Since there are a couple stereo posts going right now I thought I'd jump on. Got my xmas bonus from work so I'm going to replace the stock steroe in my 2nd gen.

Most likely, I'm going with Infinity Kappa 60.5 components in the front doors but my big dilemma is what to do for a sub/amp combo. I use the rear of my truck alot for camping equipment, trail tools, the golden retriever, etc so I really don't want to put something like a big sub in a box in the back that takes up alot of additional space. Plus it would end up getting pretty beat up as all my equipment gets tossed around in the back while offroading.

I'm thinking along the lines of bolting something like bazooka tubes or the Rockford Fosgate tubes with integral amps to the rear side panels above the wheel wells or high up on the rear panel just beneath the window so I can still access the rear storage compartments. I have no idea if either of these I just mentioned are any good so go easy on me.

Remember, I have been living with the STOCK stereo with two blow speakers for a while now so anything is going to be drastic improvement. Just wondering what you guys suggest that would give me decent bass for around $600 that retains the most usable space in the back of the truck.

 

I recommend elemental designs K series subwoofers. They require very little space and run nicely off 250-300 watts. The integral tube/amp combos are basically crap. If you are happy with crap, by all means buy some crap. If you want a good stereo, go with elemental designs (www.edesignsaudio.com I *think*) K series woofer or the step-down model (forget the name) for around 80$ and get a US Acoustics amplifier at whatever rating the sub is for (around 250 rms is fine) slap the sub in a .8 ft^3 box and you're set!

 

You have a good number of choices actually. Avoid the self amped tubes.

I would suggest buying a set of 10s or 12s and building som boxes over top the wheel weels up to the level of the rear seat, but no wider than the width of the wheel well. The length of the box would depend on the sub you used, but this way you'd still have most of your cargo room.

As far as what subs, I'd highly recommend the DD 2000 series found here: http://www.ddaudio.com/caraudio/woof...p?series=2000c

If you dont mind dropping a little more there is always this series:
http://www.ddaudio.com/caraudio/woof...p?series=3500c

And so on. I have a set of 9915s and love em.

Elemental Ks will sound good. Another option is the Image Dynamics Q. The IDQ is a damn impressive sub. Has the capability to get STUPID loud, yet also has the ability to win sound quality contests. It's not as durable and not as able to handle abuse like a DD (actually nothing handles abuse like a DD...)

Or you could pick up a set of JL 10w3 or 10w3v2. Either would be good.

Steve

 

Bill - you and I have the same needs for utility. I've decided to use a shallow sub in the passenger side cubby. If you pull out that plastic liner, there's a bunch of room in there. I plan to do a form fitting fiberglass enclosure and use (1) Boston Pro 10. I used to compete using Boston Pro gear, so I can attest to their sound quality and durability. I've had systems with 2 - 10's, 4 - 10's, 2 - 12's and 2 - 15's. Honestly, the thrill of the boom is gone for me, that's why a 10 with the cabin gain associated with a rig like the Runner should be more than adequate for a little rumble.

I used Infinity gear for a while, but kept cooking tweeters (but at that stage of my life I was torturing equipment )

I have some old school Rockford amps I'm using for my system. I couldn't tell you who makes a good bass amp these days, but the old Rockford amps hammer. As far as nice musical amps for separates, higher end Alpine gear has always been a fav of mine.

I'll be happy to help you install this gear if you need help. I've installed a few systems over the years...

 

Infinity bass link for a sub is decent sized.

 

another vote for Image Dynamics!

 

Thanks for the info so far guys. I kinda had the idea that the intergal powered bass tubes were not that great.

Mike,

I like your idea of using one of the rear cubbies for a space for a sub. Sounds like we need to make a plan to get together some time in the near future. And...check this out, we were doing some organizing of the stuff in my companies wearhouse and low and behold in the corner we have a 16 ton hydraulic tubing bender! I haven't used it before so I have no idea how large of tube it can bend but if I can find all the parts for it, it might come in handy for your bumper project.

Bill

 

Bill,

Remember, that 'crap' is a relative term. I've done many installs of bazooka tube, both self-amplified and non self-amplified, and had several people satisified with them. Of course, if you're discriminating enough to want to put kappa component speakers up front, then you probably won't be happy with bazookas.

What you need to do is look at your goals and where you want your system to go. Do you plan to have bass booming when you're out 4-wheeling or camping? If not, then maybe a box that you can remove easily is the best solution. How far do you drive to your 4-wheelin or camping sites? Can you live without the thump thump on the way to and from there? Is space your biggest concern? Sound quality? Spl?

You can ask 20 different installers what sub/amp combo they prefer, and you'll get 20 different answers. It really depends on what your tastes are. Do you like boomy bass, or tight, crisp bass? Do you want windows to rattle as you drive down the street, or do you just want a little bit of low end? And, of course, how much money do you want to spend?

Your answers to these types of questions are what will dictate what your best solution is.

Keep in mind this though - those kappas really need an external amplifier to use their full potential. If you're running them off the amp inside a head unit, they won't sound good at all.

If space is a concern (which seems to be your primary concern) I'd consider using a 4-channel amp, bridging two of the channels for a sub, and throwing the amp under one of the front seats. For the sub, I'd use a kicker L7 series sub - they are the square shaped ones. They move as much air as a sub one step higher, for example, the 10" L7 moves as much air as most convential 12" subs. They also don't need a very large box to make decent bass.

