What would be better? 2 12s or 1 15? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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What would be better? 2 12s or 1 15?

Mista808

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Year, Model & Trim Level
96 XLT
I'm looking into subs and I can't make up my mind what to do. I either want to get 2 good 12s like the Type R's by Alpine. Or I want to get one REALLY REALLY GOOD subwoofer. A 15 I was looking at was the square shaped L7 by Kicker. I've heard lots of good things about this sub. My only question is would a 15 with higher RMS WATTS sound better than 2 12s with a lower amount of RMS WATTS etc? I'm planning on using a MONO block amp regardless for the subs but I'm just trying to find out if I should get 2 12s or 1 15. I want whichever would pound harder. :confused:
 



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its all relative man.
a 15" cone will move 15" of air, two 12's = 24" of cone surface.

However it really has nothing to do with yuor question.
3 10's can sound better then a 15", or the 15" can sound better then the 3 10's.
Its about MATCHING.

Match the amp power to the sub RMS, then research and decide what type of enclosure is right for you. I constantly see cheaper subs with the right amount of power to them in a quality enclosure outperform high $$$ equipment installed incorrectly.

I use a cheapo MTX 12" 2ohm sub in a 1.25 cu ft sealed enclosure. the Sub asks for $250W RMS, so I used a 300 watt sub amp at 2 ohm to power it. Sounds amazing, takes up little space, and fits my needs perfectly. I prefer sealed enclosures these days for a punchier bass that is more true to life to the music, my days of booming bass are gone, I am older now and wiser :) Besides I need my cargo space.

in my boat I have a series I rockford 12" (cheapo sub incase it gets wet) with a single MTX amp in a LARGE, TUNED, PORTED enclosure. Why? Boat has no roof or cabin, so the more low end extnesion I can get the better. It has a TON of bass, way more then my home or car and it sounds GREAT.

Over the years I have built probably 60-70 enclosures, they get better each time I build one. If you want your sub to sound RIGHT, no matter the size or number of subs, it is all about sending it the correct amount of power and building the PROPER enclosure for your purpose and driver.
the factory recommended box dimensions ALWAYS work well.

Research is the key. Pick the size of the subs you want based on how they fit in the vehicle, the amp you will power them with, etc.
 






410 is correct. Bigger is not always better. I have one 10" 10W3V2 JL Audio sub being powered by an Alpine MRD-M501 amp and it absolutely pounds. I had the sub in a standalone box made of 3/4 inch MDF and it sounded ok. So I modified my Stealthbox and put the sub in it and now it pounds. The total paid for the amp and sub was about $400.
 






Actually, he is only partially correct. His math is flawed, though. You don't simply add the diameter of each sub up and compared. With this thinking, two 10's would be greater than one 15, which is not the case. The formula is pi * r(squared).

Surface area of 15: 176.71
Surface area of two 12: 226.19

So while he was right, two 12's have more cone area than a single 15, the difference isn't as much as you would think.
 






I'm not implying that 15s are necessarily better. Of course there are 10s out there that will over power a lame 15. I'm saying when it comes down to it the best 15 ever made will over power the best 10 ever made and that I'm pretty sure of. I'm saying when it comes to it would a HARD HITTING 15 be better and more worth it with space, money etc.
 






temposs said:
Actually, he is only partially correct. His math is flawed, though. You don't simply add the diameter of each sub up and compared. With this thinking, two 10's would be greater than one 15, which is not the case. The formula is pi * r(squared).

Surface area of 15: 176.71
Surface area of two 12: 226.19

So while he was right, two 12's have more cone area than a single 15, the difference isn't as much as you would think.

Okay let me just get to MY point then.

Would this AMP:
http://acaraudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_36&products_id=1523
With 1 15 of this SUB:
http://acaraudio.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=15&products_id=185


Sound as good, if not better than
2 12" Alpine Type R's
 






Well I'll say this doubling your surface area (2 12's vs 1 12) or doubling your power (100 rms to 200 rms) will only give you a 3db increase in sound. I'd go for the 12's personally will hit alot harder and almost as low as the fifteen. If you listen to alot of rock type music I'd go with 12's or even 10's as the bass will be mildly delayed with the larger sub. If you listen to alot of rap with long bass notes go with the fifteen so you can feel those lows.
 






jeff96 said:
Well I'll say this doubling your surface area (2 12's vs 1 12) or doubling your power (100 rms to 200 rms) will only give you a 3db increase in sound. I'd go for the 12's personally will hit alot harder and almost as low as the fifteen. If you listen to alot of rock type music I'd go with 12's or even 10's as the bass will be mildly delayed with the larger sub. If you listen to alot of rap with long bass notes go with the fifteen so you can feel those lows.

Well I'm a hip hop producer/rap artist so I'll def. stick to the Kicker than and I appreciate the advice :thumbsup:
 






Nice! Learn something new every day...

15 hits low....but the enclosure type can also give you that deep extension, it just gets more "muddy" but with bass thats not a big deal.
For rap I would almost always build a vented enclosure..
 






If your gonna go with multiple subs, it's always good to have different sizes because they pick up different levels and make your system sound better.
 






forget the math and the nosence :p i have 2 150w 12" fosgate punch two's powered by a 200 watt punch mono amp,OK hits pretty low--then i added a 1500w JL 15w07 powered by this old school 500watt pyramid amp, I bridged this amp added a crossover---i havent been able to keep my rearveiw attached since, so i say go for broke ;) 2 12's & a 15
 






km515 said:
If your gonna go with multiple subs, it's always good to have different sizes because they pick up different levels and make your system sound better.

bahahahahahahaha
 






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