With the help of 1ags this weekend, I finally had my amp and sub installed in my new Santa Fe. I forgot to take pics during the project, but here's the end result:

Infinity Reference 1600a amp with Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1000F Shallow-Mount 10" Sub







I still have a few finishing touches to do with the wires running to the amp, but that's an easy fix. Disregard the wires at the bottom of each pic...I forgot to move them before taking pics.

[This message has been edited by AgDrumma07 (edited 3/11/2013 10:03a).]

Looks great.

But where is your spare tire? In my son's Tucson, that cubby is the spare tire holder.

Nice. Nothing like a l'il King Kong in your "trunk".

The spare tire is underneath the trunk. It was the same setup as my Explorer.

Kinda curious why you have an amp far more powerful than the sub can handle.

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Kinda curious why you have an amp far more powerful than the sub can handle.

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I bought the amp 5 years ago to push two 12s in my Explorer, but never got around to completing the project. I could've sold the amp and bought something smaller, but that would've been a hassle.

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Kinda curious why you have an amp far more powerful than the sub can handle

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Future upgrades will be easier. Swapping the sub out for a beefier one in the future is gonna be significantly less work than running larger gauge wiring for a higher-powered amplifier.

That's what I did. Started with a 500WRMS sub amp but a 200WRMS sub, which was fine for a year or so with the amp gain turned down. When I eventually upgraded to a much higher-rated sub, I was able to turn the amps gain up and use it to its potential. The new sub was built to use the same enclosure volume, and fitment wasn't a problem, so it was a really simple plug-and-play.

[This message has been edited by madd_ag_05 (edited 3/11/2013 10:52a).]

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Future upgrades will be easier. Swapping the sub out for a beefier one in the future is gonna be significantly less work than running larger gauge wiring for a higher-powered amplifier.

That's what I did. Started with a 500WRMS sub amp but a 200WRMS sub, which was fine for a year or so with the amp gain turned down. When I eventually upgraded to a much higher-rated sub, I was able to turn the amps gain up and use it to its potential. The new sub was built to use the same enclosure volume, and fitment wasn't a problem, so it was a really simple plug-and-play.

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Also this.

You go girl.

If you already have it - that makes perfect sense.

But I question for almost anyone here that doesn't compete in SPL contests, why you want that much loudness.

I know this sounds like dad scolding son, but seriously guys that is a lot of loudness. My custom built 10 inch sealed box Parts Express reference sub is powered by two bridged channels of a 4 channel Alpine for perhaps 170-200W delivers deep, clear bass and loud enough to make my ears ring. My trusty Radio Shack SPL meter shows in the 120 dB range at peaks.

Because this doesn't sound as allsome on only 200W.

Need mo bumpage


Need to be able to blow the clothing off wimmenz, the whole point is to score with hot chicks amirite or amirite

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But I question for almost anyone here that doesn't compete in SPL contests, why you want that much loudness

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I've got a single 10" getting 500W in a small sealed enclosure. It's not that loud especially compared to how loud the car is at highway speed anyway. Admittedly I haven't turned the amp gain much past halfway to keep the sub from overshadowing the rest of my system (it's very "budget friendly").

If this was a home-theater setup where ambient noise isn't an issue, I agree a 500W sub would be overkill, but not in an automotive environment.

he's a 'drumma' and gotta have his BASS!!!

Silvy's on point, blow them clothes off son lmao.

[This message has been edited by FLATOUT (edited 3/11/2013 9:58p).]

Here are a few of my favorites with awesome bass

Bourbons and Lacs

Swangin and Bangin (DJ Screw)

Killer Whales

Caprice Music

Late Nite Tip (Bass be cray brah)

Gravy

All I can think of off the top of my head, I also have a file of In The Air Tonight that was chopped and screwed that has absolute stupid bass. Hardest hitting song I've heard with my system (1200W amp and 2 12" Kicker CVTs)

I need to hook it back up and beat down the block but first I have this to install on the next project



Puts out 15W RMS powered off 8 AA batteries

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If this was a home-theater setup where ambient noise isn't an issue, I agree a 500W sub would be overkill, but not in an automotive environment.

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The opposite is true. A 2000 cu. ft. home theater probably needs more power than a car with a 200 cu. ft. interior. Bass response rises inside a vehicle. That's because the wavelength of bass is far longer than the longest interior dimension. The wavelength of 50 Hz is 22 feet. Bass sound waves fold themselves inside a car.

Most people who dabble in car audio are bass heads, not audiophiles. That's why so many car stereos heard on the street are all bass. Yeah they slam but they don't sound like music.

If a sub has a 90 dB efficiency rating, that means 1W produces 90 dB. In a car it is louder than that for low frequencies.

Ambient noise in a car on the highway is about 75 dB. You don't need one watt to overcome that.

Without the bass boost of the interior you see the following loudness levels:

2W = 93 dB
4W = 96 dB
64W = 108 dB
128W = 111 dB

The bass rise is typically 6 dB per octave below 50Hz.

http://www.polkaudio.com/polk-university/articles/interpreting-subwoofer-technical-data

In a living room it is very difficult to attain 110 dB. You would need some serious power and speakers capable of high output levels.

Stand back y'all, science is happening!

