Subwoofer advice...

[747mopar]

My cars been done for a bit now so I'm focusing on improving where needed one of which is the sterio. I've got a difital media player, 3 way Polk 6X9s in the tray and Polk 6 in the console but want a bit more bass. I've been looking at powered sub boxes (amps and all is built in) and then the idea of just building a box? My main question is has anybody ever ran a single sub? I'm looking at a 10" woofer since I listen to rock and want a clean snappy punch not a car rattling noise maker. Any advice?

 

[Mike67]

The small bazooka tubes are decent, even the 8"... Are you looking to put it under the seat or in the trunk? Infinity makes a good one too, they are a little more expensive...I think they have a pasive crossover. If I was going to build one I would get a Fosgate are or a JL Audio w/ a good amp.
You can add a the crossovers to your 6x9s and filter some of the higher frequencies and get better bass, Polks are good speakers..

 

[Roger63]

Just about any of the current name brand subs will do the job, but go to 12 inch sub a 10 will disappoint you. Unless you run dials with a 2 channel amp, I use a kicker 12 inch with a 400 watt single channel amp. The sound you are looking for is just a matter of settings on head unit and amp. Im a rock freak also.

 

[Cranky]

I'm looking at a 10" woofer since I listen to rock and want a clean slappy punch not a car rattling noise maker. Any advice?

Good deal! I'm so sick of the ones that like to rattle everything in a 1000 mile radius! I have found out that most of them do NOT like someone racking off a straight pipe exhaust system when they pull up beside ya at a traffic light. They usually turn it down pretty damn fast but there's not much that can be done when they drive by the house. Luckily, I live on a dead end street so there's not much traffic and when they do come in, I can freak them out with a 12ga on their way out

 

[747mopar]

The small bazooka tubes are decent, even the 8"... Are you looking to put it under the seat or in the trunk? Infinity makes a good one too, they are a little more expensive...I think they have a pasive crossover. If I was going to build one I would get a Fosgate are or a JL Audio w/ a good amp.
You can add a the crossovers to your 6x9s and filter some of the higher frequencies and get better bass, Polks are good speakers..

I finished my trunk all out and have a panel right where the trunk floor starts over the rear axle so there's a nice hidden area behind the seat for it. I really like Fosgate especially they're amps and have been told by many that JLs are the ticket (pricey). Something else I've concidered is buying factory serviced Polks, the console speakers I bought were factory serviced at a discount price and sound great?

Really just trying to decide on whether to get a powered subwoofer box, single or double woofers or just build it myself? I've always had 2 so I'm unsure what a single would sound like?

 

[747mopar]

Just about any of the current name brand subs will do the job, but go to 12 inch sub a 10 will disappoint you. Unless you run dials with a 2 channel amp, I use a kicker 12 inch with a 400 watt single channel amp. The sound you are looking for is just a matter of settings on head unit and amp. Im a rock freak also.

I've always ran 10s and liked them, seamed like everybody running bigger had more of a booming bass instead of a nice crisp sound but it may have been the way they had it set up?

 

[747mopar]

Good deal! I'm so sick of the ones that like to rattle everything in a 1000 mile radius! I have found out that most of them do NOT like someone racking off a straight pipe exhaust system when they pull up beside ya at a traffic light. They usually turn it down pretty damn fast but there's not much that can be done when they drive by the house. Luckily, I live on a dead end street so there's not much traffic and when they do come in, I can freak them out with a 12ga on their way out

I hear ya Cranky, ticks me off when I'm forced to listen to that noise. I'm just shooting for a nicely balanced system for rock.

 

[Mike67]

I ran 2 jl 8" w/ an old old Fosgate DSM 50watt amp in my truck. It was good but bigger is better, I switched to 2 JL 10", it would rattle the roof at Sonic if I'd let it...Don't ask how I know...I may have accidently done it a couple of times.... If you do go with the trunk mount, make sure to use some kind of sound deadener like dyna-mat, it will keep the rattles out and you might need to put the 6x9s in a "baffle" to keep the lows from distorting them... Good luck. Post a vid clip when you're done, would love to hear it!

