TheSamba.com :: View topic - Shallow-mount Subwoofer enclosures

Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:33 pm

I'd like to add a little thump to the overall mediocre sound system of my Bluestar. It's better than the "system" in the '85 9 passenger, but that's not saying much.
I have read through quite a few stereo/subwoofer threads and people have done some nice work, with my favourite the revamp of the Bluestar "Bass reflex speaker" http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=364184&highlight=subwoofer+carat. My van is a "Canadian Bluestar though and so lacks this speaker, plus I don't want to hack my panels, as nice as the install looks.

My criteria are:
1. Relatively cheap
2. Compact enclosure
3. Unobtrusive installation that won't eliminate a bunch of storage space.
4. Moderate performance...head unit and other speakers are going through a similarly budget-oriented upgrade.
5. Easily removable without requiring modification of the van.

A friend gave me a 400W pioneer amp and a 12" sub in a massive, mildewy home-made enclosure. Sub is humongous and building a nice enclosure under the rear bench would easily eat an entire side IF I could get it to fit. Plus I feel like it's just too big a driver for my moderate system. So I will use the amp but not the sub.

With all this in mind I've been looking at two 10" preloaded shallow-mount sub enclosures. Both of these would fit under a jump seat in the van, and because of the down-facing legged design, would actually straddle the bar of the jump seat and tuck nicely inside the frame.

Do any of you audiophiles have any comments on the performance of either of these units or the location I intend to put it in?

#1 choice: Pioneer TS-SWX2502

http://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/POCEN/Car/Subwoofers/Shallow-Mount/TS-SWX2502
I think this is an older model of the same that is also available at the same price: http://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/POCEN/Car/Subwoofers/Shallow-Mount/TS-SWX251

#2 choice: MTX TP2/FPR10-A

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/mtx-mtx-10-...33ab61en02

Thanks a lot!
Tony

Fri Nov 07, 2014 7:04 pm

I have a Boss powered sub under the front passenger seat. Really fills in the low end and fit without any modifications.

Fri Nov 07, 2014 7:24 pm

I also have a boss under the passenger seat and it works well. Not gonna shake the doors off, but it provides the low-end warmth that's lacking with the factory 4" speaker size.

Fri Nov 07, 2014 7:36 pm

I also installed the Boss powered sub after reading about it here. Wish i had gone a different route. Very disappointed with the sound. The cheap plastic casing the sub is mounted in rattles and buzzes. You get what you pay for like most things.

Fri Nov 07, 2014 7:43 pm

I have the pioneer and a Rockford punch mono amp, sits perfectly between the front seats! Let me know if you want a picture...?

Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:46 pm

I bought the 8" Focal iBus20 subwoofer for 1/2 price ($250) from Crutchfield about 6 months ago. Very thin and no buzz/rattles. Highly recommended for a little punch. I installed it vertically behind the driver's seat and behind the driver's jump seat. The jump seat can still be removed and installed at will with no issues at all. Because of it's compact size allowing it to be installed where I put it, and it's excellent sound, I would probably pay full price ($550) if I had to do it all over again and couldn't find a discount. Perfect for my needs :D .

Focal iBus 20: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_091IBUS20/Focal-Integ...amp;awdv=c

Blaupunkt's slim 8" option": http://www.amazon.com/Blaupunkt-300-Watt-8-Inch-Pr...+subwoofer

Fri Nov 07, 2014 9:37 pm

I appreciate the suggestions and I have looked at powered options like the Boss, infinity and Bazooka. Seem like they'd fit the bill but reviews seem peppered with unrepairable failures amidst the favourable reviews. With my luck I'd have a fried unit just out of warranty and be shopping again next year, so I'd rather do a separate amp, that I could replace fairly inexpensively (sub should survive my moderate use with an underpowered amp).

The focus is a new one to me. Looks interesting but more $$. Have to read up!

Fri Nov 07, 2014 9:48 pm

luVWagn wrote: I have the pioneer and a Rockford punch mono amp, sits perfectly between the front seats! Let me know if you want a picture...?

Yes please! I was wondering if it would fit there! How's the sound?

Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:21 pm

Sound is good, although I don't quite have it dialed in yet - lots of controls at the head-unit, amp, etc. to tune, as well as for my front/rear speakers.

From the back (excuse the wiring mess), but you can see how the amp fits nicely behind the parking brake lever, and below the seat-belt latch.

This position also let me keep everything close to my fuse-box and aux batteries, which are right there.

From the top, to show just how tight a squeeze it is

Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:29 pm

P.S.
My parking brake cover was already cracked, not caused by this installation :)

Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:23 am

luVWagn wrote: P.S.
My parking brake cover was already cracked, not caused by this installation :)

Not from bowel-shaking bass lines?

Looks good, thanks for the photos! I will probably pull the trigger on it. Might still tuck it under my jump seat to keep it more out of the way, but I'll play around with it.

Thanks again!

Mon Nov 10, 2014 2:02 am

Based on the specs, the Pioneer looks like a better unit than the MTX.

Pioneer recommends a 80Hz low-pass filter for the sub, so be sure to get a head unit with a dedicated subwoofer output if the amp your friend gave you doesn't have a built in crossover.

