with a more powerful amp?

Appreciate any input.

Lumpydonut · Jul 18, 2009, 08:34 PM

how are you going to mount it to a seat? not much to screw it too plus do people not sit in your seat? I bought slanted boxes so I can tuck it up behind the seat. And if you need extra space once in a while just take out the sub. I think mounting it to a seat would just be a pin in the arse

genes|s · Jul 18, 2009, 09:00 PM

Of course I use the rear seat for passengers, why would it make a difference if I have two 10 inchers behind it? Plus I don't crank it up when I have, for example, family sitting in the car.

Initially, from what I've noticed there is enough room (pillars) behind the seat that I can take a piece of MDF with sub installed in it and mount that MDF on the back of the seat. Screws would go from inside out and I will have to cut up some of that fabric for that to happen.

It's possible to install it but I don't know if the amp will blow up, subs won't give me any bass or what I should expect.

yitzac1990 · Jul 19, 2009, 11:24 AM

yes its possible, but it would sound absolutely horrible, and could potentially destroy the subwoofer. some woofers are made to be mounted like that, in open-air, but i doubt yours are. just build a smaller box, even a slanted one like mentioned before. is the box you have now sealed or ported?

genes|s · Jul 19, 2009, 05:25 PM

The box I have is ported. If I were to make two very small sealed boxes, just about the size of the subs, would be damage the subs?

yitzac1990 · Jul 19, 2009, 11:08 PM

not if the air space is within the recommended air space as per the manual (there are minimums and maximums). also, since you have a ported box now, sealed boxes wont be as loud, unless you make them bigger then the ported box. just a heads up. I would advise making a slanted box as suggested, with a port. that way, you have the sound you want AND the space you want.

Lumpydonut · Jul 19, 2009, 11:17 PM

It shouldnt. My subs take up quite a bit of the box and are sealed and I have had no problems at all. I guess it is possible to mount to the seat just unnecessary and I wouldnt want to risk F***ing up your subs/amp.

imalancerman · Jul 20, 2009, 02:04 PM

In my experience, its always better to build the boxes to spec. I had a diamond dvc 10 in. and mounted it in one of those wal mart boxes and it sounded like absolute crap. I then built an actual box to spec and it hit beautifully.

GPTourer · Jul 20, 2009, 02:13 PM

You can't just mount any sub in a "Free-air" style setup unless its designed fot it. And IMO, even if they are, they still sound weak. You must completely isolate the front wave from the back wave or they will cancel each other out almost ocmpletely and sound asstastic. By doing this, you essentially turn your whole trunk into an enclosure.

However, I still don't see how it will work because you will end up with the face of the woofer flush against the back seat which will muffle whatever weak bass you're going to get.

genes|s · Jul 21, 2009, 03:11 AM

I see. Perhaps I'll teach wifey to make use of whatever room there is.

@GPTourer: I was going to use a subwoofer spacer so it wouldn't touch the seat. I've heard about the free-air woofers, I'll look into them if I horribly need the space.

If I were to use my existing box, I want to know about the ports. Both subs are isolated and both sections have 2 ports. Which to my liking would be a lot.... Sealed is punchier, ported is more bass, correct?

imalancerman · Jul 21, 2009, 03:23 AM

Sealed requires less power to hit but a ported can hit more frequencies. IMO with all the different sub setups Ive owned, for the lancer a sealed is best. The only time I liked ported is when the subs are in open air, like in a station wagon. All cooped up in the trunk, I dont really see too much benefit to a ported box. Also, sealed boxes can be made much smaller than ported. If you're building to spec that is.

yitzac1990 · Jul 21, 2009, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genes|s

Sealed is punchier, ported is more bass, correct?

correct.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imalancerman

Sealed requires less power to hit but a ported can hit more frequencies. IMO with all the different sub setups Ive owned, for the lancer a sealed is best. The only time I liked ported is when the subs are in open air, like in a station wagon. All cooped up in the trunk, I dont really see too much benefit to a ported box. Also, sealed boxes can be made much smaller than ported. If you're building to spec that is.

everything you said is right except the first sentence. if you compare ported to sealed boxes, a sub in a sealed box requires more power to hit the same as in a ported box because the subwoofer cant physically move as much air because the box is air tight. but besides that, everything is right haha

imalancerman · Jul 22, 2009, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yitzac1990

everything you said is right except the first sentence. if you compare ported to sealed boxes, a sub in a sealed box requires more power to hit the same as in a ported box because the subwoofer cant physically move as much air because the box is air tight. but besides that, everything is right haha

I stand corrected. I got a little confused there. My bad. I knew that too. I dont know why I put the opposite. A little more info to add as well though since Im posting again. A ported box tends to be 150% the size of the sealed box requirements for specific subs. A ported box is also tuned to a certain frequency range and when attempting to attain a frequency outside of what the box is tuned to can use large amounts of power to do so. There are also bandpass boxes. These seem to be the least popular due to their limited frequency ranges. They do look nice though. Overall, a sealed box is seemingly the most efficient style as they stay smaller, and have a rather large frequency range. The most important thing to remember though is to make sure its sealed tight. When I build my boxes, I put layers of silicone on all the inner joints of the box and make sure that I put silicone in all the screw holes etc, etc. Make sure its SEALED. Alot of subs come with gaskets to put underneath the sub too, use them. A really well manufactured box will leak very little air. But like posted above, they will require more power to operate due to the sub having to work a little harder. Make sure you build to manufacturers specs as it will make all the difference.

RALLIART15 · Jul 22, 2009, 12:41 AM

I not sure exactly what your putting in your trunk but i have plenty of room with the standard duel 10 box in my trunk and it's not pushed back all the way it just against the rear strut from RRM
This pic actually had a different purpose but you can kinda see the space, I can fit my son's stroller or a cart FULL of groceries

imalancerman · Jul 22, 2009, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RALLIART15

I not sure exactly what your putting in your trunk but i have plenty of room with the standard duel 10 box in my trunk and it's not pushed back all the way it just against the rear strut from RRM
This pic actually had a different purpose but you can kinda see the space, I can fit my son's stroller or a cart FULL of groceries

Word on that. I have a single 12 box that fits premo in the back of my car with no problems fitting other stuff in there. Im actually kinda worried about when I get a rear strut bar though. My box is rather large for a sealed box.