The most obnoxious component in your system, and also, one of the most necessary.

If you’ve read my article about speakers, you’re up to speed. If you haven’t (and don’t know anything about speakers or subwoofers), read it here.

Subwoofers reproduce the lowest frequencies of the audio spectrum, AKA bass. They are essential to both SQ and SPL systems, but for different reasons. Let’s take a look now…

For SQ systems: Effectively reproduce the lowest frequencies making the music sound full and powerful. Instruments that play lower frequencies such as organs, drums and synthesizers will sound more realistic and powerful with a subwoofer installed.

For SPL systems: Because subwoofers are loud, they are the preferred speaker to make a whole lotta noise.

Also, because our ears are less sensitive to lower frequencies we need the extra bass for the system to sound balanced.

So, what do I have to look for to find a great woofer? I’ll tell you!

Power Handling:

Just like with every other part in a stereo system, power handling is important for subwoofers as well. Earlier, in my article about speakers, I talked about how you can send more power to them to increase their volume, but decrease the distortion. The same is true of subwoofers, but be careful! Since lower frequency distortion is harder to perceive, it’s easy to overdo it, and blow your subwoofers. Anyway, with that said, it is smart to buy an amp that can put out exactly what your subwoofers are designed to take, but take it easy!

Size:

Subwoofers come in many sizes, but the most common are 8", 10", 12", and 15". This is probably also noted in metric for the European brands. As you can imagine, the bigger woofers are the ones that will play louder and play lower. Of course, the smaller ones are more musical, more precise, and sound "tighter". What size you decide on usually has to do with your own preferences, as well as installation considerations. Remember! 18" subwoofers don’t just fit anywhere!

Voice coil info:

SVC: Single voice coil

This means that the speaker has only one voice coil. In other words, only one input.

DVC: Dual voice coil

This means that the speaker has two voice coils, or two inputs.

Ummmmmmm, ok. Why does it matter?

I could go into details here, but I know you don’t really care. Basically, it boils down to this: With a DVC subwoofer, there are more installation options. Look at it this way, a DVC "looks" like two subwoofers to your amplifier. With some nifty wiring tricks (called series and parallel), you can hook up many subwoofers to a single amp–even if the amp is a "mono" or a two channel amp. In addition, you can manipulate how many ohms the amp has to push. If you have an amp that is stable to a half ohm (like some old school Orion HCCA amps), you could potentially hook up 4-8 woofers to a single channel! Imagine the noise you could make!

Some words about boxes:

Boxes are essential to most subwoofers. In other words, consider a subwoofer’s box just as important as the subwoofer itself. Why? Because most subwoofers need a box to operate properly, sound good, and not damage themselves. Subwoofers that don’t need a box are called "free air" or "infinite baffle" subwoofers.

Like I said, most subwoofers need a box. So, let’s talk about boxes!

First, what types of boxes are there?

Sealed: The simplest kind. Essentially, a sealed box is a box where the inside and outside are not linked. There are no holes, and care is taken to ensure that the box is completely sealed.

Ported: A ported box is a subwoofer box with at least one hole, or "port" in it. The goal of the ported box is to emphasize a certain frequency. These boxes are used because they are often louder than sealed boxes.

Bandpass: A bandpass box is similar to a ported box because it has ports; however, the bandpass box tries to de-emphasize certain frequencies, while emphasizing others. In other words, it works like a bandpass crossover. The bandpass box emphasizes a frequency band while de-emphasizing frequencies lower than and higher than the band.

Isobarik: These boxes aim to fit more than one subwoofer into a small box. The subwoofers are set up to work in tandem. Sometimes both subs move in the same direction at the same time, sometimes one sub pulls while the other pushes. There are advantages to this type of set-up, but box design is difficult.

OK, so now you know everything about SUBZ, but here are the specs that you’ll need to know to choose your subwoofer:

Power Handling: Subs are speakers, and as such can only handle so much power (or distortion) before they blow! Power handling is measured in watts, and is often given in two specifications: RMS and Max (or peak). The RMS rating is the most important. If a sub says it can handle 200 watts RMS and 400 watts Max, be sure the amp will provide 200 watts RMS as well. Not 400 watts RMS. While it’s true that the sub can handle 400 watts, it can only handle that kind of power for a short time. If you hook that sub up to an amp that puts out 400 watts RMS, you will ruin that speaker pretty quickly–because it is constantly being exposed to 400 watts, not short bursts of 400 watts. You dig? Good.

