hey guys i jsut got a single 12" alpine type x for 200 off ebay brand new. i bought a directed 2400.d amp to power it. i was wondering, do you think i should go vented or sealed for the box? also what kind of wiring should i buy and do you guys think i made a good choice for my system? thanks

 

i say get a vented box. my friend has a vented box for his type r 12 and it sounds good. the x is better so i think a vented box would suit it well. thats what it should be in anyways i think.

 

do you guys think i made a good choice on the directed amp? will it sound good once its installed? what guage wiring should i buy? thank you all...

 

I think you should go with sealed. Sealed boxes tend to handle better with loud volumes and also sound bvetter. Vented boxes most of the time under heavy playing will make a sub bottom out and sound like crap. Ul;timatly, if a subwoofer bottoms out too much , it will lead to its demise.

Judging by the amp you scored, you are going to be playing loud. Yes, you bought a good amp.

 

I agree with Remmy (as per usual.) Go with a sealed box, you have plenty of power there, it'll still be loud.

 

^I'm not trying to start a war here, but that info is not entirely true... (The "Vented boxes most of the time under heavy playing will make a sub bottom out and sound like crap." part)

If you build a vented enclosure to Alpine's specs, and hook it up to a nice clean amp giving it ~800-1,100w RMS, it will be louder than the sealed with the same amount of power and not bottom out/blow unless the user does something stupid (crank the gain, dramatically over-power, crank the bass boost, etc).
You have to remember, the box makes the sub. You could take a $1,000 sub, put it in the wrong box (not built to that particular sub's specifications), and compare it to a $100 sub in a properly built box, and it would take the cake.

If you build a proper vented enclosure for that sub and hook it up to a nice quality ~1,000w RMS amp, it won't bottom out or sound like crap - it'll be louder and [could] sound better than an equal setup with a sealed box.

However, like Remmy said, that's a helluva amp. I hope you're running it @ no less than 4 ohms (since it's rated at 1,400@4 ohms already). And with that much power being fed to that 1,000w sub, you would probably be better off [and have less chance of blowing your sub] running it in a sealed enclosure built to Alpine's recommended specs as the sealed enclosures do help the sub handle more power.

And please, please SET YOUR GAINS PROPERLY if you want your sub to last more than 2 days.

 

^ you are right. However, what I said was sparing him of the whole deal. 95% of vented boxes are crap and even for the veteran audio guru it is hard as crap to tune a vented enclosure properly for a specific subwoofer. Hell, I couldnt tune a box if my life depended on it.

But like I said, with that power a run of the mill box will not be a suitable application. Bass WILL be much tighter and more responsive under a sealed box and on top of that, its going to be sitting in a trunk and wont do much good for a hardcore vented box.

The above was not opinion but only form exerprience

 

ya sounds like a good combo....
directed makes quite a few model amps..
i know for a fact my ORION D2400 is made by directed electronics......


i just bought one type R 15 and going to get another as soon as i can!
downfall with my setup is IM DEFINATLY GOING PORTED..... to me ported boxes have always been louder! you do loss alittle tight bass BUT from my experiece with all my boxes.... ported is the way to go..

or build yourself both......

main downfall about ported is it typicaly takes twice the space as sealed boxes do... so if trunk space is a issue... go sealed....

like my setup im going to be doing is gonna take just about ALL MY trunk as wel as a complicatedly built box!

 

Off topic, but just a little advise for addiction...

Orion is made by Directed, you're right.

Type R's are my favorite budget sub (right there with Kappa Perfect's) - Both are wonderful for the price.
However, by adding a second woofer, you're only looking at gaining ~4db. So you may want to consider that... You'll have to take up twice the room, twice the weight, and you'll have to double the power all for a measly 4db. If I was in your situation, I would ditch the second 15 and increase the volume of the single 15's box. That would add some volume, cost half as much, and still save a lot of weight/room.

You're right about the ported boxes though... Especially with Type R's. Make sure that you either build the box(es) exactly to Alpine's recommended specs or have someone at a shop or a knowledgable person graph your sub up and make a custom box for your particular setup. Remember, the box completely controls the frequency curve of the sub, so it can either make or break your system.

 

a measly 4db..............

come on man......... i dont care how much DB louder is louder baby
have you read my name i love my bass!
tho i decided last night to ditch my two 15 Type Rs and just build a new box for my 12inch REaudio SX sub.......
ill just throw the type R in my old impala when i get itback on the road this winter! so no waste