SkiScubaSailDude

Well, I have the standard system, and while not a true audiophile, I like to think I have a pretty good ear. I find that the standard system when adjusted some, sounds full and rich, with crisp highs, and a decent amount of lows. Now, if you are going to be boomin' the latest from Lil' John, then you may want to add some additional subs.

On channel 20 (Sirius, where my radio seems to stay...), it sounds like a dream, and you can crank it pretty hard!

sj3

The actual speaker inside a "subwoofer" is in fact just a woofer. Speakers come in woofer, tweeter, and midrange. I think the thing that makes a speaker a subwoofer is that the crossover is designed so that frequencies higher than a certain hz figure are not reproduced by the speaker...not because it can't, but because the signal is fltered so that the speaker doesn't see it. To me, a speaker designed to filter out all frequencies above say 100hz or 120hz is indeed a subwoofer. Unless our guest_Rob has the crossover design spec, saying that it's not a subwoofer but rather a midrange or woofer is baseless. Subs start their rolloff at different points depending on their design, price, size, etc, but they are called a sub because they won't reproduce frequencies above a certain figure, again different between different subs, but they all share that design 'feature'. Thanks.

Sam

Robbie

Just to clear up a few things........

A Sub Woofer cone needs to travel alot further than a mid range cone, say, to reproduce the bas frequencies, that is why the best subs can move in and out up to two inches. Also, there are very few "free air" subs available - for a sub to reproduce powerful bass, it needs to be sealed - that is, the air is not able to flow around the speaker, so the change in aire pressure at the front of the speaker does not change the air pressure at the rear - the reason for this is that as the cone moves, it produces sound waves at the back and front of the cone, but the waves at the back of the cone are exactly 180 degrees out of phase to those at the front, so, without separaing the front and back, the sound would cancel itself out. This coupled with the fact that a dual cone speaker or a mid range speaker crossovers are designed to address the extened response range, means that a dedicated sub will be far better at punching out bass frequencies.

I'm affraid I do not know the values of the capacitors used - this was the one part of the install that I didn't do - a local (Carshop in Taunton) car audio shop used an osciloscope of sorts to assess the sound in the car, and chose capacitors to suit. He charged me ?15 per speaker, so ?90 in total.

I stand corrected on one point - the diagrams in eralier posts clearly show a circular speaker, prob 10" or 12", under the seats, and this could well be a sub in the HiFi or L7 set ups. I have a standard set up, and the speakers under my front seats are definatley dual cone mid range 6 X 9s (oval shaped).

Lastly, the amp / speaker combo I use is an Alpine MRP-M350 amp tuned to a SWR-1021D Sub.

sj3

Guest_Rob:

"- the diagrams in eralier posts clearly show a circular speaker, prob 10" or 12", under the seats, and this could well be a sub in the HiFi or L7 set ups. I have a standard set up, and the speakers under my front seats are definatley dual cone mid range 6 X 9s (oval shaped)."

This is great information that I don't think we had seen before. There have been several posts reporting that the standard system also has subs under the front seats and this is the first time we've found out that the speakers are actually different there. It would be nice if you could maybe introduce yourself a bit more by registering, telling us what country you're in (UK?) and creating a sig with a description of your car. That way, people could see you'd done a custom sound setup and ask you questions. Anyway, thanks for the updated info.

Sam

Robbie

Sam, and everyone else,

Finally got round to registering.....gust_rob becomes Robbie!

Cheers

Guest

does anybody know how you can access the speakers under the front seats. maybe i can redo the enclosures. if they are big enough i can fit a better and more powerfull sub. ( will require runnning a diffrent as well)?

Robbie

Guest....The only way to remove the speakers under the seats is to remove the seats...bummer.

You may be able to fit a free-air sub in there, but they are jolly expensive, and hard to come by, as there certainly isn't the room beneath the sub for an air tight enclosure.

My advice to you is put the sub, or subs, in the trunk, and use bananna clips so they can be easily removed if you need the fill the trunk up with shopping....although I managed to have a family vacation recently (wife, child and mother-in-law) and managed to get all the luggage in the trunk without removing the subs :-)

xjust

Hey there.
I have the same Alpine amp/subwoofer like Rob's on my old car.
Since I have to remove it from there anyway I was thinking to add it (at least test it) to the new E60 Logic7.
Rob. Do you have the Logic7 on yours ? How does it sound with a sub added ? Im asking this because mine seems to have enough bass ( still I cant really 'feel' the two subwoofers under the confort seats )..

I dont really want to take another wire from the battery(and take open everything around there to make it unseen) is it ok to put a condensator and use the power that is already in the trunk ?

530E60NL

Somehow I missed this post when I was on vacation. This is some really good and all very interesting.

Robbie

No, I don't hae L7 Just the standard UK set-up.

If you are gonna install a sub-amp in the trunk - DO NOT take power anywhere other than straight from the battery. The current draw is too great, and you are, at best, risking blowing some fuses, or, at worst, risking a fire in the car.

Installing a sub amp in the boot couldn't be easier, and takes less than an hour....

1) Remove both side trims, floor panel, spare wheel (if you have it) and plastic strip that the boot lid closes on (the one with the aux power connector in it).

2) Find a suitable place for the amp - mine is mounted above the left hand wheel arch.

3) Connect the remote wire to the aux-connector live point in the boot. This is switched with the ignition, and will turn the amp on and off, preventing power draw when the engine is not running.

4) Connect the unit to a suitable earth. Make sure the earth is good - you may want to scrape some paint off arround the point you choose. I chose a bracket bolt by the rear light assembly. Before connection, use an Ohm-meter between the earth and the negative battery terminal to check it is good. The reading should be virtually zero.

5) Connect the speaker level inputs. (If you amp supports speaker level inputs, then connect direcly, if not, you'll have to get an adapter, available from any car audio store). Do this by carefully popping the speaker grills off the speakers on the rear parcel shelf - by using a small flat blade. There are three screws securing the speakers under this grill - remove them. take the speaker out, and disconnect it. Use something sharp, like a knitting needle, to thread the speaker-level input wire from the trunk, through the sound-proof material, into the speaker recess.
Splice into the speaker wire with the speaker level input wire for the amp, using 3M clips, or bullet conectors. Reconnect the speaker, reinstall the speaker, and replace the grill. Repeat this on both sides.

6) Route the speaker-level input wires behind the trunk paneling to the amp, and connect.

7) Route the cable that feeds the sub-woofer to the place where it is to be installed - I installed a wire-grip speaker connector (like the sort on the back of domestic stereo speakers) into some of the trunk paneling to make it clean, but this is optional.

8) Connect the power to the battery, ensuring there is an in-line fuse. With my Alpine, it was all included, and the wire terminated on a spade connector (C shape) that fitted the battery terminal perfectly. (Make sure the in-line fuse is disconnected at this point). I didn't even need to fully disconnect the battery.

9) Replace all trunk paneling, spare wheel etc..

10) Connect and install Sub-woofer speaker, and enjoy!!!!

Remember, that you a) need to tune the amp to the car using the inbuilt EQ and level adjusters (really, just spend some time playing with the settings until it sounds right for you) and you need to get the sound from the trunk into the car - difficult if you do not have the thru-load facility, as the sound proofing is so darn good.

Any questions, drop me a line.

Robbie