LMFAO

Where is the Rebel Bass

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The opposite is true.

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What is typical efficiency of a middle of the road home theater sub vs an automotive sub? Pretty sure one is generally less efficient due to having to be more ruggedly built...plus aren't most home theater subs ported anyway (ups their efficiency even further)?

Highway speed, windows down, summer tires, not Lexus-quiet to begin with, sealed enclosure...I think I'd be pretty underwhelmed if I had 50W going to my sub.

[This message has been edited by madd_ag_05 (edited 3/12/2013 10:33a).]

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at highway speed with the windows down

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[This message has been edited by AgDrumma07 (edited 3/12/2013 10:27a).]

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Stand back y'all, science is happening!

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Just trying to educate y'all! There is much more to this than watts and big boxes.

Doesn't matter though if you just want loud thumpy hip hop boom. I get it.

Spice, I don't know if I can speak for everybody, but I appreciate the science knowledge you dropped on us.

Silvy - that amp is the same as the one below, right?

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-958

It is really a 2 X 9 watts unit at 4 ohms. 2 x 15W at 10% distortion.

Don't get me wrong. I like the class-T amps. Nice power in a small package with low power supply requirements.

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 3/12/2013 10:37a).]

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Spice, I don't know if I can speak for everybody, but I appreciate the science knowledge you dropped on us.

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Honestly my head is still spinning!

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Most people who dabble in car audio are bass heads, not audiophiles. That's why so many car stereos heard on the street are all bass. Yeah they slam but they don't sound like music.

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Maybe that kind of sound is what the guy was going for.

I think it's unfair to stereotype everyone who dabbles in car audio as just some ignorant bass-head. How do you know the dude booming around in his Caprice doesn't have any understanding of how his stuff works?

Having more power available for the subs is never a bad thing, regardless of what you're going for (SPL or SQ). You can always turn your gain down.

[This message has been edited by madd_ag_05 (edited 3/12/2013 10:45a).]

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How do you know the dude booming around in his Caprice doesn't have any understanding of how his stuff works?

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Seriously? You think the average idiot with music BOOMING from their car actually knows something about sound?

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Having more power available for the subs is never a bad thing, regardless of what you're going for (SPL or SQ). You can always turn your gain down.

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I agree with this. Kinda like horsepower in your car.

But it might be a waste of money, extra wiring and install hassle. I think there is no good reason to buy an amplifier significantly more powerful than the power rating of the speakers.

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Seriously? You think the average idiot with music BOOMING from their car actually knows something about sound?

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No, because an idiot doesn't know anything by definition. Having loud bass as a system goal doesn't automatically make someone an idiot though, and what's loud to you may have been the goal of their system design.

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I think there is no good reason to buy an amplifier significantly more powerful than the power rating of the speakers.

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Agreed. Overkill is a waste of resources. Personally my setup is pretty optimized, nothing is being overpowered. If I felt like taking the doors apart again I'd spring for nicer components, but a balanced setup was my goal. 500WRMS for the sub, 200WRMS for the doors, h/u power to the rears. My car's acoustics are such that it will prolly never sound truly awesome SQ-wise but it's far from a bass-only setup.

Some good discussion and info in this thread.

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What is typical efficiency of a middle of the road home theater sub vs an automotive sub? Pretty sure one is generally less efficient due to having to be more ruggedly built...plus aren't most home theater subs ported anyway (ups their efficiency even further)?

Highway speed, windows down, summer tires, not Lexus-quiet to begin with, sealed enclosure...I think I'd be pretty underwhelmed if I had 50W going to my sub.

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I build subwoofers. My home theater sub and the one in my Ridgeline. The typical sub, whether home or car is something between 85-90 dB efficiency. Some really expensive car audio subs, like JL Audio W7s, have low efficiency because of super heavy stiff cones. The paradox is that low efficiency subs need beefy amps to play loud.

The Kenwood sub in this thread though is rated at 90dB.

Many home subs are sealed, because the box is smaller than for a ported system. Of course we also see lots of ported subs too. Especially in the little subs included in "home theater in a box" systems.

Fans of boom in cars often choose ported boxes (probably not tuned correctly) because they like the loud sloppy bass most of them produce.

I never said 50W was enough. It probably isn't. But 500W is way overkill for most. If you like it loud - I have no problem with that. But how loud is loud enough? Ever put a SPL meter in your car? Even a Radio Shack unit is accurate for that purpose.

BTW - I didn't say EVERYONE who dabbles in car audio....I said MOST.

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 3/12/2013 11:38a).]

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I build subwoofers.

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That actually sounds really interesting (no pun intended). Thanks for the info. Yeah I guess I prefer bass to be loud and clear but not dominating the music. Different strokes. My old 200W sub just wasn't enough for me.

I do sorta cringe when I'm stopped at a light and the car behind me has so much bass that it drowns out what I was listening to...but I do know people with systems like that and they built it that way b/c they like it, so more power to them. Stoplights are temporary, lol.

Sorry to derail OP's thread, good discussion though.

[This message has been edited by madd_ag_05 (edited 3/12/2013 11:57a).]

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Sorry to derail OP's thread, but at least there's some good discussion.

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No worries, I'm still here. This is a great discussion.