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Car Subwoofer for PA Applications


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So recently my brother happened upon a Kustom 15' enclosure from Guitar Center for pretty cheap. It has a model number PRO 15 T, but I cannot find any specs on it. The sound from it is not bad, but it does not give me the lows I really wanted for my system. Currently it is being run off of one channel of a Crown XLS 802 amplifier at 8 ohms. The enclosure is 24''x19''x17'', is ported, and seems pretty solid. Now I am looking for a 15' subwoofer to replace what it has and I am looking at a few options. First is any sub gonna sound bad since the box perhaps isn't big enough? Second what are the major drawbacks to using a car sub (which appear to cost much less) in a PA setup. And finally are there any car subs/pa subs that someone could recommend for my setup? I'm pushing 500 watts a channel into 8 ohm and 800 watts into 4 ohm load (they are rms wattage as far as I know). I only have one channel on my amp right now, and I'm looking to spend around 100 dollars, but recommendations up to 200 I might consider. Thanks. Oh and also if anyone can find specs on the sub it would be greatly appreciated cause I cannot find anything.

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OK I'll bite. Looks like the enclosure was meant to be a small subwoofer, so given the original driver works, lets try to get the right signal to it first. So:

 

What is the signal chain like? Mixer, EQ, Crossover, Amp? DJ music? band? for now, consider just using an ipod into the mixer. make/model please...

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I'm not sure that anyone read my question correctly. "I cannot find anything" was in reference to the specs on the sub I have now, and doesn't relate to the amount I'm spending in any way. And all I'm looking for is a replacement subwoofer to put in my 15'' enclosure. So a full enclosure is not what I'm asking for, I just want the speaker.

 

But In terms of the signal path, I am sending audio out of my computer through a lexicon omega interphase, through a peavey PV6 mixer, through a behringer FBQ6200 eq (which has an adjustable subwoofer output) and then into my crown xls 802 amplifier which feeds the speaker. There is no problem with signal getting to the speaker, I just think I could get better sound if I replaced the sub in the enclosure with a better one, which I am asking about.

 

But back to my other unanswered questions. Can I keep the 15'' enclosure described above and not have problems with using a better speaker? And if I were to use a car sub in the enclosure would there be any major drawbacks since I can get a lot more power handling for a lot cheaper it appears?

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I'm not sure that anyone read my question correctly. "I cannot find anything" was in reference to the specs on the sub I have now, and doesn't relate to the amount I'm spending in any way. And all I'm looking for is a replacement subwoofer to put in my 15'' enclosure. So a full enclosure is not what I'm asking for, I just want the speaker.


But In terms of the signal path, I am sending audio out of my computer through a lexicon omega interphase, through a peavey PV6 mixer, through a behringer FBQ6200 eq (which has an adjustable subwoofer output) and then into my crown xls 802 amplifier which feeds the speaker. There is no problem with signal getting to the speaker, I just think I could get better sound if I replaced the sub in the enclosure with a better one, which I am asking about.


But back to my other unanswered questions. Can I keep the 15'' enclosure described above and not have problems with using a better speaker? And if I were to use a car sub in the enclosure would there be any major drawbacks since I can get a lot more power handling for a lot cheaper it appears?

 

 

speakers/cabs are designed to work together. change one and you need to change the other. as fior car audio, the sensitivity is off by around 13db. so you would need 1200 watts for the car speaker to get the same sound level as 100 watts with a pro audio speaker. that and every theile/small parameter will be completely wrong, but other than those things it will work great.

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But do you think it unreasonable to find a good subwoofer driver for 100 to 200 dollars? How will not having the right box make it sound bad? Will it be distorted, or not as low as possible, or what?

 

 

you will likely blow the kustom box apart if you put a decent speaker in there. i think you could get a danley 15" driver, those are pretty good.

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look, its just not going to work. you cant just stick a driver in a cheap box and have any expectation of it functioning. you cant turn a top cab into a sub.

