New drop-in sub option?

[QWK SVT]

I happened to come across this speaker, while looking for something else (speakers for the truck)... The Kenwood eXcelon KFC-X178 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-krLB2B8fOVR/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=113KFCX178) looks like a good choice...

Frequency response all the way down to 25Hz should be an improvement over stock. With the depth what it is (top-mount depth 2-5/8"), I don't think any modification to the enclosure will be required.

Crutchfield is too expensive, I ordered it for half that price. Hopefully, I'll get it before the weekend, and pop it in then. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until next weekend to get it in...

[Fourth Horseman]

I happened to come across this speaker, while looking for something else (speakers for the truck)... The Kenwood eXcelon KFC-X178 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-krLB2B8fOVR/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=113KFCX178) looks like a good choice...

Frequency response all the way down to 25Hz should be an improvement over stock. With the depth what it is (top-mount depth 2-5/8"), I don't think any modification to the enclosure will be required.

Crutchfield is too expensive, I ordered it for half that price. Hopefully, I'll get it before the weekend, and pop it in then. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until next weekend to get it in...

Follow up on how it goes, please. This is something I might eventually be interested in. Once I'm out of the poor house, that is.

[TripleTransAm]

The presence of a tweeter worries me... otherwise, sounds like they'll be good bass performers. Can't be worse than the factory unit. Looking forward to your feedback.

The 25 Hz cutoff... will the factory subwoofer box allow the unit to produce audible sound that low? I needed a metric HECK of a big volume to get 26 Hz resonant frequencies out of some big 60s-vintage woofers I once had set up in a very 'ghetto' fashion.

[QWK SVT]

The presence of a tweeter worries me... otherwise, sounds like they'll be good bass performers. Can't be worse than the factory unit. Looking forward to your feedback.

The 25 Hz cutoff... will the factory subwoofer box allow the unit to produce audible sound that low? I needed a metric HECK of a big volume to get 26 Hz resonant frequencies out of some big 60s-vintage woofers I once had set up in a very 'ghetto' fashion.
That was my thought (can't be worse than factory), and with any luck, may be able to move a little more air. I agree, and doubt I'll ever see frequencies that low, but my thought process was that the stocker can't get close, whereas this one won't due to the enclosure limitations. I've thought about adding a 1" dia. port, but I think it would have to be far too long, to really be useful. Any thoughts?

[jparrie]

Crutchfield is too expensive, I ordered it for half that price. Hopefully, I'll get it before the weekend, and pop it in then. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until next weekend to get it in...

Where did you order it from? The link you provided is for Crutchfield.

[David Morton]

That was my thought (can't be worse than factory), and with any luck, may be able to move a little more air. I agree, and doubt I'll ever see frequencies that low, but my thought process was that the stocker can't get close, whereas this one won't due to the enclosure limitations. I've thought about adding a 1" dia. port, but I think it would have to be far too long, to really be useful. Any thoughts?Where bass is concerned, the reverberation comes from the size of the box it's in, and the trunk itself is a pretty big "box" as long as it's closed. The guys that put them in enclosures and point them to the rear are doing that because they open the trunk at parties and such. Tweeters do better in a line-of-sight type installation, like on the dash or A-pillars.

As far as a "port" is concerned, there's plenty of holes behind the seat and in the deck lid to let the air move.

[QWK SVT]

Where did you order it from? The link you provided is for Crutchfield.
Yeah, but Crutchfield has the "What fits my car" and according to them, this works. I basically use Crutchfield to find what I want, then buy from somewhere cheaper - besides, Crutchfield refuses to ship to my location.

I actually made the purchase from etronics. Their price is $85USD (1/2 the price) Here's a link (http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=kenkfcx17 8). I don't know that there's a better deal to be found, online.

[QWK SVT]

Where bass is concerned, the reverberation comes from the size of the box it's in, and the trunk itself is a pretty big "box" as long as it's closed. The guys that put them in enclosures and point them to the rear are doing that because they open the trunk at parties and such. Tweeters do better in a line-of-sight type installation, like on the dash or A-pillars.

As far as a "port" is concerned, there's plenty of holes behind the seat and in the deck lid to let the air move.
If I wanted really big thunp, I've got a couple old JBL 10's, or RF Punch 12's sitting within a few feet of me, right now. I'm just trying to see how much I can improve the sound, without giving up trunk space (I really like being able to fit a golf foursome in the seats, and all the clubs in the trunk).

