more bass without huge sub box?

[Holidazed]

I want a bit more bass from my stock Bose stereo but I dont want to have sub box taking up space in the trunk. i put alot of sports gear in my truck often as well as fold the seats down once in a while so any box would get in the way of that and would be a hassle to take out and put back in every time.

What other options are there to get more bass? are there any good speakers I could just put in the doors to get more bass without spending alot? or would a small sub fit in the side panels of the trunk or underneath the little under-carpet area?

let me know any ideas you guys have for a minimal size/stock-looking setup that I could get more bass out of without spending tons. thanks!

[Qxxx4]

empty-v's box is really nice check that one out i believe its low-profile but its design allows for proper airspace. Thats the key right there, you can cram subs into any size box really but too big or too small will have negative effects.

have you considered using your rear speakers as subwoofers? my pioneer deck gives me that option and although the bass isnt incredible it does improve it a little if thats what your going for.

How about 1 subwoofer....1 box isnt too bad. I dont know how much space you need but we have plenty of cargo space. to put it in perspective my box has the amp on top and i cram it right against the back of the seats, the top of the box doesnt extend where the cargo cover begins, so basically where that cargo cover starts, i lost maybe 1 inch total. At one point i also gave about 8 inches between the box and my seats for storage space and still had more in front of the subs.

Dont forget you also have that little compartment under your carpetting, about 2" tall but you could do really neat things with that, slickroger threw his amp in there and plexiglassed it.

[sixty4]

I found a used JL Audio Stealth box years ago, at least 7 years ago and I never installed it. I think I am going to this summer... that and the Alpine Amp I bought 7 years ago too. Mine are classics!

It fits against the wall, drivers side... hold a single 10" woofer.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-r....html



Modified by sixty4 at 12:08 PM 5/28/2009
Modified by sixty4 at 12:09 PM 5/28/2009

[Empty V]

Thanks for the props Brian. The stealth boxes are great but pretty expensive. I almost bought one and then they jacked up the price and decided to jump into the black pit of audio. You can also get shallow mount subs which require less air apace. JL Audio makes some amazing ones but again, they're expensive. Pioneer came out with a shallow mount line last year but they're crap.

I put my amp in that little storage area too and it works great. I cut a couple of holes and installed a few vents but doubt they do anything considering how solid the carpet is.

I'm able to fit an entire set of scuba diving gear and massive underwater video camera setup in my car with my box and I don't pack light. One of these days I'll take a pic of everything crammed in there.

Billy

[fueler]

keep in mind that a stealth box wont rattle any windows or set off any car alarms.... just a nice subtle addition to the bass. JL stealth boxes are quite expensive for what they are (its too easy to get louder bass for less money with the tradeoff of cargo room)

check out this kenwood setup a guy in panama did im jealous of him... leather, 5 speed, VG33 with 4.636 gears, no air bags or ABS, thats the ultimate pathfinder!!!!

link http://npora.ipbhost.com//inde...27577

[W O T]

If i wasnt a bass head, my 4 amped PG RSD 6.5's give PLENTY of misbass. And they are very reasonably priced at under $100 a set.

I dunno how good you are are fiberglassing, but you can glass a cubic foot easy ontop of/beside the wheel wells in the back, and run a sealed setup. Which sounds good

If youre quick about buying, id pick up this sub (or 10 of em if you have the $$)

http://www.edesignaudio.com/pr...d=830

There on clearance right now as there being discontinued. But those subs freakin deliver. I just bought 4 for 2 different setups for my friends.

If you stick to a sealed box, you barely need to take up any room at all.

Hell I ran 2 15's sealed last year downfiring and I barely lost any truck space at all and because they were downfiring, you dont have to worry about what ytou throw in the back.

[W O T]

Also, if youre only ruling out building a moderate sized box (37.5" width, 16" height, 12" depth would be a nice sized box) because you carry hockey s*** sometimes and dont want the box in the way. You can mount the amp under a seat or something, and put simple banana plug terminals o the box, and the box can be removed in a simple 3 seconds and thrown in the garage....

Ive made boxes for people like that to, where they just want them to be able to come out easy.

I cant take my current box out of my car, its 20 cubic feet and had to be assembled inside the car lol, if I want it to come out, Im gonna need a sawzall and sledgehammer inside the rig lol

[Holidazed]

thanks for the fast responses guys.

The setup in the back of the panama guys white pathfinder would be sweet to have, very stealth looking, but yah I'm assunming something like that would cost way too much money. I dont want to spend over $200.

I considered a small box with the clip to easily remove it but I still have to spend money on the amp, box, wiring, etc...

