BrunoStang

I just bought a new 2010 mustang gt and I love the speakers, but I want more bass. I was thinking about putting a box in the back or replacing the back woofers with stronger ones. But I don't know much about subs so I didn't know which route to follow.

I don't care about brands and money isn't really an issue, as long as its not a ridiculous price. So should I buy an amp and a box? Or replace the current speakers? Any input would help :P

icrazy2u

Well I have 2 12 inch subs and a 2,000 watt amp, and a ported box is what I have, which is good for a bigger boom. 2,000 watts is pretty loud. I want louder though, thats just me. My brother can here me entering the neighborhood everyday. If you just want a just a little more bass or not looking for ear popping bass you could get a 500-750 watt amp. For subs, go for 12. Not to big, not to small. 10 does have a little crisper sound, but not that big boom. I don't know if I can post a link of where I got it from, but just PM me if you want the kit I got everything in it. Even wires.

oldsch00lf00l

What exactly makes a 10" subwoofer have a crisper sound with no "boom" as you put it?

icrazy2u

It has boom, just not as big of one as a 12 or 15. One 15 would probably do good. It's hard to explain why smaller equals crisper. My friend has 2 10's, on some songs the bass hits hard, but songs ment for big bass it wouldn't hit as hard as my 12's or my other friends 2 15's. I have forgave, so does friend with 12. Other friend I think are kicker, don't remember.

BrunoStang

yeah bro, i'd appreciate that
i'll send you a pm later on today





and i think i read somewhere saying that i can't replace the amp because i would have to change the wiring and that would void the warranty. is that true?

icrazy2u

I'm not to sure. It may be you have to get them professionally installed.

Unsullied_Spy

It all depends on what you listen to. I mostly listen to Rock/Metal but also have a lot of Hip Hop and some Rap. I've got a Boston Accoustics G30 10" (on sale for half off at Crutchfield) powered by a Rockford Fosgate P300-1 (only 300 watts) in a stuffed and ported box and it's plenty of sub. With it maxed out I can overpower my speakers, but not so badly that I can't still hear some music, it vibrates my rear view mirror so bad I can't see anything out of it, and it responds very well to my varried taste. Metallica, Seether, etc. all sound tight and crisp while Tech N9ne and Young Jeezy make my hair tingle and my throat feel weird. It's not the highest wattage system ever, I'm more for quality than quantity and my stock alternator handles it very well after doing the Big 3.

Make sure you check the wattage rating on your subs before choosing an amp. You can make a sub "Bottom Out" with too much power, which is where the cone flexes all the way out and damages the sub. People generally advise running 20% higher wattage at the amp than what the sub is rated to handle so you have some headroom at the amp (keeps temps down and they run a little more reliably). I've seen 12" subs that can only handle 200 watts RMS and some that can handle over 1,000 so check before you buy. If you're unsure just how much wattage is enough for you, go to a local car audio shop and they should have some floor models to give you an idea. When I first started into car audio I was totally lost but did a ton of research before I bought anything and my system turned out sounding amazing and for a great price.

BrunoStang

**** "professionally installed" usually means 5x the price and a ****tier setup.
I usually listen to techno/rap and I completely understand what you mean. Thanks for the advice

Unsullied_Spy

"Individual experience may vary" would be a good way to describe "Professional Installation" on anything. I have seen what some installers do to factory wiring and some of the aweful things they can do to your car which scared me off of paying someone a ton of money to do it for me. As ****-retentive as I am about my stuff, that was the only way for me. It's quite easy once you get into it, the hardest part for me is pulling apart the interior and making sure not to damage anything in the process.

Anytime. To me, Techno bass needs to be fairly boomy yet refined enough that you can hear the actual music. A good 12 should be fine for that. Most Rap needs a ported 12 to sound the best, my 10 does very well but the larger diameters respond to lower frequencies better. If you listen to a lot of Tech N9ne and stuff like that you need a 15 to pick up some of the really low stuff. I think a ported 12" sub would probably be a good choice for you, but get something fairly good. IMO a Kicker sub would sound bad for your Techno, they're pretty loose and mostly for boomy rap. I really like my Boston, and you can't go wrong with Infinity. Alpine subs are built like a brick sh*thouse but would probably be a bit tight for rap. I'd put together a test CD of all the various music you listen to and take it to a local car stereo shop and see what their display model subs sound like and get some input from them.

oldsch00lf00l

It was a baited question. Perceived loudness at a particular frequency and subwoofer size are often over-generalized topics. In the end, what really matters is choosing the correct subwoofer for the task and implementing it properly. A 8" or 10" subwoofer that is properly implemented can easily outperform a 12" or 15" subwoofer that is not.

To sum it up, one should look for the correct subwoofer, installed in the correct enclosure, while taking the vehicle's cabin gain characteristics into consideration. Unfortunately, with the advent of pre-fabricated enclosures combined with the fact that most custom shops just want to make a sale, the proper equipment selection and implementation criteria tends to go out the window. Furthermore, the smaller "custom shops" rarely do anything custom these days.