Zenclosures Upfire Vs Standard
 

I have seen other posts as what people think the differences are, but I was wondering has anyone actually heard both to have a side by side comparison? I see both having its pros and cons.

Upfire
Pros:
Not standard. Better look???
Do not have to worry about items in the hatch hitting the speakers or grilles.

Cons:
I am not sure what they are. Maybe too loud right behind my head. Maybe sound quality not as good? Don't know. That's where the comparison would come in handy.

Standard
Pros:
Better sound quality? Once again, need a comparison.

Cons:
Speakers or grilles could be damaged by items in hatch.

Really, my main concern is sound quality. I can deal with other cons, but if I knew which one sounded better or if they were at least equal I would feel better about a decision.

I would prefer to have the upfire, but not if I will sacrifice sound quality.

Also, I was wondering where everyone has placed their amps when using one of these enclosures.

Standard would be a bit louder and give the sub more area to work with and reflect the sound forward towards the front instead of up and down.

Go with the two 12's configuration this is only available in upfire I think!

I can tell you from experience that I have tried both upfire and rear fire and did not really notice any difference in performance or loudness. Sub options is the only thing I would be thinking about with the up vs rear fire.

If I were to buy a Zenclosure again I would buy the upfire dual 12's and blow the windows out!!!

Is there enough air space for 2 of them tho? I know there is a box for two of them but 1 might sound louder since it has the extra space to use? maybe i am wrong i am just guessing

Did you hear one sub verses two? if so which sounded better

There is more than enough air space in the upfire for 2 decent 12's, I would never waste that much trunk space with 1 sub.

I have tried my two 10's in both rear and upfire, no real difference noted it blows your head off either way.

good to know thank you for the info.

I see no reason. To go with two 12's ask around people are happy with 1 . also they do come in rear firing

I thought about two 12s, but the box doesn't have enough volume for the subs I would use.

Two 12's only in upfire configuration with a Zenclosure, look it up if you like. The air space is on the small side if you have a specific sub in mind, the new shallow subs would work fine though.

If your into big bass then going with two 12's would be a normal thing to do, I have two 10's and think about upgrading.

Some people just don't understand.

I do know about the Zenclosurs upfire holding 12's. That is what I originally wanted. But, like I said the subs I would use need more volume. Never used a shallow sub. How, does the sound compare?

Lots of people run one shallow mount 12 in the spare tire enclosure. I have not used a shallow mount sub to comment on sound, that said you could use two 12" alpine type r's in the Zenclosure. You would be right at the bottom end of the required volume but it's in spec from Alpine, or build a custom box which you would be much happier with anyway that's what I did.

I am going to use Image dynamics Q12 in mine. I still have to scrape the money together. I already have the sub. It is rated for .6-1.0 ci. It is more of an SQ than an SPL sub though. I like it that way. It can keep up with any speed metal that I throw at it but I hear they aren't that hot when it comes to rap.

The only experience that I have with shallow subs is the Rockford P3 12 shallows. My buddy put a couple behind the rear seat of his 4door powerstroke. It doesn't sound bad but they aren't as powerful(rich)sounding as a standard sub. He isn't happy with them but he is used to 15's. Now he is kicking himself for not cutting the seat frame and makeing room for "real" speakers.

Most of the M-class memphis will fit 2 12's as well

nO, i believe if you play with the pull down's on their website, you can pick a 1 10 inch upfire too, which is what I might be getting.. I didn't realize this myself at first, the site is badly programmed. (I know much more about computer programming than sound systems) :tiphat:

Again.. no.. .see attachment.

When I was discussing my purchase with Mike Gilkison at Zenclosures he advised against the upfire box. He claimed the reason they sell that style is only for fitment issues with larger/more subs. (if I understood him correctly). He advised the backfire for sound quality.

Aah not good... :(
I use the Z as a daily driver, I'm afraid the sub will go thru bad times if its rear facing.. do the grilles snap on easy and fit well? Any links to where the JL 10w3v3 grille is available that people have used?

You high or something? I said that the only 12" option was in upfire of course you can get 10" also in upfire. If you can get 12" why wouldn't the smaller size apply also :shakes head:

Ya right zenclosures is a great manufacture and great quality of boxes.

I'm thinking about getting the zenclosures. Rear fire for two 10's OR upfire two 12'. But one thing I am worried about is not seeing out the back of my trunk. Which of course I am sure, the box takes away from vision, but how much really?

Can anyone post up some picture of what the box looks like from the driver seat, looking out the back with your head turn, or through the rear view mirrors? Thanks

The Zenclosure does not block the rear view at all with the rear fire, upfire not sure about.

I have a dual 10" zenclosure rear fire, with a brand new covering installed.

The quality of the carpet Zenclosure uses is the lowest quality on the market, I took it all off and replaced it so I could sell it.

