Well the right thing to do would be to return or sell the poorly designed bandpass box, and build/buy a stout enclosure with a decent sub. Note, you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot, when it comes to subs. $160-200 for a sub should last you pretty much forever, if you take care of it. For the sake of simplicity, I would recommend quality 12" or 15", in a sealed box. The box should not be a flimsy flea-market box, but a strong 3/4" MDF wood enclosure with bracing. If you don't want to make one, you can buy one (check local stereo shops worth a darn) or if you just so happen to be around Las Vegas, I'd be more than happy to get my paws on it. Anyway, there are 100's if not more solid good brands for subwoofers, so I'm just going to throw out ones I know that will absolutely get the job done, at a low price.
This is Sundown's little B-stock website, which means refurbs, scratch-dent, etc (but all 100% functional and perfect sound-wise, so GREAT for the budget),
http://www.caraudiobargain.com/sub-woofers/ , now specifically, I was looking at the Sundown E series 15" v2
http://www.caraudiobargain.com/products/sundown-audio-ev2-15-subwoofer-e15v2-500w-e-series.html for $121.50, or this Sundown SD-2 12"
http://www.caraudiobargain.com/products/sundown-audio-sd-2-12-500-watt-sd-series.html for $162, or similar, something like that. Now each sub has its own box size requirements for best performance, but to give you a quickie on that, the E series will like a big box (2.5 cubic feet sealed), and the SD-2 is actually designed for very small boxes, and very narrow/shallow boxes with its shallow design, like a box that is 1 to 1.5 cubic feet would be a great.
I can't find the owners manual info on your amp anywhere, but if you are bridging the amp, would you mind telling me what MMATS is suggesting the RMS power output of the two channels bridged will be? I can guess about 240W or so. This is low (and 600W amps run about $100, and I mean GOOD ones not brands like Dual which you can pass on) but you can definitely use it. It will want a 4 ohm total load, so any sub you buy needs to be either a 4ohm sub, or a Dual 2 ohm sub (D2), which you'll series-connect the terminals to make a 4ohm load so that MMATS amp doesn't fry. BTW that amp was more designed as a midbass or front door type amp, just FYI.
Now if you want to be cheeky, you can try blocking off the bandpass port on the sub box you have now, and see if you like the sound better. I wouldn't suggest that as a permanent solution, but that will at least make what you have work.
How much have you spent on all your gear so far?
Quote from: jtoddk98 on August 15, 2014, 09:02:06 PM
Quote from: Lanson on August 15, 2014, 05:32:45 PM
The power cable should never, EVER get warm.
This is a sign that something is wrong. Either the ground is not good enough, or the power wiring (fusing, etc) is not good enough. Something is not good enough.
There is extreme danger in letting wiring be a weak link. Since it snakes through the car, probably unsheathed and unprotected, it can cause obscene, unnecessary damage potentially. Also, the amp you paid for is not actually doing rated power, because the wire is literally sucking up some of the voltage.
Second issue, that sub box is a bandbass box. Bandpass is in most situations, built to play a small frequency range very, very loudly. They can be made to perform but usually, they are made to sound impressive on a car stereo store wall but in a car, they are not tuned for the cabin inside. This is an unfortunate byproduct of mass-marketing and "universal" box construction. Truth is, all parameters (car size, customer needs, budget, etc) all play into what box and what sub goes into said box. I'm pointing this out to you because what you have may have overboosted output at certain frequencies (these would be resonant frequencies), and muted or underboosted points at other frequencies, and there can potentially be quite a few peaks and nulls. You may find this annoying, as I do. What it tends to do is fatigue the ears and tends to make a less enjoyable musical experience than expected.
If you find yourself wishing for more, especially if you are into something that can be cranked without fatigue, please let me know and I can try to help much further.
edited to say: I would absolutely do something about the wiring, STAT.
You sure know your stuff! Thanks for pointing out the wiring issue, I found that I didn't have a good ground because I had it going to a painted surface, I sanded it down, reattached the cable, and then went on a 45 min drive to a baseball game. The cable is running at ambient temp now. All fixed! As for the sub box, I am experiencing what you described. Some frequencies shake the car, while others are almost silent. Any way to fix this cheaply? Thanks for your help!!!