But if your concerns are elsewhere, there are other things I'd do instead.

~Bill

 

i've been runnig alpine e series for a few months off of bazooka amps in a small box in the back of the taco and love them, i built the whole sterio for like 370 bucks to,

sounds great hits hard,
im using pioneer 6 1/2's for highs,

i reccomend getting a bazooka amp when you go to purchase one, they are great amps, held up to abuse so far, and actually put out the wattage they advertise, without sacrificing any body parts,


i have to agree with the self amped tubes, they blow.

if you want something similar, look at the bazoka triangle sub and box, it sounded good when i had it, but didnt hit hard enough for the likes of myself.

later
wade

 

sub-kicker solobaric l7 , alpine type r, or eclipse
amp-rockford fosgate,kicker

 

By brother is running 2 Solo-Baric 15" L7's with a 1500W by Kicker and it just ROCKS! That is a very expensive setup though...I think it depends on your budget and how much rumble you want.

Even with me being a teenager, I really don't enjoy listening to music with TONS of bass...just enough to accent the music and then after that its just show. I will probably just go with one Kicker Solo-Baric 12" L7 or a 15" L5 and a 1000W amp with an Alpine headunit. But we'll see if my tight teenager budget can hold truth to that!

Good luck man!

Fink

 

If you want to stick with an easily removable setup and dont want to lose the quality of a regular setup i would NOT consider the bazooka tubes or even the fosgate one. Infintity makes a much nicer enclosed system, here is the link to crutchfield where you can find it: http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...&avf=N&search=

it seems like you like the infinity brand so scroll down on that page to the basslink system, it was mentioned a few posts above, check it out, i think it would be a good compromise!

 

Steer clear of Fosgate. There subs sound like complete crap. If you want something nice go with Image Dynamics or JL. I just ran one JL 12 W3 V2 with a JL 500/1 amp and it sound really clean and doesn't take up much space. Not to mention it can be adjusted to rattle your car to pieces. If you're really looking for sound quality make sure you amp up your mids and highs as well. It's pretty pointless to do a system without making your treble and midrange match your bass. Bass always sounds better with with good mids and highs.

 

Yeah, the basslink is a pretty decent setup, for compactness and ease of removal. Like most things in life, car audio is a set of compromises. I had a basslink in the back of an Eclipse GSX, and it did exactly what I needed it to - it didn't take up a lot of space, gave decent bass, and was easy to pull out when I went to the strip.

The Kicker L7s though, flat out rock. I remember the first time I heard one in our demo room - it was hooked up to a 1000 watt amp, and when the bass went WAY down tears actually came to my eyes.

~Bill

 

Hey mystickal,

What size did you hear? I'm debating on sizes...do the 12" L7's hit pretty hard?

Thanks,

Fink

 

Ahhh, the one that made tears come was a single 15" in a sealed box. Every bone in my body was vibrating.

The box was HUGE! 6 cubic feet! Though you can get away with a lot less, minimum 1.5.

Oh, yes, the 12" hit hard also. I've installed a lot of different subs, and those are my all-around favorites.

~Bill

 

Awesome...maybe to save money I'll go ahead and do my single 15" L5 idea...think the quality/power will suffer much from goin to L5 from an L7? Hope not...what is the max wattage that the L5 15's can hold, do you know?

Thanks man!

Fink

 

Another vote for the Infinity basslink. Got mine in December for $215 delivered--you can mount it on your back seat so it flips forward out of the way when you put your seat down--also super easy to remove. It sounds good.

 

4x4Fink,

I haven't sampled the 15" L5 - the 10" and 12" L5 sound fairly decent, all things considered. They are made out of lesser materials than the L7s, so the cone is less rigid. The L5 is also about 1db less sensitive. 1db doesn't sound like a lot, but keep in mind that with car audio approx. every 3db is twice as loud (so a speaker that is 90db will sound twice as loud as a speaker that is 87db with the same amplifier and volume level). The L5s also cannot hold as much power as the L7. The L7 can hold 500watts RMS per coil (dual coil) so 1000 watts RMS total. The L5 can *only* do 375 per coil (dual coil) so *only* 750 watts RMS total. Of course, the L5 15" is about $100 less than the L7, so if you're not going to be doing spl contests

Before you pick up your subs, make sure that you look at the impedence. Both of those subs come in with either 2 ohm voice coils or 4 ohm voice coils. Figure out how you're going to wire it (and what you're wiring it to!) so you can be sure to get the right one.

In summary: if you want to get as loud and low as possible, go with the L7s. If you're not into extremes, the L5 will probably be fine. Look for a car audio dealer near you that deals in kicker and see if they have an L5 hooked up and an L7 in the same size (not necessarily 15"). Then you can hear the difference and decide how important it is for you.

~Bill

 

In that case you never heard them in a decent install. I have yet to meet a RF sub that I didn't like in the proper install. (And yes I do know what true sound quality is.) Some were better than others, but all had potential to win SQ comps.

The same CANNOT be said for JL. I can't stand their first generation 15w3 and 18w3. Those things sounded HORRIBLE. Can you say BL distortion out the ying yang? At least they made up for those 2 model's lack of SQ with the w7. Unfortunately JL has yet to come out with a sub that will do anything in the SPL lanes.

steve