Juice

iTrader: (1)

What I'm working with:

Infinity Kappa 680.7cs in the front
Infinity Kappa 693.7i in the rear
100W x4 at 2ohms with an Alpine MRP-F450 4 channel (for now).

I plan on running just 1 amplifier, but I want to add a subwoofer. I decided on the MB Quart PAB5400 5 Channel (80w X4 300w x1 at 2ohms). It was either this amp, the Soundstream XTA 600, or the Kicker ZX 700.5. All of them are around the same price, but the Soundstream doesn't have enough power for the sub/subs I want to run, and the Kicker has too much. Plus, I really like the understated simplicity of the MB Quart. Yes, I realize that I can set the gain to put as much power as I want out of the Kicker, but that can get complicated, ans I really don't feel like messing with underpowering an amplifier as I'll feel like I won't be using its full potential (yes that bothers me).

What I need help with, and the reason for the poll is the subwoofer setup. I want something light, that doesn't take up hardly any space. I had a box with 2 10s similar to the zenclosures setup, but I want to run the AutoEXE 4 point tower bars so that option is out. The 4080 boxes are nice, but just too damn expensive. I could make some myself with fiberglass, but that can be a pain in the ***. What I have come up with are these 2 options:

Option 1:
Elemental Designs SQ10, 2ohm SVC Thin Subwoofer. This would be fitted into a custom MDF enclosure in the trunk indent thingy. It would be about a .5 CuF sealed enclosure. Problems I can see with this is it would weigh a little bit and I would need to find a speaker grill that could protect the sub since I do use my trunk on occasion.

Option 2:
Two Elemental Designs 7kv.2 subs, 2ohm DVC wired in series. These would be mounted infinite baffle, on an MDF board between the 2 rear seats completely deadened and cut off from the trunk. They would fire through custom grills in the passthrough cover and into the cabin. They would both get about 150w RMS, which is alot of power but these things can easily handle it. Problems I see with this is that since they are 6.5 inch woofers, they may not be able to reproduce some of the lower frequencies as well as the SQ10 would. Also, even though they are designed to work IB I still have my doubts about using them this way.

Option 3:
If you don't think that these are good options, what DO you think are good options? Keep in mind, I am into sound quality, not SPL. I don't want this setup to rattle my brain, but to sound awesome at a high volume. I really just need something to fill out the low end of my current system.

So, vote for what you think. If you choose option 3, then I expect to see some sort of suggestion, not just a this brand sucks or whatever. Lets try and keep this as a mature discussion.

Links for the Lazy:
MB Quart PAB 5400: http://www.mbquart.com/en/produkte/c...hp?nr=pab_5400
Kicker ZX 700.5: http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=16919
Soundstream XTA 600: http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=15082
Elemental Designs SQ10: http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/pro...roducts_id=106
Elemental Designs 7kv.2: http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/pro...products_id=33

WikkedOne

hhmm i think you would be A LOT happier with a nice JLaudio 10" in a 4080 box it's a much cleaner look and you don't need to be scared everytime you decide you want to put groceries in the trunk or anything..

and i just don't like the passthrough idea.. i don't think it's going to give you the sound your after.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, thats what I'm afraid of with the passthrough.

The 4080 box is super nice, and I would love to go with a JL 10w6, but the price is the main detractor for me. Now, I could make a fiberglass enclosure like the 4080, but that would still cost a good amount, and take alot of time. With the SQ10 and an MDF enlosure, It would be super cheap. I could make an enlosure, including the sub, carpet and grille for around 150 bucks, less than just the 4080 box by itself.

I had a fiberglass enclosure in my 240sx in the spare tire well with a JL 10w3 sub firing up, and I never had a problem as far as protecting it. But the JL had a grille that was meant for it. With the SQ10 I would have to find something from another manufacturer that fits which is my concern. I guess I am not so much worried about a grille protecting it as I am finding a grille that fits.

I'll still consider the 4080 boxes but I just don't know if I can justify the money. This project is probably going to take place in March so we'll see if I can afford it then.

Revvittupp

Actually, I should have votyed other.
To defray the costs of the 4080 box, certainly a good direction to go would be to NOT buy another amp, and bridge the back two channels to the Sub. Your rear channel is mostly for fill, so headunit power is not the end of the world. 6x9's throw a lot of sound, even when slightly underpowered. I think this setup is the best of both worlds for you. If you'd like to upgrade the amp down the road, by all means, go ahead.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

I see what your saying about just using the amp I have. Problems I see with that is the amp is only 4ohm stable bridged, and the fronts will be running at 2ohms so I don't know how that will work. What I mean by that is I've always heard that you shouldn't mix different resistances unless they are with different amps. I don't really know how that would work running 2 ohms for the front channels and using the rears bridged at 4. Would it just shut the amp down and put it in safe mode because it sees a 2 ohm load when it should be running 4. If anyone wants to let me know that would be cool because this does seem like a good idea to get a nice enclosure. Might even make my own and then it would be even cheaper!!

Also, if I do decide to make the sub box in the indent, I will probably make the bottom out of fiberglass so that I can recess the sub into the box. If I go this way, then I can use something like the grill from the 4080 enclosure. Everything will be nice and flush and I won't be worried about protection. My question about this is, anyone know where I can get that grill? I emailed 4080 and am waiting for a response, but anyone else have any ideas?