Kicker C12 4ohm Sub newbie questions

**kolyani4** · **09-28-09, 01:09 PM**

Hello to all, i"m here about a 2 days, reading all post that regards to subwoofers

i"m planing to add a subwoofer to my bedroom ( about 3 x 4 meters ).
what i have for now:
2 x Wharfedale Athlantic 400SE floor speakers
1 x Kenwood KRF-V5100 Receiver/Amplifier ( 6ohm version ) connected to PC via SDPIF to Realtek on-board soundcard.

for now, i want to add a subwoofer to my system.
i searched the Israel market, and found thats its no subwoofer for HT, only the cars one,
i bought KICKER C12 4 ohm subwoofer driver. and start reading its tech spec, i found that kicker recommends 35-99 liters box for sealed. i dont know realy what this mean, what is recommended size for it ?
and second thing im stuck in selection between do a DIY sealed box, or go to store and buy car sealed or ported box (about a 35-40 liters ) ?

the price of boxes in store are from 60$ for sealed/ported one 35-40 liters.
the carpenter wants about a 70-80$ for this (17mm MDF ) job excluding the assembling the box.

if i select to DIY box i decided to do a stealth box under my bed ( 200cm x 160 cm ) size of box whill be something like 18cm ( free space from top of underbed to floor -2cm ) x 60cm x 65cm. this will fit nice under my bed, but i dont know if this sound good and give me a good bass ?

3th thing that i don't know how to connect it to my amplifier in good way ?

1. connect it in parallel of the one (left or right channel )
2. connect it in series to one of the channel
3. buy Noname car 4 bridgeable channel amplifier power it from dedicated 400w PC power supply and connect it to subwoofer line out in kenwood amplifier ( pass thought, not any cut offs

only mix lows from channels).

i think the "3" give a more options ( crossover, phase )

my prefers are music (70%, movies (20%) , games ( 10% )

sorry for my English i"m Russian from Israel

waiting for all answers.

**Mike P.** · **09-28-09, 03:08 PM**

Can you post the T/S parameters for the sub?

**kolyani4** · **09-28-09, 03:43 PM**

Quote:

Mike P. wrote:

Can you post the T/S parameters for the sub?

i found specification only on 2002 model but i think its same or almost same.

Quote:

Model Comp 12
SPL 1W/1M 88.6dB
Displacement, cc 1718.6
Displacement, cu in 104.9
Hole cutout, in. dia. 10-15/16
Mounting Depth, in. 5-1/2
Revc 3.79 Ohms
Sd, SqM .0532
BL, TM 11.69
Vas, Liters 133.27
Vas, CuFt. 4.71
Mms, gms 107.37
Fs, Hz 25.8
Qms 11.298
Qes .499
Qts .478
Pmax, watts 150
Xmax, mm 7.5
Freq Response, Hz 27-500
Magnet weight, oz 44
Voice coil (Kapton), In.1-1/2
*Based on 4-Ohm models

found something else but not sure if its a C12 that i bougt becouse its has C12a marking.
T/S for C12A

**Mike P.** · **09-28-09, 09:47 PM**

There is a C series and a Comp series. Does your subwoofer have any markings that say C12 or Comp12?

**kolyani4** · **09-28-09, 09:51 PM**

Quote:

Mike P. wrote:

There is a C series and a Comp series. Does your subwoofer have any markings that say C12 or Comp12?

its a COMP series. full name of it "KICKER COMP C12 4ohm subwoofer driver"

**LivingLoud12** · **09-28-09, 11:23 PM**

im using 2 of them on a big ported box......they get loud for only being 150w rms.......im saving up for a bash 300W or 500W plate amp..

....thanks to MIKE P...for the enclosure help

**kolyani4** · **09-29-09, 04:49 AM**

Quote:

LivingLoud12 wrote:

im using 2 of them on a big ported box......they get loud for only being 150w rms.......im saving up for a bash 300W or 500W plate amp..

....thanks to MIKE P...for the enclosure help

unfortunately i cant put big box, i don't have much space in my room.

**LivingLoud12** · **09-29-09, 04:53 AM**

mine is 11cuft.tuned to 22hz..its over 200 lbs......then go for a small box......mike will help you.....

**kolyani4** · **09-29-09, 04:57 AM**

Quote:

LivingLoud12 wrote:

mine is 11cuft.tuned to 22hz..its over 200 lbs......then go for a small box......mike will help you.....

yes, i see that kicker recemends box from 35 liters to 99.1 liter, box that i planed to but under my bed its a 49.9 liters ( designed in WinISD) but im not sure if its will be good if i put it under my bed.

**Mike P.** · **09-29-09, 07:10 AM**

The Kicker recommendations for box size are for car audio use, in a house it is different. I will model this later today when I get home from work. Can you place the sub in a corner of the room?

Quote:

18cm x 60cm x 65cm

Is this measurement the external size of the box?

**kolyani4** · **09-29-09, 08:14 AM**

Quote:

Mike P. wrote:

The Kicker recommendations for box size are for car audio use, in a house it is different. I will model this later today when I get home from work. Can you place the sub in a corner of the room?
Is this measurement the external size of the box?

