1 or 2 x 12" Subwoofer - Is 1 enough?

[jonredcorn]

I have been stuck on this decision for weeks now, so I figured I would throw it to the crew and see what input I could get!

I already have in my possession a 12" Rockford Fosgate M2 M212S4B (seen here) that is in a sealed box under the driver's dash in the kicker plate...

I'm trying to figure out what amp to pick up and ideally which setup to go with

For costs sake, decision is between:

single 12" sub (kicker plate)

Rockford Fosgate Prime 500 w amp here

Again this would be sealed 12" under driver side dash in the kicker plate

Dual 12" subs (kicker plate / passenger compartment)

Rockford Fosgate Prime 1,200 w amp here

This would be the sealed 12" under the drivers side dash in the kicer plate and additionally I would add a second sub-woofer sealed and inside the port side passenger compartment (or whever else I could fit it)

Possibly get the 1,200 to run a single sub??

Question - are 2 x 12" subwoofers overkill? Is 1 12" sub just fine? We were ok with the 10" sub w/ 500w amp in the passengers compartment on the last boat but I wanted to "do it right" this time. Would the second sub in the compartment just sound muddy and vibrate the boat? I appreciate the input.

Additional notes are just that my current setup is:

Sony 500w amp powering 6x polk db651 interior speakers

Syn4 / Rev10 tower speakers

[BaBaLoO]

I had 2 Rockford 12s before in sealed boxes and ended up switching to 1 12" jl w6 in a ported box. If you do a single 12 right it's the way to go for sure.

[David]

In an ideal scenario, if you ran 2 X the identical subs with 2 X the amplifier power, with the subs in the same location, oriented the same, and loaded into the boat interior boundaries in the same manner, then you would perceive a substantial difference in acoustic power....not quite, but certainly approaching a level you would perceive as twice as loud.

However, you will not enjoy the same outcome in a second scenario with two subs in different locations, that are loaded differently. The two subs might be louder than one but will not sum as efficiently as the first and ideal scenario.

The worst part of the second scenario is not necessarily the disappointing way that the two subs will sum in amplitude but rather the serious phasing conflicts you will run into that will negatively impact any hope of good bass sound quality. Rarely does this approach work out well.

So the best approach is to run the very best single sub in the most optimum location with the best possible power.

The best location in a BU is direct-radiating under the driver's dash.

[jonredcorn]

Awesome - I'll take both of your advice and run the single 12" sub with sufficient power. I already have a sealed box, so I'll use that under the helm and try it out... and install it in a way that I could switch to a ported box at a later date if needed.

David - thanks for the input about phasing conflicts - I had a suspicion something like this could happen, so after hearing that I think the answer is quite clear. I'm not really going for the "loudest" setup - just something that sounds nice and can be heard when skiing behind.

[cherry ride]

Ditto on the single 12". I have a single jl12w6 under the helm in a sealed enclosure on a dedicated jl sub e1400 amp. It thumps and is more than enough bass. I used to have it in the compartment behind the observer seat. It's much better out under the helm and now I have much more room in the storage compartment.

[Brodie]

I think one twelve done right. I just finished redoing my box, and it hits hard. DB drive driven by a RF 500-2. Love the new port.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Brodie]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk