You should use a SMALLER SUBWOOFER! 5 Reasons WHY!

When you install an aftermarket subwoofer into a car audio system it is imperative to choose the right size. Too large a subwoofer can result in poor bass reproduction, or it may flat out not fit. In this video we discuss considerations for why you may want to choose a smaller subwoofer for your car audio system!

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[Bassotronics]

The main reason I prefer one subwoofer over many is weight.
For my daily driver, I love as lightweight as possible and cramming six 10” subwoofers each with a 30lb magnet is not good compared to just one 2000 watt 18” with a one 30lb magnet. It’s a huge weight difference.
But of coarse that’s just my personal preference for my daily driver. If I had a dedicated SPL vehicle, then I’d wouldn’t care much. Thank goodness for neo subs but DAMN they can be expensive!
Furthermore, I don’t use heavy boxes. I use sonotube which I can lift with one finger but is strong enough to withstand a lot of pressure.

[michaelrodgers]

I've been a huge fan of 10s for years now. My last setup had two 10" drivers and two 10" passive radiators... sounded amazing for just about everything I listened to, and fit behind the rear seat in my crew cab truck.

[mitchblackmore]

Sorry, this vid just came up in my timeline. 35ish years ago, I was at a 'car stereo competition' as a spectator. There was a guy with a regular two seat cab pick up truck. In the narrow space between the back wall of the cab and the back of the seats, there was a speaker box. The top couldn't have been more than 6"s wide. On the top were 6-8 tiny little 4" speakers poking out. To this day, I can't for the life of me understand how those little speakers produce much bass! This truck absolutely thumped!!!

[PANTYEATR]

Many years ago i owned a 2000 Volvo C70 hard top. Once i saw how the 12 speaker sound system was (installed from the factory) i stopped buying big subs. The Volvo used a components layout using 8"subs with a tweeter throughout the car totaling 12 speakers. It sounded great. I follow this layout with any car i make for myself. You get big sound and you still have practical storage space in the truck and thought the vehicle.

[roddydykes]

Two 12” subs driven by 1000 watts being stuffed in the trunk of a Z24 Cavalier was a defining part of my highschool experience. All the boomy, rattley window shaking goodness. The bass WAS the soundscape and it was hilarious.

[art]

Absolutely agree, I ran 2 (12s) the 1st time my sound was done and it definitely hit hard but left a bit to be desired at lower volume levels. Decided to change things up and swapped to 3 (10s) instead and the difference was absolutely insane. Not only because I was able to separate and place the speakers throughout my truck but the actual functionality and sound was much better.

[SpaceraverDK]

One thing extra to consider is also the total trunk volume, sure you can fit a 15" in the trunk if you have the height, but if there's no way for the air to move to the passenger cabin you are simply moving outside vents or trying to move the rear shelf if that is fully enclosed.

[MrDopey]

12's are always my number one, but 10's are great too. I've never really had much good luck with anything bigger, but I've also never had a big air space. Good breakdown Mark!

[badsj]

Mark described surface area limitations which was the biggest factor for my application. I have been running (4) 10" subs free air mounted SECURELY in my rear package shelf. I get more surface area than (2) 12s and I still have 90% of my trunk available for storage. I have been running this configuration in the same car for over 20 years!

[phillipbartlett]

In the mid 90's I worked for a shop and I built my 83 t-bird into a 150 watt class car. I had 8 kicker 8" in a isobaric box. It was a 4 chamber box each .5cuft. it not only hit hard and loud but dropped low. I was running a 25 hcca on the subs and a 100 hcca on my Polk components and hart 6" midbases. Audio control for smoothing and a clarion head unit with the DSP unit. It showed what small subs were able to do. I thought it was the best sounding car I ever owned.

[ame]

only thing to consider is how area is deceptive sometimes. an 10" woofer has an area of 78.5 sq in. a 12" woofer has an area of 113.1 sq in. that means by going up only 2" in diameter, you're getting a 50% increase in cone area. and that's doing the math for a flat circle. this is an even bigger difference when we factor in the cone shape. two 8" woofers is still less cone area than a single 12" woofer. so keep that in mind. the rough math we instinctively want to do is to say 8+8=16, so two 8's must be larger than a single 12, but it ends be up less, and not even by a little either. but i know the takeaway of the video is that small size can mean using a sub where you otherwise couldn't, so i'm not trying to argue against that. i'm just reminding everyone that it's hard to get a feeling for the area of air you move from the diameter of the woofer, as area doesn't scale so intuitively

[cheristratton]

True 8 inch hits harder in small cars. Because the length of the wave and distance it takes to cross the wave

[thabg]

Ive been using dual 10 inch sub setup since 1999, last year i considered switching to dual 12 inch subs but changed my mind, currently dual shallow subs ive had since 2011

[HvyMetalEver]

I have ran 10's for years. I listen to a wide range of music, and have never felt left wanton for anything more. From Kanye to Meshuggah they gave me the sound I was after.
In my last install (2014 F-150 SCREW) I ran a pair of JL 10w0-4 in a downfire and ported box. It gave me all that great low end, without washing out the mids and highs. Everything was ran on a 5 channel amp (XD700/5v2). I have since sold that truck, but will be putting the same amp, subs and speakers in my new truck.

[zachowens]

I built a system for
My 2010 Chevy Colorado crew cab. Everywhere I looked people were building boxes to sit in the seat or on the floor between the rear seat and front seats or there was a premade box to fit two 10” but the rear seat needed to be raised an inch or 2. I wanted something that fit under the seat without lifting it. I custom built a box and I put two kicker 8” L7T in it and they both have the minimum air space (I have a better box in the works that allows for more air space and uses more of the available room). I have them powered by a 600watt alpine amp and I have to say they can make my ears hurt. I have never used kicker subs before and I have never used 8” subs before and I have to say I’m extremely happy with my decision to use these.

[edbproductions]

The one thing I can say for your example of having more cone area is that 3 10s is only 10in^2 more than 2 12s which is almost nothing. every other point I think you nailed it.

the one thing I can say is that larger subs tend to hit low notes way better so if you want to rattle your car apart bigger is better. if you want clean punchy notes 8-10" subs rock.

[jonathanrichard]

I heard 1- 8 inch Sub Sound like 4-12's and was blown away!! Was at a Sound Off Contest.🔈🔊🎼🎵🎶🚘

[TheSurfRyder]

Always loved a tri plate of tens as close as you can get them together. Great depth and very tight kick drum.
Personally I like the versatility of multi tens.

[JonathanDFielding]

By far, the best sounding tiny sub is the JL Audio 8w3 in their micro sub ported box.
My wife has this on her Outback and it's very impressive. Add the cabin gain and we easily get down to 30Hz wO huge loss.
It sounds amazing and only needs 250W
For me, I've got the JLA 10W7AE + JLA HD750/1 in their sealed box

[johnnycorn]

48years of listening to and 30 years of building enclosures has shown me the superiority of multiple smaller subs, ftw.