subwoofer for a car with limited space
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=119884
Printed Date: May 09, 2024 at 4:23 PM
Topic: subwoofer for a car with limited space
Posted By: fordracer
Subject: subwoofer for a car with limited space
Date Posted: February 03, 2010 at 10:28 PM
I recently put a new sony head unit into my ford contour SE, along with four pioneer speakers. I am quite impressed by the sound quality, but it lacks bass. I would like to put in a subwoofer, but I have very limited space. I saw a subwoofer by Boss that is designed to go under the seats, but I don't have enough room under the seats. I am looking for crisp clear sound over massive power, and don't want to sacrifice much trunk space as I frequently need to transport tools and building materials for school service clubs. I have a budget of up to $250, what are my options to get crisp sound without using to much space?
Replies:
Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: February 04, 2010 at 4:03 AM
Do not try and save the space, just make the box and outfit your speaker wires with a quick disconnect of some sort so you can easily remove the enclosure when you need the space. You will be much happier that way.
Posted By: licto
Date Posted: February 04, 2010 at 7:41 AM
I suppose there are a few different options...... Of course the size of the sub seems to be tied to the size of the enclosure. But there are some pretty good 8 inch subs out there for a sealed enclosure that would not take to much space. Maybe you could define too much space. Is the size of a plastic milk crate too much?? A 10 in a sealed can take up that little of an amount and an 8 will or can be smaller. Even though it may not boom or thump.... it will add the bottom end you are looking for. Not that I am huge fan of bazooka tube subs.... but that may be an option...... Just did a quick search for 8 inch with 250 watts RMS...... they do exist with dual voice coil and for around 50 bucks. The local place down the street has a sealed enclosure for about 40 bucks and it is just tiny. Look for a used amp at around 50 bucks and you are done at around 140.00. There are a lot of people on this forum that may have a 200 watt amp kicking around for sale. I have two in the garage right now. Hope this helps.......
Posted By: knotdrummer88
Date Posted: February 04, 2010 at 9:40 AM
you could also aways try some shallow mount subs or sub in your trunk in a shallow box
Posted By: fordracer
Date Posted: February 04, 2010 at 11:54 PM
Thank you for your help. A sub enclosure the size of a milk crate would be fine, I just don't want anything massive that takes up the entire trunk. What brands would you recommend for the subwoofer and amp?
Posted By: licto
Date Posted: February 11, 2010 at 12:52 AM
I just went with a Alpine Type R 1242D in the Exploder...... The box I built is sealed and about 14.5 cubed outside dimensions leaving me 13 cubed inside. Overall 1.2 cubic feet. Im guessing that you could do well with a 10 in such a smaller vehicle. JL and Alpine..... I have noticed recently when I blew up my JL 10w3v2, that alpine has some pretty competitive price points. So I went with the Alpine 12 for 150 bucks. I am running an Alpine MRP-M1000..... so I needed a sub that could handle a little more RMS power than the JL........ The Alpine type R kind of sits between the JL W3 series and the W6 series......... in my opinion. Some would say probably not the same caliber of sub as the 6, but will handle a little more than the 3. But in the end, it met my needs.
Posted By: ianarian
Date Posted: February 11, 2010 at 2:28 AM
With your budget, I'd(ME) make sure you get a Single voice coil sub(SVC) like the JLW1. It holds like 100 some odd watts which will be good for the size amp you'll get on your budget. Other than that, stay away from a high power sub. The wiring kit for over 500w amp starts to get expensive. With a couple hundred watt amp, you can use 8ga power wire. I think the wiring kit alone costs up to $50.
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Posted By: smtgolf
Date Posted: February 11, 2010 at 12:15 PM
$250 makes it tough to do.....I think from a space standpoint, a single 10" or a couple of decent 6.5" or 8" subs could work. I got 2 elemental designs e3.6 subs in a small sealed box (30"w x 9"d x 7.25" h) for my sedan. They don't boom but can play pretty low to fill out the bottom (and do it very nicely considering). Plus the box is so short I can stack things on top of it no problem (the subs fire downwards). You can get 2 of those for $95 shipped.
Add a Kenwood kac-8104d amp for around $110 shipped and that could work nicely. Of course, you can also get a 10" sub for around the same price too, your choice. The amp could work for either setup. Check craigslist too, there are always amp deals out there for used equipment.
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