Free Air subs????

[Gqjeff]

Anybody using these? It just seems like an easy option for my to put in under the steering wheel. Was looking at the Rockford Fosgate M122s4 and pairing it with my sundown amp. At 4 ohms I can push it to 300 watts with that amp. Its 1000 watts stable at 1ohm. Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

[liquid_acid]

I got a single RF m210 in my boat under the steering wheel. Built a box for it. Sounds great. No complaints. It's a good sub for the price.

[Gqjeff]

what power you running on it? So you did build a box also not free air then?

[liquid_acid]

I'm running it off a rockford m600-5 I believe.
I decided to build a box for it since it was the winter and I had the time. The sub sounds good in my opinion for my price point. Not going to compete with those box fat exile or wetsounds subs but that's fine. Fills out the boat nicely.

[Gqjeff]

I was killing it with my DC audio level 4 but water got to it and well its toast :(. After being on the water a few days this last week I need to get another sub ASAP lol. What size box it you remember and ported or enclosed?

[viking]

just my .02 but a decent sub in an enclosure is going to sound heads and tails better than a free air.
You don't have to go over the top, just a good enclosure built right and sized right for the subwoofer. And then power it correctly.
My 07 DD came with a free air sub cut into the footrest. I quickly layed a carpeted cover piece over the hole and built an enclosure to fit on top of the footrest out of site. To say there was a nite and day difference would be a huge understatement. NO COMPARISON!

[Gqjeff]

That's what I was looking for. I ported my comp sub and that thing hit like a sledge hammer with 1000 watts on it. Did you go with a reg sub or a marine sub? I ask because as I said after a short period of use my comp DC level 4 sub locked up because of moisture.

[trayson]

just my .02 but a decent sub in an enclosure is going to sound heads and tails better than a free air.
You don't have to go over the top, just a good enclosure built right and sized right for the subwoofer. And then power it correctly.
My 07 DD came with a free air sub cut into the footrest. I quickly layed a carpeted cover piece over the hole and built an enclosure to fit on top of the footrest out of site. To say there was a nite and day difference would be a huge understatement. NO COMPARISON!

I agree. it's pretty much universally accepted that free air in a boat is weaksauce. you'll have a really hard time isolating the front sound waves from the rear anyway. IMO doing a free air RIGHT would be harder than just building a sealed box. Plus what Viking said. Do yourself a favor and just do a sealed box and be happy.

[MLA]

Anybody using these? It just seems like an easy option for my to put in under the steering wheel. Was looking at the Rockford Fosgate M122s4 and pairing it with my sundown amp. At 4 ohms I can push it to 300 watts with that amp. Its 1000 watts stable at 1ohm. Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

For an infinite-baffle (free-air) install, you need a wall that offer 100% front to rear isolation for the woofer and some degree of a locker cavity behind the woofer.

Next, and for best performance, you need a woofer thats ideal for an IB application, and the rockford m12 is not. That woofer is best in a sealed between .8-1.0 ft3.

300W rms to that woofer is about the bare min, it wakes up @ 500W rms.

Since the m12 is a single 4 ohm voice coil, the amp will never deliver anything more than the amps 4 ohm output.

[Gqjeff]

Ya think I just build a new box and get a woofer that I can slame with wattage. Prob just look for a 1 or 2 ohm so I can hit it with more power. So whats a decent one to look into as I dont have a ton of room since its a DD and no real storage. My ported box couldn't even fit anywhere and that a reason it got ruined in the first place.

[MLA]

The Kicker L7122 will handle the 1000W rms and will do well in a 1.0 ft3 sealed enclosure. Composite cone, rubber surround and aluminum basket. If you build the enclosure to withstand the elements, the woofer will last also.

http://kicker.com/11S12L72

[trayson]

The Kicker L7122 will handle the 1000W rms and will do well in a 1.0 ft3 sealed enclosure. Composite cone, rubber surround and aluminum basket. If you build the enclosure to withstand the elements, the woofer will last also.

http://kicker.com/11S12L72


YEAH! that will POUND. I would LOVE to have one of those.

[Gqjeff]

Just sent a message to a guy on the car audio forum i'm on as he has a couple L7 10's. Hoping they r 2ohm version. Prob just go with 1 of those if we can work a deal out as again I am hurting for anywhere to really fit a box.

[David Analog]

That's what I was looking for. I ported my comp sub and that thing hit like a sledge hammer with 1000 watts on it. Did you go with a reg sub or a marine sub? I ask because as I said after a short period of use my comp DC level 4 sub locked up because of moisture.

The DC Audio sub uses a paper cone which makes little sense in such a humid environment. Pressed paper absorbs moisture. It becomes weaker over time at the bonding joints (especially at the voice coil and spider joints), the cone can warp placing the voice coil in a bind, plus the cone gets heavier with absorption which changes the parameters. It can be a very slow decomposition but with a paper cone in a boat it's going downhill. Even with a protective dust cap on the front side, the back side is still vulnerable. An MDF enclosure breathes. And a ported enclosure directly exposes the back side of the cone. So think twice about paper.

[Gqjeff]

Ya I wont go that route again in the boat but that sub was money in my car. Actually one of the best sounding subs I have ever heard. I will also only do a sealed enclosure for sure.

[liquid_acid]

I agree with Viking. The enclosure is worth the extra effort

[Rugburn]

I'll pile on and agree with the enclosure assessment. I had a Kicker 10" sub, free air. I got an enclosure for the 12" Exile sub I bought. While waiting for it to arrive, I bought a 12" enclosure, built a ring for the 10" to fit until the Exile sub arrived. It was like that Kicker 10" was a brand new sub. The open air performance of the Kicker sub was so bad, it makes me question why the factory would even consider doing that? Enclosure all the way.

[MLA]

I'll pile on and agree with the enclosure assessment. I had a Kicker 10" sub, free air. I got an enclosure for the 12" Exile sub I bought. While waiting for it to arrive, I bought a 12" enclosure, built a ring for the 10" to fit until the Exile sub arrived. It was like that Kicker 10" was a brand new sub. The open air performance of the Kicker sub was so bad, it makes me question why the factory would even consider doing that? Enclosure all the way.

This is exactly why so many poo-poo an IB setup, as most are not done correctly. Woofer thats not best suited for IB or wrong application as in a facade thats open at the top or just poorly tuned. IB is a good solution, when its the right solution.

[David Analog]

I'll pile on and agree with the enclosure assessment. I had a Kicker 10" sub, free air. I got an enclosure for the 12" Exile sub I bought. While waiting for it to arrive, I bought a 12" enclosure, built a ring for the 10" to fit until the Exile sub arrived. It was like that Kicker 10" was a brand new sub. The open air performance of the Kicker sub was so bad, it makes me question why the factory would even consider doing that? Enclosure all the way.

Add to the terrible factory execution the fact that Kicker hasn't had a true IB sub in forever. Neither was the Excelon subs used in the Supras.
As stated above most perceptions of infinite baffle are formed by misapplications or miserable execution. They can work very well in the right boat. Neither the Moomba nor Supra is the right boat.

[Gqjeff]

Think I'm going to go with an ED 12" D2 in a sealed 1.0 cu.ft running off 600 watts. Should be plenty good!

Thanks

[ranger098]

free air subs will basically just fill in your sound, but wont give you any major bass. way better than nothing, and takes up next to no space, but is like 1/10th the bass of a boxed (and preferrably for me ported) sub

[Gqjeff]

scrapped it all and have 2 L7 10's coming lol.. Just going to run one to start.