So, this guy I work with is selling me his subs because he got a new truck and doesn't have room for them. Anyone have any suggestions on where I should put them in the xB? I have never had a "system" in any of my cars before so I am pretty clueless on what I should do.

 

I have 1 12 and it rocks my car....

If I went w/ 2 I would do a fiberglass box, Have them off set, but thats me.


ported boxes sound awesome in the xb so you might try that.

 

Where did you put the 1 at? He's selling both of the 12" for 50 bucks, so its a pretty sweet deal. I would need some serious help making a fiberglass box, and I have no clue what a ported box even is

 

You have plenty of room for a "standard box". I can get you a great deal if you're interested. Unique Car Audio in Chandler has done demo Scion's for Kenwood and me, you can check them out if you want custom. My xA will be in there all this week if you want to see what they're doing.

 

Ok I got another question, what should I do as far as an amp? I want to keep the stock head unit and I don't want to spend too much for an amp, so any have any suggestions?

 

Do you kno wwhat the RMS is of each sub? Ill take a wild guess adn say 350watts.

You will probably want atleast an 800w amp. YOu can get a nice Kenwood 2 channel amp for about $130

 

Wouldn't two 12s bring down performance in the xB due to weight?

 

they don't weigh anymore than an additional passenger, and no matter how many springs, strutbars, and exhausts you put on an xB, it's not a performance vehicle. If I were driving an xB, I'd rather have a great sound system than shave .2 secs off my 1/4 mile.

 

word.

 

I have amps too, if your interested in doing somethin PM me a nd I'll give you more details. Otherwie, talk to me Pavillions when I'm there.

 

cme42ns, check your PM's

 

man 2 12s is nothin i had 1 jl12w6v2 and 2 jl12w3v2 in my car and i had the amp under the passenger seat. and it was pretty cool

 

xA, xB, tC????

I got a single 12 in my xA in a truck wedge, laying flat. Doesn't sound as good as a regular enclosure, but still sounds great. The reason I chose that setup was so that the cargo cover could clear the sub, and keep it outta sight and outta the sun (causes damage). I placed my amp by my spare tire, by moving the spare over one notch (you can slide the tire over and place the bolt in the lug hole. I used industrial grade velcro tape to secure the amp, and keep in insulated from the sheet metal. BTW, with the industrial grade velcro I used for my amp and sub enclosure, it takes both hands, and then some to move the amp or sub.

 

Where and how you install the subs will depend on your use of the rear cargo area. If you don't use the space behind the rear, I would suggest a ported box (ported means it has "tubes or vents") with a strong enough material to keep from falling apart (3/4" to 1" mdf (medium density fiberboard) will work fine). If you need the space back there, I would suggest ditching the everything under the carpet behind the rear seat and doing an enclosure where the spare tire use to go. It will look better and be harder to steal. Or you could go with 2 small sealed boxes and bolt them into the back. Have the box fabric match your interior for that custom look. As far as an amp goes, you need to check online with the sub manufacturer to see what the maximum continuous RMS power is on the subs for 4 ohm and 2 ohm loads. Then I would highly suggest that you choose am amp that has less RMs power than the subs. For example, if the subs handle 200 watts RMS, wired together (4 ohm) they would handle 400 watts. You then would look for an amp that puts out 300-350 watts RMS. Too much or too little power (and factory deck distortion) will fry your subs. If your factory deck has RCA pre-outs, the amp install will be a snap. Due to the thin nature of the scion, I would highly recommend some Dynamat Extreme ($200 at fry's electronics) for the entire back half which will prevent the annoying rattling and improve sound quality dramatically. You should also invest in a gel cell type battery, 140 amp circuit breaker, 4 gauge power and ground wiring, and at least a 1 farad capacitor (to keep the lights from dimming at night). need any help, let me know. I do my own installs.

signed, ALL KNOWING

 

so... 2 12"s is nothing, but 3 twelves is awesome?

 

i guess you've got some incredibly clean power to use less than rms to drive your subs. Also, i think this guy just wants to get hooked up, cause he's buying 2 12s for 50 bucks... they can't be great speakers. i say, get a bargain amp (not ____ty, bargain, something like a hifonics or something off ebay, 1500watts for 240 dollars) and a bargain amp kit, either install yourself or pay for it to be done, usually isn't hard. making your own box is easy, i recently built a 2.5ft^3 ported @ 28hz for my IDMAX and it's fantastic. Remember the rules of economics: the first dollar spent gets the most for the money.