I think I am looking more on the lines of good quality 6.5" speakers or 6x9's if they would fit somewhere so that I wouldnt need a big amp to power them. Is it possible to put larger speakers in the doors than what are already in there? im assuming they are 6 or 6.5's

[W O T]

They are 6.5's in all of the doors. Cheapest bass youre gonna get it by orderring a set of 6 or 6.5" drivers, but even then, they need a good bit of power (not headunit or factory amp) to make them bump

Best option for you, to stay within your $200 budget, is to try and find something used and complete ie box/woofer/amp/wiring. Piecing them yourself could get expensive

Heck my power wires cost over $200

[KyooX4]

I would look into powered subs, or buying a 4-channel amp to give your speakers more power.http://www.crutchfield.com/g_5...p=114h ... _1...annel

Even then, you're going to be spending more than 200, unless you go used.

[pathy1217]

Yeah i was wondering if anyone has ever put a 10" sub in the side panel in the back of their q or pathy? Would that work?

[02pathy]

http://www.clarion.com/ca/en/p....html

what about something like this seems small but be b worth taking a look at, the one at the very bottom

[sixty4]

I th

keep in mind that a stealth box wont rattle any windows or set off any car alarms.... just a nice subtle addition to the bass. JL stealth boxes are quite expensive for what they are (its too easy to get louder bass for less money with the tradeoff of cargo room)

check out this kenwood setup a guy in panama did im jealous of him... leather, 5 speed, VG33 with 4.636 gears, no air bags or ABS, thats the ultimate pathfinder!!!!

link http://npora.ipbhost.com//inde...27577

I got my JL Stealth Box from eBay, when I say it was 7 years ago I that's right. I actually had a 98' QX4 and in 2001-2002 Leases from the 97's and 98's eBay was flooded with cargo liners and other accessories. I actually got a new cargo cover back then for like $55. I think I paid $125 for this JL Stealth box WITH a 10" JL woofer in it. I still have the brand new in the box Alpine Amp I got back then for it too. I doub't the box was HOT due to how hard it is to get one of these IN or OUT a car; simply an odd item on ebay and I won it.

I do like that Path setup but I have to wonder what size driver that has and how it performs? 4-15's WOW, I remember my old Acura Integra and its 2-12" woofers. I'd come hope from school (College) and have headaches, took a while to figure out that my brain was likely experiencing hatch back trauma.

[sixty4]

keep in mind that a stealth box wont rattle any windows or set off any car alarms.... just a nice subtle addition to the bass. JL stealth boxes are quite expensive for what they are (its too easy to get louder bass for less money with the tradeoff of cargo room)

check out this kenwood setup a guy in panama didimage removed[/img] im jealous of him... leather, 5 speed, VG33 with 4.636 gears, no air bags or ABS, thats the ultimate pathfinder!!!!

link http://npora.ipbhost.com//inde...27577

I got my JL Stealth Box from eBay, when I say it was 7 years ago I that's right. I actually had a 98' QX4 and in 2001-2002 Lease's from the 97's and 98's eBay was flooded with cargo liners and other accessories. Benefit was I doubt a lot of 20 somethings were buying QX's and Path's I suppose and those that did were not looking for Stealth Boxes on eBay back in 2002! I actually got a new cargo cover back then for like $55. I think I paid $125 for this JL Stealth box WITH a 10" JL woofer in it. I still have the brand new in the box Alpine Amp I got back then for it too. I doub't the box was HOT due to how hard it is to get one of these IN or OUT a car; simply an odd item on ebay and I won it.

I do like that Path setup but I have to wonder what size driver that has and how it performs? 4-15's WOW, I remember my old Acura Integra and its 2-12" woofers. I'd come hope from school (College) and have headaches, took a while to figure out that my brain was likely experiencing hatch back trauma.

EDIT:

DAMN! I just looked at the price for the stealth box, thats craziness...
Modified by sixty4 at 6:36 PM 5/28/2009

[K03sport]

To the OP...have you considered a Bazooka tube. They come in different sizes and take up a fraction of the space a square box does. Yes, tubes are so 90s, but they are still around and still offer decent bass for small spaces.

The only other option is to build a false floor box. Maybe top it off with some hardwood flooring. If you don't use the storage bin under the rear carpet, then use that area for part of the sub airspace.

Sometimes having extra bass means giving up some cargo space.

[sicwitit]

I was just gonna say a bass tube..

Its hard to say what a little more bass is? I've been in the car audio scene for a very long time, selling, installing, and compitition. From my experience, the easiest thing to do is upgrade all the current speakers in your doors now. since you have a Bose system, any installer will tell you it will require more work to try and make your factory headunit and amps work with any aftermarket speaker since they are all set up from the factory to work with each other.

the best thing you can do is venture down to your local stereo shop (I'd recomend staying away from the big stores) and just listen to the different components out there. I say stay away from the big name brand stores only because the smaller shops will usually have a smaller sound room set up, and the closer the airspace is in the room your listening to a demo in is to your car the better, even though you will never get the same sound you hear in a room into your car. it will only let you hear the difference between each brand.