Sensitivity: This term means exactly what you think it means. In short, a subwoofer with higher sensitivity will be louder than a subwoofer with lower sensitivity when they are hooked up to the same amp. The spec is measured in db.

Frequency response: You obviously want a subwoofer than can handle a wide range of frequencies. However, the subwoofer does the most work under 100hz. If the subwoofer plays all the way down to 20hz, you know you’ve got a great sub. The good news is that even if it doesn’t go that low, most music doesn’t either. Sooooo, you’ll still be fine. I would say the it’s more important to have a low-playing sub in systems with DVD players and 5.1 sound. Also, frequency response varies depending on the box that the subwoofer is installed in. Ummmm, so with this in mind, just pick a subwoofer that will handle the power, and sound how you want it to.

Cone Material: When it comes to subwoofers, this is actually a pretty important thing to pay attention to. Because subwoofers are big and powerful, you need a cone material that can withstand lots and lots of abuse. I personally am a big fan of metals such as aluminium. This is because aluminium is light and stiff, and likewise, produces very tight and musical sounding bass. I know that many subwoofer manufacturers use exotic sounding materials for their subwoofers, which makes it difficult to determine which material is the best.

Surround material: Here’s my advice: Always get a subwoofer with a rubber surround. Rubber holds up the best in the auto environment.

Impedance: Measured in Ohms, this spec tells you how much resistance the speaker presents to your amp. Too much, and you get no volume, too little, and your subwoofer will fry your amp! This spec will help you decide which amp to hook up to your subwoofer, whether you want to bridge your amp, and whether you want to wire multiple subs into parallel or series. Also, subwoofers sometimes have more than one voice coil (aka DVC). This means that the subwoofer will have two inputs, each with the same impedance. Subwoofers with dual voice coils are more versatile to install, especially in multiple woofer systems.

A basic subwoofer install is fairly easy. If you buy a pre-fab sub box, mount the subs and power them, you’re going to get good bass. To install professionally, and achieve the best sound, much planning and work must go into the whole process. This is a situation where if you don’t feel confident in your ability to build a box, tune it, and hook it up, you should visit a car audio shop, and have them do it for you. This can be relatively cheap, or quite expensive.

If you are planning on doing the install yourself, but lack the box building skills, you can buy a pre-fab box. I would also strongly recommend an EQ device to fine tune the bass. This will help you overcome road noise (which ruins bass), and also cut back on "boominess" and "muddiness". In the end, this route is the best compromise between a custom box and a pre-fab box. You’ll get great sound, and save money!

Now go easy on those ears!

-Honest AEB

Alan Bayer is an entrepreneur and car audio enthusiast. He runs an eBay store selling car stereo install supplies:

He also has a GREAT website with car audio articles (such as the one from above). Also on the website, learn about car audio equipment, how to find the best equipment, how to install it, and save big bucks in the process!

http://www.honestaebs-caraudio.com/

Subscribe to Honest AEB’s FREE Car Audio Magazine!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Bayer

JL Audio 13W6v2 1-Way 13.5" Car Subwoofer

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Pioneer TS-W2501D4 1-Way 10" Car Subwoofer

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Alpine SWE-1243 1-Way 12" Car Subwoofer

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Ideally, only one speaker per side is enough to reproduce the entire audio spectrum. But unfortunately, a speaker that can produce low frequencies has too much mass to be able to produce the higher frequencies. For this, there are specialized speaker drivers that take care of particular frequency bands. For example, sub woofers are used to produce the extreme lows of music with impact that can be felt as well as heard.

Speakers have not just an extreme range in quality and price but also have the greatest impact on the overall sound of a car stereo system.

How to buy a car audio speaker

When shopping for a car speaker listen to it before buying it because there is no other way to know how it will sound to you. Keep in mind the following . . .

Ensure you take along with you a CD that you normally listen to when you audition the speakers. This will help you get a better idea of how the speaker reproduces sounds you are familiar with.

Listen closely for low level details and how instruments sound.

After narrowing down your choices to a couple of different speakers, audition them at length. A poor quality speaker has an exaggerated low and high end.

Adjust the bass and treble as well as the volume to levels that are comfortable for you.

Beware of salespeople that turn up the volume slightly on the expensive speakers and persuade you to buy them.

