I have a dilemna, and I could use some help if anyone has some advice for me.
My current setup is as follows: Two Sony 12" Subs (max power=1200W's each), powered with a 1200W Sony 2-channel amp. The subs are each in a sealed box.
The sound my subs produce is full of rattles, and if and when the subs hit a good note, the trunk lid of my car (the subs are in the trunk) rattles way too much - (you can hear it dimly from inside, easily from outside the car).
I was tuning the amp just a few minutes ago, and I took a chance: I removed the pos/neg. wires for one of the subs, leaving just one 12" sub plugged in. The result: sounded amazing. No more rattle sounds, and the trunk would only vibrate when i turned the volume way up.
I remember reading that if a sealed sub does not get the correct amount of power, it will play shitty. I figure that's what messed up my system before i removed the wire for the second 12" sub.
So my question is this: should i leave the system as is, but only power one 12" sub with the amp (the sound is absolutely fine this way, with just a tiny bit of trunk rattle at high volumes).
Or should i purchase two 10" sony subs in sealed boxes, and place them in my rear seat location, instead of the trunk location where the subs are now?
Basically, will it be better to have one 12" sub in the trunk, or two 10" subs directly behind the front seats?
The desired sound level is perfect as of right now, with the single 12" sub. I am just wondering if I will be happier with two 10"s.
first of all your sony equipment is over rated. the amp doesnt put out that much power and the subs dont need and probably cant handle for more than 2 seconds 1200 watts. you may have had your polarity switched on the speaker you disconnected and thats why it sounded funny. make sure that both of your speakers are hooked up exactly the same. and a small suggestion would be to get rid of that sony stuff and buy a quality sub and amp. i reccomend going with either kicker or jl for both amps and subs, if you got a little cash that is.
I am perfectly happy with the sound that the sony 12" sub is producing right now. I've actually surprised some people when I told them it was Sony making the low sounds in my setup.
Anyways, I tried the thing with the other subs wired (mixed up -/+ wires was the first thing that came to my mind when it sounded crappy) - to no avail, however.
I've read in a few places that when the subs push too much air around (in your trunk especially), they will result in poor sound and increased rattle. I figure that the mustang trunk (small to begin with, even smaller in a convertible) can't handle the two 12"s - and thus sounds better with just one 12".
My question now is, will the one 12" in the trunk, or two 10"s directly behind the front seats (in the rear seat location), sound better?
As of right now, I would still be using the same amp to power the one 12" or two 10"s.
the two tens in the rear seat location might sound better since there is no barrier between you and the sound (subs). that is why suvs and hatchbacks sound good. also if you get 2 10s get different subs besides sony. you will notice the difference. also they will last longer.
hey buddy the trunk rattling is not a bad thing that usually means its loud so if the trunk was rattling when it hit a good note with 2 12s and now it doesnt rattle as much with 1 12"....THAT MEANS ITS NOT AS LOUD... thats kinda commen sense. id check wires and figure out who slipped something in ur drink and got u to buy sony subs ...just kiddin, i got a sony "amp" if u can call it that, but id seriously check and make sure that second sub is wired correctly to the amp and terminals on the speaker, maybe the speakers are switched on the sub itself???
hey buddy the trunk rattling is not a bad thing that usually means its loud so if the trunk was rattling when it hit a good note with 2 12s and now it doesnt rattle as much with 1 12"....THAT MEANS ITS NOT AS LOUD... thats kinda commen sense. id check wires and figure out who slipped something in ur drink and got u to buy sony subs ...just kiddin, i got a sony "amp" if u can call it that, but id seriously check and make sure that second sub is wired correctly to the amp and terminals on the speaker, maybe the wires are switched on the sub itself???
You could do either, if you like having just one 12 then that's fine. It could also be that the amp has a lot more headroom running one sub, less distortion and more power. Lots of cheaper manufacturers underrate the power @ 4 ohms to make the 2 ohm power look better. What I mean by that is that the perfect amp would double the power everytime the impedance is cut in half (ex. 50x2 @ 4 ohms, 100x2 at 2 ohms), then assume a crappy amp does 75x2 at 4 ohms and 100x2 at 2 ohms, then they'll rate the 4 ohm load at 50x2 to make the amp look like it's good quality. You could also consider dynamat to stop vibrations, also try coupling the trunk with the cab of the vehicle. It sounds like you have too much pressure built up in the trunk and not enough coming into the vehicle, you need to let the bass come into the car via some kind of air, whether it's a hole in the package tray, folding the rear seat down (if possible) or other methods.
thanks for the help guys, especially the last message. im going to keep the current setup the same for right now, i have plans to spend about $1,500 on suspension components (h&r coil springs, bilstein struts/shocks, caster/camber plates, sub-frame connnectors - for those who care), and perhaps come the winter i will take my trunk area apart and rework the subs. i think i will give two tens a try as opposed to the two twelves - but thats far off in the future.