 

[747mopar]

I ran 2 jl 8" w/ an old old Fosgate DSM 50watt amp in my truck. It was good but bigger is better, I switched to 2 JL 10", it would rattle the roof at Sonic if I'd let it...Don't ask how I know...I may have accidently done it a couple of times.... If you do go with the trunk mount, make sure to use some kind of sound deadener like dyna-mat, it will keep the rattles out and you might need to put the 6x9s in a "baffle" to keep the lows from distorting them... Good luck. Post a vid clip when you're done, would love to hear it!

Will do. Didn't think about the 6X9 issue, good to know. Fortunately that'll be an easy one, I used modern Chrysler 300 rear seat with headrest so my package tray has speaker pods that flow off the backs of the headrest making them easy to seal off. They're basically in a sealed box already with only access holes in the bottom so I'll do that.

 

[hammond472]

A box is a big loss of trunk space.. Mounting it free air behind the back seat keeps the trunk functional. If you aren't trying to rattle your fillings loose look into high end 6x9s, a real good amp with clean power and a capacitor to help it keep up. Hopefully you have already upgraded your charging system.

 

[Roger63]

I've always ran 10s and liked them, seamed like everybody running bigger had more of a booming bass instead of a nice crisp sound but it may have been the way they had it set up?

That is correct, you can adjust your amp and head unit for the bass that you want. I have run twin ten's before but a single 12 in a truck box takes less room and less power to get the same as ten's thus eliminating the need for a capacitor to control voltage drain.

 

[idrivemopar]

A couple of things to keep in mind.

First, depending on the era of music will also depend on how well the bass reproduction was done. Music from the 50's to the early and mid 70's was mastered pretty flat and not always mixed with a very wide stereo field so you hear a lot of instruments that are mixed to one channel or the other. Newer music from the 80's to now is and was mastered using the "loudness factor", meaning artificially adding effects to psychologically make you think its louder, and coupled with the addition of technology and mixing capabilities giving a wider stereo field, modern music production is so much better today.

Second, I would explore and test a wide range of music and adjust your eq to find a good setting or several good settings. I have 5 different settings on my eq depending on what type of music I am listening to.

Third, music sounds better at night, and no, its not a myth, its been proven, mainly due to the effect of your brain not processing as much information from your eyes allows your ears to hear more details.

Fourth, check the match of your amp with your speakers, you should be able to get good bass response from a quality pair of 6x9 speakers. Also, make sure you don't have a speaker out of phase that will kill the low end real quick. Also, I like to match speakers with an amp that is rated slightly higher than the speakers, that way, the amp runs more efficient and you get better quality sound at lower volumes, but be aware you can overdrive your speakers and potentially damage them with this type of configuration if you crank the volume too high.

And finally, and I am sure you know this already, adding a sub to an older car is going to expose a lot of things that rattle, especially the trunk lid, door panels, window mechanisms, rear deck, lock mechanisms, etc.
I hope you find the sweet spot for your system!!! I have a great system in my 06 Pontiac, and it sounds awesome without being too loud and people always ask if I am running a 10" subwoofer and are shocked to find out that I have two 8 inch JL audio subs in the rear deck that are open air subs.

 

[747mopar]

A box is a big loss of trunk space.. Mounting it free air behind the back seat keeps the trunk functional. If you aren't trying to rattle your fillings loose look into high end 6x9s, a real good amp with clean power and a capacitor to help it keep up. Hopefully you have already upgraded your charging system.

150 amp alt and all completely rewired so no issues there plus with the battery in the trunk and my other amp having additional RCA outlets wiring is easy.

 

[747mopar]

A couple of things to keep in mind.

First, depending on the era of music will also depend on how well the bass reproduction was done. Music from the 50's to the early and mid 70's was mastered pretty flat and not always mixed with a very wide stereo field so you hear a lot of instruments that are mixed to one channel or the other. Newer music from the 80's to now is and was mastered using the "loudness factor", meaning artificially adding effects to psychologically make you think its louder, and coupled with the addition of technology and mixing capabilities giving a wider stereo field, modern music production is so much better today.

Second, I would explore and test a wide range of music and adjust your eq to find a good setting or several good settings. I have 5 different settings on my eq depending on what type of music I am listening to.

