subwoofer enclosures

so just went looking at upgrading my system tonight and can't believe how much the stealth box cost currently but with that being said does anyone have any feedback on the one from TECH12VOLTS ? Not sure if I want to drop $1800 on the box but looking with other options. Im going with FOCAL speakers with a KENWOOD DMX958XR head unit but looking for some ideas on the sub enclosure. any recommendations would be greatly appreciated !
if there any pictures of installs of some sub enclosures please post!

 

Assuming a 2018 tundra

What model focal speakers are you going with?

How much do you want to spend on the sub setup?

Some options on sub box
1 if you are looking for some bass and not spend a lot of money skar audio has a pre-made box with 10inch subs included for $322

I have not listened to them as to sound quality but i would assume for most it probably would be fine

2. You can get a soundbox for dual 12 inch subs on walmart.com for $144
The pioneer tsa3000 ls4 sub will fit $114 each on sonic electronic. The pioneer is reported to sound good

 

I had the jl stealth box and now a tech12volt ported with 10tw3d4's.

I like the ported box better.

 

What did you pay for the one from James ? If I’m correct the JL STEALTHBOX is NOT ported correct?

 

Thats correct...the stealthbox is sealed, it has the same 10tw3d4's in it.

I have no idea what I paid for the box/subs from james (tech12volt), it was prob 5 years ago or so.

 

Any pictures of it ? What other speakers did you go with ?

 

There's a link to my stereo build in my signature. I think i have pictures of both boxes in there....but the build log is pretty long and a little old, so might want to start from the back and move towards the front...but if you got time, start at the front.

both boxes use the JL 10tw3d4

Edit: they are actually 10tw3d8

 

For pre-fab boxes other than the JL stealthbox, there are a few options on the cheaper side, click on these to open links: Skar, NVX, Fox Acoustics.

Depends on your budget, amp(s), desired goal. With a pair of subs you'll be heard outside the truck etc. With a single sub you'll have plenty of bass for inside the cabin. For SPL I'd go the dual subs route in a ported box, for SQ I'd go single sub in a sealed box. Dual subs will cost more for both the subs, box, and amp to power them vs a single sub. Both are great options, no right or wrong answer, just depends on your goals/music preferences etc.

 

Last time I looked at the JL Stealthbox for 2014-2021 CM (behind seat), it was listed with D8 speakers. 2-ohm final load. Make sure your amplifier makes the power you need at 2-ohms if going this route.

 

that stealth box is now $1900.00 !

 

Yeah the Stealthboxes have gotten crazy expensive in the last few years. I know it's probably a lot of work to build them, and the 2 drivers are $1k on their own, but man nearly another $1k for a box is a pretty penny.

 

its crazy ! is there another box out there that you know of that I could buy and install those subs in it or not really ?

 

You are correct. They are the D8's, wired to 2 ohm load. I'm not 100% sure which ones I have, but I know they are wired 2ohms so they are probably the d8's

From the product description:
two 10TW3-D8 10" subwoofers, wired to 2-ohm mono

@2010bigdog
FYI, I had the model of the subs wrong, theyre d8's

 

Absolutely. You can buy the raw speakers and build your own box or use someone else’s pre-fab box that falls into the spec’s for the JL sub. It’s a challenge to put a pair of 10” subs behind our seats in a box that has the space the speakers want (not the same as what you can just make fit) without relocating the seat. JL has developed an enclosure that fits really well and sounds fantastic. Yup; it’s expensive. It’s also a drop in unit that can be up and running in an hour.

Still cheaper than a Gately box with drivers and seat relocation brackets!

 

I wish I would've done it when I bought it lol but the problem is the truck is a 2018 and not sure how long im going to keep it even though it only has 29000 miles and I have some money tied up in the lift and wheels and tires. I was also thinking of just buying a remade box with one JL sub and just putting it on the back floor since no-one sits back there and spend $500 instead of the $1900

 

To add to this, it even depends slightly on which drivers you choose even of the same model. If going with a pair of 10TW3-D8's, they call for .75 ft^3 in a ported enclosure tuned to 31.33 Hz, whereas the 10TW3-D4's only call for .6 ft^3 in a ported enclosure tuned to 32.14 Hz.

Of the boxes I linked above, the best option would probably be the Fox Acoustics box at 1.75 ft^3 and a 37 Hz tuning frequency. Total cost would end up being $1250 vs $1900. Hard to say how much better the JL box makes them sound (JL box is also sealed not ported) and how much that extra ~$650 is diminishing returns.

It's hard to find a dual 10" sealed pre-fab box, but another option would be to again, match up the volume requirements of the drivers to a box, but take a ported box and seal it. The Skar box I linked above lists a net internal volume of 1.2 ft^3. The sealed requirements for the 10TW3's are:

The 10TW3's have .019 ft^3 of driver displacement each, call it .04 ft^3 total. If you went with a pair of 10TW3-D8's, that be a net internal of 1.15 ft^3. Wire them in parallel to 2 ohms just like the stealthbox, seal the box, and you've got 1.2 ft^3 - .04 ft^3 in driver displacement for the pair for a total of 1.16 ft^3 sealed, a near perfect match for a total cost of $1150 vs $1900. Again, hard to say how much better the stealthbox sounds and since the Skar box is 5/8" MDF vs 3/4" of the Fox Acoustics, I'd probably throw some sound deadening and/or polyfill in the Skar box to lower it's resonance, or before doing that model it and see how it looks.

If you're not worried about rear seat passengers, you could do like I previously did and have a sub box where the rear passenger seat flips up. Still not a bad idea to get a shallow sub if you think your next vehicle will be a truck, that way you're more likely to be able to fit/reuse the sub, but if doing a sub/box on the floor you've got a lot more options.

 

thats what I thought about doing is going with a different sub and just put it in the back somewhere since no-one sits back there and it costs like $1400 less your saying a sealed box is better than a ported box ?

 

Not necessarily/it depends on your system goals. In general (although there are always exceptions), sealed boxes will be punchier/more accurate and sound quality (SQ) focused, compared to ported boxes being less punchy/accurate but having more output in terms of sound pressure level (SPL) measured in decibels and ability to play lower hertz frequencies. Again, these are very general rules of thumb and it entirely depends on the given drivers parameters and box design/parameters. Having had both over the years, my personal preference is for sealed boxes usually but there's no right or wrong answer. Take for example a poorly designed or undersized sealed box compared to a well designed/appropriately tuned ported box with the same sub and amp, the ported box will sound better.