 

it aint gonna happen; you can take our word for it now or just figure it out yoursefl after tossing your money away.

 

either way, cheap kustom top does not a sub make.

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Guys, I can't help feeling like some of you are piling on with the sarcasm and attitude. It might help to explain why you think it won't work instead of expecting the OP to simply accept that you know what you're talking about. He doesn't know you any more than you know him. Let's keep things friendly, please.

 

Nshroe1, the problem with replacing the speaker is that its' specs (called Thiele Small parameters) need to closely match the size (volume and port dimensions) and type (ported or sealed) of box it is used within. If it doesn't, at best it won't sound as good as possible, at worst the driver could fail. It could fail because the cone needs to have a certain amount of air resistance to prevent overexcursion (moving too far and damaging the suspension).

 

Matching drivers to boxes is part art, but mostly science, and requires a good amount of research and experience. Since you don't have a lot invested, it wouldn't be a tragedy to try a better driver if you can afford to waste that money. At worst you lose the driver. The box won't blow apart, and you can always put the original back. Note however that it may sound good, but still be a poor match that might fail in a few hours of use.

 

You should also be aware that even with a really good replacement driver that's a perfect match to the box, it's still only a small-volume 15" (not 15') sub, and it's most definitely NOT going to give you a lot of thump in anything larger than a small living room.

 

It's all a question of how much research and money you're willing to invest in a budget box.

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Guys, I can't help feeling like some of you are piling on with the sarcasm and attitude. It might help to explain
why
you think it won't work instead of expecting the OP to simply accept that you know what you're talking about. He doesn't know you any more than you know him. Let's keep things friendly, please.


Nshroe1, the problem with replacing the speaker is that its' specs (called Thiele Small parameters) need to closely match the size (volume and port dimensions) and type (ported or sealed) of box it is used within. If it doesn't, at best it won't sound as good as possible, at worst the driver could fail. It could fail because the cone needs to have a certain amount of air resistance to prevent overexcursion (moving too far and damaging the suspension).


Matching drivers to boxes is part art, but mostly science, and requires a good amount of research and experience. Since you don't have a lot invested, it wouldn't be a tragedy to try a better driver if you can afford to waste that money. At worst you lose the driver. The box won't blow apart, and you can always put the original back. Note however that it may sound good, but still be a poor match that might fail in a few hours of use.


You should also be aware that even with a really good replacement driver that's a perfect match to the box, it's still only a small-volume 15" (not 15') sub, and it's most definitely NOT going to give you a lot of thump in anything larger than a small living room.


It's all a question of how much research and money you're willing to invest in a budget box.

 

 

I'm suprised the OP is still here actually.

 

I was going to suggest Parts Express. Their Tech Support is very helpful in pairing up speaker specs with enclosure specs. You probably need to do more research to find out the model of the cab, but having precise measurements and that pic "might" be enough for them to go on.

 

It might be better to add to your $200 and buy a good used sub.

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the box may blow apart; i have seen a few people replace a yamaha driver in a club sub with a peavey driver and it starts to blow the cab apart.

 

i replaced the stock drivers in my club tops for much higher power drivers and i am starting to have several joints fail on the cabs after two years, and these boxes are HPF at 100hz. i dont know the construction of a kustom cab but i am betting it is not built to take the pressures of a more higher powered driver than it was designed for.

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Take the grill off and take the speaker out. Measure the inside. High / wide / and deep. Next measure the port.

Find out how long in it goes as well as how high and wide it is. With these measurements I can give you a rough idea of the box tuning and maybe some speakers that will work in it.

Also is there a power rating of the current box? Might be handy to see what the people who made it had in mind.

 

Dookietwo

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The OP should contact Kustom Tech Support to find out what exactly that cab is.

 

 

I suspect strongly that the less than warm initial responses here have already sent to OP running for cover. Let's not turn into that other sound board that I quit visiting because of the condescension and impatience. We were all n00bs once. Most of us are still learning daily.

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