bigphill911

Hey guys I'm getting ready to get a sound system and my friend thinks he can fit 3 12" subs in my car and I'm really just thinking it has bad news all over it. Has anyone installed 3 12" before or not? Let me know because I'm thinking I should probably just do 1 15" or 2 good 12" let me know your opinion thanks!

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

I'm sure it's POSSIBLE but goodbye trunk! in order to give them enough air and power, you'll use up a TON of trunk space. why not just go with 2? More is not always better...

shinka213

i think 3 12s is overkill...especially in our car.....that would be a lot of extra weight in the trunk...you wouldnt have any room..and the sound would be ..........not sure how to describe that one!

depending on what kind of sound youre looking for...i would say, no more than 2 12s...
presently i have 2 10s (kenwoods) which is plenty for me...way plenty since i got my new HU..

bigphill911

I'll be honest with ya I'm 18 and never use my trunk and about the only music I listen to is rap. HAHA. You guys think its a bad idea? I am thinking about just going with 2 nicer 12's or just 1 15. The subs I am looking at are made by Fusion Audio and its the NV line. That would be if I went with 2 12's or 1 15. If I go with 3 12's I will have to choose something cheaper haha. Is soundstream audio any good? I was looking at the t5 line in that...

Razz1

2 will be fine.

bigphill911

ok so I think I'm just gonna narrow out 3 12's then... should I do 2 12's or 1 15 that is the question.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

here's what you need:

Gish

The two 12"s will probably be better, but I have no idea really. It would look cooler, if that is any help...

Razz1

Looks like a clean setup to me.

bigphill911

jedi ur setup is bad *** and looks clean as hell but I need something a little louder... my friend has 2 12w6 v2 and I need to be louder haha!

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

those are 10w6 v2. Trust me man, I listen to rap all the time and it's LOUD!.
ask anyone whose ever seen my car...

bigphill911

I know what they sound like jedi and they are indeed loud but Im going for crazy loud haha my friend has to of the 12" versions of your subs if that tells you the sort of loud I'm looking for HAHA I only wish I could make it as clean of a installation as you got yourself there.

llzjayarzll

well if you want stupid loud get mine. the way i listen to my music im pretty much going deaf in a few years. i close my windows and crank it up to the point my hair starts moving. and thats not even the max!

2 12" are good enough. it depends on your power output of the subs, the box, the space, the wire setup, and the amp pushing it.

my 1800 RMS are pretty much overdoing it but im using a lower powered amp than i should be using. if you want to go deaf and have ur hair all over the place ur gonna look at spending around 400or 500+ for a strong mono amp. the subs werent cheap at all either.

bigphill911

Yah I know thats about the price range I'm looking at llzjayarzll. Do you like the subs you have? You think your 2 12's are louder then the 1 15 T5? I was looking at getting 2 of those 12's. How much did you pay for them? I'm debating between 2 of those or 2 fusion nv-12's. The fusions are 2000watt rms a piece.

Solidtrance

iTrader: (2)

I don't know how loud your friends 2 12W6's are (or what type of car for that matter). If he has a hatchback, you will be hard pressed to beat him without spending some serious $$$. I have a single 12W6 in my P5, ported, pushed by a JL 250/1 and I can tell you that it would cost a ton to get more bass in this car. Even though that sub is sort of underpowered (can handle 500W easily) it will "move your hair". In order to do that in this car (pushing through the back seats) you would need a ton of power, 1000/1 comes to mind (and a lot of dynomat). If you put 2 12W6's on a JL 1000/1 in the trunk you would be in the neighborhood. Lots of $$$ though. I can just imagine the "rattle hunt" thread you would start after doing that. I think you would add at least 150lbs to the trunk?????

I would go for something like what Jedi has. Looks sweet, and with 2 10W6's and a good amp I would imagine it will provide all the bass you would ever need. This car just doesn't set up well for an SPL system (waste of time IMO). Go for SQ instead. That will be much more rewarding in the long run anyway.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

sound quality > crazy loud.

