Subwoofer placement & direction?

[HHawk]

Okay I need some advice on my future Mag subwoofer-setup. Like some of you know, I will be purchasing 3 Mag's. Running them from 2 (bridged) Sundown Audio SAZ-1500D amplifiers.

About the car; it's not a hatchback, so I know I will be losing out on some throughput. Anyways, the car the subwoofers are going to be installed in, is a Lexus IS 220D (yeah Diesel, it's common overhere, but it has the same trunk as the IS250 & IS350).

I do have a hatch (I really do not know what's it called overhere) in my back seat.

So what's the best way to place the subwoofers and pointing in what direction?

I was thinking about placing the subwoofers all the way back (close to trunk lid) and let the subwoofer conuses face towards the driver.

Would this be my best? Or if you have another suggestion, please share. You to Nick! :P

Thanks in advance!

[HHawk]

Please advice....

[Electrodynamic]

I think what you mean by you don't have a hatchback but you have a hatch you mean that the center piece of your rear seat folds down and allows access directly into your trunk.

In a trunk, putting the subs all the way towards the back, firing forwards will be really good sound-wise, but it'll suck balls for functionality.

I know that placement towards the back of your trunk / near the rear seat (where most people put their subs - IIRC it's where you put your RL-P's), you want to face them towards the back of the vehicle. Facing them towards the front sounds like poo from my experience.

Jake can stop in here and lend his input too - as he's had more experience with trunk cars than I have. For the last 5 years I've dealt with nothing but hatches (literally - hatches or SUV's). Placing subs ALL the way towards the back firing at the rear of the vehicle is always the loudest. If you can't do that, fire them upwards.

But you're talking about putting the subs all the way towards the back of the vehicle and firing them forwards, which will probably sound really good. But like I said, it will probably suck for using your trunk. But then again, I don't know what that trunk looks like and/or how much room is at the back of your trunk. Remember that normal grills won't fit on the Mag, so they're going to be un-protected unless you make/use metal bars or spacers to allow a normal grill to be used.

[HHawk]

Originally Posted by Electrodynamic

I think what you mean by you don't have a hatchback but you have a hatch you mean that the center piece of your rear seat folds down and allows access directly into your trunk.

In a trunk, putting the subs all the way towards the back, firing forwards will be really good sound-wise, but it'll suck balls for functionality.

I know that placement towards the back of your trunk / near the rear seat (where most people put their subs - IIRC it's where you put your RL-P's), you want to face them towards the back of the vehicle. Facing them towards the front sounds like poo from my experience.

Jake can stop in here and lend his input too - as he's had more experience with trunk cars than I have. For the last 5 years I've dealt with nothing but hatches (literally - hatches or SUV's). Placing subs ALL the way towards the back firing at the rear of the vehicle is always the loudest. If you can't do that, fire them upwards.

But you're talking about putting the subs all the way towards the back of the vehicle and firing them forwards, which will probably sound really good. But like I said, it will probably suck for using your trunk. But then again, I don't know what that trunk looks like and/or how much room is at the back of your trunk. Remember that normal grills won't fit on the Mag, so they're going to be un-protected unless you make/use metal bars or spacers to allow a normal grill to be used.

Thanks for taking the time to answer this Nick.

Sorry if my post was missing the details; the trunk I have, is similar to a BMW. Behind the seats it has a metal plate.

Anyways I found a picture, not my IS, but it looks very similar:

Also the trunk space I have is 100% dedicated to my car hifi. If I need to travel I will use the rear seats for transfering stuff.

So my best sound-wise solution would be, like I said (ignoring trunk space completely), putting the 3 subwoofers all the way to the trunk opening (so if you open the trunk you will see the subwoofer's enclosure immediately, while the subwoofers are facing towards the front driver cabin. Correct? Or did I completely misunderstood you Nick?

And I agree; the current way my subs are installed (close the back seat) isn't very good for the sound. :S

[Subwoofery]

Originally Posted by Electrodynamic

Remember that normal grills won't fit on the Mag, so they're going to be un-protected unless you make/use metal bars or spacers to allow a normal grill to be used.

Sorry to interfere, but I wanted to know whether those would fit:

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...o+grill&tp=750

[Electrodynamic]

Originally Posted by Subwoofery

Sorry to interfere, but I wanted to know whether those would fit:

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...o+grill&tp=750

Yeah, that's what I was talking about. Any kind of bar(s) will work just fine. You just can't use a normal grill. Even JL's "high-excursion" grill isn't high-excursion enough (and because it's raw metal even at the edges, it will wear on any foam or rubber surround at the base). Those rods, on the other hand, allow enough clearance.

[Electrodynamic]

Originally Posted by HHawk

Also the trunk space I have is 100% dedicated to my car hifi. If I need to travel I will use the rear seats for transfering stuff.

So my best sound-wise solution would be, like I said (ignoring trunk space completely), putting the 3 subwoofers all the way to the trunk opening (so if you open the trunk you will see the subwoofer's enclosure immediately, while the subwoofers are facing towards the front driver cabin. Correct? Or did I completely misunderstood you Nick?

No, you didn't misunderstand, you completely understood. I suppose you could make the top of the enclosure look like your trunk so it looks like the opening is 6" further inward.

Where's Jake at though - like I said, he's got a lot more trunk experience than I do and can shed some light on this subject.

[sundownz]

That solution would work well, I agree

In my BMW I had a single Mag 12 (old) firing up in the trunk towards the rear and it sounded wonderful!

[HHawk]

Okay great guys, thanks for the information. Highly appreciated.

[Subwoofery]

Thank you sir