Woofer size selection

Ok, I need to be schooled..I am getting ready to purchase equipment for my ride, and am looking into getting either 4ea 8" subs, or 2ea 10" subs. Which would be the better choice, not taking into account amps or anything, just subs against subs. The 8" is rated at 87db spl, and the 10" is 88db. Thanks MattB

if you want to hear the bass then go with 10s or 12s.

I would go with the 10s, IMO 8s are really only useful for midbass.

Yeah, a couple 8's would give you nice midbass. But definitely go with 10's or bigger for bass.

As large as you can fit and maintain a reasonable Q. Seriously. 4 8" drivers won't solve the lack-of-extension problem. New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

Great, thanks for the replys. 10's it is. MattB

However - one can do a lot with enclosure design. Two 10" subs in an undersized enclosure will be blown away by two 8" subs (possibly vented) in a larger than required sub. When the money hits the table - its going to come down to enclosures.

Just did a little checking - WinISD shows that 4 8" polk subs outperform 2 10" polk subs . Both enclosures were vented. The difference was significant. Someone else want to verify this?

Mike2000 F150 Supercab Lariat, Alpine CDA-9831, Polk MMC570 in Doors, One Polk MM2104 Sub, One Polk Carbon C400.4 Amp.

John 3:16

I say go with a single 12 AND a single 8. Employ a low pass filter around 120Hz for the 12in, and a high pass of 110Hz and a low pass of 500Hz on the 8in.

How exactly would you run that Poormanq45? Like, what amp lets you set a crossover like that? What kinda equipment would you need to wire it? Just an extra crossover?"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview

I dont suggest using a 2 size sub setup tuned at different frequenices unless you are using the 8s as midbass drivers. I will confirm the output of the 8s and 10s by simple math forumals. The area of a round speaker is equal to: pie(r^2) The cone area of a 8" woofer is 50.24 square inches      times 4 subs = 200.96 sq inches of cone area The cone area of a 10" woofer is 78.5 sq. inches      times 2 subs = 157 sq inches of cone area More cone area equates to more area of a moving cone which will in turn move more air, thus creating more SPL. This design is the whole reason Kicker designed square woofers. A square woofer has more cone area (corners) as a similar sized round woofer. If you are using comparable subs (ie. same series from the same brand) you can get about the same output from (3) 8's as you will 2 10's. The difference between the setupts is going to be the overall frequency response. The 10s are going to play slightly louder at lower frequencies. However, in general most 8's and 10's have resonant frequencies within a few Hz of each other. This means there isnt going to be much of an audible difference in the low end output of either setup.     What kind of music do you listen to? If you dont listen to much rap, the 8s will be perfect. The 8s will be very clean and responsive to rock, jazz, etc. styles of music. If you are rap listener and want to be a ground poudner you might want to go with (3) 10s or (2) 12's. The main thing to contemplate is how much $$$ are you willing to spend. More subs is going to equate to more money to spend. More power required is also going to jack up the price of the amp you will need to drive you system. (2) 10s and a moderate sized amp is most likely going to be the cheapest route and will usually be more than enough for a "NORMAL" person who is looking for a clean sounding system. Feel free to e-mail me for any other technical information at: drvnbysound@aol.com