Mounting subs in or out

[DonJuan]

I'm wondering if there are any advantages to having subs mounted to that the magnet and basket are on the outside of the box and they would then "pound into" the box. Any ideas?

[Weapon_R]

All based on your personal preference.

[Zero102]

Well, that is a more complicated question than it seems.
First, your box will be bigger if the sub is on the outside, not only do you not lose the air space the speaker occupies, but you gain the little bit inside the cone.
Now, you are using a slightly larger surface area to create sound with (If it's a sealed box, if it's ported, I am not sure), so you might (?) get a slightly higher SPL, but I am pretty sure that having the basket in the way of the sound waves will affect SQ in a negative manner.

One thing to consider, is there are some subs out there, like the MTX's that are made to pound forward, and do not move very far to the rear of their standing position. If you mount these backwards, you will get sketchy results, or so I have been told.

[DonJuan]

It would be a sealed box. And I am quite ignorant by ways of Stereo lingo... (SPL?) (SQ?) All I know is tweets, mids, and ghetto bass. love the ghetto bass.

[Scott]

Originally posted by DonJuan
It would be a sealed box. And I am quite ignorant by ways of Stereo lingo... (SPL?) (SQ?) All I know is tweets, mids, and ghetto bass. love the ghetto bass.

SPL= Sound pressure level. the decibel level of your stereo
SQ = Sound quality, whether or not it sounds like shit

[KoukiS14]

I ran my old 12's reversed like that. In a sealed enclosure too. No difference in sound really. It looks cool tho. Just reverse the polarity on the sub/subs or from the deck if you can.

[DonJuan]

Originally posted by NismoS14
I ran my old 12's reversed like that. In a sealed enclosure too. No difference in sound really. It looks cool tho. Just reverse the polarity on the sub/subs or from the deck if you can.
how do i do that?

[KoukiS14]

Run the +'s from the amp to the -'s on the sub and vice versa.

[DonJuan]

Sorry I guess I must not be understanding completley, what is the reverse in polarity going to do? I guess I'm not a well versed in Stereo electronics as I thought.:confused:

[Zero102]

See, if you leave the polarity proper (+ to +, - to -) the sub will pound into the box, you want it to pound out (unless it's an asymetrical sub, like most MTX's), so you reverse the polarity, + on amp, to - on sub, + on sub to - on amp, so the sub will work backwards, now pounding OUT of the box.

[DonJuan]

hmmmm, makes sense, but if I mount the subs outside to pound into the box, the should I reverse the polarity still? cuz then it'll pound into the box... and pounding out of the box is what is better... this is getting confusing isnt it?

[Zero102]

Umm... let me explain that better.
With the wires hooked up properly, + to +, - to -, the beginning of the signal sent to the sub causes it to move forwards. If the sub is facing into the box, this is not a good thing, because then it is pounding 'into' the box. I was not referring to the way the sub was facing, but rather the direction of it's initial movement.
So, you want it to move backwards instead of forwards, so you reverse the polarity. So, it will pound 'Out of' the box.

I hope that clears it up a little.

[npham]

You really don't gain a lot of box space inverting your subs, but a lot of hardcore SQers, do it. Not many drivers out there can displace enough room to make a sizeable difference.

[Zero102]

You can gain a fair bit, depending on the sub, but the thing to remember is, now you are losing space outside of the box. Might as well have a bigger box if that is your reason for reversing them.