surface area or raw power?

im just wondering which one would be louder....to have 6 lower rms subs say 200 rms each......or would it be better to have 2 subs that can handle 600 rms each?

For the sake of the abstract question, the 6 subwoofers would be substantially louder than the 2.

Generally speaking, if output is the primary goal, cone area should be a prime consideration.

Larger power numbers are great for low end extention - efficiency is generally more desirable for sheer output.

It's not all about cone area; 2 12's are going to dig deeper than 4 6's...

-Matt

greenbroncoguy wrote:

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It's not all about cone area; 2 12's are going to dig deeper than 4 6's...

-Matt

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Not necessarily.  It depends on the speakers and the enclosure alignment.  I have build a sub using a single 6.5" driver that hits 28Hz with ease.

DYohn] wrote:

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QUOTE=greenbroncoguy]

It's not all about cone area; 2 12's are going to dig deeper than 4 6's...

-Matt

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Not necessarily.  It depends on the speakers and the enclosure alignment.  I have build a sub using a single 6.5" driver that hits 28Hz with ease.

[/QUOTE]

Well naturally, we'd be comparing the same type of driver, just in a different size. It would not really be a valid comparrison if done otherwise...

-Matt

davngr wrote:

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the only time i would consider using more speakers as opose to larger speaker to generate more sound is if im after a certain type of sound since we all konw that 10 inch speakers dont sound the same as 15 inch speakers.

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I can testify that haemphyst's TL driven by a 10" sounds like many 18's I have heard.

greenbronco, I guarantee I can take any 4- 6" of (your choice) and make them play "deeper" than 2-12's of (your choice.)  It's all about the enclosure alignment.

haemphyst wrote:

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davngr wrote:

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the only time i would consider using more speakers as opose to larger speaker to generate more sound is if im after a certain type of sound since we all konw that 10 inch speakers dont sound the same as 15 inch speakers.

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Another generalization, which I am sure will soon be proven false.

The enclosure alignment, the driver geometry, the environment in which it is installed, the power applied... ALL will have an effect on the system results.

I can promise you that you would be absolutely AMAZED to hear that I have a single 10 in my car, and it will blow your freakin' MIND with how deep it goes.

A speaker doesn't HAVE a sound. It should always truly and faithfully reproduce what it is told to, by the amplifier.

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i would agree that a 10 inch woffer is all you need to have thundering base, but it might be a bit tuff to make a 18 inch woffer produce the same sound as a 6 inch woofer..  and that is waht i was talking about.

Considering the OP:

One important concept that plays into questions like this is the idea of "Hoffman's Iron Law" -

The basic idea is that you can have 1) efficiency, 2) small enclosure size, 3) low-end extension -

Pick two.

I'm sure google.com or haemph or DYohn or stevdart have some good links on the subject.

DYohn] wrote:

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p>I can testify that haemphyst's TL driven by a 10" sounds like many 18's I have heard.

greenbronco, I guarantee I can take any 4- 6" of (your choice) and make them play "deeper" than 2-12's of (your choice.)  It's all about the enclosure alignment.

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I'm not saying you can't make a smaller driver slam; all I'm saying is that if you take 2 comparable drivers; same brand, same model, just 2 6"s and a 12" - do whatever you want to enclosure-wise to make the 2 6's slam as hard as you can. Then, do the same thing for the single 12" - do whatever you can enclosure wise to make it hit as hard as you can, the 12 will come out on top IMHO>. Whatever you can do to the enclousre for the 6"s to get alot of output, you can do to the 12"...

There's a reason no SPL guys use a wall of 50 6" drivers, that's all I'm saying...

-Matt

DYohn] wrote:

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h now you're changing the rules of the debate.  I was not talking about "slam" or "SPL," I was talking about "playing low" as in frequency response, which is what you said at first.  The size of the woofer has far less to do with FR than does the enclosure used.

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Point taken; I did say dig deeper in my first reply t this thread. However; keeping with the topic of the thread, I was talking about loudness overall - I should have worded my response differently. My apologies.

Also, much agreed on the box having a large impact on the total FR of the driver...

What I have been getting at all along, is that more, smaller drivers is not neccesariyl the best way to go about getting louder - you may be able to achive more with a single, larger driver...

-Matt

What are the model #'s of the subs in question?

What amp(s) will you be using to power them?

How much trunk space are you willing to give up?

What kind of music do you listen to?

Do you want the bass to be really loud and not sound too great OR sound great and not be as loud?

jmelton's questions are good for you to answer because you need to narrow your search requirements.  The question as stated is too vague for a definitive group response, although sedate and DYohn have given responses that when combined should lead you to a conclusion.

A very important consideration, when you are contemplating  the use of 6 subs in a vehicle, is how they are placed (let alone the box requirements).  You have to make sure that the sound waves from each one follow the same path so that they all arrive to your ears at the same time.  If you can achieve that, and each sub has the same input, you will have correlated sound.  It's much easier to achieve that with two subs in a car.

Here is a SPL calculator I want you to plug some numbers from some different subs into so that you can get a better idea of what you are trying to find out.  The numbers you will plug into the calculator are:  sensitivity, power per speaker (200 or 600), number of speakers (6 or 2), and check the box "in phase" for calculations that concern correlated sound.  Use 10 feet for all computations to keep things the same.

Here are some random subs you can play the numbers with:

1. low cost 200 watt sub:  https://www.cerwinvegamobile.com/HED12.php

2. another 200 watt sub:  https://www.memphiscaraudio.com/products/details.asp?cat=&id=57&p=2

3. a 600 watt sub:  https://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?o=m&showAll=N&g=520&i=136126V2D4&tp=111&tab=features_and_specs

4. and a high cost 600 watt sub , the HX 300D:  https://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/default_en.htm

A note about the sensitivity rating:  it isn't the gospel, but you can use the number in a situation like this to get a general idea of how SPL is achieved with all the different variations.  Try 6 of the CW's, with 91 db sensitivity and "in phase" sound.  Now try them "random phase", as if you were not able to achieve correlation from all six of the speakers.  Keep a tab on the SPL answer for each scenario.

Do the same thing using the 600 watt speakers, but two of them.  You'll start to see a pattern that more SPL is achieved through the use of multiple speakers.  But people who have spent great amounts of time and labor on projects like these know that there is a corresponding greater difficulty in setting up  the multi-speaker array properly.  If done poorly, you just end up with a car full of speakers.