astevens26

i am currently using a boston acoustics gt4100 for my mids and highs and a boston gt2300 for my subs..im way overpowering my three 8 inch boston subs and want to either add three more or im possibly going to switch to another more powerful sub that can take all the juice im dumping into it.i like the idea of using six eights as i mostly listen to rock/metal and i like the tight more sound quality based sound and with six it should pound..but i really dont want to add all that weight..the three i have already are weighing me down enough.one of my co workers today offered me a kicker solo baric l7 ten inch square sub today that he only used for a week for $75.sounds like a sweet deal but im just not sure what the sound quality is like as ive never heard one.my plan is to buy another one and use two..any thoughts on this situation guys or recomendations of any set up you might have that rocks? cost does matter as i dont want to dump a ton into my subs..i gotta buy a set of fuel injectors and a few more mods as well over the winter so compared to to the speed mods audio is secondary..but obviously still crucial..thanks gentlemen for your support

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

I ran the L7's in my previous car. Quality product. As for sound quality, I'm sure they'll be fine in a sealed box. I say grab your friend's L7, buy a matching one and go for it.

Using six 8" subs is like digging a hole with a spoon.

astevens26

thanks for the input firebirddude..i have to say though that i disagree with the digging a hole with a spoon metaphor when talking about the 8s.the three 8s im currently running sound decent and i could only imagine how loud another 3 would be.dont get me wrong buddy as i dont think 3 8s would even compare to 3 tens but if i remember this correctly from my younger days when my stereo was priority number one i think each sub you add will increase the volume by 3 decibels which is a nice amount when multiplyed by 3.i think it would have to be louder and probably tighter than the 2 l7s right? and im also concerned that with the square sub offering more cone surface area would the 10 sound more like a 12?cahances are that im probably going to take your advice and run the l7s in the end and im probably going to install the three 8s in my work van..my buddy gave me an old school punch 250.2 amp that im going to use in the van which should be a way better match for the 8s than the 1400 watt monster im currently using.lol.btw, i clicked on the pics of your ride and its super clean bro..love the color of the seats.mine are custom and where yours are the tan color mine are white to go along with the pearl white paint.im going to work on getting some interior shots posted on here soon.i also made a custom housing for my greddy profec eo1 boost control out of a single din head unit housing that mounts on top of our dash..replaces the whole piece where the led screen is and the center channel.i painted that black,also painted is my metra double din kit and i painted the ash tray lid too..turned out awesome and looks smooth

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

There is a rule of thumb I've heard a few times. It's when you double cone area, you increase volume by 3 decibels. Not for each sub you add. So you doubling from 3 to 6 subs would yield a 3 decibel increase provided input power to all 6 subs is the same as the power you're giving to the 3 now (3 subs @ 300WRMS each versus 6 subs @ 300WRMS each). Again, these is a loose rule of thumb and has MANY MANY variables that come into play.

Next, you're running three 8" Boston subs off a 2-channel Boston GT2300? I assume the Boston GT108, since that's the only line Boston currently makes in an 8" size. And they're only available in a single or dual 4 ohm voice coil design. So I am a little curious as to how you have them wired up. Either a 2.67 ohm or 1.33 ohm load. Odd ball either way, but I don't see many 2-channel amps stable down to those loads when bridged.

