a subs dependency on the right enclosure

so i currently post a fourm bout to orion h2s, one a 12.4 in a m35 the a 10.4 in a 03 sentra. the m35 is using a prefabed slot port and the sentra is using a prefabed sealed. both of these sbs are rated and 2000 watts rms. the thing is they both sound really bad. the 10 is running of a after market head and a hcca d1200 and the 12 is hilo running off a d 2400. now i am aware that both these subs are being robbed of there power needs but still dosnt tell me why the bas that i do hear is so bad. my onlcy conclusion is way to much air space but ive used pre fabs on way lower end subs and got so much better sound. so can any help me out on what i should do to get a decent sound from these with out haveing to dramatically drop cash on some amps

The driver is less than half the equation, when building a subwoofer.. The enclosure is the single most critical device in a subwoofer "system". Build a proper enclosure for those drivers, you'll be glad you did. Just because you may have acheived acceptable results before, doesn't mean you will with these drivers. Generally, (IMO) the better quality the woofer, the less forgiving of enclosure failures...It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

haemphyst wrote: The driver is less than half the equation, when building a subwoofer.. The enclosure is the single most critical device in a subwoofer "system". Build a proper enclosure for those drivers, you'll be glad you did. Just because you may have acheived acceptable results before, doesn't mean you will with these drivers. Generally, (IMO) the better quality the woofer, the less forgiving of enclosure failures...

+1. the enclosure is the biggest piece of the puzzle when trying to get good bass. you can stick an ok sub in a good well designed box and it can sound much better than a high end sub that is in a general prefab box. more power will do the least to help you out in this case. personally i like to always design and build my own boxes because i had a box built once by a good shop and i got screwed both in price and results. i build my boxes to as close to the maximum airspace for whatever sub im building it for and if i port it i try to tune the box as low as space will let me.

In addition to the above comments, I'll add that if you want to try your hand at designing an enclosure (I hate the term "box" for speakers) download WinISD and read the excellent tutorial in our hot topics area.Support the12volt.com

winlsd thats the big enclosure design program correct? how does it work