i have a pioneer tsw 1201c 12" sub, i wanted to know where there would be a website that would have the correct specifications for the box. i want to get the most out of the speaker and want it in the correct size box. how do you work out the correct size?, its 4ohm 1000w peak, 500w rms. any help would be great
ask the lads on talk audio to design one for you www.talkaudio.co.uk you need to think about the sort of bass you want but tuning arond 35 hz is awesome
Doing the box yourself? Dead easy. Just shout if you want a mini-guide or anything - I've got plenty of pictures floating around. I've done a couple now - both sound ace. Tom
The box sizw is dependant on the type of speaker, every speaker has its own ideal size, and you need to know what frequancy you want the box to hit. The manual for the sub should give you the ideal box volume (size) try looking on pioneers web site. What box are you going for. sealed, band pass, ported? most box volumes are given for sealed boxes unless speaker can't operate in a sealed box (like my rockfor power subs). A sealed box would give you the best sound quality but a band pass or ported box will hit the tuned note alot louder. what are you going for SQL(quality) or SPL(presure)?
If you find/use any box building software, make sure it takes into account the fact that you are installing in a car. Most only apply to free-air and a car interior can have a MASSIVE effect on the bass response. I would advise knocking up some practice boxes of different sizes and a lot of trial and error, rather than spending ages designing the optium size for your sub, building the box and then being dissapointed with the sound. I will try and dig out a graph I have showing the difference between free-air, and in-car response.
Here you go. The first graph represnts a Kenwood 12" sub in three differnt sized sealed enclousures, measured in free-air (ie. out in the open). The second graph shows the same speaker, in the same boxes, but mounted in the boot of a car approx the size of a Honda Accord. Free-air. In-car. As you can see, the car itself acts as an enclosure, and therefore effects the overall sound. It is almost impossible to tell how much, due to it being quite difficult to measure the volume of a car interior, plus you have to take into account the number of occupants, the sound absorbing quailies of the seats and upholstry, the sound reflecting qualities of the windows, and whether or not they are open, and how many people are in the car! For your sub I'd try a couple of different sized boxes ranging from 1 - 2 cubic feet for a sealed box, and see what sounds best. Edited by: dirtydubber
i have had a look at the specs, and a ported box seems to be the best option, as it peaks at about 40hz, and gives a good level up to 100hz, 4th and 6th order bandpass boxes have a higher rnage btween 30-40hz, but fall off after that. it gives you the spec of the ideal sized box with the sub (31.1 litres). and i have built a box of that size of prodesktop, just need to give the carpenter the dimensions etc. i did design one on winisd, but i needed to take things like port volume, speaker volume into consideration which would take ages, when i can just use the spec that came with the sub. thanks for all the help though
Simple... a ported bass box is simply a HelmHoltz resonator... it's a simple forula to work out everything you will need with regards to your enclosure... it can also work out the pitch of a beer bottle half full when you are pissed
Hmm, I don't seem to have all the pictures I thought I did, however, for a fairly simple (but bloody effective) sealed unit: Draw your box, measure your boot space... Take your wood, cut to shape free of charge by the nice man at B&Q (or do it yourself). 8 for that lot (and more!). Put the panels in place and use tacs to hold things in place. Screw it all together when you're happy. Seal everything (inside and out). Screw your subs in, wire 'em up and away you go. Looks you're after? Carpet it (~10 from a car shop). Use a staple gun to hold the stuff down, and hammer the staples into the pile so you can't see 'em. Job done. On the wiring front, I did little holes (*just* big enough for wires to poke through, sealed) with plug connectors so the box / subs can be separated from the amp quickly. I play mostly rock / metal. The sound's fantastic (I've tried other smaller, open boxes and they've sounded poo, even with better subs). Hope that helps. Tom
the problem with that is subs are designed to work in specific sized enclosures and will sound pants and not perform as they can if they are in the wrong one as for the speaker wire use bolts and fasten the wire to the inside of it and the outside of it
As I say, work out the volume you need and go from there, before you build. I knew what mine needed going on the box I built for my MK2, and the type (one big sealed enclosure) and it sounds great. I'm going on method, not specific dimensions with all of the above. Sure there are better ways to do things (make it a science if you must), but all I'm saying is it worked for me and has sounded much better than other enclosures (4 in total) I've tried. Tom
lol a science it is the box design is the main factor in sounding good bad or loud personally i'd go ported every time takes more to design it but you gain much more from it
You reckon? Perhaps it's just my cheapy subs, but I have a ported box (someone bought it and gave it to me - I'm good like that ) and it sounded w***. There was no kick in the bass at all - you could hardly tell the subs were there. My single 12" Soundstream SPL sub. sounded alright in a single ported enclosure, but nothing like the setup I'm running now. I don't doubt that what you're saying is true, but I maintain that I'm 100% happy with how mine performs. Tom
you can't just drop any sub into any ported box you need to get the sub specs then design and tune the box to suit then if you change the sub you need to redesign the box etc e.g. if you have a long port this will tune the box much lower than a short port therefore short ports are better for spl but longer ports (to a limit) are better for sq cheap or expensive subs are nothing without a good box design you can get 2 30 10" jbl subs from motorworld to do 140 + db if the box design is thought about and power to them is good
Either way, I'm happy. I'd get a recording or something but my camera won't pick up the low frequencies. Tom
I know this is a bit off topic, but if you are doing a sealed box, i would fibreglass the joins on the inside of the box (rough the wood with a stanley blade 1st) and get some Dynamat spray and do the inside of the box with it. Also when you put the sub in, if you can find them, secure them in with T nuts. they hold the thread from behind, so u don't screw into the wood, and get a tighter seal. I have done this with a mates box, and it makes a difference!