My rationale for this purchase is that this should be plug'n'play with the stock enclosure. It's just a little 6.75", though... The entire trunk would be overkill, wouldn't it?

I'm toying with the idea of adding a port to the stock enclosure, but will have to mock up an enclosure with approx. the same volume, and see what can be done, before I actually think about hacking up the stock unit.

Anyone know what the enclosure volume is?

[QWK SVT]

Well... Here it goes... It didn't go as planned, but it worked out in the end...

After pulling much of the rear apart, I replaced the sub with this speaker, and put all back together. While at it, I taped down every wire on the rear deck lid, in hopes of finally ridding myself of the "farting" vibration (I've already removed to foam, which made it better, but not gone).

Time to test it out and play some music. Damn! The vibration is back, but this time with a passion. :mad2: The speaker sounds good, I think... But the farting sound occurs so much, it's hard to say. Everything's gonna have to come back out. :bigcry:

I slowly disassembled everything. This time, I played a very bass-heavy song after each part was removed, to try to track down the cause of my new frustration... I made it all the way back to the sub, without being able to track down where the vibration was coming from. That's when I realized the new sub had actually ADDED a new vibration! I reinstalled the stock sub, and it's gone!?! I swithced back and forth, a few times. I really don't know what to say, but with the Kenwood there is a full-time vibration, and with the stock one, there is not. The stock subwoofer went back in to the original location.

:thinker:Time for Plan B!

Grabbed a slab of MDF, and out came my good friend, Mr. Saw. I quickly started to hack away... This speaker is just a little too larger take make it into the stock opening, but if raised about 1/2-inch, fitment would be just fine.

First, I cut and opening in the wood, for the new speaker to go into. Then I overlay the stock 6 x 8 pattern, to be sure to cover up the entire stock opening, and add the holes for the mounting screws to go through. Pretty simple stuff, really. I pulled the Pioneer 6 x 8 out of the rear deck location, and it was time for the first test fitting...

http://www.qwksvt.com/Marauder_Files/Stereo/ken2.jpg

Yeah - I know it's not pretty, but this was more about making sure it would function, before I spent too much time trying to make it look good. Besides, this all gets covered up by the read deck, anyway. Now, for the power test... The speaker sounds great! No vibrations, either. I cut a second adapter for the other side, and mounted both up at the same time.

http://www.qwksvt.com/Marauder_Files/Stereo/ken3.jpg

Slowly, I put everything back together, listening the same bass-heavy song, again, to try and make sure no more vibrations. The speakers sound very nice, loud and punchy - it seems the vibration is gone. I now have two Pioneer 6 x 8's sitting on my floor, waiting to go back into the car. This time, the stock door locations will serve as their home - soon as it warms up a little, and/or I get off my lazy ass.

Now, as for the vibration, I'm completely baffled as to why this speaker sounded so bad in the sub location. All I can think of is that the sub enclosure is too small for this speaker, and now it's able to draw from all the air in the trunk.

[David Morton]

Thanks for the farting diagnosis.

You'll have to find a substitute for the wood though, unless you want to pay the Orkin man for the termite treatments. :D

Looks like you picked up on the "trunk-is-a-box" theme. Yup, thar's a big fat bass sound waiting inside every empty trunk. Just needs some motivation!

[JFB]

This speaker is not a true sub-woofer. The head unit has a crossover that sends only bass freq to the sub. Thats why the farting, this speaker can't handle it. Placing them in the rear side spkr locations allow the spkrs to see the freq they were designed to handle. You need a true sub-woofer to replace the factory sub. JL Audio makes a 6" sub. I'm not sure, but I think it will fit the factory enclosure.

[Patrick]

Looks like you picked up on the "trunk-is-a-box" theme. Yup, thar's a big fat bass sound waiting inside every empty trunk. Just needs some motivation!

Thanks for this info David. I was thinking about doing a box type set up. Got to rethink this again! Got to write this down thanks!!