1. no i cant place it in corner, i only have space between my beb and my MDF closet (in corner of room ), where is my left speaker are, i can place sub behind the speaker. this place is almost corner

( behind mdf closet are end of the room ( i can take photo of my room if you like )
2. this measurement are outside of the box that winisd give me.

can you tell me if subwoofer under bed are good idea ?

ok, im waiting for you.

**Mike P.** · **09-29-09, 09:17 PM**

That is hard to say as every room is different. It may not be the optimum place for the sub but it's better then having no sub at all.

**LivingLoud12** · **09-29-09, 11:57 PM**

just give it a try...and if it sounds good i will do the same..........well i was about to do that but instead i was going to put them under my sofa bed...lol.....i was going to take all the metal internals and build a box and put it there.....good luck

**Mike P.** · **09-30-09, 07:53 AM**

49 liters ported tuned to 24 hz would require a 4 inch diameter port 31 inches long. Modeling shows the box is too small for this sub and low end extension suffers. You may as well put the sub in a 49 liter sealed box.

**kolyani4** · **09-30-09, 10:34 AM**

Quote:

Mike P. wrote:

49 liters ported tuned to 24 hz would require a 4 inch diameter port 31 inches long. Modeling shows the box is too small for this sub and low end extension suffers. You may as well put the sub in a 49 liter sealed box.

ok, if all be good i will start the build after 3.10.09

what did you think about connecting it to amplifier, what is good. car amp or kenwood ?

**Mike P.** · **09-30-09, 10:50 AM**

The usual connection is Kenwood LFE output - amplifier - subwoofer. I'm not sure if the SDPIF to Realtek will affect this or not. You will have to do some research.

**kolyani4** · **09-30-09, 11:39 AM**

if i put the DIY box under bed the Driver will be directet to the bed mattress, its ok ?

Quote:

Mike P. wrote:

The usual connection is Kenwood LFE output - amplifier - subwoofer. I'm not sure if the SDPIF to Realtek will affect this or not. You will have to do some research.

ok, did a car amplifier will be good idea, if i power it up with dedicated computer power supply ? ( i have a 400watt Thermaltake PSU ).

what about to buy a car subwoofer sealed box ( about 35-40 liters ) it has trapezoidal box.

what thickness of MDF ( 17mm is normal ? ) i need for this sub ?

P.S. im 23 years old

**LivingLoud12** · **10-01-09, 01:41 AM**

find yourself a good plate amp that will deliver at least 150w rms@4 ohms...............
i found a bash 300w amp on craigslist for $60.00....i just got it today......... 300w rms @4 ohms..its like $150.00 it looks like it was never mounted on a enclosure cause it has 0 sratches....and the mounting holes are unmolested....

**kolyani4** · **10-01-09, 08:48 AM**

Quote:

LivingLoud12 wrote:

find yourself a good plate amp that will deliver at least 150w rms@4 ohms...............
i found a bash 300w amp on craigslist for $60.00....i just got it today......... 300w rms @4 ohms..its like $150.00 it looks like it was never mounted on a enclosure cause it has 0 sratches....and the mounting holes are unmolested....

the problem is that i live in Israel, and second one that i live i very small city ( about 30000 peoples only )
and in radius of 50km i dont have any audio store that sell parts. becouse this i want to use car amplifier and pc power supply.

**LivingLoud12** · **10-01-09, 06:27 PM**

try ordering one online and try to work someting out with the seller/retailer on the shipping.......if you cant then the car amp and the pc power supply is your only choice......

**kolyani4** · **10-03-09, 05:38 AM**

can anyone tell me if this box will good for me ?
i dont know what size of it, but i think its about 30-40 liters

i have to options to those, one is Closet and one is porter box, but what frequency on port tuning, i don't known.

**Mike P.** · **10-03-09, 08:18 AM**

Without knowing what the net volume of the box is and the tuning frequency, it's impossible to predict.

**kolyani4** · **10-03-09, 08:25 AM**

Quote:

Mike P. wrote:

Without knowing what the net volume of the box is and the tuning frequency, it's impossible to predict.

the volume of box about 30-40 liters. but what is tuning frequency i dont know.
i readed the review of kicker C12 and its says that best closed box for it its about 32-35 liters. for flat response of frequency.

i leaved the idea of puting sub under my bed.

**kolyani4** · **10-03-09, 02:01 PM**

today my friend give me he's old box
i mesured it end found it that its a 51 liters and port tuning frequency is 29.5herz ( 10cm x 45cm )
did it will be good to put my kicker in this box ?

and he give me a car amplifier something from china ( warrenty ended in 2003

) CONCORD 4720GT 700W
its has a 4 channel its can bright 2 channels, i think its have a 50-60W RMS for each channel, in brighe its will be a 100watt i think, its will be ok, no ?

**Mike P.** · **10-03-09, 11:21 PM**

Hopefully the amp has a high pass filter around 25 hz to protect the sub from bottoming out.

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