InnovaZero Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Quick question..which one has advantage in low end impact at high SPL levels? I know a lot of you will say that car audio has no def. to it's bass, and while I agree to a certain extent, I heard boston Acoustics new car subs, and those are some of the loudest, tightest, most accurate subs I heard to date in car audio. Anyhoo me and my friends got into an discussion about this, I was defending the goodness of home Audio, while they was for car audio. I brought up the likes of what Sunfire and SVS subs could do, while they brought up Cervin Wega, Alpine, Kicker, etc. and how strong car audio bass can get. What you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Apples and oranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnovaZero Posted March 10, 2003 Author Share Posted March 10, 2003 True it is, but knowing which has advatange on low impact at high SPL is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin B Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 It's all about cabin gain. If you put any decent home sub in a room the size of a car cabin it will match or kick the crap out of most car audio subs. None of the subs you're friends listed are what I'd consider top notch. Adire, JL Audio, Image Dynamic among a few others make good drivers for car use. A single Tempest with 500W in a truck cab has broken 150dB. The same config in a typical living room won't be able to break 120dB. Done well it is possible to get good sound in a car, but very few people do it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Cabin gain is certainly the largest advantage to SPL levels in vehicles vs. living rooms. I was always a sound quality person while competing in IASCA back in the mid 90's. I used the highest quality drivers (Morel, Dynaudio), top notch custom tuned crossovers, high quality MOSFET amplification (HiFonics Series VIII Isis & Ulysses) and a custom built and tuned subwoofer enclosure. The system was geared for sound quality but I had no trouble hitting 136db with just two 10" subwoofers. It is all in the quality of the components, how they are placed and installed, and a custom built and tuned subwoofer enclosure. The sound quality was tremendous however it is certainly harder to do in a car. I scored 4 first places out of six events that I attended in the novice 1-150 watt class. However it is tougher in a car because points are awarded for ingenuity, install quality, cleanliness, etc. It was fun for the couple of years that I was into it. Lots of work prepping the car each time for a show though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I do agree that it can get louder in a car, but there's no way to get a clean, flat bass response(or it is very hard.) I currently run two Focal polyglass 6 1/2 component sets (150 watts each and some of the best sounding speakers I've heard in a car. I plan to remove them when I sell my truck and make bookshelves out of them.) And I'm running two JL audio 10W0s in a stealth box. All run by an alpine head and a Phoenix Gold 650 watt amp. It sounds great, especially for rock, as the kick is phenominal, but those two JL's don't touch my SVS for clarity. As for the new W7 series, I haven't heard those yet, but I can imagine they sound great. Anyway, apples and oranges, as was already said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Car interiors are so small its easy to get extreme SPL with only a 12" woofer powered by a powerful amp.The very air you breathe is compressed to the point where you have trouble breathing.LOL I was testing a dual 15"(JL Audio)subwoofer in a Volkswagen Golf and almost died. When the car doors were closed,windows sealed.BOUM,extreme levels to below 20Hz. I a living room you would have to use a good number of Tumults powered by a stack of Crown K series amps to even get close.To most competition car systems measured SPL. Some cars/vans use thick plexi in place of glass and all the cargo space is converted into a GIANT sub using upwards of 12 massive woofers driven my multi kilowatt amps.This borders on the dumb,levels here reach around 180dB!Any living creature placed in the "cabin" would lose hearing and a few would die from SPL this high. I had an argument with a freak who claimed he could listen above 120dB with no hearing damage,and he did that "all the time". LOL I a weed powered dream, maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I agree with dustin... Its definitely easier to high SPL in a car than HT, but these SPL cars / audio systems become nothing more than trailer queens... no longer serving the purpose they were originally designed for (transport and music listening). Im not criticizing the sport, but like many other sports you have to put 110% in order to win. If Im not mistakened, car interiors often have a strong mid bass peak... which is often why people feel their car has muddy bass but with a lot of punch. I dont agree that you cant get good sound in a car... it just requires a lot of design and experimentation to get there. I have heard several SQ systems which sounded very good, but they were designed as a whole and parametrically EQed for cabin gains. Which one has advantage in low end impact at high SPL levels? ... Id say the one that was adapted for its environment. If neither one is, the room gain will be less pronounced in the HT because of its larger volume. But that is just my opinion... Rob B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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