hellasboy

What would you guys reccomend to replace the stock subwoofer in my '95 SC400 (nakamichi system). I'm looking to increase the bass response and keep (or maximize) the SQ in comparison to how the current subwoofer sounds. I'm not looking to hook up a new subwoofer to a new amp, just something to replace the current sub in the current enclosure with the stock amp (most of my money is going into performance and aesthetic mods ).

I've been looking at the nakamichi SP-W100. here are the stats from the nakamichi home page.

Speaker Size 10" subwoofer
Impedance 4 ohms
Sensitivity (@ 1 watt/1 meter) 89dB
Power Handling 150 watts RMS, 300 watts peak
Frequency Range 30Hz-300Hz
Mounting Depth(approx.) 4"
Recommended Box Volume 0.5 cu. ft.

I'm kind of worried that the sub might not sound right since it needs 150 watts RMS and the stock amp supplies only 75 watts RMS. Do you experts suggest any other subwoofer?

captclam

I may irritate some people on this but I have a 10" MTX gold that is tight and very responsive. I tested it with the factory amp, and while grossly underpowered it is still a 187.34% improvement over the paper plate that came with it.

You can pick one up off Ebay for $50. Don't pay more than $10 for shipping.

Kirk

P.S. I am trying to figure out how to put an amp between the factory amp and the sub, but am too stupid to know how to hook it up without sending amped input into the second amp... as the system does not provide preamp outs for the sub channel...

Nobody has answered my post on that...

RodF

I put in a small separate amp that accepted a speaker level input, and a JL Audio sub. The amp supported a volume switch, which was installed in my center console. This is a must because some CD's need a lot more sub, and some shake the car and need to be turned down.

Mean Gene

Clam - Just splice into the sub speaker wire outs with a good line level convertor ( Stinger or Audio Control make good ones ). This will convert the speaker out into RCA's or there are several good amps on the market ( a few by MTX ) that will accept speaker outputs.

Ear Candy

Two common solutions are,
1) like gene said, but remember to get an adjustable LLC, because you will be on the sub out, which is a little more powerful and subject to greater distortion. This way you will be able to better filter and source impedance match your amp.
2) use the sub of your choice, but do not drive it hard, the harder you push the sub the more power it will want. This will eventually fry your amp, but a 150 rms is close enough value to the amp, so it should be okay. Although there will be a shortened longevity of the amp.

spykedawg

where you thinking of putting it in the stock sub location? if so you'll have to go with a free air/ib sub. im not sure what ohm load the factory amp puts out but jl's ib line consist of 8 ohm subs. if you want some pretty darn good sq from that stock location, look into the oz 250h. not sure about that power, but as said before, watch out for distortion

hellasboy

I checked out the MTX gold, but I can't find any info on it. The MTXs that I did find had a rather high RMS watt need.

I went to car toys, they reccomended the JL W0 (maybe W1 depending what mounting depth I need). I know that the JL W0 is a great sub for it's price, but how does it's SQ compare to the Nakamichi and OZ?

It has to be a free air sub. Does anyone know if the Nak, JL or OZ are free air?

hellasboy

a few more questions

What ohm does is the stock subwoofer at?
What frequency range should I look for?

thanks!

spykedawg

the oz H series are free air subs, some darn nice ones at that. if your car's stock sub is 10" then you would want the oz 250 h, if it is an 8" sub, then you would want the oz 200 H.

the jl i've heard is also nice, but having toyed with multiple subs, the oz 250h sounds like its enclosed (with its low end extension). i mean it was no ported 12, but for the limitations, it sounded very responsive and as deep as you could expect a free air sub to go.

i know that the nak sp series woofers are not free air, but require small sealed boxes (haven't heard them personally either).

another woofer to consider is the kicker free air.

when looking for a woofer's frequency range, you must first acknowledge that the human ear can only theoretically hear from 20hz-20khz. a lot of the time, a company may advertise that their sub plays a certain frequency, but can only nominally do so. a more important aspect to look at is the sub's 'fs', or free air resonant frequency. this will give you a ball park figure of how deep it can go. normally, lower is better (unless you are looking for spl subs).

sorry to ramble, but if you want free air, look at jl's ib series (http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/10ib4.html), the oz H series (http://www.ozaudio.com/oz/oz_prod_speak2.shtml), and the kicker free air (http://www.kicker.com/kcsc/mainx.sho...enu=SUBWOOFERS)

sorry, i dont know what ohm load your stock sub is. hope this helps

Mean Gene

Hella - Just go about halfway down this page to Corey's post about "Blowing his subs" to see just how good the W0's aren't!! And I've been a JL fan for years. If U need a free-air sub, I'd say the power with which U plan to drive it comes into play. The factory 10" Pioneer sub was a 2 ohm ( I think ) so a little power went a long way in helping the wimpy thing out!! If ya have a little power to play with ( 200-300 wrms ), then the JL infinite baffle series will give ya better SQ than the Kicker which seem to yield more SPL. The Kicker needs more power ( inefficient but at least offered in both 4 and 8 ohm impedances ) while the JL is, as spyke said, only available as an 8 ohm. If U already have a small amp picked out or installed, might want to give the Pioneer TS-F series a listen as they come only as 4 ohm models so your limited power will go farther ( rule of thumb is the power doubles when the impedance is halved ). I've never heard the Oz free-air subs but their competition woofers hit hard - I'd consider them more of an SPL woofer than SQ. Lots of options here but I think the over-riding thread is that adding an amp in the above mentioned power range would open up things.