Zenclosure may make decent quality for the wood, but fall down totally on the finish quality. I for one would never buy another one, better to spend your cash on a custom enclosure with a quality finish.

I thought you said you build your own stuff so why would you even buy one to begin with? They are great dont alk bad about one of our sponsors.

Well like a bunch of people on here I wanted to avoid the process of building an enclosure from scratch, to do it correctly it takes some time as you should know. I thought the Zenclosure based on your recommendation would fit the bill nicely, granted it sounded good but the crappy covering is not something I could look at everyday. For the price of the enclosure over the cost of using a slightly more exensive material to cover it is unexcusable, they would have a real nice product if they used a better cover. And not completely covering the entire enclosure, like how much $ are saving there. You can totally notice it if your looking in from the side window.

When purchasing a product using forums like this are very valuable. If no one gives an honest review then what's the point.

http://www.the370z.com/members/juleo...sick-night.jpg

The latest creation, I have tried several designs trying to maximize bass and minimize space. This pounds the hardest of all the enclosures I have tried so far, and allows me to utilize my hatch area still.

For those who are concerned with the standard box and rear visibility, I have these amps mounted on the back and the glass does not get blocked at all.

http://www.the370z.com/members/digit...-view-side.jpg

However, I may consider the upfire and step down to a single smaller Class-D amp in the future.

How did you route all your wiring? Are you satisfied with the carpet used on the box? How many watts are sending to the sub? If you switch to the upfire are you going with two 12s or sticking with one?

The box I have is custom designed prior to Zenclosures, so I cannot make direct comparisons. As long as you don't do what I did, which was use lots of masking tape to do measurements and whatnot, you should be fine with the carpeting in general.

Underneath the box, it does not eat up the entire trunk space. The sides are free to hide wires. I routed power to one side, and audio on the opposite side to minimize interference. I routed wiring to the rear through the center console. Again, audio on one side and battery power on the other. The grounding wire was connected to one of the bolts in the trunk area keeping it short.

Right now the NINE.2 is bridged to the sub, and it is rated for 400x1 at 4 ohm. I don't bump my music that hard, but it's plenty of power. With my 350Z, I was pushing 150W to a 10W3 with no problems. However, stepping up to 400W delivered cleaner and more punchy bass at similar volume levels.

For the next setup, I may move to the single 12" upfire box and switch to a single Class-D 4/3/2 amp to power the front speakers and sub. It's nothing too wild, but with the sub right behind my ears I'm pretty sure I can enjoy bass at comfortable listening levels.

i'm running a custom box with an up firing 12 and it works very well. i will how ever be switching to 2 10's, still up firing in the next couple months.

I think the quality is great, I have the single 10 rear facing and think it looks great. here are some pics that show the finish and the view out the rear window and in the rear view mirror. as you can see there is no obstruction of view.




.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f6...g?t=1295298094
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f6...g?t=1295298134
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f6...g?t=1295298152
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f6...g?t=1295298167

hope those help. (please excuse the poor cell phone quality)

That is exactly what I was looking for. thank you! I'm actually thinking about getting two 10" W7. Do you think the dual 10 box from zen enclosures will give it enough air?

btw? how hard does that hit in our cars? :D

Thanks! That is what I was looking for. There really isn't much visibility out the rear window anyway, so the box doesn't seem to do much to make it any worse.

Thanks again.

It hits really hard in my car, I cant see any reason to go for 2 (except bragging rights i guess). There definitely wont be the proper amount of air for 2 w7's. It is actually smaller than recommended for 1 (and not ported either).

Yea, my cousin can barely run a 10W7 in a small box for his 350Z. It leaks lots of air, and it just sounds nasty as if the speaker is about to implode.

I'm not sure if it works, but how about a single 10W7 and a 10" passive radiator? [EDIT]... hmm, 10W7 might blow it up hahaa.

I had never considered a PR before, might be possible but i think it is recommended to have a PR that is bigger than the driver to be safe. Like 2 10" PRs or 1 12...i hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong (i dont know much about building boxes).

I should also mention that if I didnt already have the w7 before I installed it I wouldnt have put it in this box. It really doesnt sound good when ran with a lot of bass, the air flow isnt sufficient. It makes a noise similar to the "imploding" that was mentioned above. I keep the sub turned way down to keep a clean sound (which defeats the purpose of a w7 in my opinion).

With that said it does sound really nice and clean with it turned down. But if I were buying one to match this box it wouldn't be a w7.

I had an eD 5.12 with the rear fire type box, and it was very deep (like an HT sub). However, it wasn't very loud and didn't respond well to classic rock and whatnot. However, it hits hard and deep when playing electronica and hip hop tracks. It's a bit too much, which makes it hard to tune it for a variety of tracks.

I recently switched to a 12W6, and it is still breaking in. After a bit of quick tuning the sub is not as deep as the eD, but it is louder. It responds very well to all kinds of music. Overall, I'm a very happy camper :)