Thread: how much difference if I replace a 10" with a 12" sub

Mixing and matching is not always bad, but don't put them in the same box. ie: having a set of 12's in the trunk and also some 10's under the rear seat. But having 1 10 and 1 12 in the same box is going to give you a weird bass setup. And that current 400w amp is not going to be nearly enough to power a decent 12 sub. I'm running 1 12" Alpine Type R powered by a 500w Alpine amp. And that's still not the max output of the sub. Do some research on some better brands of subs and amps before just swapping out for a 12".

Look into Alpine Type R's, JL W's (any of the W series hit hard, especially the new W7's), and the new Boston Acoustic subs. Also if you're going to upgrade, make sure you upgrade your amp and get it professionally tuned.

Good luck

Originally Posted by kostyanj

Mixing and matching is not always bad, but don't put them in the same box. ie: having a set of 12's in the trunk and also some 10's under the rear seat. But having 1 10 and 1 12 in the same box is going to give you a weird bass setup. And that current 400w amp is not going to be nearly enough to power a decent 12 sub. I'm running 1 12" Alpine Type R powered by a 500w Alpine amp. And that's still not the max output of the sub. Do some research on some better brands of subs and amps before just swapping out for a 12".

Look into Alpine Type R's, JL W's (any of the W series hit hard, especially the new W7's), and the new Boston Acoustic subs. Also if you're going to upgrade, make sure you upgrade your amp and get it professionally tuned.

Good luck

mixing would just make tuning that much harder an i dont think you'll see any substantial benefits over a properly built box.

you can't say that the 400w amp wouldn't be good enough to power a decent 12" some 12's will sing nicely with 300 watts or less. It depends on the application (hatchback/coupe/vert), desired results (spl sq), driver, among other things.

you are correct, type r's and w7's probably wont perform as well with 400w's (the one of the jl reps is powering his w7 with 500) but if you get an id12v3 it'll hit pretty hard with 300

well an IB setup will cost you a bit in efficiency and low end frequency extension

is the trunk totally sealed? if you have any leaks to the inside of the car it will cost you some bass

The rear of the subs should be completely sealed. No air should be escaping when the sub hits.

since the trunk is the box, you can get more low end bass by simply dampening the trunk. Second Skin has a compelling product, and of course there is dynamat extreme. Line every panel with it, and it will allow the bass to stay in the car, rather than being vibration transferred outside (meaning the sound doesn't travel to your ear.) If the IB (infinite baffle for those that don't know) set up is within specs for the particular subs that you have, then dampening should help.
If the amount of air in the "box" (your trunk) is too big, then you may be getting some back wave cancellation. This is when the wave of sound created in the box by the compression of the sub bounces off the back of the box to cancel the extension wave on the outside of the box. An ideal set up allows the compression back wave to multiply or amplify the extension wave (as the sub moves inward, the air compresses, and the compressed air will spring back against the sub, assisting it in moving the cone, and thus creating more efficient use of the power.)

Now that we know you're not using a box, your best bet with out changing any components, would be to seal and dampen the trunk as best you can. If you switch anything out, switch both.

What car do you have, and what subs, etc?

in short..stick with what you've got

Yeah I'm suprised every time I see that people dont know how important the sub-enclosure is to the performance of the sub. In more or less words, Its not the sub that makes the sound but how the sub manipulates the box's differential pressure is where the sound is created.