Fiberglassing...

If your using the JL as a sub amp then get the 250/1 its as much if not more power plus more effiecient.
 
hmm...ok...now what about the speakers inside. They sound fine to me and I think that they're excelon pieces. right now RMS from the HU is ~20/channel. If I go with the bigger sub and more powerful amp, will I need to up the amplification on the door speakers? If so...would this cover it? Or should I steer clear (insert other suggestions)?

Also...is there any way to get that 250/1 w/o being *****? I would assume that it's quite superior to the avionixx amp (and looks sooooo much better...but I guess sound is the point here!).

1 other thing. How are those subs compared to each other? Are there any others that I should look at for my price range? I want to go to tweeter to listen to the eclipse but the eD I can't hear if I choose that one.

As always...your replies are appreciated!
 
The eD subs have gotten nothing but good reviews from everything I have read. Overall, people seem to be quite impressed with them, and I'm guessing you'd be pretty happy. I haven't heard them myself, so all I can do is report what I read.

The same is true of the Avonixx amps. Being that they are basically made to run the eD subs, they are a good match. Again, prices seem reasonable.

As for your interior speakers - more power is always better. You'll be amazed how well even cheaper speakers can perform when fed a healthy dose of wattage. Personally, I like a balanced sound, not overpowering bass. Unless you amp your interior speakers also, you might run into the "basshead" syndrome.....

That said, I run Lanzar Vibe amps, and they are amazingly powerful, and amazingly cheap. My speakers are Infinity Reference components, and they put out some serious volume with my cheapo amp - I'm 100% satisfied, and the amp only cost me $130 shipped, BRAND NEW - that's unbelieveable.

I run a Vibe 428, which is 125 watts x 4 - the other 2 channels are run to Peerless drivers in the rear doors. I also use a Vibe 248, 600 watts x 1 bridged to a pair of Infinity Kappa 10" subs. This amp was also $130 shipped.

That's $260 for 1100 watts of juice (or at least pretty close to that), and a steal of a deal. Even if the amps are a little overrated and don't put out quite the power they say they do, for that price; I can deal with it.

I've been recommending these budget amps to people ever since I installed mine, and the few who have tried them have also been very impressed with the value. These are not crappy amps - they are American made units at a bargain-basement price.

I got mine from www.ikesound.com.

~HH
 
Hmmm...I looked at the lanzars. I'm just not sure about the look...I figure if I'm gonna go through all the trouble to build a system, it may as well look pretty too. Hence the audiobahn that I suggested for the internal components...looks nice, but I've heard some good and bad about those guys. I found the eclipse EA 3422 at an online audio shop for the insane price of 125$ Perhaps that would be a best of both worlds situation? I don't know seeing as I'm still learning about brands and all. How is eclipse for amps, subs, etc?
 
IMO very very good
My friend has an Eclipse in his trunk, and it hits as hard as his Phoenix Gold Titanium used too.
 
The Eclipse amps have absolutely great SQ. I have always been impressed with them.
 
Eclipse products are excellent. From their head units down to their amps: very good high-end sh;t. Many people dont realize but Eclipse is American designed and manufactured.
 
DAMMIT!! WHY must I have bills!!! Found these online as "web specials" for a store (that actually exists offline apparently) in OK.

Eclipse PA4212 and EA3422

The PA4212 would be running the eD sub - 150$ !!!!
The EA3422 would run the doors - 125$!!!!!

Total of 275$ for those (+ shipping) what do you guys think? Should I act now...well in a couple of weeks anywho (so that my credit card bill doesn't explode this month)?
 
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I realize that...shmuck! :D

What I meant was if I was to happen to say...go up to NH and happened to know someone who happened to work at tweeter (which carries the JL 250/1 amp at 399.99$) would the discount be worth the gas? Catchin' me? PM me, Craig so I can stop postwhoring this thread for a bit.
 
hihoslva said:
Of course a fiberglass enclosure can be ported.

But you don't just "stick a port in it".

Ported enclsoures need to be carefully designed and built in order to sound good. Without proper airspace/port/tuning, it'll sound like poo.