Either one of these subwoofers should offer better performance than a powered low profile sub, since the internal volume of the enclosure is not being partially taken up by an amplifier. Proper enclosure size is essential for tight, accurate bass reproduction.

Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:17 am

geodude wrote: I have a Boss powered sub under the front passenger seat. Really fills in the low end and fit without any modifications. X-3 Most of us love the boss not all but most. Good cost, good fit, good sound. Mine has been going strong for two years. :D

Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:37 am

I wanted to add a sub and i wanted to not lose any storage space or the ability to want from the front to the back so keeping the aisle relatively clear was important. i looked at all of the ones you guys have listed and decided on making my own by modifying a Rhino Studios custom center console. 10" JL Audio dual voice coil sub with a 300 watt monoblock amp mounted behind the glove box.

install article here:
http://dasmotoclub.com/vanagon-subwoofer/

Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:38 am

thatvwbusguy wrote: Based on the specs, the Pioneer looks like a better unit than the MTX.

Pioneer recommends a 80Hz low-pass filter for the sub, so be sure to get a head unit with a dedicated subwoofer output if the amp your friend gave you doesn't have a built in crossover.

Either one of these subwoofers should offer better performance than a powered low profile sub, since the internal volume of the enclosure is not being partially taken up by an amplifier. Proper enclosure size is essential for tight, accurate bass reproduction.

Thanks Jay. Yes enclosure size was another element I was considering, and wondered how the powered sub boxes achieved the minimum volumes suggested for the drivers. I figured I might get a little more bang for my buck with a dedicated, slightly larger enclosure vs something that might compromise on output to reduce size. I had looked up the specs on the 12" my buddy gave me and I would have to enclose most of 1/2 the rear seat to get into the minimum volume range.

I agree on the MTX being better, it was just marginally cheaper, but now the Pioneer is $50 off locally bringing it to the same price.

HoustonPhotog wrote: I wanted to add a sub and i wanted to not lose any storage space or the ability to want from the front to the back so keeping the aisle relatively clear was important. i looked at all of the ones you guys have listed and decided on making my own by modifying a Rhino Studios custom center console. 10" JL Audio dual voice coil sub with a 300 watt monoblock amp mounted behind the glove box.
I really like the enclosure you did Abel, but the console's a little $$ for me right now...Considered building one and maybe that's the route I SHOULD go, but too many projects already! Did you manage to get enough volume out of that enclosure for the specs on the sub? I was also thinking of hiding the amp behind the glove box as you did there.

Thanks all!

Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:44 am

geo_tonz wrote: I really like the enclosure you did Abel, but the console's a little $$ for me right now...Considered building one and maybe that's the route I SHOULD go, but too many projects already! Did you manage to get enough volume out of that enclosure for the specs on the sub?

Yea i did get the right airspace required. This particular JL sub requires a small amount of airspace in order to make it happy. in fact i may have given it too much airspace than is required but it still sounds really good.

Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:12 am

I guess I am lucky. PO installed 4 - 6x9's and and a Sony CDX-GT300S unit... I get quite a bit of thump that vibrates the mirrors and such. I am afraid to screw with what ain't broken. :lol:

Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:34 am

HoustonPhotog wrote: Yea i did get the right airspace required. This particular JL sub requires a small amount of airspace in order to make it happy. in fact i may have given it too much airspace than is required but it still sounds really good.

So just priced out the shallow-mount JL Audio sub and the console. I think that pretty much puts it well outside of my 1st criteria: relatively cheap.

$349 CAD + tx for the driver on Crutchfield.ca
$279 USD + shipping + duty + brokerage for the console
+ materials for the box...

I think I will go for the pre-loaded Pioneer box at $149+tx CAD. It has a shallow-mount sub in it so if I decide to go your route down the road when there's no more projects on the van ( :lol: :lol: :lol: ) I'll pull it out and build a consul for it and sell off the sub enclosure. I'm sure it's a far inferior driver to the JL but for my requirements it should do fine.

TequilaSunSet wrote: I guess I am lucky. PO installed 4 - 6x9's and and a Sony CDX-GT300S unit... I get quite a bit of thump that vibrates the mirrors and such. I am afraid to screw with what ain't broken. :lol:
How are those 6x9's mounted? I've got a set of 6.5" and I'm trying to figure the best way to mount them, or to use them up front and get some 6x9s in the back. The thought of cutting either the door cards or the AC unit to fit larger speakers has me feeling ill though.

I am actually surprised by the decent sound quality coming out of the stock speakers in the AC unit in the back. The same speakers sounded like ass in the front doors, but the AC unit must give it a better enclosure that sounds like a richer, fuller sound, at least as rich and full as 1989 paper cone 3.5" speakers can get! I've replaced the fronts with some 4" pioneers with ok improvement, but those might end up in the project van, replaced by something a little better.

Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:59 am

GEO... pics when I first bought formerly known as "Gangrene"

The bench seat ones a have shallow boxes too

At one event with Stephan's crew, they were impressed that it all came out of those speakers.

Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:40 pm

Those do look nice, but I think I'll steer clear of extra holes in the kick-panel. Probably will just enlarge the ones in the AC...6.5s may just fit...6x9s are probably too big to consider. Maybe I should be more reasonable with 5.75"

Thanks for the pictures!