i was looking at two 12" subs powered at 800w vs one 12" at 1600w. i know you have twice the surface area with two but the other sub that can handle 1600w has way more linier excersion(rated at more than twice the xmax) so technically the 1600w one has more output than the other two together.
right?
two at $250 vs one at $500
so same price but the "one" takes up less space and has more output.

am i thinking correctly?

 

not really, there is more to it than that and other factors to take into consideration.

if the sub isn't "underhung" (which it won't be at that price) then as the voice coil moves out of the magnetic gap, you lose control of the cone. so while the thermal power handling may be higher, the realized output may not be twice as much.

doubling power = 3dB increase
doubling surface area = 3dB increase

one sub can be easier to install.
which one will be more optimal depends on where it is located. where the sub is located has a HUGE impact on performance. rear corners are perfect for a single sub.

it really depends on what your goals are. most people can be happy with the output of one sub that is properly installed.

 

i looked up underhung and dont quite get it. can you explain it?

im looking at the re xxx 12. the car im looking at getting doesnt have a middle back seat. id cut a 14ish inch hole in the middle of the backrest and upholster the inside of the hole. and make a box that holds the sub in the hole flush or a little bit recessed like this but inverted.


it needs a 1.1 cf sealed box and part will be in the seat so barely any lost trunck space. and itll look really cool (my opinion) showing off that cool magnet. ill make for a little less arm room but i rarely got passengers anyway. so the odd time they can suck it up. what do you think?

 

Could look neat, depends on how you finish it. That is a small airspace for a huge sub. It will affect low end performance. But the space saving is a nice feature. As long as you maintain a good seal around the box and trunk opening you should be good.

If you have cloth seats, the sub will play right through, no need to cut a hole. Just remove the backing. Looking good also attracts thieves.

 

the specs on the sub says 1.1 cf is the optimum sealed volume and ported goes up around 2 cf. and for theft i was thinking along the lines of carriage bolts to hold the sub. id tighten them from inside the box before screwing in the back panel of the box. i can make it hard but ill have to hope they give up before breaking a window. the seats are leather and theres no middle back seat.

i enjoy working on cars n such (mechanical but mostly electrical) but i wanna invest this kind of stuff in a nicer car so i made a pact to not spend anymore on my accord(except maintenance) so all these ideas and plans are for my next car. the inverted sub idea is in the plan category it took me forever to find that above pic which was the closest to my idea. im surprised no ones done it before(that i know of)

you forgot to explain underhung.

 

thanks for the reminder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_coil