Doing this in a fiberglass enclosure can be a difficult task, as you can't measure and determine airspace beforehand like you can when building an MDF, straight sided box.

~HH

ok, i got a better question, can u make a fiberglass bandpath sub box? say we got the volume the way we needed, how would we know where to put the port? or is this one of those things best left to pros?
 
Midnightracer - you can do basically anything. With enough planning, patience, and time, you could build almost anything you want out of fiberglass.

That's not to say it's simple. Or practical.

One of the best ways I know of to accomplish something like this is to build the box first out of standard MDF. Then once its position in the car is determined, trim panels can be fabricated to make the box LOOK like all fiberglass molded to the contours of the car, when in reality it is just the trim panels.

~HH
 
Port location isn't all that importnat althought the subs manuafacturer will have some reccomendations. THings like not withint 3 inches of the sub or keeping it on the subs baffle, ect.
 
k, thanx all, i will probably attempt this feat int he near to mid future ;) schools startin back up so my plans r bein delayed
 
Before you go and build your dream 'bandpass-fiberglass' box...try building a sealed one first.

Two reasons for this...
1) Bandpass boxes are hard to get to sound good in general. They require the use of theile-small specifications for which ever sub you plan to use and if the chambers and the port are not exact, it won't sound right at all.
2) Add fiberglass to the mix and you are destined to f*ck up. First of all, it is almost impossible to predict the exact volume of a completed fiberglass enclosure. Second, I don't know how you plan to make two chambers out of fiberglass...I would asume you'd make an open front box and fiberglass around it or something but I just can't picture it. Finally, fiberglass requires alot of time and effort, which you will learn is not worth while unless you're getting paid to do it, or using fiberglass was a last resort (to save space for example...something you won't accomplish with a bandpass box).

The fact that you are worried about where to place the port means you have alot to learn...study the art of speaker enclosure design with wood and MDF before you move on to fiberglass. Its much easier to calculate volumes and deminsions, and if you mess up, you don't have sticky resin all over your new carpet.

Most installs can get by with a standard MDF box. Often fiberglass trim panels are all that is needed to spice up an install as hihoslva mentioned. Using fiberglass for the sake of fiberglass is a big waste of time and you will not get the results you expect.
 
All good points, chuya-man! Since I'm putting this enclosure where the current one is, and wood just ain't gonna cut it. Besides that...I'm going to make it as easy on myself as possible.

First...I'm definitely going sealed. The sub I'm using will work great in it and keep the size down. A good deal of the shaping will be done w/ foam (probably pink modeling foam that I'm used to working with) and then a fiberglass shell will be layed over it to get it just how I want. I'll also break it up into as many little steps as possible, so nothing gets royally screwed. In the end, I want to have it painted, so believe me I'm serious about doing it right. It'll take a while...but it'll be worth it. A mid-late 2004 NE meet is the projected completion date.

Thanks for the all the help guys...hopefully this will get off the ground before the end of the year. I'll definitely keep you updated if you want. :D
 
I'm 90% done with my g/f's 2000 corolla install. All that is left is mounting, aligning, then fiberglassing the kickpanels. (I have the pods cut already and the trunk is finally complete)

Once that is done its on to my P5. I'm going to try to use the left rear cavity for a 8" or 10" sub (similar to the Q-Form/JL Stealth boxes that are sold for specific cars). My amps will fit under the seats but I may go all out and build a rack for them on the opposite side.

Unfortunatly I don't have much time other than weekends to do this stuff but hopefully it will be finished by early 2004 as well!

Still window shopping for the sub...should be able to handle up to 500watts at 2ohms (meaning it should be a DVC 4 or SVC 2). I'm open to suggestions...
 
I'm going with elemental designs for my setup. Supposedly they work really well in small enclosures (.3-.6 CF for the 10") and can handle good power (600 RMS for that 10" I believe!) They can be had for good prices as well...and don't have logos screen'd on the driver either. Really clean looking, and everybody says they sound great.
 

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