When choosing loudspeakers, be realistic. If you dont want any modification in your existing speaker holes, buy speakers that fit in the current available space. Also keep in mind depth considerations, like in doors where speakers may interfere with windows rolling down. Take note of dashes where speakers may be limited by ducts (for heat and air) and rear decks where depth is limited by torsion bars.

Visit car-audio-products-and-accessories.com to read more car audio articles. Check CarAudioPlus for your car audio products and accessories.

Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.

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• Featuring the Dr. Crankenstein “Team Doom Competition Vehicle

Manufacturer: Friley Productions

Join the helpful but zany cast of Dr. Carnkenstein’s Car Audio Installation Staff as they guide you through a complete car speaker installation job. Kim, William, Hal and Lisa, the lovely “tool girl”, will give you helpful hints and pro’s tricks to show you how to install your own killer speaker system. Whether you’re looking to have a system that pounds the pavement, or just enjoy accurate sound reproduction, this video will make your job tremendously easier! Graphics and text make the action easy to follow, and great to refer back to time and time again. Ease back, learn some interesting pro techniques, and take in the pretty sights.

“Dr. Crankenstein” designs and manufactures high performance competition car audio systems. Its specialty is high “SPL” (sound pressure level) vehicles, which have won numerous awards and world championship titles for their outrageously loud decibel levels. Look for the other videos in the Dr. Carnkenstein “How To” series.

• 20 Oz. Magnet Structure

Manufacturer: SOUND AROUND/PYRAMID
Model: PB180PX

Pyramid Car Audio prides itself as being the most affordable solution to car audio. The founders of Pyramid over two and a half decades ago developed a notion of how to bring affordable audio products to the US market. With this constant vision in mind, it took only a few short years before Pyramid was considered the worldwide leader of affordable audio products. Pyramid offers this 300W 4-channel amplifier, which features high-level Molex input.

• MOSFET PWM Power Supply

Manufacturer: Pioneer
Model: 5200T

Pioneer GM 5200T provides outstanding sound quality, great looks and installation flexibility on top of great value.Many consumers want to upgrade their factory stereo system but aren’t sure the best way to do that. Installing a new CD headunit is a typical first step to enhance the overall sound quality in a vehicle, but many consumers forget the importance of speakers and amplifiers. Changing factory speakers and adding an outboard amplifier can make an incredible difference in overall sound quality and dimension. Pioneer’s GM series amplifiers augment the dynamic range and provide better fidelity to the sound system.The GM-series line takes on a rugged hefty look that exemplifies performance. The extra thick cast aluminum heatsink is extremely functional, designed to pull more heat away from the internal circuit board, resulting in cooler operation and a more reliable product. Additional features include built-in crossovers, bass boost, speaker level input and low impedance connections.

From: http://www.apex-audio.com
High Quality Car Audio , Woofers, Subwoofers Speakers, Amplifiers,Car Audio Speaksers,Audio amplifier
car audio amplifier

RudeCar is a family run business. Their aim is your recommendation and to say the least their work is off the highest quality. Where can we start to explain everything done on this BMW X5. The video/photos will obviously show a lot. All this took 9 weeks with 2 sometimes 3 of the staff working everyday, 7 days a week and over 10 hours a day. They managed to achieve a spectacular ICE install thats for sure! The BMW X5 was a Show Winner at the HIN at Alexandra Palace in 2005 and no doubt would win shows anywhere. The rear screens are unique as they can choose any one of different components for viewing. Whether it’s Sat Nav, DVD from the DVD Multi-Changer, Radio, TV Tuner or even a CD from the Multi-Changer each screen can see whatever they want. Some near 6000 watts of pure power is run through this system and the clarity is second to none! As you can see this car illustrates the superb skill of the RudeCar staff and also illustrates the high quality that RudeCar can achieve. For sure there is a WOW factor here! If you want something special not normally seen this side of the water, then get in touch with RudeCar. www.rudecar.co.uk

Head Unit
This is a very important component in the music chain. These include your cassette players, car radio, compact disc or CD receivers, etc.

Whatever the rest of your system may include, the sound starts here. Choosing a proper head unit is important. If you use a poor head unit then no matter how good your other equipment is –down the line — you will be stuck with low quality sound. Your overall sound is equivalent to the weakest link in your audio chain.

Amplifiers
An amplifiers job is to take a low level signal from the head unit and change it into a high level signal for driving the loudspeakers. If you skimp here, you will not be able to take advantage of your speaker’s power handling capability nor get adequate volume and clarity.

