Rear Subwoofer Idea

[njaremka]

What do you guys think about this:

I want to replace my speakers and get better bass response without sacraficing trunk space. I was thinking of replacing the front speakers with a component set, and replacing the rear speakers with 8" free air subwoofers and running the whole set up off a 4-channel amp.

The rear subwoofers would be mounted to the rear deck with adapter plates and take the place of the rear 6x9's.

 

[sam1]

thats a good idea, but i dont know how good of SQ you would get with that setup. what im doing to save space is building fiberglass boxes, one for each of the back corners, then im suspending the amp from the back deck, so ill be able to use most of my trunk and my amp wont be on the floor anymore. although, its alot more expensive than a normal setup, even tho im building it all myself.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

why not just buy a MSP sub rack and use it?? Put your own sub in there. I love mine, of course I'm not a stereo-head or anything.

 

[sndsgood]

when people are trying to conserve space, why do they still need to use two subs? just use one sub that will take half the space of two right there.

now as for free air, to get it to work properly your going to need to use wood and caulking to seal up any hole between the trunk and the interior. otherwise youlle lose allot of your bass. this means any hole in yoru rear deck, and your rear seat area, and also by the wheelwells. allot of times infinate baffle installation(proper term) is more work then just building a small box.

 

[servoeyes]

I'm with sndsgood, here. You can't just slap and 8" sub back there for several reasons. The ones he mentioned and also the rattling from the rear deck would be obnoxious. You'd have to pracitcally replace the rear deck with MDF and seal the area, then make sure that you had a spot to vent the subs. That makes a lot of custom work involved. I also don't think you need more than one sub, either. Most less expensive 4 channel amps aren't going to give you enough power for 2 8" subs...you'd have to step into much larger amps, which means they'll have more power for your components as well. That means you need to have components that'll handle everything.

Anywho...I'm rambling on here...8" subs don't need big boxes, so you could fiberglass something or build something from MDF that would save you a ton of space and would be much easier.

 

[njaremka]

Well, I asked. I frequently check Crutchfield to see what special they have going, and they have some 8" subs that only need 30+ RMS watts for power. They are also noted for free air use, meaning no box. That's what got me to thinking of sticking two in the rear deck with a decent 4-ch amp and some good components in the front. Should I just get some good 6x9's and those poly-bucket things to stick under them?

I had a Grand Am with upgraded speakers and a Bazooka tube in the trunk and that gave me good balance between bass and music. I really liked that set-up and anyone that rode in that car said it was one of the better sounding setups they had heard. That's all I want out my Protege. I was just thinking of how to do get a good balanced sound without loosing much trunk sapce.

 

[1sty]

I'd do a single 10" in a small box and call it a day. Just remove it when it will be in the way. Otherwise get one with a grill and then you will ba safe to throw whatever you want in the back of the car.

 

[Poseur]

An eD 8a takes .2cuFand everyone seems to swear they hit like a 12" with the added bonus of faster responce. Not exactly cheap at $150, but I've been seriously considering checking one out just to save precious room, because my current plan for a box to port my 12a is getting quite involved just to keep my precious cargo room.

 

[sndsgood]

an 8 or 10 should do u fine, i'd personally get a sub that can handle more then 30 watts. thats not going to get past your rear seats. there are allot of companies that make subs for small enclosures, my image dynamics can go into a .25 enclosure, made of fiberglass in a corner you wouldn't notice any loss of space.


and poseur. the transient responce of an 8 versus a 12 both playing sub bass only will be negligable.

 

[njaremka]

an 8 or 10 should do u fine, i'd personally get a sub that can handle more then 30 watts. thats not going to get past your rear seats. there are allot of companies that make subs for small enclosures, my image dynamics can go into a .25 enclosure, made of fiberglass in a corner you wouldn't notice any loss of space.


and poseur. the transient responce of an 8 versus a 12 both playing sub bass only will be negligable.

I was looking at the low power subs because I was thinking of mounting them in the factory 6x9 location and running them with a modest 4-ch amp.