Solidtrance

iTrader: (2)

+1. Much harder to do, much more rewarding.

Socket7

+2

Nothing is more pathetic then those cars with giant subs in them that sound like utter crap. The best give away is the clearly distorted bass and the rattling of the trunk against the frame of the car. With the system I had in my old honda (4x 6.5's and a 10" ported rockford fosgate punch) I always liked to pull up next to cars like that and crank it to ear splitting volumes. Yeah, the idiots can make louder fart noises, but you could clearly hear my music, and it sounded good!

llzjayarzll

yea id have to agree, try to focus on the sound quality as its more important!

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

A large reason to why the subwoofer "trio" is not a popular choice is impedance. Most sub amps are stable to say 1 or 2 ohms. They output max power at that impedance and tend to overheat and kick into protection below that impedance. With two subwoofers, (dual or single voice coil) it is extremely simple to match your subwoofer impedance load to your amp. With three subwoofers, (dual or single voice coil) it becomes a little more difficult. You get these odd ball final impedance loads, such as 2.67 ohms and 1.33 ohms nominal. So you can never really totally push your 2 ohm rated amp to its full potential with a 2.67 ohm load, for example. Vice using that 3rd sub and running a 2.67 ohm load, you could just run the pair of subs at a 2 ohm load. Less cone area, but a touch more power. Add in the fact you'll be saving money from buying only two subs and your box size will thereby greatly decrease.... and that's enough for most people to stick with subwoofer pairs.

EDIT: And for the record, I've been there done that on loud bass. It becomes exponentially more difficult to get louder and louder. Two properly installed 12"s should be PLENTY for anyone into rap. To get a significant amount louder than that, you're looking at four 12"s, more amps, and thereby serious electrical system upgrades. I don't know the level of your friend's abilities, but if he can build you a solid vented enclosure for two 12"s, you're gonna ROCK your block. The proper sized box for two vented 12"s and an amp rack should eat up every inch of that trunk.

Revvittupp

I gotta say the worst is when peopel have multiple subs and stock speakers. You sit in there care and can't hear the music, jsut the bass. Almost as bad are headunit powered upgraded speakers.
I will never again build a multi sub system without a 100x4 amp, at least one set of components and at least one set of 6.5" or larger speakers. It jsut would not make sense to me.
I had two 12" Punch HE2 DVC's powered by an Old Skool Orion HCCA 225 at 1 ohm, with 4.6" comps up front and 5 1/4" rear door coax's(Infiniti Kappa's) pushed by 400a4... In a GMC Jimmy... I had to run like -16dbs and NO Gain on my xover for the subs... I had no midrange, I just couldn't make it sound good. So I had to buckle down, buy a pair of Punch 8's and another amp for the highs... then it was just ridiculous, and rattled the truck to pieces.

In an 8 with the bose... might as well just add a moderate sub option. Too much work getting around the bose for amplification. NO Bose, I'd probably go with a sub setup like Jedi's and add a 4 channel and 2 pairs of 6 1/2" comps.


To not add another post....

If I remember correctly Eclipse used to make dual 3 ohm coil subs to use in 3 sub setups... and not to go back on topic further, 3 12's are far too much for this car, don't bother. Go SQL over SPL in an 8, and stay light...

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

JL W6v1's were dual 6 ohm. Designed for the trio. Anything like this is very uncommon now-a-days.

bigphill911

I decided to just go with 2 12's do to the fact that I'm not gonna be able to fit a 15 very well probably and 3 12's is to much money. I am looking at getting 2 SPL splw-12, 2 Fusion NV-SW12, or maybe if we can fit it 1 15" Fusion NV-SW15. Let me know what you think I should go with...

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Two Alpine Type-Rs and call it a day. Easy to find, high quality, and an awesome bang for the buck. It's only a bonus that they love small boxes.

Solidtrance

iTrader: (2)

I think even two 12's is a overkill in this car. Just get 1 really good one with a really good amp. Saves on weight and space that way. Diamond Audio (for the sub) and JL (for the amp, 500/1??) come to mind immediately. You will not be disappointed.