Amplifiers range in power from about 20 watts per channel to more than one thousand watts per channel. Amplifiers are in the price range anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars depending on features, power output and quality.

Speakers
Speakers are the final link and the most important component in the audio chain. If you skimp here, even the best head units and amplifiers will sound bad. A speakers job is to convert the electrical signal to an audio signal (a pressure wave that we perceive as sound).

The ultimate goal of the speaker is to do its job without changing the original sound of the recorded audio signal(Sometimes, though, they are built to simulate something else). Speakers have an extreme range in quality and price.

Signal processors
They include equalizers and crossovers among others. Equalizers help to balance sound when used properly while crossovers help to divide up the full range of sound frequencies so that you can use special speakers for each range. This is important because no single speaker can accurately produce the full range of sound humans can hear.

Accessories
Accessories can range from important details to bits that just make installations look good. There are many accessories that are available for your car audio system (some necessary and others optional). Accessories include . . .

• RCA cables
• Speaker cables
• Power distribution blocks
• Capacitors
• Wiring harnesses

This is not an exhaustive list. However, it covers most of what makes up the average car audio system.

Visit car-audio-products-and-accessories.com to read more car audio articles. Check CarAudioPlus for your car audio system.

Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chimezirim_Chinecherem_Odimba

Kenwood KDC-9015 Car Audio In Dash Head Unit W/ Box

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Features
Direct Connection with CD quality sound
Without the loss of sound quality that occurs with FM transmitter solutions
Control Digital Music Changer from your car radio buttons
Works also with steering wheel controls
Support USB Disk and SD Card
Building in high quality MP3/WMA decoder
Building in Amplifier chips
Widely extend external audio sources, like PC, MD, PSP, GPS Navigation and Mobile Phone
Easy to install and use.

The Winner of Our “You Dream It” Contest
Robert V. builds a sweet system for his brother-in-law’s wheelchair with help from Crutchfield. http://www.Crutchfield.com/wheelchair/

Robert V. describes building the wheelchair sound system:
“The basic component of the wheelchair system is an Alpine IDA-X100 digital media receiver which works in conjunction with an Apple 160gb classic iPod as the music source. The Alpine unit is really the heart of the system — it also drives the JL Audio 4″ coaxial speakers and sends the signal to the Kenwood KSC-SW10 compact powered subwoofer. The KSC-SW10 houses two 5″x7″ subwoofers and a 30-watt amplifier.

Another cool feature of the system is the Streetglow LED lights which are connected to the Streetglow music interface that makes the lights go on and off with the music. All of this equipment is wired up with a StreetWires 8-gauge wiring kit and StreetWires Zero Noise interconnects.

OK, so now that you know what the system consists of, I’ll tell you how I did it.

The first hurdle I had to overcome was the issue of voltage. My brother-in-law Eric’s wheelchair is wired up with two marine batteries for everyday operation. They are 12 volts each, and are wired up in series to give him a total of 24 volts. This wouldn’t work for car audio, so I only hooked up the wires to the first battery in the series so I could get my 12 volts.

The next step was to figure out where to put the equipment and also make it removable.

This was the hardest thing to do because I needed to make the system solid so it could take the abuse of everyday wear and tear, but also it had to be removable so that the chair could be worked on if it needed. My solution was to mount most of the equipment to a metal bar on the back of Eric’s chair in a medium-density fiberboard enclosure that I fabricated. The enclosure is made out of 1/2″ MDF and it houses the head unit, the coaxial speakers, and the power and ground distribution blocks. This enclosure is mounted to the the chair with bolts through a hole that I drilled through the metal bar. The bolts are capped with wing nuts for easy removal.

OK, now the for the subwoofer, and this was a quite a challenge. I wanted to mount the woofer with metal plates, but this would make it almost impossible to remove. After several days of brainstorming, I decided to use ATV strapdowns to mount the subwoofer to the two bars that rest below the enclosure. This was the only compromise I feel I had to make in this installation. Although the straps hold the subwoofer very securely and are easily adjusted or removed, they were a bit of an eyesore to me at first. But now I’m used to them and am happy with the way they work.

OK, now for the StreetGlow lights. This was something I wanted to add just to make this chair stand out. The lights were easily installed and mounted under the enclosure I made. Also, I hid the strips along the sides of chair so that only the glow would be seen. All the lights are wired into the interface which controls them.

That’s pretty much the entire walkthrough. Hope you guys enjoy checking it out. I had a blast working on it.”
-Robert V.