how are the new solobarics?

[tac0meat]

just wandering if any of you have any experience with the new sqaure solobarics. i have heard they are encredibly loud but have also heard that the surrounds fall apart. i want to get 2 square 12s to replace my 4 kenwood twelves. i need somethin that takes up less room than my current setup.

 

[JTang]

You'll get more space in your trunk, but getting those square woofers won't help you gain back much of the bass you'll be losing. Besides the comments made in the other posts about these subs, the enclosure is a little less than half the size, which is good, but the sensitivity is a whopping 4 decibels less (three decibels is like doubling your amp power). What you think you'll be making up in cone area you'll lose in sensitivity and SQ. You might get louder bass, but since Kicker has conveniently left out charts on which frequencies play louder, it might be a toss up. It may be louder in one area only, and that would be pretty dumb. Add to that the fact that the Kickers take a lot of power to get decently running, I wouldn't think it's worth it. There are plenty of other good subs out there that'll take a small volume, and not ask for so many sacrifices.

 

[mrsteve]

JTang,
The manual for my Type-R gives the sesitivity as 87dB. But there is a note at the bottom about the sensitivity that says "This commonly misunderstood specification is meaningless for subwoofers. It is included merely for completeness." So what's the deal with sensitivity and subwoofers??

Steve

 

[justin146]

Believe it or not, the sensitivity of the sub also dictates how deep the sub will play. Lower sensivity means a sub will play deeper with a given input while a sub with a higher sensitivity with the same input wont be as deep. (dont tell anyone but this is why cheap subs are so darn efficient...SSHHHHHH) It may play as low but not as deep. If you wont take my word for it, ask a physics teacher or an acoustics major.

 

[mrsteve]

So what you are saying is that my Type-R @ 87dB will play lower than an Infinity Perfect which is rated @ 96db?

Steve

 

[karl_burns]

back to the question

tac0meat:

Back to your original question, I've heard and read the same consensus opine regading the solobarics. It's a nice idea (more surface cone area) but Kicker didn't do the best job of it. If eclipse or JL would do it, those things will be the second (or third) coming.

Heck, instead of two 12 solobarics, put the scrilla into a 12 eclipse titanium. That thing can take like 1000 watts by itself, and has an excursion range of like 2.5 inches. WOW.

Then tear out the floor of your exploder, ditch the tire cuz you've got a cell and AAA, and build a second, deeper floor that will be the floor of your shallow but very wide box. Set that titanium in the center, Raised plexi over the center (again 2.5 inches) and bump.

Maybe that's another thread entirely.

Karl

 

[JTang]

MrSteve,

You're right, I sorta missed that. A prime example is the Kicker XPL, which is made to yield better SPL output at the cost of lower frequencies. However, in the case of 4 subs in a single car, I figure you're after SPL. Of course, all this stuff can be totally manipulated by someone with a good knowledge of physics and box making skill, that's just not me!

Jon

 

[regulator]

Fellas Please- If I may inject....
The number of woofers you have in a car doesnt mean anything.....if and only if you have the same EXACT subs and amps.
If he had 4 kenwood 12's then switched to L7's the L7's will be much louder, if he has enough power going to them.
I can justify this by expressing that MANY people have broken 160 DBs with only 2 woofers. It depends on Power, setup, and brands

Sensitivity on the other hand is also a worthless measure....it measures how loud a sub is at 1 watt and 1 meter away.

I dont like to come on this board and see some members give useless or wrong information....if you have any questions please email me....

I think I should get my own catagory: people that have car audio problems and want right answers....what do you think?

 

[mrsteve]

I think I should get my own catagory: people that have car audio problems and want right answers....what do you think?

I think you need to get off your high horse. If you don't like this forum you are more than welcome to start your own.

Steve

 

[regulator]

Stevu

Cant people that own explorers like myself take a damn joke....? What the hell is your problem?
Do you always have to reply with something negative...
When I saw someone had replied I thought it would be to laugh. Nooooo, big steve had to come in and turn the whole thread into a flame.....Well here goes buddy, I am sorry I will not EVER ask for my own catagotry named "people that have car audio problems and want right answers"

"HE HATE ME"

 

[mrsteve]

Whatever

 

[sideswipe]

cmon guys, I'm sure both of you guys know a great deal about car audio and have lots of useful information to offer. Please let add some levity to this forum.

 

[olivesman]

regulator-

i think YOU need to give some better advice. like jtang said, dB does make a big difference. if you get a low dB you'll need a way bigger amp to push the same size speaker w/ a higher dB rating. IT DOES MAKE A VERY VERY BIG DIFFERENCE WHEN YOUR PICKING OUT AN ENRERGY EFFICIENT SUB! if you have unlimited access to whatever sub you want, then no, it wouldn't matter at all, but if your like every other budget minded, hardworking person then it does make a big difference and needs to be one of the determining factors for what sub you get.


i have heard many good things about the solo subs and b/c they are only rated at 350 rms for a 12" sub then the dB doesn't mean as much in this case. b/c unlike the eclipse titanium, your amp won't have to cost you $1000. remember, you can usually count on a $1 a watt. and like Karl said, the excursion is a big deal as well. the more the merrier.

well guys, have fun- russel

 

[JTang]

I'm at least glad to see that people are passionate about giving "good" advice. I think everyone is a little right and wrong in their answers here, as we're all seeing "good bass" as a totally different viewpoint. It's true, sometimes, the number of subs will not make a difference, but sensitivity does make a difference, but so does the box size, make and many other characteristics of the amp. I would like to note that just because someone is hitting over 160 db with two subs, doesn't particularly mean it's good bass. It just means it might be hitting 160 db at a certain frequency and not over a spectrum. What good is that? It's all up to the listener, so if they never play music with sounds below 40 hz, then they can choose accordingly. There used to be some guy on this board who kept saying he knew a lot about car audio and bass because he had three noise pollution tickets to his name. That doesn't mean anything, since we've all heard that one clown around town that has the absolute worst distorting system in the world with all his windows rolled down thinking he's attracting the ladies.

None of us will ever know each other's listening tastes, and to tell you the truth, my right ear is damaged, so I may never know what great sound is like anymore, but I do know enough of the theory to know that a sub that big peaks and dips at certain frequencies makes it an unreliable sub with big sound holes.

If I may also interject a lot of people in car audio disliked the certain audio scoring methods, because they used a computer to monitor perfect flat response lines, which are actually not in tandem with our "reality", since the human ear responds differently to different notes. So even as humans, we are perceiving sound differently from the computer, and the flat line is not the same thing we actually hear.

Think of it this way, at least we're all trying to keep him from buying the Kicker Squares, and saving some cash is the least anyone can do. Also, unless you're in a stretch limo, Suburban or Excursion, should you really worry about how hard a sub hits past 1 or 2 meters?