Lytheum

I think that I am going to purchase a brahma 12 pretty soon. It will just be for daily listening so I am thinking of pushing it with around 600 watts. What amp that doesn't cost an arm and a leg would be capable of pushing it. I also need a box to put it in. I am not really sure what size box I would need. It seems the smaller the box the more power is needed to push the brahma to its xmax.

jmax

0.9 - 1.2 cubic feet sealed or 2 - 3 cubic feet ported. Dan Wiggins recommmends 3/4 inch thick Baltic Birch or 1 inch thick MDF minimum.

An old MTX Thunder 1000D or 8100D can be gotten cheap and will push 650 - 750 watts RMS at 4 ohms if you wire the dual 2 ohm coils in series.

- Sorry about the typo, j.g.

Parsec

yeah, jmax said it beautifully. I have a 1.2cuft sealed box for my brahma 12 and i'm pushing it w/an Avionixx 800.2 amp (www.edesignaudio.com). It's a class T amplifier that from my experience, has given me the cleanest bass out of any moderately priced amp on the market. Of course I've never heard anything higher end like Arc Audio or Zapco, but this amp is cleaner than any Alpine/JL Audio/MTX/RF/etc I've ever heard. Yes, this setup is even cleaner than a JL 1000/1 pushing a 12w7. You made a good choice in buying a Brahma BTW, if you "only need" 600W, then you should aim for something a little higher -- about 750-900W RMS @ 4 ohms because you don't wanna buy a 600W amp and then set the gains to 100%.

Lytheum

I just found a really good deal on an older us acoustics amp. Its the 600F. It does 600w rms bridged at 4ohms and is an underrated amp. I guess they put out very very clean power. Its only $130 plus shipping from some guy. I think that would be enough power to push it.....do you guys think the same?

What size sealed box should I use with that much power? Would a 1.5cuft be to big for it? I was looking at its power handling page and it seems to vary greatly by the size of the box the woofer is in.

thanks,
lyth

maximamaybe

JBL BP 600.1 would pound it. A JBL BP 1200.1 would destroy it, but it would crank in the process.

Lytheum

jbl 600.1 would only put 300 watts to it. It has dual 2 ohm coils so you can wire 1 or 4 ohms. Unless I am wrong and the jbl are 1 ohm stable. The 1200.1 costs so much and would probably require to me to upgrade to a bigger alternator. I only have 75amp alternator.

maximamaybe

The JBLs are 1ohm stable, but still give the same wattage as 2 ohm. That is what makes this amp so great.

Maxima Dan

Go with a ported setup (~30Hz tuning f). and get yourself a real amp. I am running 500W on my B12 in a box tuned to 28Hz and it is not even close to stressing that driver. I would say aim for around 1000W and make sure you use a subsonic filter and adjust the gains carefully. With power, it is always better to have more and not use it than to have too little.

Parsec

If the power remains the same, and resistance is halved, that means current is doubled. That's not good for our alternators, especially with an amp that requires a 120A fuse.

Lytheum

I am looking into the US Acoustics 800F now.....hopefully this guy has some left. That would give me atleast 800w rms of very clean power. I also found a cheap 1.2cuft box made of 3/4" MDF. I may have to seal it myself, but its only $25.

What would be the advantage of a ported box? I dont have very much trunk space to play around with. I thought sealed boxes were better for SQ also?

Lytheum

I just got in touch with the guy and he has an 800F left. I have my amp now. I want the best box for SQ to put this in. the US Acoustics 800F puts out 800w rms bridged at 4 ohms. I am sure it is a little underated as the US acoustics F series are awesome amps. According to the Brahma power handling page 900w will push the sub to xmax in a .92cuft sealed box. Would a 1.2cuft box be to large for 800w?

Parsec

That's exactly what I have -- Brahma 12 in a 1.2cuft sealed box @ 800W. Like I said earlier, it's always good to have a little extra in your amp, but you have to be sure to properly set the gains. The best possible SQ will occur when the Qtc is at .707 and I think that's achieved in a sealed box around 0.92 cuft.

jmax

You should be fine in that size sealed box. Just remember the warning, if you hear any bad sounds from a brahma turn it down. I would definitely not use a pre-fab box for a brahma. What kind of car are you putting this in?

Lytheum

Its goin in a 1993 Nissan Sentra. Whats wrong with prefab boxes? I was thinking about making my own but have never attempted to build anything before. It seems better buying one then trying to make one and screwing it up.

This is the box i was looking at( http://www.millionbuy.com/hbx12sqtc.html ) Its only $26+ shipping and is made of 3/4" MDF.

jmax

Actually it appears to be 3/4 inch particle board and appears to have no bracing. I would consult a local audio shop to see if they can do something a little sturdier. If you have never built a speaker enclosure before and arn't willing to pay for a good box don't spend over $99 on the speaker, you won't get more than $99 of performance.

Lytheum

are there any good how to sites on box building or an easy walk through guide go give ideas? My only real fear is cutting all the boards. I am not to handy with a saw. Im sure i could get my father to help or if I figure out the dimensions of each board I could have them cut everything at the store.

jmax

http://www.linearteam.dk/


Other than that JL audio has good info. As well as many other big name sub companies.