10" vs. 12" subwoofer, I was having this discussion and...

[mikeyt]

So some friends of mine and I were were discussing the benefits of one vs the other. Brand non specific and being the same, feeding them the same amount of power, tuned to spec and boxes built correctly. If you were to put 10" in a ported box, would it "hit" like a 12" in a sealed box? Next question could a 12" be musical and punchy like the 10"? Or would the 10" be boomy likened to a 12" in a ported box? Now I know there are a lot of variables to this, and we weren't getting too technical about it, just chewing the fat over it. If you had to pick one to buy, and could fit either one in your vehicle which one and why. Features and benefits kind of thing. We weren't getting into types of music being listened to that may sway decisions one way or the other. Just postulating, pondering, chewing the fat.

[erinh]

ported 10 vs sealed 12" is apples to orange comparison.

yes, both can be 'musical and punchy'

assuming you built a proper enclosure, the real difference between two like woofers of different size should really only be the displacement. generally, larger drivers have lower Fs.

[preston]

Bigger is better.

[mikeyt]

True, Fs will be different. Maybe I should've said output to the ear or something like that, perceptive volume, depth?

[jettyman]

I had to read your first post a couple times to see what you are actually wanting to know. Of course a 12 can be punchy and a 10 can be boomy also. I think you should decide if you want a sealed or ported box first and pick the right sub for that enclosure. Either way, since you say size doesn't matter, why wouldn't you get the 12? I've heard single 12's that were so punchy it hurt my stomach/chest after a couple songs and literally had to get out of the car. My friend put 4 10's in his car and they sounded boomy and like shit compared to some single 12's that I've heard. Get the right box for the sub.

[mikeyt]

This was not scientific at all, just shooting the breeze. No doubt to get the right box. That's my point in your question, why would I get the 12, is there a distinct advantage given this scenario?

[mlekk]

Buy a twelve

[mikeyt]

I would get the 12, no doubt, just because of the flexibility of what I think I can do with it.

[mlekk]

An 8" would be faster or punchier ?

[Hillbilly SQ]

If available space isn't an issue get the biggest QUALITY sub you can fit and give all the space it needs. I've heard 18's be tight and punchy and I've heard 8's be loose and muddy. So many variables like quality of woofer, box, placement in vehicle, and so on and so on. The biggest mistake I see a lot of people make is they don't let the vehicle tell them where it wants the sub to be. If the install is crap the subwoofer will also sound like crap even if you built the perfect box for it. There are also A LOT of bad subwoofer designs out there that aren't really going to sound good no matter how much work you put into the box and install. On top of that you can't forget Hoffman's Iron Law. There are three things you want out of a subwoofer (small box, play the lowest octave of 20-40hz with authority, and high output). Problem is you can only have two of those things at any given time. I think I got that right but am a little rusty. Choosing the best sub for your needs isn't rocket science but it still takes at least some degree of understanding of what the speaker was designed to excel at.

I've had a 10" and a 12" of the same subwoofer (Dayton ho10d4 and ho12d4). The 10" actually needs about the same size box if not a hair bigger than the 12" believe it or not...at least for the d4 version of each sub. The 10" sounded good but I wanted MORE of it. It also struggled like crazy under 40hz. The 12" version excels under 40hz. Erin has heard both in my truck so he knows what I'm talking about.

One other thing worth mentioning is you MUST model all voice coil configurations of any given sub to make sure you're not going to end up with an air pig in one coil configuration when you thought you were buying a sub that needs a really small box. Take the Dayton ho10 single 4 and ho10d4. The single coil version does quite well in about .3 cube sealed. The d4 of the same woofer needs nearly double that to be happy. Anyone who thinks I'm full of it needs go model both and report back with their findings. I've run into this issue with other subwoofers too over the different coil configurations. Most people probably wouldn't notice if a sealed box is a little out of spec or even a ported box for that matter so almost never worth getting too technical with the 99%.