Replacing my Blose subwoofer...help with driver choice!

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:26 pm

I said I would never install in a system in my daily driver ever again after my experience with my Z. The Z was never the same after each install. However, here I am again.

I have a truck now with the Bose stereo which sounds pretty good for Bose but like most factory Bose systems, there is no bass. Before you say I need to tear it all out, don't bother. I think they got the imaging right in this truck and I doubt I could improve it much for less than a grand and many hours of work on kick panels and what not.

So here is my plan:

I am going to replace the Bose subwoofer with any driver and install a small amp to power said driver. I am going to use the stock subwoofer enclosure. I am doing this mostly because I use every inch of space in the truck when I move. I move every 6 months or so.

Here are the specs on the Bose enclosure: .261 cuft with a port that is .01302 cuft.

With the port sealed off the volume of the box is .2745 cuft

I am going to modify it to fit anything from a 6.5" to 8" woofer.

Here is what I have so far from WinISD:

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:30 pm

Dayton 8" : http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdet ... er=295-456

Tang Bang: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdet ... er=264-832

JL Audio: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs ... ries_id=27

My skills with WinISD are not very good. But from what I gather I am leaning towards Dayton 8".

Post by **Bfowler** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:34 pm

i would take the dayton too.

jl's fine....just spendy for what it is. if you found a screaming deal on one....maybe

dontlookatme · Post by **dontlookatme** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 4:42 pm

ive been messing with a 8w3 and im pretty amazed by what it can do. and its cute too.

or u can try to find an xmax 8 inch and that would be nice too.

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:00 pm

if you are using the stock amps then be sure match the impedence.

waynehead · Post by **waynehead** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:38 pm

Another to maybe think about.

http://www.dealercostcaraudio.com/g108-44.aspx

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:17 pm

what is the impedence of the factory woofer? I thought bose used something stupid like 1 or 10 ohms or something really wierd like that........

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:39 pm

ttocs wrote:if you are using the stock amps then be sure match the impedence.

I'm going to use a separate amplifier so no worries there.

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:41 pm

waynehead wrote:Another to maybe think about.

http://www.dealercostcaraudio.com/g108-44.aspx

I haven't seen that one yet. I'll compare. Thanks

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:51 am

Okay I re-did the plots with a sealed box and some promising looking drivers.

The green trace is a JL 8w3v2 which is a little too expensive.

dontlookatme · Post by **dontlookatme** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 8:55 am

how much have u found the jl for? there is a shop here that sells them for 120

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:03 am

dontlookatme wrote:how much have u found the jl for? there is a shop here that sells them for 120

I suppose expensive is a relative term. I found the w3 for $100 used and most of the others I can get new for less than that. I am moving pretty slow on this so I am going to wait for stuff to come up on ebay or on the forums.

This is an experiment so I am really not trying to go balls deep on this. If I fail, I want to fail the least painful way. Ya'll are never going to believe the amp I am going to use...

If you swear by it, I will seriously look for a good deal on craigslist. I found one in Dallas for $65. I am not going to back to Texas for another week and a half.

Post by **Bfowler** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:06 am

jenson xa2100?

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:10 am

Bfowler wrote:jenson xa2100?

Boss cx250

200wattsish
Remote volume control
Bass Boost
High level inputs

pure win!

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_243 ... CX250.html

dontlookatme · Post by **dontlookatme** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:16 am

where are u located?

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:26 am

dontlookatme wrote:where are u located?

Groton, CT for the next week

Mostly in Charleston, SC

Post by **Bfowler** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:43 am

CHOAS eXXtrem!!!!

ahsmo...where did we go wrong...

im not mad, i'm just disappointing. also, your mom has high level inputs

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:16 pm

Bfowler wrote:CHOAS eXXtrem!!!!

ahsmo...where did we go wrong...

im not mad, i'm just disappointing.

I'm a cheap ass and I really don't expect much. I mean come on. It is going up against a 5" blose woofer with about 25 watts when the alternator is putting out 14.4v.

Bfowler wrote:also, your mom has high level inputs

You don't say that

Post by **stipud** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:42 pm

Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't the Dayton HF subwoofers generally designed for big boxes? The HO woofers are the ones meant for small (car audio size) boxes. Judging by the QTC of 1.14 and the hump in the response at 70Hz, it probably wants a bigger box to sound its most natural.

Theoretically a high QTC like that will make a sub sound boomier. Then again the Dayton speaker may still sound better at QTC 1.14 than the Tang Band or JLs that are closer to the "ideal" .707 alignment. These graphs just can't tell you that. However, based off the graphs alone I would probably guess the Tang Band would be the best fit.

Also I would be interested in seeing what the output is with a fixed wattage applied to them instead of normalized at 1kHz like you have them now. Your normalized graph makes the Dayton look the loudest but that may not be true. Graph them all at 400w.

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:49 pm

The colors are the same but:

Dayton White
JL 8w3 Green
Tang Bang Yellow
JL 8w1 Violet

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:00 pm

wow, almost a 6 db bump at 90 hz?

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:54 pm

ttocs wrote:wow, almost a 6 db bump at 90 hz?

box is less than optimal

I have found my driver: http://reaudio.com/specs.html#sp_rex

By far the cheapest and the most apt to do just fine in a tiny box. Only draw back is how low the sensitivity is. Hopefully my Boss extreme chaos amp can take it. WinISD is showing favorable results which I guess is fine.

Post by **kg1961** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 7:54 am

when i had my 2007 and 2008 bmw e90 i used earthquake sws8 they are shallow 8" subs(large xmax) that are very nice. they use a slot/port style very very small box.
I wish I still had them they would be so nice with kick or under a seat of a normal car

Ahsmo · Post by **Ahsmo** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:19 pm

kg1961 wrote:when i had my 2007 and 2008 bmw e90 i used earthquake sws8 they are shallow 8" subs(large xmax) that are very nice. they use a slot/port style very very small box.
I wish I still had them they would be so nice with kick or under a seat of a normal car

I checked it out in WinISD and it did not compare well to the others in the box I am using. It had nearly a 7db spike at 80hz as compared to the others. I bet it would work well in a larger box