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I presently have a JL Audio 10W3v2 10” subwoofer in a custom box with an internal volume of about 0.65cf. I have approximately 400W rms from a class A/B amplifier, it sounds pretty good, with fast and tight bass.
What I was wondering is this; with everything else equal, same box same level of power from the same amp. Do you have a better driver recommendation? Something that would hit harder than my w3 but would content itself of 400watts. It can be a 10" or a 12" incher as loong as it's comfortable in a small enclosure.
Thanks

I know a Ascendant Audio Assassin sounds really good in a small box at the same size... I have only experienced the 10" though

Back in the early 1960s, Anthony Hoffman (the H in KLH) developed a mathematical formula that became known as Hoffman's Iron Law. Thiele and Small later refined the law's mathematics. The Iron Law states that the efficiency of a woofer system is directly proportional to its cabinet volume and the cube of its cutoff frequency (the lowest frequency it can usefully reproduce). To reduce the cutoff frequency from 40Hz to 20Hz you need to increase the enclosure volume by eight times. In other words, to produce half the frequency at the same output level you need a very big box. You can get around this by accepting a much lower efficiency, but this requires both a very large amplifier and a driver that can handle a lot of power, move a lot of air (requiring a long excursion), and do both while generating very little distortion.

A so-called reflex design provides a way


from here:

http://ultimateavmag.com/subwoofers/60/

Basically what Hoffman's Iron Law says is when it comes to sealed subwoofer sytems when striving for three things

1) Efficiency

2) Low Enclosure Volume

3) Low Frequency Extension

pick two of the three.

You can't have all of em. Fortunately with car audio we have cabin gain on our side so we can give up a little of #3.

Oh btw. I was NOT impressed with the way my 10w3d2's did sealed. I'd be looking for something with more Xmax. Maybe a Fi Q12? or, if you're a JL fan like me, a 12w6v2? though you're gonna need an amp thats stable running 2 ohm mono for that one.

A buddy of mine runs an arc audio arc series sub, 10" in i think the same exact size box you are running and it will take the 400 watts. It sounds damn nice, one of the nicest woofers i have heard so far. It is a very very ncie sq sub.

A buddy of mine runs an arc audio arc series sub, 10" in i think the same exact size box you are running and it will take the 400 watts. It sounds damn nice, one of the nicest woofers i have heard so far. It is a very very ncie sq sub.

hey thats me :happy055:
and yes i like very much

I had 2 10" ARC series a few years ago. I cant believe they would handle 400 WRMS. I was feeding mine 350 and I blew the dust cover off one...lol

Were those the ARC's made by Image Dynamics? i.e. IDQ's? If we're talking IDQ10's I know for a fact they won't handle 400 watts. Mine bottomed out like crazy with just 250, albeit a VERY underated 250 from an Xtant 1001dx running at 4 ohms.

:)

yes, and yes very similar to idq's.

Fishy wrote:Were those the ARC's made by Image Dynamics? i.e. IDQ's? If we're talking IDQ10's I know for a fact they won't handle 400 watts. Mine bottomed out like crazy with just 250, albeit a VERY underated 250 from an Xtant 1001dx running at 4 ohms.
:)

Well I will pass on them since I'm using and Xtant 2200iX bridged mono into 400@4 ohm

is there any 12" that you guys know that will play in a small box like this ?

arc series 12's can work in .65 cuft. theyre 350 rms