Quick sub Guide
In my opinion
Dance/Club/HipHop = 2 x 12" Subs
Jazz/Blues/Trance/Hrdcore Music = 12" Sub
Alternative/Rock/Pop/Classic = 10" Sub(s)
15" is just too big for sound quality, it drowns out the treble from the speakers
id recommend all to be DVC (Dual Voice Coil), they cost roughly 1.5x a SVC (Single Coil), it reproduces better bass and gives more kick
also it allows you to change the way your subs work.
If you need to know what the ohm value is
the ohm value is a resistance value, in the case of a speaker or sub, it determines how much vibration (the kick) vs how much bass (the clarity of the deep boom sound)
1 ohm setup would have max kick but least amount of boom
2 ohm setup would have a big kick but slightly more boom
4 ohm setup is the default which most SVC subs are made, this has the somewhat near perfect kick vs boom
8 ohm setup is the clearest out of all of them, this has the least amount of kick but very clear and defined bass
all these assumptions are made when the box is at the sub's recommended volume, by varying the volume of the box you can create tighter bass (more kick less boom) or deeper bass (more boom less kick)
SVC has single + and - input which only allows a single Ohm value, eg. a 4 ohm sub 1000W 500RMS would stay only at 500RMS and the level of bass stays the same
DVC lets you have more fun because it has 2 + and 2 - inputs which lets you decide on which ohm to use, on the box of DVC sub it would say 1ohm compatible or 2ohm compatible
that just means the minimum ohms. this is achieved by using a small cable to run it in parallel or series. DVC would always sound way better than SVC
visit here for the setup guide
http://www.kicker.com/dvc_wiring
Amps must also be for subs, do not use power amps for subs as they contain 2 or more mono blocks which shares power and when you plug it into one terminal, the sub quality becomes dependant on how much power the amp is willing to provide for each block. the other problems with is its frequency band, there will be a lot of distortions as they were made for applications for 100hz to 44000hz at 8 ohms* and the subs only run between 15 to 200hz*.
For subs always use a monoblock (amp class D) as they are more refined in quality contains only a single block, provides constant power supply and outputs between 10hz to 200hz*. These do cost slightly more but this was made specially for subs.
*Average Entry Level products
The headunit must also cutoff the low frequency from the speakers so if your mono amp is set at 80hz, you should set the speaker cutoff at 80hz as well.
Cables 4/8 gauge^ is good for 12v and ground. 8/10 gauge^ is recommended for sub cables and 10/12 gauge^ is for speakers
Cable quality does matter in some respects, the quality is in the mixture of the cable whether it is gold, copper or silver they provide near same level of quailty. the insulator though that come with this cable is very important. You can tell whether the insulation is good or not by how much they bend, usually a better one is harder to bend than the cheaper brands. i'd just go for stinger or a better brand.
^the smaller the gauge number the bigger the diameter of the cable
My setup 1800W Kenwood Mono Amp, 12" 1000W 500RMS DVC CompVr Kicker Sub at 4ohm, 12" 1500W 500RMS DVC Kenwood at 8ohm.
210W Alpine type S Splits, 250W Kicker Speakers. 1.5F Capacitor, 7" Pioneer AVH6850DVD in-dash 6 DVD stacker.
R33 GTST
anything that i need to add or change?
