fierce gs

after reading all the posts, seems like the velodyne df12sc is definately the best free air sub out there. but nobody sells them =(. then it seems like the jl ib4 comes in next..but its sooo cheap! around 120 bucks retail..and handles so little power. any other suggestions? im mainly going for SQ, but i want to keep it free air, even though sealed would be better in this case. what free air set up could i do if SQ was my main concern? anything just as good as the velodynes with the controller?

since the free air sub is facing straight into the car wouldnt it be better than a sealed box in a way? if i got a sealed box, its pounding more into the trunk and is harder for it to get to where the sound needs to be. if theres no solution for getting a free-air with great SQ, then i might resort to sealed..just hoping theres a way..

im also planning on making a nice housing and placing the amp where the spare is supposed to be, and plexiglass the top. the plexiglass will basically be my new floor mat. now, if its sealed off, would the amp get too hot? if so this is what i was planning on doing..to the right and left edges of the plexiglass there will be about 6 inches of mesh screen. and one of the mess screens will have a fan faced inside the chamber where the amp is, bringing in air from the rest of the trunk, and circulating the air, causing it to be colder..watcha think? of course all this will be constructed nicely, and will look real good, im imagining it right now -=)

as you see, i dont want to waste anyroom at all. and im defiantely going for the best..

im going to be starting this project january 5th, so hopefully all the plans will be layed out and the products will all be purchased by then.

thanks.

retrodrive

You can get a Velodyne subs. I have posted the link earlier. Call them to find out more info about the sub and the company that sells them.

Fans is always a good idea unless it brings some noise to your system. Personally I will mount my amps into the trunk side wall and also put a plexi with neons over it. That will save you the spare and won't take up any space at all. Otherwise, everything sounds very good!

Mean Gene

Fierce - Velodyne's easily the most accurate sub but don't be fooled by the JL's lower power handling specs. Also remember that those are 8 ohm woofers so it'll take a big amp to drive them. Might want to look at a Pioneer free-air sub like the TS-W254F - it's of a 4 ohm impedance so U can use the given amp specs w/o having to refigure for an 8 ohm load ( just halve the 4 ohm output for that ). That sub will handle 250 wrms ( 500 peak ) as well & they're fairly tight. I just hope I don't get back into trouble with Retro for recommending a Pioneer product!! J/K!! As far as cooling, that's a problem with which I'm all too familiar because of the hot Louisiana summers & the fact that my RF's R chromed. Either drill some holes in the plexi cover over your amp or use the fan U mentioned. At least it'll be circulating air, albeit hot trunk air but the convection effect should work. I've seen people tap into their rear HVAC ducting for competition cooling but that's probably overkill for your application. Go with your design & U should be fine!

fierce gs

so with the pioneer and jlib4..will i notice that much more of a sound quality difference if i go with sealed than with ib? its strange how there arent that many subs made for free air..seems like something thats becoming quite popluar recently..so as far as SQ, whats better, the jl or pioneer? (i want tight, clear bass)

someone told me to use a diamond sub..but they dont have any subs made for free air..and to use one thats meant for sealed or ported, it wouldnt be tight enough..what was he thinking?

anyone in the encino/los angeles area with a free air set up? would help if i could check it out =).

retro..are you talkin about calling them up and having them custom made (the velodynes). thats too expensive. but i saw a used one sell for 600 bucks a year ago with the controller..lets say i end up finding a used one..and the person abused it greatly..and i get it, and it blows..is everything repairable? like normally it would just need to be reconed? or are there chances that the costs of repair will just be tooo much to repair?

btw. percy, think youll have your book finished by jan 5th?

Mean Gene

Fierce - I've had both Pioneer & JL free-airs & I'd take the JL for SQ ( & probably SPL as well ). Biggest advantage of the Pioneer is the impedance ( requires a smaller amp ). If SQ is #1 for U & U won't mind giving up a little trunk room, a small sealed enclosure with a JLW3 or ID sub would do the trick. The sealed enclosure gives the woofer a fixed amount of airspace in which to work with while the free-air is exactly that - infinite baffle. They don't sound bad & certainly do have their place but tend to be made a little "loose" to allow for various airspace usage. The Diamond Mack Daddy subs R designed exclusively SPL & wouldn't meet your needs. I think Spykedawg's running a Focal sub free-air & although Focal doesn't recommend it, he says it rocks! I'll gotta go the other way in sub design - I've seen the industry move away from IB subs & design their newer subs to work in extra small boxes; so small as to even question the use of free airs. Consider hanging a small sealed box beneath the factory opening with a JL or ID sub.

fierce gs

build a small box, and hang it under the factory opening for the stock sub..shouldnt that be the best set up for SQ..since its firing straight into my car?

since im going for SQ, 1 sub wont be too loud..so im thinking of going with 2 SQ subs. that way itll be good quality and pretty loud. but then i cant fire it straight into my car thro the stock opening, unless i do lots of cutting..which im refraining from..and the box would also need to get bigger...

wow my head hurts. lol. someone buy me a velodyne for my bday and that should solve everything =).

retrodrive

Nope, I am talking about calling up the guys who sell it and find out whether they are authorised, try to do some price matching if possible, etc. I would definetely go with sealed box setup, however if you want to go infinite baffle, best bets are Velodyne, Focal, IDQ and even a JL sub (find out about W7 in infinite baffle applications).

Gene, we never were in trouble

fierce gs

retro, i tried lookin for that post in which u talked about getting the velodynes..couldnt find it..know of any places that sell them?

btw, thanks for the quick replies and the great help gene + retro.