[Krytin]

Since the subs in our cars are powered enclosure systems, has anyone considered replacing the whole assembly - speaker/enclosure/amp - w/an after market unit? There are several listed on Crutchfield's site. Just my .02

[rookie1]

Since the subs in our cars are powered enclosure systems, has anyone considered replacing the whole assembly - speaker/enclosure/amp - w/an after market unit? There are several listed on Crutchfield's site. Just my .02

Alot of us have ditched the factory sub and gone in other directions. Here's a pic of Soundstream Exw 10 10" free air sub I mounted at the factory hole location with a spacer. It's powered by a Soundstream rubicon 500 amp.
Be prepared for many hours of rattle chasing if you go this route.

[shakes_26]

just do try a lsot cost option, I added a 2" dia. port tube it is a little over 4" long.

I was going to change the woofer out as well, but the Audiobahns I had ordered do not fit the factory enclosure because of their larger magnet assembly.

So anyway, this setup with the factory woofer, actually sounds pretty damn good, and no vibrations until it gets into the I cant stands it no more volume range.

No I didnt do any calculations to figure it out, but for those of you who really want to, the easy way woud be to remove the enclosure, pull the sub, fill with measured amounts of H20 (its sealed), and then you have the interior volume. Should be able to convert mL to cubic cm.

theres my:twocents:



That was my thought (can't be worse than factory), and with any luck, may be able to move a little more air. I agree, and doubt I'll ever see frequencies that low, but my thought process was that the stocker can't get close, whereas this one won't due to the enclosure limitations. I've thought about adding a 1" dia. port, but I think it would have to be far too long, to really be useful. Any thoughts?

[QWK SVT]

Alot of us have ditched the factory sub and gone in other directions. Here's a pic of Soundstream Exw 10 10" free air sub I mounted at the factory hole location with a spacer. It's powered by a Soundstream rubicon 500 amp.
Be prepared for many hours of rattle chasing if you go this route.That looks pretty good! What did you make the adapter out of, MDF? Connected to the stock deck?

Eventually, I may end up doing this ... Right now, I'm trying freebee options. I'm trying NOT to spend anymore on audio, so that I have more to spend on go fast :burnout:



just do try a lsot cost option, I added a 2" dia. port tube it is a little over 4" long.

I was going to change the woofer out as well, but the Audiobahns I had ordered do not fit the factory enclosure because of their larger magnet assembly.

So anyway, this setup with the factory woofer, actually sounds pretty damn good, and no vibrations until it gets into the I cant stands it no more volume range.

No I didnt do any calculations to figure it out, but for those of you who really want to, the easy way woud be to remove the enclosure, pull the sub, fill with measured amounts of H20 (its sealed), and then you have the interior volume. Should be able to convert mL to cubic cm.

theres my:twocents:
I'm not too keen on filling the enclosure with water. Maybe someone else has already figured out the volume :help: If not, there's gotta be a better way...

[rookie1]

[QUOTE=QWK SVT]That looks pretty good! What did you make the adapter out of, MDF? Connected to the stock deck?

yes MDF, and dynamat on all sides of the spacer. The only reason you need a spacer is to keep the woofer cone from bouncing of the rear deck during excursion.
I am using the OEM head unit with Soundstream and Alphasonik amplifiers powering Soundstream SPL(2ohm) 6x9's in the rear and Soundstream Tarantula's(3ohm) in the front. I also have a Soundstream bx10 digital bass processor for the subwoofer. Retaining the stock deck helps eliminate theft temptation and I like the look but our stock head unit has limitations and a tendency to hiss when amplified.
The sub is also Soundstream. Kicker, Pioneer, and Infinity, all make free-air subwoofers also that are all good choices.

[QWK SVT]

[QUOTE=QWK SVT]That looks pretty good! What did you make the adapter out of, MDF? Connected to the stock deck?

yes MDF, and dynamat on all sides of the spacer. The only reason you need a spacer is to keep the woofer cone from bouncing of the rear deck during excursion.
I am using the OEM head unit with Soundstream and Alphasonik amplifiers powering Soundstream SPL(2ohm) 6x9's in the rear and Soundstream Tarantula's(3ohm) in the front. I also have a Soundstream bx10 digital bass processor for the subwoofer. Retaining the stock deck helps eliminate theft temptation and I like the look but our stock head unit has limitations and a tendency to hiss when amplified.
The sub is also Soundstream. Kicker, Pioneer, and Infinity, all make free-air subwoofers also that are all good choices.
Something new to budget for ;) Thanks for the ideas:2thumbs: