A little unclearÂ…

[veggie-man]

Alright for those who don’t want to read this I understand, so I just bolded the main points:

I just received my box today (sealed) and when I bough it I got it made to the specs of the sub (displacement was calculated in there). I also got that ployphill, which if I’m correct almost fools the sub to make the box seem much large than it is? Now would I leave that polyphill in there even though my box is already the right size?

I ordered my box from http://www.klausaudio.com/ they sealed it for me and everything.. but do you think I should go over it and seal it again? One thing I noticed is that the terminal cup isn’t sealed at all should I go over that real quick with some sealant?

Now when I’m mounting the amp I believe I saw it was not recommended to mount it to the side of your box (I’m guessing so it doesn’t over-heat?) So what I was thinking to put it on one of the back seats that fold down. The thing with this is the vents will be on a horizontal slant … and I think the vents have to be on a vertical slant (So the vents are going up and down instead of one on the top and the other on the bottom)?If I can’t mount it on a horizontal slant where should I mount it?... try and build an amp rack?


Any other pointer that will help on my first install would be cool too :)

[sinister audio]

poly fill will help with SQ of the box. probaly seal the terminal if its loose or cheap. and youll be alright with mounting the amp on the box. i have never had a problem with the amps on the boxes. but if you want you can build an amp rack it dosnt really matter.

[geolemon]

Alright for those who don’t want to read this I understand, so I just bolded the main points:

I just received my box today (sealed) and when I bough it I got it made to the specs of the sub (displacement was calculated in there). I also got that ployphill, which if I’m correct almost fools the sub to make the box seem much large than it is? Now would I leave that polyphill in there even though my box is already the right size?

Polyfill to begin with certainly doesn't make the box much larger than it is...
In fact, the effect is tremendously mild... and it only affects the response curve shape from a frequency response standpoint, it does not affect efficiency... a sub in a small box is simply always going to be less efficient than a sub in a big box, there's no getting around that. ]I ordered my box from http://www.klausaudio.com/ they sealed it for me and everything.. but do you think I should go over it and seal it again? One thing I noticed is that the terminal cup isn’t sealed at all should I go over that real quick with some sealant?[/quote]
If you are hearing air leaking from the enclosure, you should seal it... otherwise, while it won't hurt (unless you put the sub back in before the sealant is fully cured - the fumes can compromise certain types of surrounds/spiders), it won't help anything either.

Remember, with a box, while there are pressure forces at work, there are never constant pressure forces... rather you are talking about a cone that is moving in and out at a rate of 20-100 cycles per second, and the pressure forces inside the box are transitioning from a "pressure" to "vacuum" at that same rate.

Even if you had a small air leak, it likely wouldn't hurt anything, unless it were a big hole... even a 1/4" hole in your box wouldn't affect anything (in fact, it would probably behave a bit like a passive radiator, or a variovent), except when you were standing right next to your box, you'd hear the air leaking.

But if you want to seal it - make sure it's cured before replacing the sub.

Now when I’m mounting the amp I believe I saw it was not recommended to mount it to the side of your box (I’m guessing so it doesn’t over-heat?) So what I was thinking to put it on one of the back seats that fold down. The thing with this is the vents will be on a horizontal slant … and I think the vents have to be on a vertical slant (So the vents are going up and down instead of one on the top and the other on the bottom)?If I can’t mount it on a horizontal slant where should I mount it?... try and build an amp rack?

Actually amps mounted on a vertical surface dissipate heat more efficiently than an amp mounted on a horizontal surface. The heat rising off the amp actually generates a slight rising wind that helps pull the heat off the heatsink above that point - it's a good option.
Even if you mounted your amp upside down, you'd only be looking at something like a 20% reduction in heat-shedding efficiency - it's a matter of convection.

Generally mounting your amp to your box is only bad in two respects:
1) it makes a real easy smash-and-grab for a theif. Of course, if your car is broken into to begin with, you've likely made a target of yourself - there's got to be SOME reason the theif knew something was in there...
2) the subwoofer causes some real vibrations - depending on how well that box is built (and even regardless of that, to some degree), the panels of the box may be vibrating - and if you have an amp mounted to that, there may be vibrations transferred to the amp, which can break componentry off the board in the long term.

Mounting the amp on the seatback sounds like the superior option to me - you'll still be vertical enough to even gain the slight vertical-convection advantage of that type of mounting.

[veggie-man]

WHOA! holy crap thanks a lot for the detailed response! I’m sure clear now! Haha. I feel so enlightened.

[veggie-man]

Ok guys I’m sorry but I have two more questions….

I thought I read something about “breaking in” subs… what exactly is this and how do you go about doing it?

And I hope my last question is… how long does the ground have to be?

Thanks.

[Chris from MI]

As for as the ground is concerened you want it as short as possible and grounded to the chassis. I would say 1-2 feet but keep it as short as you can. Just make sure you sand the area where you ground it well and make sure it is secured.

The breaking in thing i am not exactly sure about. I think it depends on who you talk to about it. I personally played the subs at a moderate level while I finish cleaning up the install and then called it good. Some people will say so many hours of playing time until you crank on them. I am not really sure to be honest with ya.

[GlassWolf]

breaking in subs or any speaker just means letting it play at a low to medium volume for the first several hours to allow the sub to "losen up" before blasting it.

speakers change their timbre as they're broken in.. some speakers absolutely sound awful when they're brand new. After about twenty hours of use or so, they really come to life.

[Darthness]

i concur... i was extremely dissapointed my first few weeks with my 13w1v2.. after it was broken in, i played with settings on my amps, and added deadener, it was great.

[veggie-man]

ohhh alright thanks! that makes tons of sense. i'll be sure not to blast my new subs at first haha! yeah right i dont know if i will be able to resist!

[GlassWolf]

really it probably won'thurt them even if ya do.. it just takes a while for them to break in like a pair of shoes.. gotta have time for the new, unused stiffer materials in the spider and so forth to loosen up.. after that happens the sub will settle in and sound more natural.