Sickest marine Subwoofer available???

[Jason B]

My WS XXX just isn't enough. (insert Napolean jokes here)I currently have 1600 watts going to the XXX and it thumps nicely, very nicely--just not obnoxiously.

What is the gnarliest, highest rated, biggest sub I can get for my boat (with room for an enclosure)? I wanna slay fish. I wanna make a tsunami with it. I wanna be "that guy." (when appropriate ;-))

I've been looking for a 15" sub but can't find anything in a marine unit.

Where's the 15" WS sub for crying out loud!!??

It also has to be from a quality manufacturer--no Jensen. lol

[ds@earmark]

Jason,

Is that XXX sealed or ported? Just curious because its a night and day difference with this driver.

David
Earmark Marine

[rickd3508]

Ive Done a Memphis 15" numerous times in boats. Now its not a "Marine" woofer, but we have had no problems as of yet with them. I actual have a single 10" Pro Box woofer and ported enclosure in my Rz2 and it HAMMERS! left the stock WS woofer in place just unhooked. Kinda acts like a Passive Radiator. I have a Stereo/custom shop in Vicksburg MS. So give me a shout if I can be any help?

601-636-5573
Rick D.

[chpthril]

Like David is getting at, lets make sure everything with the Wet Sounds XXX is done right. What amp, what enclosure and net internal volume, amp settings, ect.

IMPO, you will be hard pressed to find a single sub setup that will out perform the XXX in a boat.

[Jason B]

I didn't mean to imply anything negative about the XXX. Not at all. I think it does a fantastic job....just isn't "enough." I do like it and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, not for a second! I have it hooked up to a Hifonics Brutus 1610 at 1 ohm (I got a deal to good to pass up on the amp). It reports to put out 1600 watts. The enclosure is sealed; I didn't think my skills were good enough to design a custom ported box into the wall near the drivers feet and I don't want a box taking up all that room under the dash.

No knock on WS at all, just want MORE

How long would you reasonably expect to get good performace from a non-marine sub? 2 years? 5 years?

[helmut]

I have been working with Brian at Exile on a system. I would give him a call they have some sick stuff. At least worth investigating. He is a super good guy and takes calls all the time much like Tim from WS.

http://www.exilecaraudio.com/

[chpthril]

I didn't mean to imply anything negative about the XXX. Not at all. I think it does a fantastic job....just isn't "enough." I do like it and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, not for a second! I have it hooked up to a Hifonics Brutus 1610 at 1 ohm (I got a deal to good to pass up on the amp). It reports to put out 1600 watts. The enclosure is sealed; I didn't think my skills were good enough to design a custom ported box into the wall near the drivers feet and I don't want a box taking up all that room under the dash.

No knock on WS at all, just want MORE

How long would you reasonably expect to get good performance from a non-marine sub? 2 years? 5 years?

I know you weren't. My point was that the XXX is designed for the boat environment were space is a premium. It is going to be hard to find a single sub (single as in 1 sub setup) out there that will give you the the performance of the XXX without sacrificing a whole lot more space. You are looking at a 12" at a minimum, but more them likely a 15 or 18 inch sub. but those are really designed for a ported enclosure, just like the XXX, so to really unleash them, as the XXX needs to be, you will need a ported box. And what you will find is that these other subs require a lot more box then the XXX.

I would try going the ported box 1st with the XXX before gutting the setup and see.

1600 watts RMS is solid power for the XXX, if that is accurate and the sub is wired right, it's wired in series, correct?

[Jason B]

I would try going the ported box 1st with the XXX before gutting the setup and see.

1600 watts RMS is solid power for the XXX, if that is accurate and the sub is wired right, it's wired in series, correct?

Lemme be honest witcha--IDK. Series or parallel?? Greek to me. It's wired per the manual to send a 1 ohm load to the amp. It's been a year and I don't recall if it was pos to pos or pos to neg when I connected the speaker. Sorry. I just followed the instructions--same as I did for the sealed box.

So, you think the porting will make a huge difference huh? It would save me 1500$ if it works.

I was also thinking of just moving my amps off the bulkhead to the hull side and mounting another XXX or a SoloX 12 (or 18 depending on box requirements) through that glassed in board into the walkway. My only worry is the exposure to elements--that's why I wanted to stay with a marine unit if possible. I wonder how 2 XXXs would do? The Solox subs take CRAZY power, I think those would suit me well. They need to be ported too though huh?

[ds@earmark]

Jason,

There's nothing novel about a massive 12-inch sub with a voice coil assembly that weighs nearly as much as a role of quarters (just figureatively speaking).

The XXX isn't the only beast out there but its similar to the other subs that are designed to take a beating, whether a JL, Kicker, etc, etc. And, you're going to run into the same challenges with a 15" or 18" that are going to require even more cabinet displacement with similar results.

In the identical size of enclosure that would facilitate a 15" or 18" sealed you can run the XXX in a bass-reflex. You're effectively doubling its radiating surface area when running ported. So take the govener off your existing sub and let it reach its full potential. Like I said, its a night and day difference!

David
Earmark Marine

[Jason B]

Jason,

There's nothing novel about a massive 12-inch sub with a voice coil assembly that weighs nearly as much as a role of quarters (just figureatively speaking).

The XXX isn't the only beast out there but its similar to the other subs that are designed to take a beating, whether a JL, Kicker, etc, etc. And, you're going to run into the same challenges with a 15" or 18" that are going to require even more cabinet displacement with similar results.

In the identical size of enclosure that would facilitate a 15" or 18" sealed you can run the XXX in a bass-reflex. You're effectively doubling its radiating surface area when running ported. So take the govener off your existing sub and let it reach its full potential. Like I said, its a night and day difference!

David
Earmark Marine

Sounds good David....I have no freaking clue what you mean, but it sounds good. lol
I can't profess to being at you guys level with this stuff. I know enough to hook up a system, beyond that....not so much.

Are you trying to say just port the XXX and maybe add another one or are you advocating getting something like the SoloX that takes a mega-watt beating?
Not sure what a bass reflex enclosure is but I'll do some homework on it.

The thing stopping me from porting the original XXX enclosure was the debates/hassles I've read about getting thte correct size port to optimize the effort of adding one. The sealed box is caveman easy, the ported enclosure presents significantly more confusion for me.

Thanks for all the input guys!!

[da.bell]

Jason, have David make your ported box for you. He has already done it to a few of his customers and it would definitely be cheaper than purchasing a new sub.

[Jason B]

Jason, have David make your ported box for you. He has already done it to a few of his customers and it would definitely be cheaper than purchasing a new sub.

...hhmmmmm. Not a bad idea. As long as I don't have to go to TX for it!

[ds@earmark]

Jason,

You'd have to build it locally since its a measure, build and test procedure. But its not that complicated. WetSounds already supplies the displacement and port dimensions for you. You can change the shape of the box as long as the total displacement stays the same. The port length will remain constant as will the port surface area. But, you can freely change the shape of the port as long as the dimensions sum to the same surface area. The bottom line is that you don't need any acoustical knowledge to execute this correctly. You'll only need to do simple math, a little sketching out of your plan and be able to build a quality cabinet.

Stay with what you have and do it right and you'll be satisfied. You'll even be able to wake Napolean when your done.

David
Earmark Marine

[Brianinpdx]

Jason -

There's a lot of good feedback for you in this thread. I didn't catch if your running sealed or ported but I would hope you have that xxx sub in a ported box for maximum thump in the boat environment.

There is one rule above all to keep in mind in the world of subs.

CONE AREA RULES ALL.

Often times guys ask me, "How do I get alot more out of the sub set up I have..." that usually this comes from guys running entry level 10" subs. sometimes it comes from guys running good after market 12"s. And some times it comes from guys that want to jump water off the lake. In the later case, the answer is simple. You need a 15" woofer or for the crazy guys an 18. Exile makes all 4 flavors and there are several other mfg's making high end 15's and 18's. Ours are all marine certified and handle up to 2KW+

Before jumping off the deep-end with any new sub (and more power)I would see if you can maximize what you have. Then you can make an informed decision.

And if your curious about the crazy woofers, there is a thread on the malibu forum "wakesetter" that just put one of our BIG15's in. HOnestly, its to much for me... but, "he's that guy".

peace

-Brian@Exile

[AdaminMN]

So you want to be this guy?...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUxQM...layer_embedded