sub woofer under the seat questions

[iceNine]

There are some better underseat "subwoofers" out there but since the space under MR2 seats is a little tight I'm not sure that any of them will fit.

Max Power | MT-5AS Mutant Active Underseat Subwoofer
Blaupunkt THb 200A active subwoofer
Kenwood KSC-SW10 Compact powered subwoofer at Crutchfield.com
Focal Access Bus20 under seat active subwoofer. Get Focal Access Bus20 from Car Audio Centre
Underseat Subwoofer - Active - Small - Sealed | Tight Bass for Tight Space |

[ajd]

Hi Guys
Thanks for the response. I should have made it clearer in my original post that though the unit comes from an 86/87 iirc, it has been removed from a friend’s mr2 as he didn't need it with his new install. I was hoping that I might be able to wire it up and make use of it in my daily driver.
There is no provision for a sub in the car, but am I right in thinking I should be able to get it to work with an aftermarket HU? I'm happy to run cabling myself.

TIA
Alex

[muffinman]

Originally Posted by ajd

Hi Guys
Thanks for the response. I should have made it clearer in my original post that though the unit comes from an 86/87 iirc, it has been removed from a friend’s mr2 as he didn't need it with his new install. I was hoping that I might be able to wire it up and make use of it in my daily driver.


TIA
Alex

Yes it can be used.
1.did he give you the harness plug with it?
2.if it's an 86 it will only have front speaker connections , if it's 87 it should have front and rear.

this is the plug on an 86 , 87 has the additional 4 wire plug

[IDon'tKnow]

Time for a dead thread resurrection.

Anyone know where I can find technical specs for the underseat subwoofer box? I'm mainly hoping for some info on the circuit board in the box. Is it really an amp or is it perhaps just a bandpass filter? If you know which it is can you give me any other details?

I'm sure the paper and foam speaker is only good from about 70Hz up. That's not all that bad, but the ear can perceive as low as 40Hz, so something with better range might be a good upgrade. Also, all of the paper and foam woofers I've seen have only been good for 10W-30W.

I was able to find a Boston Acoustic 4" woofer that will claims it will go as low as 55Hz and it handles 60W. I thought that this is about as good as a four inch will get but then I found these: Morel DOTECH OVATION SW 4" WOOFER. They're rated for 100W (300W max) & 50Hz base frequency response. I can't find much about them on the web but a few Audiophile forums seem to praise them - I'll call one of their dealers tomorrow to get a price on them.

Anyway, having some information on the PCB in the box will make getting the most out of that little 4" woofer easier.

Before someone tells me to build a box or go some other route; I'm not interested in doing anything to the sound system that doesn't look 100% OEM. I'm swapping the rear interior trim panels out of an 87 (the ones w/ speakers) into my 86. I assume I'll just swap the whole interior harness to keep everything tidy. Not sure where I will find decent 3" speakers - considering enlarging the mount a tiny bit to accommodate a 3.5" since that seems to be the smallest decent speaker available. I've got MB Quart DKE 108's on the way to replace the dash speakers and I might just order another set for the rear.

[mikemike]

I searched around for awhile, I bought a infinity basslink... It sucks, and it breaks my heart to say that about Infinity. I am currently using a Boss BASS-1200. It is a 10" powered sub woofer. It fits under the driver seat quite well. I am considering putting a 2nd under the passenger seat maybe. Its not trunk rattling bass, which I try and stay away from... but it is better than the bass out of two powered 6x9's. they do have a smaller 8" powered sub but I haven't tried it. I got my BASS-1200 for $99 shipped. I know you can get more bass out of different setups, but I covet what little space I already have in my car. lol

Specs: 15.2 x 11.9 x 2.8 inches ; 12.7lbs
400w rms - 1200w peak
0 to +12dB variable Bass Boost (@45Hz); Subsonic filter (20-50 Hz) and Low pass filter (20-150 Hz)

[IDon'tKnow]

I'd like to lower the driver seat height eventually - I'm 6'1" - because I struggle to find a seating position where my head isn't hitting the headliner. So I don't think any other underseat woofer is an option, plus I want to stay with the OEM look. I have lower back problems (bulging discs) so slouching down in the seat isn't comfortable for me; I have to keep my back straight. That doesn't mean I have to be bolt upright though. I can lean the seat back and still be comfortable.

