Bass tubes - opinions?

[Jand3rson]

I've been thinking about how I want to do my stereo once I get around to putting it together, and I've been thinking about ditching the amp/sub combo idea and just going with a bass tube in the trunk, like a Bazooka. I don't like a lot of bass in anything I listen to, just enough to feel it a little. I listen to a lot of metal and hardcore, and a decent amount of electronic and hip hop, so I don't need a ton of bass. I've been told by a few people that since I'm not out for a ton of bass and just decent sound, that this may be the better way to go. Aside from costing a lot less than finding a decent sub and amp, a tube would also take up a lot less room in the trunk, and probably be a bit lighter than a sub/amp combo.

Would my deck be enough to power two 6" speakers in the front, and the bass tube in the trunk? If not, would I still have to run an amplifier? I'm pretty sure the one that I saw at the shop is amplified, kind of a self-contained unit. This is all I would be running, since I don't plan to have speakers in the back.

The power output of my deck is: 23 watts RMS x 4ch / 40 watts peak x 4ch.

[erik325i]

everybody I know talks shit about Bazooka tubes, but I have had them in my previous Chevy S-10 and my e30 and they sound great. I had 2 10" bozooka tubes powered by a 1000 watt Fosgate amp. Those subs hit hard enough in my S-10 to knock my rear-view mirror off of my windshield (multiple times).
Now I just have one of them in my e30, and it still hits plenty hard for me. It sounds nice.

As for the amplifier question... you can get the subs either way. If you get a powered subwoofer, it has a built in amp. If you get an unpowered sub, you will need to run a separate amp. I recommend getting an unpowered sub and choosing a nice amp.

-Erik

[asubimmer]

if you don't like tons of bass then a nice pair of 6x9's on the rear deck should be fine. I have some pioneers that sound great and really can put out some bass. Although they may be even better if I ran them through an amp ;) Just an idea for ya

[Jand3rson]

I was told by a couple of shops that 6x9's won't fit into the rear deck unless you cut the sheet metal out.

[asubimmer]

well i didn't do mine...they were in the car when I bought it but they are raised about a inch above the rear deck so the metal did not have to be cut...one again if I had a digital camera I would take a pic for you.

I really need to get a camera :(

[erik325i]

well i didn't do mine...they were in the car when I bought it but they are raised about a inch above the rear deck so the metal did not have to be cut...one again if I had a digital camera I would take a pic for you.

I really need to get a camera :(

yeah, my brother's e30 had a set of 6x9s in the rear, and they also stick up. It looks totally janky and i would NEVER put 6x9s in my car.

-Erik

[Avus E30]

I had 6X9s in the read deck of my first e30 and yeah the sheet metal had to be cut out for them to fit. I say a small amp and a tube would be fine for what you are looking at. I have had the same idea about doing a tube and I already have infinities in the front and rear, but the deck doesnt have enough power to make it sound as nice as it could.

[StereoInstaller1]

Josh, your "es" has the seat belts on the rear deck, right? Came with premium sound rear speakers? If so, I have made a panel that fits very precisely in the recessed area of the rear deck to make the entire thing flush...cheap (read:smaller) 6x9's fit just fine with a tiny bit of sheet metal cutting, just enough to clear the magnet.

However, they don't sound all that great.

I have an amp and a 8" Bazooka tube sitting around. If you find me a windshield (didn't you part out a car recently?) I will come to your house and install both, if you help me install the windshield.

If you want, I also have a very nicely built box for 1 10" sub that is fucking tiny, but really cool looking. I built it with the intent of setting it up for Dr.McDave, but it will not work for his woofer.

You could have that as is, free. If you want it finished (plexi window, upholstered, inside painted, whatever) would still be pretty cheap.

Shipping would cost ya or you pick up or the windshield deal or something.

I also have a decent Kenwood amp, I think it is a KAC 748. 4 Channel, it would power a sub and some decent fronts very well, wiht its built in crossovers. Or, use that amp for the mids and highs adn a bigger amp for a single 10"...whatever.

Anyway, let me know if you wanna see pics or whatever.

Luke

[Jand3rson]

Luke, I'd like to see pics of the sub box and the amp. How much do you want for the amp? If you're willing to sit on them for about a month or 2, I could drive over there and just pick the box and amp up from you. I think the windshield of my parts car *might* be cracked, I'll have to check.

BTW, your sig is nasty. :D

[808BMW]

IMO, a powered bazooka tube (they only offer small amps from what I've seen) is not enough for an e30 trunk, no matter how little bass you want.

Buying a seperate amp kinda defeats your whole point in the first place, so you might as well get a regular sub+box and a nice amp.

To me the only place a bazooka tube belongs is in a single cab truck, because the shape lends itself nicely to the purpose. Other than that build a real box

P.S. buy a small 2 channel amp for your front speakers, it really will be night and day

[DrMcDave]

yeah dammit why couldn't my sub fit in that box

[StereoInstaller1]

Question for both you and Dave...how do you feel about cutting a hole behind your seat, like I did on Nathans' car http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=54888.

This makes so much more impact on the bass...porting through the ski hole is such a bitch. That is why the box I built for Dave wont work. I have been thinking about a slot port below the woofer. This slot would fire through the ski hole, but would require some trimming, or have the woofer spaced back about 2 inches. So damn much to think about!

100% performance and still have trunk room, not take 12 hours to build, etc.

On a side note, I will be posting pics of the '99 Lightning I am doing this week. Type R Alpine 12" behind the seat, with a 6'2" owner in a regular cab...and the amp on the box, sunk into the face, flush. What a PITA!

Luke
BTW, my sig is nasty, but hilarious!

[Jand3rson]

So you mean cutting the ski hole out, just not porting it through? I'm not really into the porting idea, but just cutting the hole out sounds like a plan to me, I would get a lot more punch that way.

[808BMW]

The ski hole panel should come out no matter what you do. I think Luke is asking how about the port cut into the side, instead of trying to make a box with a sub AND a port firing through the ski hole (theres only so much space to fire through).

I would personally do it, but I have different plans (cut out ALL that shit, not just a tiny hole for the port)

[Jand3rson]

My plan right now is to buy just the speakers/tweeters and run that and the deck for the time being. I want to run just that setup for a while, and then decide if I even really want a sub. I'm getting component Infnity Kappas, they come with the tweeters and the crossovers, so if I decide I want a sub later, I can do it then. In my old Subaru, I just had a cd player with a pair of 5.25" Polk Audio speakers in the front, and it sounded really quite good. Like I said in my first post, I'm not really into all that much bass. We'll see how the setup sounds at first, and then decide where I want to go from there. Andrew has a set of old Infinity Kappas in his MGB, with a crap old tape deck that he runs his Nomad through, and they sound pretty damn good on their own. I'm not a huge car audio guy, I just want decent sound for running around town and the occasional short trip.