Amp recommendations for sub and what size/location of box ?

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Hey all,

 

I have just picked up a decent 13" subwoofer (Focal) for a good price but would like some recommendations for an amp. Have heard good things about the following Audiobahn, Kicker, JL Audio, Genesis, Phoenix Gold, Rockford Fosgate and JBL. Any advice on which to go for looking to spend about £150-£200.

 

Have already got good door and shelf speakers (DLS reference series and Infinity Kappa). Should I just run the speakers off the head-unit and run the sub off a mono amp ?

 

Also, a mate is going to build a custom enclosure and the subwoofer specs. (see below) recommend installing in a 30-45 litres "bass-reflex enclosure" (also should the box be sealed or ported ?) ? I'm not that up on my ICE terminology so any advice explanations would be handy. I have thought about either installing in rear wheelarch a la Audioscape (is there enough room to fit this size of enclosure there ?) or in the spare-wheel well (amp etc hidden under false carpeted floor - like this (see pics below).

 

Hey all,

 

I have just picked up a decent 13" subwoofer (Focal) for a good price but would like some recommendations for an amp. Have heard good things about the following Audiobahn, Audison, Kicker, JL Audio, Genesis, Phoenix Gold, Rockford Fosgate and JBL. Any advice on which to go for looking to spend about £150-£200ish

 

Have already got good door and shelf speakers (DLS reference series components and Infinity Kappa). Should I just run the speakers off the head-unit and run the sub off a mono amp ?

 

Also, a mate is going to build a custom enclosure and the subwoofer specs. (see below) recommend installing in a 30-45 litres "bass-reflex enclosure" (should the box be sealed or ported ?) ? I'm not that up on my ICE terminology so any advice explanations would be handy. I have thought about either installing in rear wheelarch a la Audioscape (is there enough room to fit this size of enclosure there ?) or in the spare-wheel well (amp etc hidden under false carpeted floor). Here's the spec of the subwoofer.

 

Focal 13" 33-V2 400 WRMS

 

Subwoofer: 330mm.

Voice Coil: 65mm.

Magnet: 156mm.

Max. power handling: 800W.

Nom. power handling : 400W.

Sensitivity (2,83 V/1m): 92dB.

Frequency response: 30Hz-1,5KHz depending on load.

Developed for 30 to 45 litres bass-reflex enclosure.

 

Cheers

[dark_sounds 0]

go to talkaudio.co.uk,,, ask the same question,,, many many more answers :)

 

depends what kind of bass you are after,,, what kind of music are you into?? punchy bass or low bass? sealed and ported respectibly.... small and large volumes respectivly :)

 

heres a few pics of my mk2 golf install.... its a spl install, for low bass...

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b321/ ... CT0067.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b321/ ... CT0043.jpg

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Anyone else have any thoughts ?

 

Cheers

[Kevin Bacon 5]

For the bass, I'd go sealed at 5-10 litres over what the manufacturer recommends. Ported will give you good response at certain frequencies, but without clever port loading, can sound peaky. For what ported gives over sealed, the required extra box size isn't worth it imo. Focals work best in sealed boxes and they're not known for their bottom end extension. The spider and surround are too stiff.

 

Only snag with sealed is you need a tonne of amp grunt for serious 30hz activity.

 

Of your listed amps, I only recommend Genesis and in particular the series 3, but they're not cheap. I know someone that's selling a DMX (Dual mono eXtreme) which is 1 x 1000w rms for a good price and that is a seriously good amp.

 

I would never ever run components from the head unit. The internal HU amps are cr@p putting it bluntly. If you want the quality, get a good 4 channel, bridge the rear channels to the sub and the front channels to run the front components. Rear speakers muddy the staging and SQ, don't bother. You don't listen to a concert with your back to the stage, so why have rear speakers? A set of fronts and a time aligned sub will knock the spots of a 5 speaker set up. Not meaning to sound condasending or arrogant there, but if you're into SQ, it's the only way to go.

 

Audioscape have just come up with a 35L enclosure (and bigger if required) for Corrados (pics to follow) which sounds stunningly good and it's granite stiff.