Hi,

I have an 87 190E-16V and I'd like to upgrade the bass department of my system. From what I've been reading here and in other places, the NHT 1259 is highly recommended. So, my two questions are: What kind of enclosure should I build? How loud will this sub be?

Brian: Is the spare wheel well or the trunk the enclosure in your car? The reason I ask is that this speaker likes 3.5-4 cubic feet of air. The trunk in my 190E is 10.5 cubic feet. Yours is even bigger. So, I'm a little confused here.

Right now I'm leaning toward a Rockford Fosgate 360a2 amp, which can generate 500W+. Is this a good amp?

Would a sealed box with 3.75 cubic feet work? How loud would this set up be when powered by the Rockford above? I want loud, but clean bass.

Thanks in advance!

Daniel

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87 190E-16V Blk/Blk 5Spd.

Daniel

I personally recommend the NHT, yes, but my good friend Michael has had a few problems. However, I'm running the same setup and have had no problems at all. You decide.

The NHT in my car uses the wheel well as the enclosure. Really simple MDF board over the wheel with a cutout.

Are you after pure volume, or musicality? What music do you listen to? I listen to a very varied selection, and the sub is musical enough to play the lower notes of Tori Amos' Bosendorfer Grand, and more than capable of underlying Leftfields pounding electronica.

Do you want volume to impress yourself or the kids on the street? Mercedes dont let much sound out, so if you want to broadcast, you need some serious volume inside.

The Rockford amp is excellent, i also like the Pheonix Gold stuff.

Bri

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Brian Drought
1991 300CE
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drought/
ICQ: 2180069

Brian,

I listen to a wide variety of music. I'd like my sub to be loud enough for rap, but be precise enough for say drumbeats. As I said before, I want it loud, but also clean sounding.

As for the enclosure. I took a look at the pictures of your install, and I have to say it looks really appealing. I don't want to sacrifice trunk space if I don't have to. Did you simply bolt the MDF on top of the wheel well or did you seal it as well? I took a look a mine just now and it seems to me that the well has got to vibrate like crazy, as mine is made out of flexible material (not sure what it is). Does yours vibrate? Did you put anything on it like Dynamat?

How loud is yours right now? I'm shooting for 130+db. Do you think I can achieve that with this setup? I don't want to broadcast the sound; all I care about is how it sounds inside the car. My friend has 2 12"s that are supposedly running at 120db and they shake your voice! I'm looking for something like that.

Thanks,

Daniel

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87 190E-16V Blk/Blk 5Spd.

I just would like to add that clean sound can be much, much louder than you think.

I run a system somewhat comparable to Brian's (in that I have Digital Signal processing, lots of power and similar acoustics, but fewer amps & crossovers)) and my system does 130+ dB without breaking a sweat...but at that volume it sounds half as loud as some 120 dB systems. And you can actually have a conversation at 110 dB, as long as there are no vocals vieing for the same frequency!

Thing is, there's NO distortion, and the Alpine Dig. processor goes a long way towards dampening any resonances. Heck, it's not even loud outside the car! I was after detailed, tight sound and I got it. Moral of the story: do what Brian says!

The single 12" sub, using the spare well as the enclosure, works well as long as you have the right sub. Plan on plenty of power and properly dampen any metallic surfaces in the area. And your spare well is likely smaller than you think; did you subtract the volume of your spare?



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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

They sound fabulous, but running 40 watts I just roasted 2, each in an hour or so. And the vendor, Madisound, refused to honor the warranty. So, I say screw NHT (sorry Brian, but I know you understand where I'm at). I've beaten an AVI 12" sub senseless for 4 days now, and it just begs for more (as did the Kicker 10" I used as a temp). NHT, or perhaps more accurately, Madisound, need to get their act together before I ever send them a penny again.

So, best of luck but be careful (and if you really want an NHT, talk to them directly; madisound is not a recognized dealer and they don't care if they screw you)

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

Exactly... Ive had zero problems with the NHT, but I cant assure you it'll be fine. The AVI sub Michael picked up retails for... LOTS (he got his cheap....no fair).

Another sub you may choose to look at is the Infinity Perfect 12.

I havent bolted down my woden panel, no, but the weather strip I'm using holds it in place pretty well.

Bri

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Brian Drought
1991 300CE
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drought/
ICQ: 2180069