I'm no audiophile so I don't really care a great amount about having a perfect high end system. All I want to do is make my audio system operable, obviously 24 years is never kind to paper and foam speakers, and perhaps be a fair improvement of the original factory kit. I also don't really care for loud thumping bass, I just want to hear the lows in my music.

I tried to call a dealer about that Morel 4" woofer this morning. They don't have a price for them on hand so I'll need to call them back on Monday when they can contact the manufacturer.

Any one else out there attempted to revive the factory woofer box? Any specs on the in box amp / bandpass filter?

[8589]

I'd like to lower the driver seat height eventually - I'm 6'1" - because I struggle to find a seating position where my head isn't hitting the headliner...

wonder if you have the OEM set up!, Im 6.4 and AW11 is so roomy...once the OEM steering wheel goes off n to the land fill of course

[IDon'tKnow]

Yeah, I'm eager to be rid of that thing. It looks like I am going to be able to try and put a tilt and telescope column in. I'll probably change the steering wheel during that project. If the SW20 wheel is a smaller diameter I'll probably try and go that route.

If you're six four and the aw11 is roomy, you must have long legs. Like I said, I'm six one and my head almost always is touching the headliner. I guess I just have a long torso.

[IDon'tKnow]

My my my, those 4" woofers cost $500 each.

[dirocyn]

Lots of people can actually hear down as low as 20Hz, the lowest note on a bass guitar (open E) is 42 Hz. Just it takes an awful lot of power or a really big speaker to get sound that low to be loud enough to hear over road noise. A 20Hz wave has a wavelength of 56.5 feet, which means you'd need a whole lot of speaker, a really big horn, or a powerful amp and electronic control to give it more boost at lower frequencies. Before there was effective electronic control and computer-aided speaker design, to get into the 40Hz range you had to have a 12" or bigger speaker, to get 20 Hz you needed 18". They also used to use bigger speaker enclosures because amplifier technology hadn't caught up with the size of amphitheaters--bigger speakers make noise more efficiently. In an AW11, the only place you could put an 18 is in the frunk--you didn't need that spare tire, did you?

Nowadays there are subwoofers that will hit 40Hz using a 4" driver--for computer and home theater systems. One of those subs in the frunk would probably sound ok, unless you had anything loose in there.

Best of both worlds is a powered low-profile subwoofer like the Boss Bass mentioned above. 20Hz is totally plausible using modern electronics and a 10" speaker, and it should fit under the passenger seat so you don't have to modify your car from stock. If that's not enough bass, just use two of them.

I'm 6'2" and I don't have trouble with my head hitting the roof unless the seat is leaned forward.

[Justin Credible]

Subaru makes an under seat sub/amp that is very compact.
It obviously doesn't sound as strong as a properly done sub in a box + amp, but for vehicles with limmited space like Jeep Wranglers and MR2s it is pretty good.

Also, if you're going for pure sound and don't care what others think (most will call it ghetto) you could look into home theater sound systems (like Bose). They put out great sound from very small speakers that can easily be hidden even throughout an MR2.

[dirocyn]

Bose systems don't make any bass unless you have a sub, or the whole waveguide (which won't fit anywhere but under the seat). The waveguide is a phenomenal piece of acoustic engineering, it makes a 2" speaker sound like a 6" speaker. Once upon a time they had displays in stores where you could hear the speaker with and without the waveguide. Wish I had one designed for 8" speakers.

You could wire up a home theater sub for the frunk, possibly even behind the passenger seat, as long as you don't have any long legged passengers. It would be ghetto. Check the power requirements, you may need an inverter and more juice than the cig lighter circuit can handle.

[scottohno]

Originally Posted by muffinman

I found an 8" JL in a tuned JL box for $12 so you beat me by 2 dollars.

i got a 425 watt kenwood amp and an alpine type E 12" for 20 total. im not sure how that would compute o_O