Sub box & clean HQ subwoofers

[UNHCLL]

Anyone have pictures of a small subwoofer enclosure between a rear strut bar and the rear wall of the trunk? I am not looking to build/create something for 2 12's. One 8, maybe a 10 is going to be more than sufficient for this application.

I dont not want thumping bass, I just need to add some low end grunt/kick to an existing factory system. The system is running off an alpine HU, Alpine MRV-F350(?) amp powering factory premium speakers.

-I wont be replacing speakers


If you can please advise me on some good HQ subwoofers that work well in a sealed box, I'd be very appreciative. First things that came to mind were MBQ & Boston Acoustics.

[e30sd]

boston rocks, but i'm not sure the new subs are on par with the older stuff. i had a pro 10.5, that was perhaps the best sound quality sub i've ever heard. tight, crisp, clean bass. jazz, rock, punk, hip hop, it all sounded great. i'm not too much into "look at me i have 4 JL 12's in my trunk rap man" music.

i would look at image dynamics, they make good stuff too.

[UNHCLL]

boston rocks, but i'm not sure the new subs are on par with the older stuff. i had a pro 10.5, that was perhaps the best sound quality sub i've ever heard. tight, crisp, clean bass. jazz, rock, punk, hip hop, it all sounded great. i'm not too much into "look at me i have 4 JL 12's in my trunk rap man" music.

i would look at image dynamics, they make good stuff too.

Perfect, thank you Pasha. I've heard mixed reviews on their new stuff.
I forgot about JL.

This is for a system that will primarily play either Classic Rock (Floyd, skynard, doors, morrison, cohen) or talk radio like NPR, sometimes some Marley or similar. So absolutely no need for the window shattering, bounce off the sidewalk bass shaking that some people go for.

[DrMcDave]

image dynamics idq should do the trick. I have an idmax but its big and heavy.

[Mastrcruse]

A friend has one 10" Alpine Type R and it is a great add on. Not too loud, unless you send a lot to it. I would recommend it if you aren't wanting a lot but there is always a way to get these things thump'n hard. I'm going to put 2 Type R 10's in the vert and really like the sound with the custom box that I heard them in

[StereoInstaller1]

What strut bar do you have? Would you take a pic of it and provide measurement between the rear seat and the bar, and between the bar and the floor? If you provide these measurements, Crystal has a fairly shallow 10 with excellent sound. It likes sealed boxes, and is pretty cheap. I believe I can design a box that will fit and make great bass. I would be glad to sell you one, as I plan on making a few. If you plan on making it yourself, I can provide specs.

Do you have a fold down armrest? What seat do you have in the back? My stock "is" leather is so thick that it muffles the bass pretty bad, plus it rattles between the leather and the foam.

What do you plan on using for power? If you use half of your F350 for the front and the other half for bass, I can assure you excellent sound...but if you plan on keeping the rear speakers running on the other half of the amp, you will be dissapointed. They will drown out the front, due to their location.

Personally, I would just leave the rears disconnected.

Luke

I have been waiting on an E30 with a strut bar for measurements, just for this reason!

[Mastrcruse]

I think it would be sweet to see someone do a box that goes aroud the strut bar. It probably would be pretty challenging though

[StereoInstaller1]

I think it would be sweet to see someone do a box that goes aroud the strut bar. It probably would be pretty challenging though

I had a pretty simple plan...a 4" PVC schedule 40 pipe running through the box, with the strut bar inside. You would have to install the strut brace and the box at the same time...real PITA, but do-able.

Luke

[Mastrcruse]

I had a pretty simple plan...a 4" PVC schedule 40 pipe running through the box, with the strut bar inside. You would have to install the strut brace and the box at the same time...real PITA, but do-able.

Luke

I was wondering how it could be done. That would be sweet to see, too bad a I have a vert and don't need one. I might pm you when I need a box for the type R's if thats okay. I would rather send money to someone that has interests similar to mine instead of people like car stereo one that are huge ass cocks.

I put 2 12's into my brothers car and the guy opened the door, looked at the door jam and started swearing because he said it was going to be difficult to do the job. Kinda pissed me off, never will go back there again

[UNHCLL]

Sparco rear strut bar.
It would only be installed for one reason, to keep the sub box "stationary".
I refuse to tap/drill/mount to the body to keep this box in place.

It would be going into the trunk of an e30 m3, with a leather rear seat (m3 style obviously). My single RF10" 1VC with a bridged 125amp 2 channel puts out MORE than enough bass for this application, but it is not clean bass(?) I have it in a sealed Q-logic box. (I know, not the best for the application)

Sub would run off its own amp. The HU can support sub/frt/rear RCA's, so i'm not struggling for controlability.

Rear speakers will likely remain connected. Driver of this car prefers rear fill.

[DSchultz325e]

The enclosure is going to have the biggest influence in determining how your subwoofer sounds. You can put a great woofer in a shitty box and make it sound like crap, but you can also put an entry-level woofer in a good box and make it sound great. Improper enclosures are what I suspect cause you to think "X woofer sounds like crap."

With any sub, it's best to disregard the "recommended" box specs and give the engineers at the company a call. The marketing people come up with the "recommended" specs, and usually make them smaller than ideal in order to make people think they don't need that much space to work with. In reality you may even need double or triple that number to produce an even, non-boomy response.

[StereoInstaller1]

Sparco rear strut bar.

Could you grab a tape measure and give me some reference? I have never seen a strut bar in any E30...I would really appreciate it, just so I could know.

[qoute]Rear speakers will likely remain connected. Driver of this car prefers rear fill.[/QUOTE]

My concern was more along the lines of the front getting equal power as the fronts. If both get equal power, the fronts get overwhelmed. A 4 channel and a sub amp solves that. Gain controls are magic!

If you go by typical engeneering belief, most RF subs prefer fairly large ported boxes. I would call Fosgate tech and ask their opinion. Most any woofer with a "Qts" smaller than .45 like to see the gain on the lower frequencies that a port provides.

Luke

[netcsk]

you don't need a strut bar to keep the box stationary at all... If you make the box tall enough to where it has slight pressure between the sheet-metal under the rear deck and the box, it won't want to move at all. If that doesn't work (and it will), get velcro from Walmart and put it on the underside of the box.

If you have a table saw and know a slight bit of math, you can build one yourself for under $30.