astevens26

im currently running the subs in 8 ohm mode as they are dvc and have them wired in mono which i believe puts me at 2.67 ohms..obviously with 3 subs my wiring options arent really extensive.especially because the way boston designed the dvc set up.they arent what i would consider a true dvc as they dont have 4 posts but have these fuses that you install between the posts which i feel act as resistors.they can either be run in 2 or 8 ohm.which this is another reason the additional 3 more could solve my issue.for one id have the power handling capacity with the addition subs and instead of having to do just mono i could wire them in stereo which should keep the amp less stressed.the gt2300 will do a 2 ohm mono with out pushing the limits.reason why i went with the way over powered amp for the subs i have is tht my audio shop in fort lauderdale sold me the one im using for only $70 more and he promised to replace them as they blew.it was a win win for me in that aspect.plus the gt2300 and the 4100 have identical deminsions so my install looks leaps and bounds better than with two different sized ones.as you were explaining about the 3 db increase..are you saying that a larger cone diameter would make it louder than just having more subs? as a hypothetical if i were to install two 18 inch subs versus 4 8 inch subs which would equal a total of 32 inches cone area as the 2 18s would be 36 that the 2 16s would be louder? or comparing a 10 lz versus a normal circle sub that the square would be louder?too make this easy for me and to take out all varibles lets say that the aforementioned subs all were in a sealed box,all powered equally and all with the same sensitivity ratings.i feel i know a decent amount of car audio knowledge but not as much as the mechanical aspects so your helping me understand this better is greatly appreciated.btw,prior to my import days i had nothing but f body cars and as your name states i awesome you must have been the same.its a shame that we had to switch but the domestics need to upgrade the overall build quality to have ne back.other than the c6 there isnt any other car i would consider buying..next on my car list is a mazda cx7 awd turbo which if you havent checked into those on ebay they have some serious potentiol..the rx is paid for and all mine in another 3 months which i cant wait.im gonna get the pearl white model and do a body kit which they look great,wheels,intake,i have an extra greddy type r bov and also a mani back exhaust,even later im going to get myself a new 370.man,those cars are gorgeous and have a lot of go fast options..b7ack to the car audio though.i recall back in the day that mb quart had top notch mids and high speakers.im not totally pleased with my alpine componants,boston componant,and probably the best sounding of all is my infinity referance 6x9.i may switch to all infinity or even the mb quarts,im looking for a total upgrade on the entire set up.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Yeah I used to have a firebird back in the day. Easier just to keep the username.

You can't measure cone area by simply multiplying the number of subs by sub diameter (ie 3x8"=24"). You need to look up the actual thiele-small parameter for effective piston area, Sd. For the 8" Boston G1, it's 209cm^2. You have three of them so it's 3 x 209cm^2 = 627cm^2. So you'd need something with 1254cm^2 to actually double effective cone area. But that's where this simple rule of thumb stops. There's so many other things that need to be taken in account, that kinda makes this rule a little silly.

For example, in addition to the actual cone area, you need to calculate in the effective linear excursion for each sub (how far the cone can travel peak-to-peak). For the G1, it's 10.5 mm (which is very weak btw). If a different set of subwoofers has the same cone area, but can travel twice as far peak-to-peak, they're going to be louder (all other things equal). Additionally, power must be exactly the same. However, we commonly work in these nominal figures which aren't true to life. The reality is that amplifiers become less efficient the harder you push them and they may not completely double power when you half impedance. Also, the more power you push, the more your subwoofers lose to power compression (increase coil resistance due to heat). And as you mentioned, box design must be identical. Most of the time when people increase the number of subwoofers in their car, the air volume dedicated to each sub decreases. We only have so much room in our trunks. It happens. Don't forget to allot for the actual woofer displacement too. And just how much power does it take to push your specific woofer to max excursion in your specific box? At what point is increasing the number of subwoofers a better idea than increasing the amount of power?

And if you want to get serious about it, the actual acoustics of the interior cabin may change with the additional volume. Soft or loose objects that previously played little role in your measured output now become more apparent and start to have an affect. Sounds ridiculous. But if you're hoping to see an actual 3db increase on the meter, this all comes into play.

A few years ago (~5 years), MB Quart was bought out by Maxxsonics. Maxxsonics isn't known for making the quality equipment MB Quart is thought to be. They own Crunch, which we both know is crap. They also own Hifonics and Autotek, which are just ok. Non-mainstream, but still mid-tier in my eyes. Has the quality fallen for MB Quart? I don't really know. Can't say I've heard any bad things about them since then. But I would advise listening to/inspecting them in person before purchasing.