Custom Sub 'bench'

[Toxik-Signal]

Hey all, just looking for a bit of advice really as I'm not very knowledgable in this area...

I've taken my rear passenger seats out and crafted a flat piece of plywood to fit over the gap. I've bought 2 x 10" Subs and will install these facing up through the wood. I'll obviously carpet over the wood before bolting the subs down. My main question is how can I make the subs louder / more bassy. I was thinking that if I put down enough wadding underneath the plywood panel, then this would absorb the reverse-phase bass created behind the subs to stop it from cancelling out my main bass from the front of the subs. Would doing this be sufficent to make my subs louder or will I definitely have to build proper enclosures behind the subs?

Thanks in advance.
-Andy.

 

[AndyMac]

No, you definately need a proper enclosure, anything else and the poor subs are just flapping in free air. I can't even imagine how bad they must sound, or even how they are still working as that "technique" is almost guaranteed to rip the cones from their chassis.

 

[Toxik-Signal]

Thanks for the reply mate, I've not done much with the subs yet, just plugged them in and given them a little test to see if they work - so no damage done

Will the boxes have to be a specific size for each sub and will I have to 'port' it?

 

[AndyMac]

Yes there are recommended min & max sizes for all subs, most will be fine sealed/unported.

 

[Toxik-Signal]

Ok great stuff, I'll get working on some boxes then. Thanks for your help Andy :thumbsup:

 

[dualmono21]

some subs are not designed to work in enclosures
they are designed to work in whats called "infinite baffle" or "free air"
without knowing what type of sub you have actually bought then id be unable to tell you if you if these will work like this or not

 

[Toxik-Signal]

Hi Dualmono, thanks for the reply, the subs I bought were these:

http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-sony-xs-l104p5b_p-22710.htm

 

[dualmono21]

looking at the thiele small parameters for the sony woofers
id reccomend you put these in a sealed enclosure of around 0.9cu ft each they will work in a slightly smaller box but for a nice smooth response this is optimal they arent really suited for infinite baffle use at all and i suspect will sound terrible and not last very long if you try to do this with them
they will work in a ported enclosure if you want to make them louder but again without knowing what tuning frequency you want or having an inclination what type of music you listen to then i cant really advise on what size box with what size port

 

[Toxik-Signal]

Thanks for the advice Dual, I've re-designed how the unit will look now based on yours and Andy's advice. I'm going to have two sub enclosures mounted on top of the 'shelf' I've built (which currently overlays the back passenger seat dip). The subs will be facing towards the back of the driver and passenger seat. Will it be a problem if the boxes are longer than they are wide (more of a rectangle than a square) ?
I think I'll build the whole thing out of MDF as I heard that's the best stuff to use?

It will look something like this (side view facing the front of the unit)...

...___.........___...
..|( )|........|( )|..
_/.....\____/.....\_

 

[dualmono21]

id be tempted to fire the subs into the bootspace as opposed to the seats
they will sound better and also possibly be louder as effectively theyll use the boot space as another enclosure and increase the transfer function

 

[Toxik-Signal]

Sounds like a good idea but I don't want to risk damaging the cones from stuff in the boot. I'm constantly having to stick stuff in the boot for my job you see, it's more of a van

 

[dualmono21]

put grilles on the subs

 

[cocain]

Lol!

 

[Toxik-Signal]

I've finished this little project now and am really happy with the results.
Here's some pics of the finished thing:

http://audi-sport.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1755

http://audi-sport.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1756