Under-seat "stealth" subwoofer for auto?

[Dusty Chalk]

Some of you know stuff about car audio -- Samich? I forget who else. I'm going to be living with this car ('03 Lancer ES, non-Evo, non-wagon, non-anything really, completely entry-level) for a while, so want to upgrade the sound system, but don't want to spend thousands of dollars doing so, as it already has > 120K miles on it, and I'm about due for a car-totalling.

So the current system sounds crap. Lots of distortion, doesn't go loud well at all. Replace the whole system (including the head unit)? Buy a new car? Or go piecemeal: sub first, head unit and speakers next. I'm not a complete dumb-bass-head when it comes to cars, but poprock just doesn't sound right without some bass. And when this shit distorts, bass is the first thing to go.

I liked Clarion's sound system for the Suzuki, and they stuck a sub under the driver seat, for which there appears to be quite the market. What I don't like is that most of these face up -- I believe Clarion's raised theirs on ~1cm risers and face down to keep crap out. Are there any like this?

Tabula Rasa here, so feel free to suggest something completely different. Will probably get mids for the door and custom tweeters, as the dash appears to have ample space for that.

[crappyjones123]

i dont know if i am imagining things or if i faintly remember naaman building a bitching car system from scratch for his truck...it was either something he built or something he linked to but i keep seeing his name in my head.

other than that i know nothing about car systems.

jh16? yeah they aren't safe to drive with but its not like you will be able to hear jack shit anyways if you crank it the car system to the levels you are talking about. would probably cost less to get custom iems, sound better, get more use out of them after you leave your car. also you could port them to the new car when you get one.

fuck damnit, i want chocolate chip ice cream they use to sell in my hometown in india so bad right now. i dont know where the sudden urge came from but it was called bonanza and you would get it in a cup and you would eat it with a spoon. that shit was the best.

[aardvark baguette]

Its been a while since I looked at whats out there, but under-the-seat is usually passive radiators more than true subwoofers.

I don't think I've ever actually heard one, but I can't remember.

I took out my sub a long while back and my system has deteriorated to the point where its pretty bad. I had to re-eq everything when I removed the sub as the speakers were designed to be run with a sub, so they get overloaded even easier than the stock car speakers with low mids / bass. I've learned to live with it until I finally ditch this car (2000 CRV). My driver window hasn't worked for at least a year.

I too remember Naaman posting links to some awesome photos, super elaborate system.

[Dusty Chalk]

Oh shit, I totally forgot about that sub. Man, geezin' sucks. Whatever happened to it?

And I never asked: why'd you take it out?

jh16? yeah they aren't safe to drive with but its not like you will be able to hear jack shit anyways if you crank it the car system to the levels you are talking about.

What? I didn't mean that high levels. I just want it loud enough to overcome the road noise, no more. And I can still hear sirens coming and car horns a-blaring plenty fine.

And: fuck no on IEMs, much less any kind of headphones in the car. That's crazy, and I get uptight observing that behaviour in other cars.

[crappyjones123]

my fault/apologies. i thought you were trying to burn some inner ear hair.

[swt61]

Dusty check out Parts Express. They have some really good prices on car audio. Not sure about under seat subs, but there are a few low profile sub drivers if you can find a box (might be one there).

[aardvark baguette]

Oh shit, I totally forgot about that sub. Man, geezin' sucks. Whatever happened to it?

And I never asked: why'd you take it out?

I took it out because my battery kept dying and my car wouldn't start. I was having problems troubleshooting and finally decided just to take it out.

I later figured out that it was just loose battery terminals repeatedly coming off, but I never bothered putting the sub back in because its so heavy and I procrastinate like you would not believe.

The sub has been sitting in my closet since I took it out. I'm guessing at least 2 years.

JLAudio 10w7 Prowedge

Edited August 6, 2012 by aardvark baguette

[naamanf]

Good sub.

I would first determine what your goals are and how much you want to spend. Factor in labor if you don't plan on doing the work yourself.

If possible I highly suggest going all active so you have the best chance of getting the best sound out of your speakers.

For the sub, I don't know of any under seat boxes for the Lancer, but you might be able to get one custom make. Better yet I would have a custom made box corner loaded in the trunk. Save under seat for a processor (if you go with one) and amp/s. Also could put everything in the trunk.

For the amps I would go with one of the compact D type amps. JL and Alpines are good and you can get them pretty cheap of Ebay or CA forums.

Really a million different ways you could go, just need to figure out where you want to start. Any good shops in your area?

[Dusty Chalk]

Not that I know of. There used to be one in Tysons Corner that I would hang out in, but then he let me listen to one of his installs, and it was that stupid ghetto bass sound that we all know and hate. I never went back. I'm sure he could do an adequate job of installing (I did not hear any rattles, and the custom enclosures were seamless looking, including a custom enclosure for an additional component that did not have a place on the dashboard, so he did good work, mechanical-wise), if I stayed on top of him to do an audiophile install as opposed to a ... uh ... whatever the word is for those other guys -- "competition" install? -- ...but not sure I wanted to stay on top of him.

Yeah, good point on deciding what I want to accomplish and how much I want to spend. It is already an older car, so I'm hesitant to sink too much into it, which puts me in a bit of a dilemma. What I would love is to recreate the sound of my Suzuki before I blew the amp. That's still the best car sound I've ever heard. And all it was was the factory upgrade stereo OEMed from Clarion that was custom made to the car. Tweeters up top, door mids, and a sub under the seat. All electronics were in the head unit (including the crossover), except I think the sub was powered.

I'll look at Parts Express -- totally forgot about the fact that they carry car audio.

I have a recommendation request in to Crutchfield. His initial response was the same thing you said, that there are no custom under-the-seat sub enclosures for the Lancer, which is what I expected. His initial suggestions:

Infinity speakers

Sound Ordnance sub

[naamanf]

I would establish the budget and goals first, start choosing what you want from there.

I have had good luck purchasing equipment from "discount" online stores which can save a bit of coin if your willing to go with their questionable warranty.

Sounds like your local shop could build a good custom sealed corner enclosure, which if done right would be better (I would think) than the sound ordnance sub. Then again the SO sub is cheap and will definitely reinforce the lower end with minimal installation headaches.

Alpine makes some nice head units with processor add-on.

[bhjazz]

naamanf FTW. After having built more than a few systems meself, he has it right.

>>Better yet I would have a custom made box corner loaded in the trunk. Save under seat for a processor (if you go with one) and amp/s. Also could put everything in the trunk.

Yes!

I hesitate to suggest JLAudio, but they used to have a lot of custom corner boxes. Not sure if they are available for your particular car, but worth checking.