Lets talk about subs for a Zenclosures box
 

I'm trying to figure out what subs will be a good match for the Zenclosures box (2 10's). But we could just open this up to discuss all subs.

Zenclosures (2 10") specs:
Mounting depth - 8.00"

Volume per chamber - 0.70ft^3 Per Sub/Side


Local shops are of no help, plus they want to sell you what they have in stock. On top of that the economy has pretty much killed the high end audio shops in my neck of the woods.


I've not done a system in a long time so I'm out of the loop a little. I don't know what is good these days. The last system I did ~2005 was all JL but that was because I fell into a smoking deal on a whole system. Previous to that the last time I did anything was in the mid to late 90's, back when Lanzar optidrive's were awesome and when you had to go to a real car stereo shop to buy Rockford Fosgate and Kicker.

I love JL subs, not only do they sound incredible but I love the clean looking grills you can get with them which not only vastly improve the looks but protect them. IMO the W3V3's are the best value/performance of all the JL line. I would consider a 12 over a pair of 10s though. Similar performance and half the cost!

I don't really like how the box for the 1 12" looks though. But it probably is a better "bang for the buck".

W3's do seem to get pretty good reviews everywhere.

I found a smoking deal on an open box 10" Alpine type X.

could do just a single 10, should be plenty in a car the size of the Z. Plus according to the interwebz the 10" type X doesn't require that much box volume.

Anyone know anything about these?

I spent months trying to figure out what size subs and how many. After a lot of research I bought a zenclosures and a 12 w3v3. I've owned everything from jl w7 to boss bass powered sub. I love my current setup and with the added grille I cam travel and get groceries and I don't have to worry about damaging the sub. I love sq and good sound, amd I listen to all hip hop and trance and the zenclosures with the 12 w3 is amazing. Hits every note and blends perfect in my car. It'd powered by a kenwood class d from best buy. 2fast turned me on to this sub and I couldn't be happier. Before you get one call mike from zenclosures and ge will make a box for the sub if you need it. Good luck and pm me if you have any qyestions. I know this can get difficult at times

My vote is for the image dynamics Q or the alpine type r.

So another vote for the w3
why the type r over the x?
This open box buy at my local shop on the x will come in under a $100. The depth the x needs is going to require a spacer but it should be an easy thing to do. I've never heard one so I don't know much about them.

X's like to be ported and require a lot more power to run than the type r's

Hey bigaudio,

I just got 2 brand new Type R 1023D's (10" dual 2 ohm VC) and will be ordering a zenenclosure for them shortly. I thought the internal volume was the perfct fit for each sub and I'll be pushing them with Clarion's new GH/AB 850 watt (2 ohm stable) mono amp (XH7110). I plan on running the dual voice coils in series (on each individual speaker) and then paralleling them to the amp to get the 2 ohm resistance I need.

You're probably asking," why that amp?"

Well, for one I got a smokin' deal on it from amazon. Second, it's a class GH amp. Which means it runs like an AB, but is powered like a D (has a switching power supply or is railed) and runs cooler.

I am waiting on my head unit to arrive; it's a Pioneer MVH-P8200 (I know you hate pioneer, but I fell in love with this head unit after I kicked it's tires at a local stereo place) and will order my Zen after I get everything ran and working with the HU.

I am currently undecided on an amp for a pair of MB Quart 6.5 Discus components that I just ordered. Any suggestions? I just want a good 2 ch. amp that isn't too expensive (less than $150), at about 50 watts/ch.

I've got a $1k budget (my work bonus that my wife just agreed to let me spend on the Z :happydance: ) and so far, I am at $750 and still need to order some dampening tiles. If anyone is trying to go the same route I am (on a tight budget) I recommend sonicelectronix or amazon. It's hard to beat either site's prices and customer service. :tup:

So what about the 1 12" over the 2 10's.

I could do 1 12w6 for what 2 10w3's would cost.

I haven't had any 12's since back in the day (~15 years ago). I've had 10's in most everything.

I may just break down and buy a funky pup if I can get my hands on one. Then I could just turn the whole car into an enclosure and break SPL records.

I recommend running one 12 over two 10;s even in the z. 2 10's is a lot of bass in a small car.

Actually the Xs sound great sealed, It is more of an SQ sub than the R and doesnt need a big enclosure. They get moving well with 500 + watts

edesignaudio.com <-- go there

I have 2 full car setups and close to $3,000 in the HT stuff too.

The markup for car audio is insane as I found would working in car audio at Best Buy. JL and Alpine are great at marketing. I originally got a 12" Type R at cost and thought it was good for THAT price, but once I got eD gear I never looked back. I would recommend just 1 decent 10" or 12" as the Z (like my RSX hatch) doesn't have much area to 'push.'

