enclosure/sub woofer question

Discussion in 'Subwoofer Box and Custom Fabrication' started by Fi fan, Mar 12, 2011.

  1. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    So i have an opportunity to buy 2 FI BTLs with triple stack magnets for $300 each. I have a limited amount of space in my car but i would love to have them in my car. I was wondering what the negative effect would be if I put them in either separate chambers with about 4.5 cubes of air space each or a common chamber with about 8 cubes of airspace total. either way i would put them on about 4K and they would be tuned to about 28-30 hz. Fi recommends they have 5 cubes of airspace but i don't have that much space.
    Thanks for the help,
    Jason
     
  2. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    you always have the option to run one sub. or run smaller subs.
     
  3. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    Ya i have thought about that but im just wondering if putting them in a box that is slightly too small will have any adverse effects. the guy im gonna buy them from will only sell them as a pair and i dont want to have one of them not being used.
    thanks.
    i forgot to mention that there 18s.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2011
  4. soulfly

    soulfly Full Member

    use separate chambers. you will lose some deeper end loudness. impossible to say how much, you could use a box program like Box Pro 6 to see how it will effect the output but i still think 2 will still be louder overall than just one in proper box. my 2 cents anyway
     
  5. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    Ok thanks for the input, one more question though. Will this harm the woofers?
     
  6. steve

    steve Full Member

    I would use separate chambers in your situation. an advantage is that if one sub goes out for whatever reason you would not risk damaging the other.As far as losing the lower end, you really dont need to worry much about that. you're cars cabin gain will compensate.
    I've said before that i never use the factory box suggestions because they are normally
    for a close to flat response, also i suggest tuning the box a little higher.
     
  7. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    ok thanks that sounds like it will work
     
  8. Ranger SVO

    Ranger SVO Full Member

    I would not use seperate chambers. One large chamber will perform much better than two smaller ones. Also if a woofer fails it will not harm the other woofer.

    I agree.
     
  9. connerray2010

    connerray2010 Full Member

    tune low!! youl love it. atleast i do any way
     
  10. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    ok thanks guys i appreciate all of your input ill probably do 2 in one box then and im not sure about the tuning yet, im thinking low cause im not competing and i like hitting the lows so...
    thanks again
     
  11. Ranger SVO

    Ranger SVO Full Member

    OK this "tune it low" thing is getting old. NOT TRUE, tuning low to make it hit low is WRONG

    Below is a plot of a Polk EX woofer in a 2.25 cu ft box.

    The Green plot is the Polk tuned to 40Hz and the Red plot is tuned to 30Hz. Lets see whats going on

    [​IMG]

    The 40Hz tuning gives us an f3 (how low it can go) 36.5Hz (we ignore anything below the -3dB point, its the beginning of rolloff)
    The 30Hz tuning gives us an f3 (beginning of rolloff) 34.6 Hz

    WOW, a 10Hz difference in tuning gave us a wooping 1.9 Hz lower. Big deal

    Now lets look at relative gain. Which is louder?
    The Green Plot (40Hz tuning) is above 0dB from around 40Hz to over 100Hz.
    The Red Plot (30Hz tuning) drops below the 0dB line around 60Hz. The 40Hz tuning is a lot louder and at the lower frequencies. In fact, its louder from around 45Hz to over 100Hz.

    Yes its true, the 30Hz tuning will play lower, 1.9Hz lower. And this is true of most woofers. Tuning lower (tuning too low) typically hurts performance. Wanna hit low, build your box bigger.
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2011
  12. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    Ok thank you for that information i have never read or been told that before, thank you for sharing that. so the tuning of the box really doesn't have as large as an effect as some claim it does. am i understanding that right?
     
  13. Ranger SVO

    Ranger SVO Full Member

    Tuning has a greater effect on gain (how loud it is) than it has on how low it goes. Now don't get carried away. For most sound systems we want to tune between 35 and 45Hz, and for me 40Hz is a starting point. Then I use software to fine tune.

    TUNING is effected by both box size and Port Tuning, with box size having a greater effect one how low it hits. Then tuning effects how loud it gets.

    Programs like WINISD can be a big help when building a box.

    Also not all woofers perform exactly the same, so looking at how it performs using software will really help.
     
  14. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    Ok thanks for the info ill keep that im mind when im designing my box
     
  15. Ranger SVO

    Ranger SVO Full Member

    Lets look at how size effects tuning. Both boxes are tuned to 42Hz and I'm using the same woofer as with the previous plots

    The Red Plot is a 1.5 cu ft box tuned to 42Hz

    The Yellow Plot is a 3.0 cu ft box tuned to 42 Hz

    [​IMG]

    Now lets compare the the two.

    The smaller box has an f3 of 41.06Hz.
    The larger box has an f3 of 36.16Hz. So now we are getting lower and we are much louder from 40 to 55Hz.

    Now lets compare to my previous graph. Go back and look at the same woofer, in a 2.25 cu ft box, tuned to 40Hz. Its f3 was 36.5

    In a 3.0 cu ft box, tuned to 42, its f3 is LOWER. So the box is .75cu ft bigger, tuned 2 Hz higher and its louder and lower.

    Think about it
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2011
  16. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    ok thanks i definitely will. I was just wondering if the software that you use to test the box config. was free or if there was a way to get simular software for free.
    Thanks
     
  17. Ranger SVO

    Ranger SVO Full Member

    WINISD is a good program. I use it alot. BassBox is a mild pain to use, WINISD is easier and the results are quite good.
     
  18. Fi fan

    Fi fan Full Member

    ok thanks i really appreciate all the help.
     
  19. steve

    steve Full Member

    One large chamber will not preform better, that is a myth.As far
    as the other woofer not being harmed is wrong, simply put,if 1 fails
    you will have 1 sub running in a box 2x the size , the port tuning
    becomes way off,the blown sub now acts as a passive radiator...ect. what
    you (may) have is sub failure, due to mechanical and/or thermal runaway.
    if you're lucky it will not happen before you turn the volume down
    due to hearing how horrible it sounds.I am not saying you will blow the
    other sub, but there is a chance.

    Let me try to explain.if you run multiple woofers in the same encloser
    at high power and one goes out there will be a shift in Performance,
    however not to the extreme as i descibed.I based that on the fact you're
    only using 2 subs in a fairly large box at high power.I try to keep my answers
    simple so what i am saying is if you used say 6 subs in the same incloser
    the effects would not be as severe as using 2(in the event of a sub failure)

    Now... tuning low. Well tuning low means you sacrifice spl,now in a vehical
    tuning very low is not necessary because of cabin gain(the resonance freq of
    the car).you also have to consider the type of bass you want for the music
    you listen to.
     
  20. steve

    steve Full Member

    Yea, i agree and the vent length on both programs are wrong