Interesting thread.
Mainly of the "who knew?" variety, re: SPLs in a car.
As to the substance of the OP's original question:
I'd propose that he might want to find subwoofer(s) that will produce single digit THD at 95 db (quasi)anechoic - the conditions used for most subwoofer tests - at 30-35 hz. That will allow a safety margin for music, particularly when room gain is considered. There aren't all that many single subs out there that will satisfy this condition - JL, SVS, Rythmik are a few that will do so. A pair (or more) of subs buys more headroom and a wider variety of choices. Once you've found a suitable subwoofer (or subwoofers), your choice of main speakers will be much broader.
If max clean SPL is the main goal, it is the unusual circumstance where you should probably choose a subwoofer first and work backwards to the rest of the system.
Just MHO.
Marty
Mainly of the "who knew?" variety, re: SPLs in a car.
As to the substance of the OP's original question:
I'd propose that he might want to find subwoofer(s) that will produce single digit THD at 95 db (quasi)anechoic - the conditions used for most subwoofer tests - at 30-35 hz. That will allow a safety margin for music, particularly when room gain is considered. There aren't all that many single subs out there that will satisfy this condition - JL, SVS, Rythmik are a few that will do so. A pair (or more) of subs buys more headroom and a wider variety of choices. Once you've found a suitable subwoofer (or subwoofers), your choice of main speakers will be much broader.
If max clean SPL is the main goal, it is the unusual circumstance where you should probably choose a subwoofer first and work backwards to the rest of the system.
Just MHO.
Marty