If $200 is your limit, your only option is either a bass tube, or a set of upgraded co-ax speakers. (infinity, boston, JL, and Alpine come to mind)

if you really want to get some sound out of your truck, theres no way around installing aftermarket amps, headunit, and components throughout. it will cost some $$, but if you love music it will pay for it self every time you listen to your fav jams

hit me up if you ever want advise, I love talking audio

JT

[fueler]

from my experience, aftermarket door speakers (both components and coaxials) do NOT provide any more bass than the stock Bose speakers - in fact they produce LESS bass with the trade-off being better highs and mids.

Bose (paper) speakers are more of a full range ....

[KyooX4]

They do when they're powered by a good amp.

[fueler]

They do when they're powered by a good amp.

im running 1000 x 4 (peak) (about 400 x 4 rms) to my JBL components and they do not put out nearly as much bass as the stock Bose speakers did..... and yes thats with the high pass filter turned off.....

Door speakers are NOT made for bass!!

[Adnan]

^do you mean 100rmsx4

and yes i agree,the stock front bose speakers put out quite a lot of bass but sound terrible at lower frequencies no matter no volume...i could tap the door panel and still sound better

Holidazed what i would recommend is a good 10" sub like the alpine type sor mtx thunder series sub in a sealed 1.2ish cube box...might take a little more space then you want but in my opinion its the best way to add bassat a reasonable budget.Upgraded speakers will improve your overall sound but i doubt it will give you that added bass you're after.

You could fit the amp on the box or in the hidden compartement,i tried fitting my old alpine amp under the rear seats and it wouldnt fit

[fueler]

^^ great advice. and yeah im probably running 100x4 to be realistic.

amped door speakers sound great, you should do that regardless.... you can make the bass sound very "nice" and crisp but you will not get "more bass" as the title question asks

add a sub.. or two or three....

[KyooX4]

im running 1000 x 4 (peak) (about 400 x 4 rms) to my JBL components and they do not put out nearly as much bass as the stock Bose speakers did..... and yes thats with the high pass filter turned off.....

Door speakers are NOT made for bass!!

I'm not sure why that is. I definitely get more (and better sounding) bass from my sonys than I did with the bose door speakers/amp. And they're only getting 60x4 rms. While I do agree that door speakers are not made for bass, there are definitely ways to get more/better bass from your doors than the stock bose speakers/amp supply.

Holidazed, for an easy, cost-effective solution, I'd recommend getting a powered bass tube. You won't be shaking the car next to you, but you will have a nice increase in bass.

[Fisherdude]

A single 12 wont take up that much room and you'll still loose your hearing from it

[W O T]

You guys are absolutely NUTS if you think aftermarket 6.5's dont provide more bass than the Bose setup. Im running 4 6.5's fiberglassed in the front doors and they give ALOT of bass, they thump your legs, and when crossed @ 63hz, they pump out great midbass, you guys just arent dealing with the right speakers if your stuff is installed correctly. Check out Pheonix Golds new RSD line, best $100component set youll ever see.

These are my doors currently (spy the uber dirty floormats, it was winter)Tweeter mounted up high



And heres what I think about small sub boxes, started building this one today



HAHAHA

But honestly, QUALITY door speakers given a decent ammount of power, can thump. A dedicated sub stage will be much better sounding and more pronounced though, let the speakers play the highs.

[krott5333]

I say stay away from the big name brand stores only because the smaller shops will usually have a smaller sound room set up, and the closer the airspace is in the room your listening to a demo in is to your car the better, even though you will never get the same sound you hear in a room into your car. it will only let you hear the difference between each brand.

Not to mention the "big name brand stores", if you're referring to Best Buy, aren't exactly experts at their job in many cases.

[W O T]

My step brother is an installer at future shop, he smokes dope on every break he gets, enough said. He is also constantly texting me for help. If you know power and ground, you can work there

Find someone local, to help ya install (and you learn so ) for a case of beer

Ive helped 15+ friends install setups and all I ask for is a 12box of Canadian which usually gets consumed together on install day anyways lol

[Fisherdude]

Yeah dude. If you set aside a day to try and do it yourself, you will learn a lot. Power and Ground.

[Qxxx4]

WOT, those door speakers look incredible, i cant wait to see it in person

[Empty V]

I've got high end JL Audio component speakers and they do not produce as much bass as the stock bose did. They're not supposed to, they're designed for a different dynamic range and to be complimented by subs, the bose are not.

Billy

[Empty V]

...you guys just arent dealing with the right speakers if your stuff is installed correctly.

thanks for the advice. Each speaker has a purpose, bass is not part of that purpose for a 6.5". It sounds like you need some 10's to compensate for the loss of range in your ride.

So is yours a 2 seater now?

Billy