Which way sounds better?

[rob3980]

So this is for those of you who have had your sub firing both ways. Im wondering what sounds better if you fire the sub shooting sideways like a stealthbox would fire or firing the sub towards the back of the car? I have a 3rd row seat that will always be up so if i fire the sub towards the back of the car it wont have a whole lot of breathing room , if that makes sense?

 

[Track3r]

I would assume just by the dynamics of it all side fire would sound better because it would have more air but I have a 2nd gen so no 3rd row and am happy with my rear fire subs

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Bass is non-directional. Doesn't matter how you aim it, it'll sound teh same regardless...

Think about it like this, take a regular speaker and aim it towards your face, sounds loud... now turn it around so it's aiming away from you and it'll sound quieter... Well a subwoofer can be aimed up, down, or sideways and it'll sound the same.

So... doesn't matter how you do it, the only thing that really changes how the bass sounds is the box, like tuning and such.

 

[BradR]

Bass is non-directional. Doesn't matter how you aim it, it'll sound the same regardless...

Think about it like this, take a regular speaker and aim it towards your face, sounds loud... now turn it around so it's aiming away from you and it'll sound quieter... Well a subwoofer can be aimed up, down, or sideways and it'll sound the same.

So... doesn't matter how you do it, the only thing that really changes how the bass sounds is the box, like tuning and such.

I have to disagree.
I had my 2 12"s aiming toward the liftgate, then upwards for a while, and now I have the firing towards my back seat (pushed up against the seat)

I don't know if it might be the placebo effect or something, but I definitely think they were loudest when firing towards the liftgate. Having the fire towards the roof sounded kinda dumb, and i couldn't put anything on top of them if i had to put something large back there, so I keep them firing towards the back seat for maximum storage without worrying about poking a hole through.

Hope this ramble helped.

 

[rob3980]

In my old 97 blazer i had my 15" Diamond Audio TDX aiming sideways and then turned it to aim backwards and it made a world of difference it was much much louder! but with me having a 3rd row seat now and not as much open space will aiming it at the back still be as loud?

 

[BradR]

I looked at a few pictures of 3rd gens with the seat up and I think your best bet will to be go sideways, you have to remember that bass is the movement of air, so I guess it depends on how much air your sub will be moving.

What did you plan on putting in?

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

stevemeadedesigns.com

Take a look for yourself instead of dealing with just "hobbyists"

 

[BradR]

stevemeadedesigns.com

Take a look for yourself instead of dealing with just "hobbyists"

That's like me saying...

soundpressure.com

and on that note, I will leave this thread.

 

[rob3980]

I was planning on possibly doing the JL audio stealthbox or having a custom box done with a JL sub and built in amp rack for my JL HD900/5

 

[MillerTimeX17]

I used to run a 12" RF DVC firing backwards behind my 3rd row and it sounded pretty good. Only problem was that when I needed to put the seats down to haul something I would have to take out the box and it got real annoying, real quick. My solution: loose the 3rd row, build a larger system, and quit hauling stuff with the EX

Heres the old setup-

 

[rob3980]

Thats why i wanted a stealth box incase i had to haul stuff but i also think the JL flat sub in a truck box would probably work! the stereo shop here that ive been going to for 12 years is under new ownership and the guy wont even install your stuff for you or make you a custom enclosure unless you buy all your stuff from him and he charges full price but its understandable! So it kind of limits my options! I did want to just have a custom stealthbox built with the JL flat sub and a built in amp rack with the amp behind some plexi so you could see it but theres no where around here to do that kind of stuff for me now

 

[rob3980]

Oh and i have to have room to haul stuff in my truck so big sub boxes and stuff in not a option for me

 

[Jstcruz]

I have a 2nd gen with a 10" Polk DB in a custom built "stealth box" and it sounds great with 350 watts going to it. Rear firing is usually always better for the deep bass but if its not practical for you to have a box in the back, the side firing 10" is plenty of bump for most people.

 

[rob3980]

I have a 2nd gen with a 10" Polk DB in a custom built "stealth box" and it sounds great with 350 watts going to it. Rear firing is usually always better for the deep bass but if its not practical for you to have a box in the back, the side firing 10" is plenty of bump for most people.

cool thanks bro! If i do a stealth box imma do a 13" JL flat sub with 500 watts RMS going to it. Wish i knew how to do the work myself im sure i will have to dish out some good cash for a box but we shall see

 

[Jstcruz]

this is the link I based my box off of : http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86333

I really dont think you could fit anything bigger then a 10 in that space unless you really hack up your interior panel and bring your box out to the edge of the wheel well. You have to consider not only physical space, but also the internal volume that you can get for the woofer. Keep in mind also that bigger is not always better (practically). I had 2 tens in my ranger that hit 137.1 db, I took those out and put a single ten -a more powerful ten- and it sounds the same. I think what you need to do is find a good solid woofer that uses minimal air space, and get you a good powerfull name brand amp. Remember that Sony watts are not the same as Kicker watts... if that makes sense

 

[loudsport]

i do alot of spl comps and i know your not looking for supper loud bass but ive played around with different boxes and different firing directions. subs up port along the bottom is the best way in my x but i decided to make it subs up port up because the box had to be very big. if you dont have alot of room the best thing to do IMO is to do sub up/ port up. and the box in my car started of as just a music box but its very loud and musical
the best sound that ive seen is to have the port as far back and as low to the floor as possible

 

[Jager]

towards the lift gate is the best. more room for air.

 

[xekrubx]

My personal preference is to aim the subs towards the rear. I had some real cheap 10's in a galant that i had facing rear. And the closer to the trunk they were the louder they were.
I currently have a pair of decent 12's. In my Talon I had them face the rear and they were clean and crisp and could even keep up with 10's when playing heavy rock with double bass. This is not the case in my mountaineer. They are still loud but the quick double bass is very sloppy. In the Merc they are still facing rear and i get the best sound that way but i think the difference in distance from the rear is whats messing up the crispness they used to have in the talon. That and cabin size.
In my opinion you will achieve better sound in a properly sized box behind the seat than you can in one of those cramped tunderforms. Those are for people who want just a bit more bass without sacrificing space. I believe the exact same sub will sound better in a single box than it will a thunderform.

 

[rob3980]

facing to the back was my favorits as well but since im keeping my 3rd row seat in there isnt a whole lot of space from the back of the seat to the rear of the explorer. how do you think this would sound?
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_enclosures.php?menu=10&prod_id=580

Id have 500 watts RMS going to it

 

[xekrubx]

Its a shallow mount sub in a shallow box. One of the only options for people with single cab trucks. Other than replacing the seats and building a custom center console. Looking at the picture of that mtx setup shows me you really have no space.
This JL box and sub combo would probably sound decent and you can keep some space for a couple bags of groceries.
I guess the question is how much bass do you want?
Bass that shakes all your mirrors or just some light bass to get a fuller sound?
Id say without hearing it that jl combo it would put you right in the middle.