subs w/ soft top

MudDuck99 · 02-08-2010, 11:28 PM

ANYONE running subs w/ a soft top? I have 2 memphis 12s in my car that i want to switch over to the jeep. my top is 3 months old so im not worried about leaking water.

bdevr · 02-08-2010, 11:32 PM

There's no reason that you shouldn't, but the acoustic will be terrible and you'll probably by dissapointed. Cloth absorbs sound wave rather then bouncing them back (like your cars roof/trunk/rear window/etc) so you definately will not have the same bass that you did in your car.

MudDuck99 · 02-08-2010, 11:38 PM

i plan on buying a hard top sooner or later, im just tired of all that fire power sitting in the trunk of a car i drive 3-4 times a month

PhulesAu · 02-09-2010, 05:54 AM

Uhhhhh. cloth lets the sound right through. It doesn't absorb much of anything. 1 12" will be plenty. Of course you may not want to put it in the most advantageous spot.

**SirGCal** · 02-09-2010, 07:43 AM

No, the cloth actually does absorb sound. We have to work around it all the time with non-leather vehicles. But in leather vehicles, we have to account for the reflection so it's 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other... In homes we hang strips of cloth to the walls or pieces of carpet tastefully disguised to tweak the rooms acoustics.

Still, you can manage the sound in the Jeep quite easily. This is why we do down-firing subs and not a different orientation for rear Jeep Wrangler installations. That keeps the sound wave low and in the static atmosphere to keep it more in phase even topless.

**EugeneTheTJ** · 02-09-2010, 01:05 PM

I have Four memphis PR 15s in my TJ. I can't run a hard top

PhulesAu · 02-10-2010, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirGCal

No, the cloth actually does absorb sound. We have to work around it all the time with non-leather vehicles. But in leather vehicles, we have to account for the reflection so it's 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other... In homes we hang strips of cloth to the walls or pieces of carpet tastefully disguised to tweak the rooms acoustics.

Still, you can manage the sound in the Jeep quite easily. This is why we do down-firing subs and not a different orientation for rear Jeep Wrangler installations. That keeps the sound wave low and in the static atmosphere to keep it more in phase even topless.

Interesting, I must have done it wrong then. I lose nothing from my system that can be attributed to soft top absobtion.

**SirGCal** · 02-10-2010, 09:31 AM

The top itself isn't really cloth, but a polymer canvas. It doesn't absorb as much as the seats, carpet, etc. But it doesn't reflect either as a hard-top would.

bdevr · 02-10-2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhulesAu

Interesting, I must have done it wrong then. I lose nothing from my system that can be attributed to soft top absobtion.

I was being a jerk in my last post and I aplologize.

It's not so much about what you lose as much as what your not gaining. It's like the difference between seeing Metallica in an open air stadium and an indoor venue. Yeah, they can crank it up and still make your ears bleed, but you don't get the reverb (aka rear fill) that smacks you in the back of the head too.

**purplepig** · 02-10-2010, 09:35 AM

I have one 10 between back seat and tailgate. I have no problems with it. I am no sound stereo expert though. My only problem is keeping it out of other people's sight when the top is down.

**purplepig** · 02-10-2010, 09:37 AM

There are build plans on this site for putting them inside and under the back seat. The people who have it seem happy with it. I am not sure if there is enough air space though. Maybe the experts can chime in.......

**SirGCal** · 02-10-2010, 10:09 AM

My plans? There's almost a cubic foot in the 97-02 setup, half in the 03+.

PhulesAu · 02-10-2010, 03:59 PM

What back seat??? I've got A 12 with a Dedicated 250 amp. it never gets crank all of the way, because theres no need. sometimes I have to adjust it down a bit, I feel I'm being attack by a subsonic weapon. Clean sound, not over powering noise is the key.