Four 12" Subwoofers?

[sideswipe]

Is there any way that I can get four 12" subs in the back of my X (and it sound good!) short of getting a custoom box? Are there any companies that sell boxes that accomodate four twelves? Will 2 boxes (holding two twelves each) facing each other, sound good? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[mrsteve]

You are gonna have a hard time finding a pre-fab box to hold 4 12" subs. Like you said you could get 2 dual 12" boxes and face them towards each other but I'm not sure on how it would sound.

Steve

 

[leenjen]

have the two boxes facing up. i made a custom box to hold my four 15" subs, but sometimes i needed more room back there. so now i made two seperate boxes. i have them facing up. when i need some space back there, i take one box out. then i just run two 15's. it's a lot more convenient, and sounds better than having them face each other.

 

[tac0meat]

i have had 4 twelves in a non custom box for about 6 months. i actually removed it yesterday to sell it in favor of a single audiobahn 12. i picked the box up at a flea market for about 50 bucks. it is just 4 twelves in a row. as long as the box is no more than 52 1/2 inches wide it will fit nicely on top of the fenderwells(giving you a nice spot to mount your amp underneath. it will be a day or 2 but ill ill have pics of the box up soon.

 

[leenjen]

i do know of a website that sells boxes that hold four subwoofers (either 12" or 15") but i dont recommend it.
if a box is built for 4 subwoofers, it should have 4 seperate chambers. the boxes on this site only have 2 chambers. that means 2 subs on each side are sharing the same airspace. so no matter how you do it, make sure each sub has it's own sealed or ported chamber.

 

[mrsteve]

It would be okay for the subs to share a common chamber so long as the subs are wired in mono so that each sub is moving just as much air as the next. Some great SQ installs have 2 and 3 subs sharing a common enclousre.

It would also be possible to add a brace in the middle of each of the two chambers to separate them into 4 individual chambers. As long as it was air tight.

Steve

 

[leenjen]

it would be ok, but not efficient. when two subwoofers share the same airspace in an enclosure, the output is cut in half.

 

[sideswipe]

I appreciate all of your replies guys. The info youve provided is really useful. Heres a further dilemma. The reason I was considering running four 12s (two kenwood tornados and two audiobahn 120sx) is because thats what I have in my posession right now. Only the 2 audiobahns are hooked up right now. They are running off of a Rock Fosgate 800.2. I am really looking for some subs with good SPL and OK SQ. Needless to say, according to my ear, none of these subs are it. What do you guys suggest for two 12s that can do what I'm asking?

 

[JTang]

In addition to the info from MrSteve and LeenJen, I'm sure it was totally under the assumption that you had similar subs. You can absolutely NOT put different 12s in the same air space. They react differently, and so they will affect each other differently too. If you want more spl, and are willing to sacrifice a little SQ, then go ported. Your other option is to use larger enclosures to let the subs play a little deeper and be a bit more boomy. Hopefully, the manual with the subs or the Kenwood site may have instructs for Macrobass (that's at least what Image Dynamics calls it).

Jon

 

[QuadCam]

leenjen,

I'm sorry, but you are incorrect that the woofers output is cut in half if the woofer share the same airspace.

The main reason that most boxes that have individual chambers sound better is because the box has better bracing (less vibration) that a box with no vibration. Essentially, the dividing wall is a brace.

If all the woofers shared the same airspace but the box was built with greater attention to vibration control, bracing, and had devices for elimating standing waves, you would be looking at a much better box than one that has just individual chambers.

For example, I built a box for a customer for his 2 15s. he previously had a prefab sealed box that the 2 15s were in. His prefab box had seperate chamber for each 15. The box I built used 1 open chamber, but I used extensive bracing and standing wave killers in the box. Also, the front baffle was double thick (1.5"). both boxes were approximately the same volume. Anyway, the box I built had similar bass imact in the 50-80 hz range, but the output in the lowest ocatves was much improved.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you should stay away from most prefab boxes. find an installer who really knows what the hell he is doing. The box and installation will make the woofer.

Andrew

 

[leenjen]

actually, i dont know why i typed that. i was just talking to a friend about isobaric subwoofer enclosures, and i think that is what i was thinking of at the time. in an isobaric setup, 2 subs act as one. the enclosure volume is half the size, but the ouput is also -3db (half). i've been busy these past two weeks, so i got a little mixed up. thanks for cathching that. and i'm sorry for posting the wrong info, it wasn't on purpose.

 

[Slick]

U were asking which brand to look at? I'd definetly check out the JL w3 model. I've got 2 12's in the new JL HO box and not only do these things hit as hard or harder then any 2 12's i've heard, they also sound really good (SQ wise). If you get 12w3's i'd get the HO box, looks and sounds great.

Slick