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Need some Help with a RSDC 12 Install
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:23 pm
by illiniguy
I just got a 12" RSDC to replace an old blown Kenwood sub. I will be giving it 450 watts RMS and would like to push this to get the most out of it. Looking at the Product manual it suggests using a sealed enclosure at .72 cu ft.
Based on experience with this woofer, is this the best setup for this sub?
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:27 pm
by knightrider358
I would suggest the suggested PG ported box

to get the most out of it. What type of amp are u using for it also? Also whats the Voltage output of ur hu on the rca outs?
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:37 pm
by Bfowler
based on the enclosures we have tired, i would actual go with 1.25 if you are going sealed.
i haven't made any ported boxes for it so you are on your own on that one...but they should respond well to it if designed right!
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:36 am
by stipud
Yeah, 1 to 1.25cuft sealed is optimal for it.
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:22 pm
by illiniguy
My HU is a Eclipse CD 5000 with the 8V preouts. Amp is a Elemental Designs Nine.2.
1.25 sealed sounds good. I was thinking that .72 sounded very small.
One last question. Does the dimensions of the box affect output or does it just matter that I get the 1.25 cu ft? I am trying to figure out the best way to put this under the hatch in my tC.
Thanks!
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 3:05 pm
by Rold Gold
I'd suggest you don't make a "cube" enclosure as you'll have soundwaves bouncing right back to the woofer..... I should know more about it but I don't...... All I know is if you have the room make an angle and if you don't make sure to put some poly-fill in there..........
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:56 pm
by Bfowler
nope, dimensions dont matter.
as fuzzy said, boxes with the back parallel to the front baffle CAN create standing waves (they dont always, but its a possibility)
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 5:03 pm
by illiniguy
Thanks for the help!!
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 3:39 pm
by illiniguy
Im looking at making a box with 3/4" MDF with the following dimensions:
18.25 x 18.25 x 8.25. I will be removing the spare tire from the trunk and creating a new trunk floor, aiming the box up at the hatch in my Scion tC. How does this sound?
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:33 pm
by dako
i've got a scion tc. i would definitely recommend you face the sub towards the rear section of the hatch, not upwards, or it's going to sound pretty flabby back there. you'll also get more hatch rattle that way, believe it or not.
facing towards the hatch, the rear fill has a nice tendency to roll forward and provide a realistic soundstage. i've tried facing up, corner loaded in either side and rear facing. rear facing beats them all.
also, are you removing the rear deck cover? if not, your enclosure will need to be less that 14" high.
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:41 pm
by illiniguy
I have the rear deck cover removed. I have the back windows tinted with 5%, so you cant see in there.
I had my previous setup facing up and it sounded great, but it was ported. I guess I can aim it back and redo the size of the box. Any pics of your setup?
I wanted to aim it up and create a new trunk floor to keep as much usable trunk space as possible.
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:58 pm
by illiniguy
Well progress has been slower than I would have liked on this project, but here are some pics of where I am at so far.
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:03 pm
by illiniguy
1. Pic of the car
2. and 3. As you can see we designed and built the basic structure of the box. We designed it so that the rear seats can be fully reclined. I also wanted to maintain as much trunk space as possible. I have the front panel cut, just have not put it on, as we ran out of time to do the bracing.
We still have to build the amp rack, which should fit to the right of the box.
I have a few questions.
-How do you suggest doing the internal bracing? I have a few ideas, but am not 100% sure.
-Do I need to do anything to seal the seams besides the wood glue?
Any suggestions?
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:14 pm
by illiniguy
Ok 1 more thing. I just realized that the box turned out a little small and by my calculations right now I will have 1.09 cu ft. I screwed up when adding in the width of the mdf (doh!). The 1.09 is with no internal bracing

.
How much of a difference will this make? I really dont want to redo it all.
If I keep this box does the bracing make that big of a difference or do I want to keep my airspace?
Sorry for all the questions, but this is my 1st custom build.
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:00 pm
by Stryker
bracing will not be necessary for just one sub, if it was 4 subs then yes i would brace it. It looks to me like the box is nice and solid as it is. I would certainly grab a tube of silicone and hit all the seams with it just to be sure it's all sealed up nicely, also drill the hole for the wires and silicone that up with the wires in through the hole.
Now to address the issue of some miscalculations on your box. being that it's sealed I would stuff some polyfill into the box, not jammed packed but loosely filled say 2" on all sides, this fools the sub into thinking the box is actually bigger than it really is thereby making up for it being a lil small. you can get this stuff at a fabric store or any wal mart. you can also adjust afterwards and add or take some out depending on how it sounds. GL
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:54 pm
by illiniguy
As far as the seams go I put a few extra layers of wood glue on there to help seal them up, as you can see in the pics. I guess I can get some silicone just to be sure.
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:14 am
by stipud
Bracing always helps. I would prefer a smaller-than-optimum well braced box than a perfectly sized unbraced box.
1cuft is just fine for these subs. You might consider adding 1lb of polyfill inside of the box as well, which should make the sub think it's in a 1.2cuft box (generally it increases the box "size" by 20%, 1lb/1cuft).
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:56 am
by Stryker
with a box like that it will not make a spec of difference in the musical reproduction. It's only one 12" Rsd. If it was say a monster SPL sub then yes of course bracing would be needed but for an Rsd I do not think it's necessary at all. good luck getting 1lb of polyfill in there the stuff is light as a feather, he would need ten bags of it. just loosely adding it would be fine.
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:23 am
by stipud
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:56 am
by dako
illiniguy wrote:I have the rear deck cover removed. I have the back windows tinted with 5%, so you cant see in there.
I had my previous setup facing up and it sounded great, but it was ported. I guess I can aim it back and redo the size of the box. Any pics of your setup?
I wanted to aim it up and create a new trunk floor to keep as much usable trunk space as possible.
http://phoenixphorum.com/scion-tc-insta ... t7515.html
I'll have to post an updated pic of my sub setup. currently running a single Fi Audio Q 12" sub instead of two RSDc 12" subs.
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:46 am
by Stryker
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 5:46 pm
by illiniguy
Ok I did the math, instead of using a website to calculate (Yea geometry!!) and I actually have 1.413 cu ft without the bracing, so I should be go for bracing!!
Thanks for all the help and links. I will continue to update with my progress
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:53 pm
by Stryker
add some bracing and take out some volume.....don't forget your sub is gonna displace some volume as well.

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:34 pm
by illiniguy
The 1.4 is with the sub taken out. I made it big to plan on the bracing
It should work out very well in the end.
Any guides on carpeting? Thats the next major challenge