 

The best bargain right now on equipment is with a company called Fusion (www.fusioncaraudio.com). The guy is from New Zealand and started out making boat systems. Then he was selling from the trunk of his car. Only 32 yrs old. US distributor is here in AZ. I am designing a setup for my EVO and wanted to keep weight down but have massive power at the same time. Tough call. For the weight of 1 JL 13W7 w/out a box, I can get 2 Fusion powerplant 12's in a box! The stuff is very reasonably priced and sound quality actually rivaled in JL in bass response. The 15" powerplant model was EXTEREMLY efficient. Most 15's move like waterbeds. I can buy a 15" sub for $259 and it handles 1100 watts of power!. If money is an issue, my advice would be to take your time and not install anything until you have all the stuff. The internet is ok to get used stuff but your best bet is your sunday newspaper. Then you could actually go look at the stuff and test it to make sure it works. Pick up a 12 volt power supply from Radio Shack ($20-40) to use for testing amps, decks and crossovers. Or have the person hook it up in their car to see if it performs to your needs. Or do what I do. Put those white chicks to work so you don't have to compromise!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

First of all, the sub is going to have the same continuous power rating no matter what impedence it's running at, it will just draw a different amount of current from the amplifier.

Next, too little power will NEVER fry your subs...i don't even know how you deduced that but the only thing too little power will ever do is possibly not allow your subs to play to their full potential. However, my last system was running 2 IDmax 12s (1200 W rms each) off of a single JBL 1200.1 and they sounded like a dream, and were plenty loud.

Also, why should he invest in a 'gel cell' type battery? That won't do anything for his system. Anybody who buys an optima yellow top or any gel cell battery for their main starter battery is wasting their money. Those batteries are designed for people who run their system with the engine off for extended periods of time because they can handle being fully discharged and recharged very well.

140 A circuit breaker? my last system was running 1380 W+ and I had a 150 A in-line ANL fuse which never blew, so 140 A for a 300-400 W system is waaaaay overkill. The size fuse you use really only depends on the size/length wire you're planning on running, and there are a million places online that have a chart showing you what size wire can handle what amount of current , and that's how you should decide on what size wire and fuse to use.

Capacitors are pieces of crap that cost waaaay too much money. They will probably help with headlight dimming if you have very minor dimming (which I doubt you'll have any running 300-400 W, especially if you get a class D amp). But anything more than minor dimming means that you're killing your electrical system and the only real way to fix that is to upgrade your alternator.

One thing I do agree with you on is the use of dynamat, except I'd suggest looking into lower priced options because dynamat still charges disgusting prices and nowadays there are at least 10 alternatives.

I also do my own installs, and am 3 months away from my BS in electrical engineering, so I can answer questions also.

signed, NOT ALL KNOWING BUT KNOWS MORE THAN "ALL KNOWING"

p.s. - sorry I don't mean to flame but I really hate it when people give newbies the advice that your typical circuit city salesman would give them. I'm down with high quality audio without all the bs.

 

I appreciate the venting invisible21 however you said that you're almost finish w/your degree. So let me school you real quick. Too little power to a sub can still burnt out a voicecoil. In your case (2idmax 12's w/jbl 1200) the subs are running at 1/2 power which is just fine. What i meant was there are people out there who have 1000w rms subs running off 100-200w amps!!!! As far as a battery is concerned, gel-cell is highly recommended simply because of it's recharging features. you can't recharge a Diehard!! Not to mention here in AZ, due to the heat normal cars go thru batteries every year so when you had a system in the mix, it's really taxing on the car. You also know (being a future EE) that for every 1000w of power you will need a minimum of 1 farad capacitance at 14.4 volts. You will also need an additional battery as well. Caps are also a cheaper, lighter, & space saving alternative to extra batteries. And no I don't give circuit city advice either. Those guys are idiots. Here is how far I go back Young Skywalker. My 1st car install was an Orion Reference (black) mono amp pushing a 15" MTX terminator sub (the red 2 ohm one) ina 2.5 cu ft sealed box bridged to 1/2 ohm, Infinity components made in custom kick panels being run with an Orion HCCA 225 (the red ones), with a Sony CD555 portable CD player as the source (really cool but skipped really easy), 6 Delco batteries, and 12 light generators on a 3 WHEELED BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as credentials go, I have an MS in Audio Engineering, Full MECP certified (all 7 stages), participated in the development of the new MTX 9500 sub that was released shortly ago, and I am currently designing and building my own home audio speakers. So next time you want to open your mouth, make sure listen when GROWN FOLKS are talking!!

signed, the undisputed ALL KNOWING

 

best thing to do is use your imagination....let it run wild...best results....