home and car subs...the same?

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G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
I am looking to replace the 10 inch sub in a HT enclosure I have and I was wondering if I could use a car sub and get good results. I may eventually replace the amp as well. If this is possible, what subs would you suggest? Thanks
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Will it work? Yes. Will it work well? Hard to say. Car sub drivers are generally not designed for the same environment as home sub drivers, as cars are a much smaller air volume to fill. Many car subs are also 4 Ohm, so if the amp you have now isn't 4 Ohm stable it may not work well.
 
G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
the amp actually is 4 ohm. I saw some subs in the parts express catalog in dayton audio that were listed as home or auto. what are your suggestions on other brands that I will get a good response with?
 
annunaki

annunaki

Moderator
Unfortunately, the route you have chosen, you will be forced to find a woofer that works well within your current enclosure. It is much more difficult to find a driver that works in a certain box vs. building or finding the proper box for a given woofer.

What are your current enclosure's internal dimensions, as well as the port's dimensions (diameter and length)? By these, we can figure the size of your enclosure and it's tuning frequency. Then we can try to find a suitable driver for the cabinet.

Home woofers and car woofers are realitively similar. However, the big differences are usually in volume (air space) requirements. Since a subwoofer for the car usually relies heavily on the vehicle's transfer function, the recommended enclosure volumes are usually too small to give good performance in the home. If using a car sub in the house, be prepared to use a slightly bigger enclosure than you used in the car.

Car subs also tend to have high power handling (which usually translates into low sensitivity). Finding big amplifiers to drive them can sometimes be costly.

I hope that helps you out a little so as to begin your quest.

The dayton drivers are quite good from what I have heard. Also check out http://www.adireaudio.com they have some nice options as well.
 
Francious70

Francious70

Senior Audioholic
Good luck on getting an Adire driver right now. But a car sub and home sub are the same. You just gotta make sure the enclosure volume and amp match up.
 
annunaki

annunaki

Moderator
Home and car subs that look the same can indeed have very different T/S (Thiele Small) Parameters altering the reponse of each greatly. And, of course, can alter the enclosure volumes.
 
Francious70

Francious70

Senior Audioholic
I know that. BUt nothing in the T/S paramaters says if the sub is supposed to be used in a car of living room.
 
G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
annunaki said:
What are your current enclosure's internal dimensions, as well as the port's dimensions (diameter and length)? By these, we can figure the size of your enclosure and it's tuning frequency. Then we can try to find a suitable driver for the cabinet.

This info has been very helpful. When you speak of "port" what do you mean? And after I take all these measurements, how do I decide on a sub? Is this a bad idea, or should I just start from scratch?, money being an issue there. My ultimate goal is to revamp this enclosure and purchase one to work along with it because of the room size 19.5 x 21 ft. So do I buy a sub and expect to get a very similar one (brand, size, power, etc.) to compliment it? I know this is alot of questions, but I know alot of you are experts and I don't want to make any mistakes. Thanks
Click to expand...
 
annunaki

annunaki

Moderator
Francious70 said:
I know that. BUt nothing in the T/S paramaters says if the sub is supposed to be used in a car of living room.
Click to expand...
Quite true. That is not what I was implying.:)
 
annunaki

annunaki

Moderator
Gbiz said:
This info has been very helpful. When you speak of "port" what do you mean? And after I take all these measurements, how do I decide on a sub? Is this a bad idea, or should I just start from scratch?, money being an issue there. My ultimate goal is to revamp this enclosure and purchase one to work along with it because of the room size 19.5 x 21 ft. So do I buy a sub and expect to get a very similar one (brand, size, power, etc.) to compliment it? I know this is alot of questions, but I know alot of you are experts and I don't want to make any mistakes. Thanks
Click to expand...

By port, I am referring to a tube that runs into the enclosure.
http://www.audiovideo101.com/dictionary/bass-reflex.asp
It would appear to be a hole in the enclosure. Perhaps your sub is not ported? If you post the specifications, I can figure it out for you.

What is your goal, or what exactly are you after? Are you wanting to have two subs? What is your budget for each sub if two is what you are after?
 
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G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
Here are the measurements. Port is 4 5/8 in deep. L 12 3/8 in, W 12 3/8 in, H 11 7/8 in. It is Hitachi and has a 150w amp. I would like to run 2 subs eventually and hopefully keep it under $500. I was looking at the Dayton Quatro, will that work? Tell me all that you can, and thanks for your time.
 
G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
I forgot to mention it is down fireing and the port faces down.
 
Buckeyefan 1

Buckeyefan 1

Audioholic Ninja
That's an extremely small box for such a large room. I don't know if you'll ever get the HT bass trying to retrofit a Hitachi sub box. If you must use that box, you may be better off with a very powerful amp, a high end 10" sub (I'm assuming that's not a 12"), and a passive radiator instead of a port. It may be impossible to get that to work with what you have. You can call Parts Express at 800-338-0531, and they'll tell you if it's worth it to retrofit your box, or simply go with two entry level Daytons like this:

http://www.partexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-634

There's a reason SVS and HSU subs are as large as they are. HT bass. Small enclosures are great for auto or music, but if you want that "depth charge" HT bass, it's going to be tough in a 12x12x11 inch box.
 
G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
Are these good subs?, they seem kind of inexpesive. Is it better to get 2 of these, get a better single sub, or update mine and spend more on one to compliment it?
 
Francious70

Francious70

Senior Audioholic
How good are you with woodworking?? If you feel confident enough to build your own box, this is a good combo.

http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=10509227&refLoc=searchone

Code: 
http://www.parts express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-752
*Note, you can't click the above link, you'll have to copy, paste and take out the space.

The sub may be ugly, but trust me, it sounds wonderful for everything below 70Hz.
 
G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
Where would I get an amp for this 900w beast, how is the sensetivity?
 
G

Gbiz

Audioholic Intern
This might be an idea. What type of box should I make and how big?
 
annunaki

annunaki

Moderator
Gbiz said:
Here are the measurements. Port is 4 5/8 in deep. L 12 3/8 in, W 12 3/8 in, H 11 7/8 in. It is Hitachi and has a 150w amp. I would like to run 2 subs eventually and hopefully keep it under $500. I was looking at the Dayton Quatro, will that work? Tell me all that you can, and thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

What is the diameter of the port? 3", 2-1/2"?

From the dimensions you have given, that enclosure is useless. At least with any normal sub. It would be tuned to around 46hz (with a 2-1/2" diameter port), or 54hz (w/3" diameter port). Frankly, I do not know how it could be called a sub. it would be more of a glorified mid-bass.

You need to look for a new enclosure and sub. My recommendation would be to get a nice sub for $500. Save up another $500 and then get another sub. That way you will have very high quality bass, exactly the way you want it with no comprimises. If you are handy, there are some great, easy to assemble DIY enclosures w/subs at www.madisound.com and parts express.

http://www.madisound.com/sonicraft_sub_kit.html
http://www.parts express .com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-762
http://www.parts express .com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-760

Copy and paste, and take out the spaces for the parts express links.
 
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