Be sure to TUNE the system though. Play tones and set the gains using ohm's law and meter's etc., makes quite the difference.

I stay away from ED, especially after they blatantly tried copying the w7 and got sued. Some of their stuff is decent but they've had a little too many sketchy products for my liking.

Can you elaborate on that a little?

Yes, could you elaborate more? Links? Are you referring to the Av2 perhaps?

When I bought my first system in late 2005 I talked with Ben Milne, the owner, about their collaborations with CDT audio at the time. He was very open and explained what each company brought to the table. I have also talked personally with many of their staff and eventually plan to talk in person at one of the meets they host at their facility in Iowa.

They also recently explained the production of their HT floorstanding line and where which components come from. Once again they were very open and explained for instance, that they were going to use their new 'in house' painting on my subwoofers and that they added extra bracing, etc.

EDIT: found something: http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/305...ement-concerns

Guess it was pre-production sketches and obviously JL lost b/c I have 2 13Av2's in my HT and they're still on sale...

If you don't take my word on their reputation, I feel their products stand for themselves. My HT system blows my Klipsch references out of the water and my 13Ov2 subwoofer (~$150) destroyed the Alpine Type R's I used to have.

For $500 you can get an 13" Av2 subwoofer AND a 1200 Mono D Nine.1 amp. A 13" W7 on JL's site is $1200 apparently (although it's a lot cheaper online without warranty, blah blah).

Jl didnt lose, ED changed their design to avoid getting sued. The sub was released without the cooling and Basket design that JL had patents on. Im not trying to say ED doesnt make decent product for the price but alot of it is made by different companies and branded as ED. I know that in the early 2000's Image Dynamics used to make their subwoofers

Anybody know anything about RE? They seem to have some good products at a decent price.

RE used to be great product until US amps bought them and started mass producing for profit. The engineerrs who built RE audios reputation left the company years ago and started FI car audio

:tiphat:

what about arc audio?

Their mini series amps look like a great product for cars like the Z.

They also have some well priced speakers.

Id stay away from the mini series. Arc's SE series is great. IMO the best smaller amps are the new JL HD series.

I found out that my 500/1 will fit under the seat. So I sold my 450/4 on eBay and will be picking up a 300/2 for the front stage. The 300/2 is the same size as the 500/1 so it should work.

I think the jl slash series are good enough to handle being stuck under the seat without much air.

I also picked up a Rockford fosgate 3sixty.2 for the factory intergration.

Now I've got to decide if I want to run my 10w7 in the zenclosures box or not. They can cut the box for the 12" to fit the 10w7 but it is going to be a little smaller than what JL recommends. I've also got to figure out how to mount the 3 bar grill to protect the sub.

I could do it in an upfiring box but I don't know how it would sound.

The other option is to ditch the w7 and pick up something better suited to the boxes available.

Id get something better suited for a small enclosure, The w7 will lose alot of low end in that small of a box off 500 watts. You could defiantely sell it and have enougt to have plenty of options

Seems like the best route.

I just hate to buy more subs when I've got one right here.

oh well I may just have to do it.


So now I'm back to 1 12 or 2 10's

and upfiring or rearfiring.

IDQ10. And that's coming from a guy that used to run JLs.

I just ordered the last parts to my system. I decided to go with a 12w3 and the rearfiring zenclosures box.

My system will be:
Rockford fosgate 3sixty.2 for factory intergration
mb quart QSD216's for the front stage (these are older made in Germany quart speakers)
a JL 300/2 pushing the Q's
a JL 12w3
a JL 500/1 for the sub

I may do some damplifier pro in the hatch but I'm not sure yet.

I am also running the 12w3 in a rear firing zenclosures.
It will hit every note with perfection, just make sure you have the crossover set correctly.

I am runnugn it off a 300/1 Kenwood amp and I have the gain at half way and it runs more than enough for rap and hip hop. Look at the reccomended chart for the 12w3 on JL website.

It took me weeks to properly tune the sub, so if you have any quesitons dont hesistate to pm or ask me

I asked JL customer support if the 500/1 was too much for the 12w3 and they said it would be fine. I almost went with the w6 but I just couldn't justify it. I really didn't think that I'd see much difference between the two. JL's rep actually pushed me in the direction of the w3 which surprised me. The only thing that I really liked about the w6 was the fact that it is made in America and I'm pretty sure the w3's are made overseas. The difference in price was a factor too, I picked up the w3 for 159 shipped, the w6 would have been twice that.

Hopefully the 3sixty.2 will allow me to tune it easily. I'm a little afraid that since I'm using the factory headunit that I'll have a hard time making it sound good.

I had the same question would 2 JL W7's work? i like a lot of base please comment private message me if you know! :) thnx!