Subwoofer

[joe8395]

I have a 21i that I just upgraded the sound system on, got some Skylon Deafcon III's for the tower, new Alpine deck, 5 Channel Alpine amp, and Alpine Marine grade speakers.

Does anyone have some recommendations for what sub I should get? The amp I have will push 150 watts to a sub. Thanks for any help.

[jeffro]

where do you plan on mounting the sub?

[Ruune]

is that 150-watts RMS or peak? If its peak, you're going to want to get another amp.

[Dents]

What year 21i do you have?

[yllw20]

mount the sub under the drivers dash if you can.

[hanzj]

That's where I put mine. I cut a hole in the driver side kick panel for a 12inch sub and built a sealed box to go in behind it. If you have 150w RMS I would recommend the JL 12" W0 or the Alpine 12" Type-E. You should be able to get either for around $100.

[Dents]

What I did on my '98 21i is like what hanzj did on his except I went with a Kicker Comp 12" sub that is baffled to work as a free air or enclosed sub. So what I did was use a 1/8" foam weather strip to reinforce the seal on the plastic door which pretty much makes the battery compartment a sealed enclosure and did not do a box at all. It is powered by the sub channel on a 5 channel Alpine amp and it sounds awesome!! For this application, I would recommend only using the Kicker Comp 12" - any other sub would probably need a real box enclosure.

[Dents]

I forgot to mention that the Kicker Comp series are low watt subs so they perform well with minimal power and they are inexpensive too!! I think I paid about $75 for mine....

[joe8395]

I have 150 RMS for the sub and I was wanting to mount it under the drivers dash....I was wanting to get a sub with an enclosure that way I can pull it out at night when I'm at the river and keep it in the hotel room and just general piece of mind. I was looking at the Rockford 12", pretty sure that is what I'm going to go with.

Thanks for the quick feedback on this.

[hanzj]

joe, if it's security your worried about, I would get a shock sensor put on your trailer. If you have an alarm on your tow vehicle any stereo shop can put one on and wire it in to your existing alarm for about $40.

Of course this will only work if the boat is on the trailer and it's hooked up to your tow vehicle. Otherwise you could get a standalone alarm with motion sensors for your boat for around $100. I know a couple of people who have done that due to the amount of money they invested in stereo systems, and will probably do it myself.

[bigD]

hanzj

A shock sensor on the trailer is a good idea.
I'm going to look into that next week and see if they can add that to my paging alarm. we are always stopping to eat or get a refreshment on the way back from the lake and that would make me feel a little more secure.

sorry for the hijack.

[joe8395]

Great idea, never even thought about something like that thanks.

[Domsz06]

On my old alarm the car was sensitive enough to go off when someone got on the boat. Where can you get, and what brand alarms are you getting for 100 bucks with motion sensors? Also, Mounting the sub on the wall by the drivers seat, doesn't that make it hard to hear? i was gonna build a custom fiber glass box in the other compartment. Thanks for the info.

Dom

[hanzj]

I'll find out what brand from my buddies who install the alarm. $100 may have been the "homeboy hookup" price, but I'll pass along any deal I can get.

Mounting the sub through the driver side kick panel is the best/loudest place to put it. I had 2 12's...one infront of the driver and another behind the observer seat. Both were the same sub, and run off the same amp. I faded between the two and the driver side was easily 2-3 times louder in every direction so I took the passenger side out all together. Other boats passenger side compartment may not muffle the sound much, but Tige's do.(does that mean they are better built?)

I was thinking about cutting a hole in the fiberglass on the passenger side walk way and mounting it like the driver side. I figure it will be just as loud as the driver side there.

[Domsz06]

I see. I might go ahead and mount it there. But can you sill hear your boarders when you mount it there? Just wondering. If you can get me an alarm for 100 bucks I"m in. Just let me know. I can pay with paypal or cash, whatever you like.

Dom

I'll install the alarm myself,no prob.

Dom

[Domsz06]

Went and finished up the speakers today. Have 5 more wires to run, then I"m done. I'll take some pics and put them on here.

Dom

[Ruune]

another item to note- I've seen a lot of subs mounted in the driver kick-panels, facing inward. While this looks cool and provides some decent bass, theres a better mounting solution. Try facing the sub(s) directly down or at a downward angle! What this will do, is use the hull as a resonant chamber (or set of resonant chambers), which will magnify the amount of bass that is generated.:D

[Sammamish22V]

I mounted mine with 2 12's along the side of the hull and they thump. They are about 6" off the hull and pound against it. Believe it or not, we got a 3 cu. ft. box to fit in that compartment in front of the driver. We then put a sub grille in front of the driver to let the bass really pump.

[Ruune]

yeah man... thats exactly the type of thing I'm talking about. Since the sub is facing part of the hull, the hull itself magnifies the bass.

[loudelectronics]

I would stay away from any speaker that says RF on it.(rockford fosgate) They are not that good for outdoor use cause they have a pulp paper cone. even though the dust cap is a plastic or composite moisture still effects the cone behind the dust cap. Also stay away from alpines for the same reason. Good choices would be a kicker comp vr cause it has duel voice coils and you can bridge down the amp if it is capable to get that 150 watts up alot higher. another sub that really wales and would work good would be a kenwood DB+, trust me this sub makes for huge spl and is very under rated. you can never go wrong with kicker though. if you had a bigger amp then I would says some kicker L5 or L7, these subs are the loudest and require the least amount of space so you wont need a box bigger than 1 cubic foot. Have fun with it man. There are alot of options out there just make sure it is well thought out cause you are dealing with alot of coin here.

[Ruune]

Alpine Type-R subwoofers dont have an absorbant cone, but yes they do have dual voice coils.

[loudelectronics]

i have type r's in my car and they have a pulp paper cone but the inverted dust cap is a plastic. and they come in dvc and svc

[Ruune]

I've got them too. The kevlar-impregnated pulp uses a sealant that is not water absorbant. Not that it matters inside a sealed enclosure.:p

[loudelectronics]

I did not realize that they were kevlar and used a sealant

[Ruune]

not a prob...
http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_item_name=SWR-1041D&p_category=70&p_subcategory=150&p_main=10
:D

[loudelectronics]

I did not realize that they were kevlar and used a sealant