Third, music sounds better at night, and no, its not a myth, its been proven, mainly due to the effect of your brain not processing as much information from your eyes allows your ears to hear more details.

pair of 6x9 speakers. Also, make sure you don't have a speaker out of phase that will kill the low end real quick. Also, I like to match speakers with an amp that is rated slightly higher than the speakers, that way, the amp runs more efficient and you get better quality sound at lower volumes, but be aware you can overdrive your speakers and potentially damage them with this type of configuration if you crank the volume too high.

And finally, and I am sure you know this already, adding a sub to an older car is going to expose a lot of things that rattle, especially the trunk lid, door panels, window mechanisms, rear deck, lock mechanisms, etc.
I hope you find the sweet spot for your system!!! I have a great system in my 06 Pontiac, and it sounds awesome without being too loud and people always ask if I am running a 10" subwoofer and are shocked to find out that I have two 8 inch JL audio subs in the rear deck that are open air subs.

Good info. I'm planning on oversizing the amp (that's one thing everyone seams to agree on). My trunk is separated from the speaker area by an upholstered panel leaving a nice cubby space, I'm thinking if I reinforce the panel and insulate it I might be able to focus the sound into the car instead of rattling the trunk? Another thing to note is when I was restoring the car I used a lot of bedliner and installed thick insulation as well so it shouldn't be so prone to rattles?

 

[HawkRod]

Hi Dev,

I put a single subwoofer in my car and mounted it behind the read seatback. I pointed the speaker in to the trunk as the air in the trunk is supposed to help the bass. It is not big and fancy, but I really like it. It gives me all the bass I need. BTW, I like (mostly) classic rock and hard(er) rock.

From my restoration thread, see post 579 through the next page to post 581.
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/hawk-rod-the-restoration.65096/page-29

 

[Lionized]

Years ago I ran two 8" Nakamichi subwoofers in a ported enclosure which was 3cuft. It blew guys away that they were only 8's.

 

[hammond472]

I had two 10" Nakamichis powered by a Hifonics Olympus mono block in a 280Z and they blew out the back window. Old Nakamichi was awesome before they went bankrupt. After that all crap. I ran a lot of their stuff. They also made the best tape and early CD decks and EQs. Zapco, Soundstream and Hifonics made awesome amps that never clipped out. MB quart made some nice speakers. Now they are all probably just an over hyped name and made in China as cheaply as possible.

 

[747mopar]

Hi Dev,

I put a single subwoofer in my car and mounted it behind the read seatback. I pointed the speaker in to the trunk as the air in the trunk is supposed to help the bass. It is not big and fancy, but I really like it. It gives me all the bass I need. BTW, I like (mostly) classic rock and hard(er) rock.

From my restoration thread, see post 579 through the next page to post 581.
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/hawk-rod-the-restoration.65096/page-29

That's the same brand of amp I'm running now that powers my current system, love their labeling! My amp came in a box with a big cannon on it haha. So far I'm liking the amp.

 

[HawkRod]

That's the same brand of amp I'm running now that powers my current system, love their labeling! My amp came in a box with a big cannon on it haha. So far I'm liking the amp.

When I was trying to decide how to mount it, I originally had a design where it would sit under the back seat and point up into the seat. However, the more I read the more it seemed that was the wrong way to go. Although it seems counterintuitive, pointing it away from the cabin and into the trunk is supposed to help the bass tones even more. I have not tried it in multiple ways, so I can't say for sure, by my system sure sounds good to me. Maybe an audiophile would have some issue with it, but it one hell of a lot better than the single AM speaker in the dash!!!

 

[polywideblock]

could try one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/POWER-ACOUS...ash=item5d5452da87:g:GFYAAOSwk5FUvZw3&vxp=mtr

or these http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-BASS-PR...ash=item1eb394e87e:g:jyMAAOSwRQlXcuN-&vxp=mtr

I've got these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Auto...ash=item3aa0174805:g:edkAAOSwk5FUt9Nl&vxp=mtr
but still to fit . as well as the 630 radio that looks like stock until powered up
all under seat speakers ,out of the way and not in the trunk
think the low frequency coming through the seats will be interesting for "lady folk " sitting in the pass seat