 

[parks853]

Plus it will be hard to find components that will run on 30Wrms that are worth a s***. If you dont want a nice system then save your money and stay with the stock system. cause I am with these guys. you can get a nice 8 or 10 build a small box and be done with it. the TB 8's that got wake tells us about are very cheap. they are 45 shipped. build a small box and you are on your way.

 

[mdagost103]

i would do components in the front and nice speakers in the back with a single 10" enclosed which doesnt take much space up at all with a nice amp. All you need its a small car so you will get nice sound. The main thing you need is dynomat. If you need anything the shop i use is in nj and does shipping 732-777-6050 dynamic productions. I dont recommend free air subs they never sound right


Infinity 6x8 components in the front infinity 6 1/2 speakers in the rear single infinity 10"sub in enlcosure w/401s amp. Future mod fiberglass whole inside with more dynomat.

 

[sndsgood]

low power for a sub is 100 watts, remember its in the back of the car, and it will take around 50 watts just to get over the road noise, most decent 4 channel amps u can bridge so run the first two channels for a componet set up front and bridge the 3 and 4 channel for a sub, u can get like a 50wx4 amp and get well over 100 watts of bass

 

[parks853]

yup.. that is what I was thinking. and the TB sub that I mentioned only needs liek 100 - 120wrms if I member right. it is the w8-740c http://www.nuera-acoustic.ca/products.html

 

[SP33D]

Go with the DLS setup for this.. I believe with a small amount of modifications.. you can fit the 8" in your door panels.. and it would sound sick.

 

[Mike R]

JL makes 6" subs. Not too much low end but they are small, require almost no space and don't sound too horrible. My plan If I ever get around to it is put 2 6" in a molded box in the cargo area of my P5. Should sit very flush and take up very little space. Should sound much better than the factory 5.25 spare sub.

 

[willisbr]

Uh hello! You buy cheap you get cheap. WWhy would anyone skimp out on an Audio system...isn't it skimpy enough leaving it stock? Especialy if you just want 1 or two subs...they might as well do a good job. I'm with 1st MP3 in NH...get a good 10 or 12 in a box...stick an amp on it and your done. Two 8" is about worthless...especially free air...which you don't see much anymore because it's a lost cause. Installing new 6X9's will sound better than free 8's. Putting components in without having a good subsystem to back it up is worthless too. You'll have great mids and high but no stupid-fresh bass? open your wallet a little more and do it right the first time bro. Don't do it backwards. Sub and amp...components and amp...deep cell...cap...beer. Simple. Later!<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_761933", true); </SCRIPT>

 

[cthomp21]

A set of free-air 8s in the rear deck can sound good with relatively little work. They won't shake the car apart, but they'll fill out the low end if you're just looking for a "complete" system. You'll probably have to deal with some rattles tho. Some imitation-dynamat and some carpet padding did it for me.

I did a pair of free-air 8s in my Contour and was pleased with the sound. The output and bass extension was about equal to an average 10" in a sealed box in the trunk. I'd recommend putting some good woofers up front in the doors (like some 7" Vifa PL's or some 8" Illusion Audio LM's) for some good mid-bass response too. Let the subs just focus on the 70Hz and below stuff.

You won't need some ridiculous power to run them either. 50-100w per sub would be pleanty for a low power system. BTW, the Tang Band 8s won't work well in free-air as their QTS is too low. A good value sub for free-air would be a Dayton 8" Quatro from www.partsexpress.com for something like $45/each.

 

[willisbr]

Hell just get a bass tube man because thats about the same sound your gonna end up with. Better make it Pyle or something just to make sure. I'm just not a firm believer in free air.

 

[MisterT]

What do you guys think about this:

I want to replace my speakers and get better bass response without sacraficing trunk space. I was thinking of replacing the front speakers with a component set, and replacing the rear speakers with 8" free air subwoofers and running the whole set up off a 4-channel amp.

The rear subwoofers would be mounted to the rear deck with adapter plates and take the place of the rear 6x9's.

I never heard any thing good about free air subs. If any thing get a single ED 8 inch sub which has a high Xmax, and you will yield better results than 2 free air 8's combined.