A good subwoofer? Options

[SwissFerdi]

I've been wanting a sub ever since I got my speakers, it's just another upgrade.

My speakers:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500SPS17C2/Al...ssi=0&tp=95

Head unit:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130DEH2000/Pi...i=0&tp=5684

Now neither are fantastic, but they work excellently for my purposes. In that same trend, I'm not looking for the sub-of-all-subs, just something to fill in the lows. I listen to mostly trance and dance, with some hiphop and rock in between. Basically, I'm looking for a good budget setup, and happened upon this:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P1S412/Roc...ockford+Fosgate

Now my question to you fine folks is if this is at all a good sub. I know RF makes quality subs, but would this fit for my use and application? I don't want anything boomy, just crisp, clean, yet deep bass. And best of all...the sub is 2 for 1, which means I can sell the other to make some money back. I would be pairing the following amp to it, which I believe (this is where I need your expertise) will match just because it can do the required watts at 4 ohms.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_037A4002V/Aud...si=0&tp=115

Thanks guys. I'll also be calling Crutchfield tomorrow, so don't think I'm just ignorantly asking for your help.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Dec 1, 2009 - 10:36 PM

[richee3]

You know what? Just my personal opinion.. I've been through several sub setups, and it doesn't take much of a sound system in our cars. I'm currently running a 300 watt Dual amp turned all the way down and a JL Audio 10W0 ($100 FTW) and I absolutely love it. I've had a 1,500 watt amp and a Kicker L5 15" square sub, I've had a few 10" sub setups, and I've had an 800 watt 12" sub setup, and the 10's have been my favorite, hands down. My JL and amp now can be turned up far above what I have them at to make songs like "I'm On A Boat" more fun, but right now I've got it set up where you don't know there's even a sub there, you just know there's more bass than a factory system should be producing. It's docile with rock, kicks only as much as it needs to, but with a song with any bass, it comes alive.

Again, this is just personal preference, but a sub is kinda hard to tune to your system. At first, you get it and you love it, it's tons of fun and all. Then after a while, you notice that all it wants to do is kick, and it's not adding much to the bass line of a song. It takes a little while to get your amp dialed in perfectly so the sub is adding a good bass line without hitting too hard. But it's well worth it.

I will recommend a smaller setup for a Celica. The hatchback design acts like a megaphone and throws all the bass into the cab. A 10 or 12 is well suited for our cars. The sub and amp you linked us to would be just fine. A 12" will be fun for you at first, as it will hit fairly hard and be plenty of fun, yet you are able to turn it down later if you want to. One really big factor in any good sound system is just to match your amp and sub. You want them running about the same RMS. So the amp and sub you've picked are matched well to each other there, even though the amp puts out a lot more power if you bridge it. You won't be able to turn it all the way up without blowing your sub, but you'll be fine.

The box is just as crucial to a good setup as a good sub and amp are. I'm sure you know this already, but there are 2 different types of boxes, ported and sealed. A ported box will get you more volume at the risk of sacrificing tone, where a sealed box will get you more tone. Get a box with the appropriate amount of air for your sub to hit off of. A bigger box will get lower lows from your sub, but a box that is too big means you won't get a whole lot from your sub at all.

Sound systems are easy stuff to learn and plenty of fun. Just because I said earlier that I prefer a smaller sound system in a Celica doesn't mean you can't go all out. I just decided that I liked my hearing a lot more than I liked the bragging rights of having the loudest sound system in 3 counties. Keep me updated on what you get