what exactly makes a free-air subwoofer different than a regular subwoofer?


Mitch
2004 G35C AT
Blk/Blk
Prem.Aero.Perf.Nav
Nav/TV Tuner w/ PS 2
2-10" Subs w/ Rockford Amp
Clear Corners
Pop Charger
Z-Tube

 

It refers to how the speaker is mounted.
See http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxes1.asp for more info.



BLKSNAKE - '04 G35 Coupe
Check out my hidden sub! [img]/w3timages/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

 

"Free air" mounting means mounting a sub without an enclosure, for instance, on the rear deck.

Free air subwoofers have a suspension designed to be used in free-air applications. They don't rely on an air-cushion to to "spring" the cone back into place, and have a "stiffer" suspension to compensate.

 

uh oh...could this mean he's back? lol [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Jeff - Look for me in the black G
2004.5 G35 Coupe
5AT / Black on Black / Premium / Splash / ClearCorners

 

maybe

so could i basically screw my subs to a piece of wood without an actual enclosure, or is an enclosure still needed?



Mitch
2004 G35C AT
Blk/Blk
Prem.Aero.Perf.Nav
Nav/TV Tuner w/ PS 2
2-10" Subs w/ Rockford Amp
Clear Corners
Pop Charger
Z-Tube

 

A free-air woofer is not that different than any other woofer. Just like most woofers, there is an enclosure that they were mostly designed to work best in. Companies that label their woofers free-air, really mean that they are optimized to be used in an infinite baffle design.

An infinite baffle design is defined as an enclosure that contains a greater volume of air than the Vas(just one of a speaker's many parameters of the driver. An infinite baffle system can easily be applied to an automobile. This is accomplished by mounting the speakers on a board and using the trunk of the vehicle as the other walls of the enclosure. It is important that there be no leaks that would allow air to move from the front to the back of the cone. Look for speakers where the Qts(another speaker parameter) is greater than .6, and a Vas lower than the volume available when selecting a woofer for an infinite baffle system.

On top of optimizing the woofers Vas & Qts, most free-air woofer manufacturers employ stiffer suspensions to make up for the lack of compressed air volume.

Due to the availabilitly of high moving mass woofers that handle a ton of power and low cost high power amps, required enclosure sizes are very small. This leaves little purpose to run a free-air woofer when the woofer is almost the size that the enclosure would be in a coventional sealed box.

Because of this, very few companies currently market free-air woofers.

 

thanks for the info...i just received my 2 10" infinity kappa perfect VQ's, and am debating what kind of setup to go with. I have my old fiberglass enclosure which i managed to save from my old G, but i think that the mounting depth of these infinitys is more than my old pioneer premiers were...any suggestions for the setup?


Mitch
2004 G35C AT
Blk/Blk
Prem.Aero.Perf.Nav
Nav/TV Tuner w/ PS 2
2-10" Subs w/ Rockford Amp
Clear Corners
Pop Charger
Z-Tube

 

Has no one really discussed this subject for nearly two years?

I am thinking about putting two (8" ?) free air subs on the rear deck. Has nobody done this?

I realize that the Search feature on this site is VERY hit or miss, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

I (at one time) use to sell and install at Circuit city roadshop. my Previous two stereo installs consisted of freeair subs by kicker. I still have two of the original made (they are part of an art project now) and I still have one perfectly working 12".
I mounted them on a board in the space between the fold down seats and the trunk. I have enjoyed them in each install, and I have to say that my last went for sound quality not loudness. These subs matched what I was looking for. The biggest benifit was no major loss of truck space. Now I can also add in that there wont be a major weight gain either. Try them, and as long as you get a quality amp to run them, they will sound great. I might even reccommed infinity's class D mono sub amp. Cool running and powerful.
Enjoy and good luck.

 

For most people it is cheaper and more efficient to just build a custom enclosure or buy a prefab enclosure than it is to ensure that the entire trunk/backseat/reardeck is COMPLETELY 100% sealed from the rest of the cabin anyway.

 

I was an installer for a few years and free-air systems work well for sound quality and add a little bass. I did three 8's in my rear deck of my accord and they were not bad sounding. If you want some good loud bass this is not the way to go. If you want clean bass to fill in where your interior speakers can't then this will work well for you.

Honestly the better way is to just get the 4080 fiberglass box and be done. They are light, don't take up much space at all and sounds great.

 

Your info alone is enough to make me walk away from the project. Thank you.

 

well you can do free-air easier and cheaper if you don't care what it sounds like

 

i beg to differ. I had great sound quality and it preformed very well in terms of DB. For two 12's, I felt it was more than enough to jam too, as well as sound Q.
and the truck doesnt have to be 100% sealed. 99% is ok.
to each there own, and good luck with whatever you go with. The 4080 is great looking and saves precious space. Now only if someone can create a matching amp box for the other side...