# Digital Deisngs 512a's



## Samuel (Dec 22, 2008)

Hey guys & girls

I thought i would share my experiences with the Digital Designs 512a's in both music and SPL setups

Photos always speak for themselves










































































Now for some Vidoes

YouTube - Digital Designs 512a Windscreen Flex 

YouTube - Digital Designs 512a's 

What can i say, these things hit very hard considering their price, running at 2Ohm on a Hertz HP1KD and after a while they do start to smell but boy oh boy have they taken some abuse


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## Samuel (Dec 22, 2008)

Also some SPL testing with a single 

































































Started with 2.5 cubes ported at about 42Hz and cut the port down until it peaked then played with box volume.

Best score was 144.2 in the sedan, at 52Hz with measure power at 750 watts due to box rise to 11.8ohm on the single 4ohm coil, if the 512's were offered in single 2 or dual 4 it would make them great street stock subs. Just goes to show how tough these little subs are, after probably 300 full power burps at almost 3 times rated power it was still going strong and playing music.


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

I would be willing to bet those would sound better if they we turned around and facing the back of the car, or at least the enclosure was moved to the back of the car instead of up against the back seat. Of course, if you did that, you wouldn't be able to watch them move through your rear view mirror as you drove down the street pumpin' those mad db's


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## tard (Jul 13, 2006)

they're awesome subs. sound and output wise.

tried and true.


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## Samuel (Dec 22, 2008)

rockinridgeline said:


> I would be willing to bet those would sound better if they we turned around and facing the back of the car, or at least the enclosure was moved to the back of the car instead of up against the back seat. Of course, if you did that, you wouldn't be able to watch them move through your rear view mirror as you drove down the street pumpin' those mad db's


Im willing to bet that the box is pushed all they way back to the rear of the boot, its just a large box 

Of course if you tried facing forward you might get a big supprise about the gain in outout on the meter from doing so...

I cant watch anything in my rear view mirror watch the video?

Not sure why all the attitude but i vote you go do some research on getting a sedan loud then come back becasue its clear from your post that you have little idea on the topic


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

gain in output from the meter sitting next to the speakers or in the drivers position?

Note that I didn't say anything about output. I said that they would "sound better".

I would be willing to bet that I was putting subs in sedans likely before you were born. Out of the hundreds of sedans I would say at least 80% of them sound better with the subs facing the rear of the car. If you, sir, had some knowledge on the subject and the ability to measure the actual acoustic output across a frequency bandwidth you would find that putting the sub facing the rear seat in an enclosure without sealing the enclosure to that panel means that you have sound from the subs that go directly to you, and sound from the subs that travel to the back of the trunk, hit the wall, and travel back to you OUT OF PHASE at certain frequencies with the sound that traveled directly to you, creating cancellation and an uneven bass response. A great way to see if this is going on is to sit in the driver's seat listening to your favorite tune. Have someone open your trunk while you are listening. If the overall quality of the bass gets better, then this is exactly what is happening.

Your SPL meter has no way of knowing this. Only a calibrated microphone with the appropriate software can show you this acoustic effect.

If you insist on your box facing forward, you can often make it sound a lot better by sealing it to the opening.

Really just trying to help. You CAN have mad output and decent sound if you use some basic physics. Not saying your system doesn't sound good, just saying that it probably can sound better.


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

20 square inches of port per cube? Yeesh. 
Well done, good numbers for a trunk car- especially considering the low cost of the subs. Aren't those DD's more entry level ones?

rockinridgeline, this is the SPL forum- it's not about "sounding better".


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

TREETOP said:


> Aren't those DD's more entry level ones?


You are correct. Their 500 series is the "entry" line but nonetheless can be made to sound great OR play loud depending on the setup.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

YouTube - Digital Designs 9512 Subwoofer

I like one of these currently ^^^

Nice Samuel !


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

TREETOP said:


> 20 square inches of port per cube? Yeesh.
> Well done, good numbers for a trunk car- especially considering the low cost of the subs. Aren't those DD's more entry level ones?
> 
> rockinridgeline, this is the SPL forum- it's not about "sounding better".


Oh, I wasn't paying attention. How did I get over here?


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## Samuel (Dec 22, 2008)

rockinridgeline said:


> Really just trying to help. You CAN have mad output and decent sound if you use some basic physics. Not saying your system doesn't sound good, just saying that it probably can sound better.


I think we can gotten off on the wrong foot here, the goal for these subs was to make lots of noise, you are correct that they do not sound that great but that was never the goal.

I also understand what you have posted and realise that it is correct, my music setups look more like this


















I simply wanted to share how loud these little 512a's can be in a street beat aka doof doof setup, im not saying anything about their SQ, as pointed out no sub will sound good with 20 square of port per cube


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## tard (Jul 13, 2006)

Samuel said:


> I simply wanted to share how loud these little 512a's can be in a street beat aka doof doof setup, im not saying anything about their SQ, as pointed out no sub will sound good with 20 square of port per cube


that depends on suspension, loading technique, and a few other factors. it's debatable


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## 12vTools (Jan 15, 2009)

A 95 series sub sounds wonderful with 20sq " per cube


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## EricP72 (Mar 23, 2008)

Ok darn the sub I wanna know more about that hp1kd! Have you ever done a review on it? I have all Hertz amps and I want more power than what my 2 ep1d's put out. I have a pair of spg555 @ 2 ohms each.


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## eltico7213 (Oct 26, 2011)

thats nice coming from a sub made in china.


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## Sean Morrison (May 27, 2007)

Their site claims that all of their products are built in the U.S.


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## eltico7213 (Oct 26, 2011)

Sean Morrison said:


> Their site claims that all of their products are built in the U.S.


Not really. Being a DD distributor, I know where it all comes from. The SW6.5 and 1000-Z series woofers are hand built in the US. The 500's in china. Amps come from Korea. And Vows and AW's are from Germany, hence the nickname "Germans." The CS and CXS I believe are American made.


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