Posted: 5/15/2005 9:55:17 AM EDT
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My G/F purchased a new Chevy TrailBlazer in November and has not decided what kind of system to have in the vehicle. She used to have a Jetta in which she had a large box with two Twelve Inch Subwoofers. The box is big and took up most of her trunk. Part of the reason she got this vehicle is so we could go on trips and have more room to pile our junk in the truck. We also load our bikes in there because she does not yet have the bike rack on the top. Question: How can she get the same music quality she is used to but not take up so much space? She was considering a bass tube because its round and can fit on either side of the back. We have heard that the sound quality is not the same with a Bass Tube and she does not want to go down in quality. This is what the inside console looks like. She will not be replacing it with a New Deck. 
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Check here... www.carstereo.com. The people/posters there are really into the car audio scene. |
Several companies make small, powered subwoofer systems that are designed to be mounted under a front seat. They use a passive radiator (in addition to the driven cone) to get deep bass out of a very small enclosure. Crutchfield would be a good first place to look.  
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 $$$Deep bass under the seat. I'll bet those kind of systems are very popular with wimmen drivers and/or passengers  .
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+1 Replacing the head unit would be first thing. Next, go for mids and highs, then amps and subs. Speaker level inputs on a sub will strangle the power output with the stock head unit. |
Wrong............90% of the highend systems I do are factory headunit systems. I actually perfer tha factory headunit. Im me I will get you through it. My car stereo shop |
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Sub design is always a tradeoff of three variables. Box size, power handling and 1 other, efficiency I think. First and foremost, whats your budget? I would recommend a Adire Audio Brahma 10" sub. It fits in a VERY small box, and has EXCELLENT sound quality. The motor is one of the cleanest designs on the market. However, the sub is not cheap, and it likes alot of power. I have a 12" Brahma with a 1500 watt amp on it, and I've overdriven it to well over 2000 watts. Granted, I had smoke wisps coming off the motor but it will take power. Ahhh, I love the smell of burnt VC's in the morning..... |
Your definition of high end and my definition of high end must not be the same. To deny that the factory head unit is the weak link implies that there will be even weaker links down the signal path. That's not how I do things. This isn't to say that the factory head unit may be fine for most people. But when someone says
I assume I'm dealing with someone who knows and appreciates the difference. I likely should have read deeper into the original post and figured out that he's only looking to add more bottom to an existing system, but I feel my reply was and is appropriate. |
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didnt RC's GN use the factory head unit? |
Richard Clark's was a factory head unit iirc. |
Wow. Um, No. Seems like it was an Alpine 7909. I remember sitting in it, and being amazed that the only speakers in front of me were a pair of HLCDs. 12" midbass in the rear side panels, and it seems like 18s in the trunk. I remember it was only 6 speakers total. |
never mind on asking him. I found this. Factory is just as good as aftermarket |
I'll save you the trouble: www.usdaudio.com/sw/cars/buick/index.php The subs were 15s, not 18s, but I was otherwise correct. |
I'll bet money at some point he had a OEM head unit in his car. But, after posting my link above, it really doesnt matter. |
Ohh let him be right, he likes it so much 
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I'm saying he competed with an OEM head unit. Doesnt matter, my link supports my statement that OEM is just as good as aftermarket, less bells and whistles. |
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If your system is going to annoy people in the next vehicle over, then YOU are part of the problem and will be despised by some. Don't be that person. Once damaged, hearing doesn't come back. My preferred bumper sticker: "Turn up your subwoofer if you've never seen an uzi fired at you!" CJ |
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If my teeth are being rattled by someone else's system, you know what I think about them? "Goddamned brainless trailer trash!" And worse...! I don't hesitate to call the cops on those who turn it up loud and keep it there for more than a minute or so. And they WILL ticket someone with a loud stereo. Have all the fun you want in your car, but keep it INSIDE your car. I don't need or want to hear it, and neither do most other drivers. CJ |
God, you are sooooooooooo cool. BTW, anything to discuss ON TOPIC? Or do you plan to preach to us for a few more pages??? Ever heard of dynamat? It works wonders on low to mid level powered installs. Take your own advice and "don't be that guy" on this thread. |
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No, what's NOT cool is to be annoying others because YOU like it so loud that you're going to experience permanent hearing loss in a relatively short time! YES, use the dynamat! Don't annoy others with your stereo that reproduces dinosaur farts at realistic volume levels! I can't stop anyone from the stupidity of listening to music at damaging levels, but I can sure suggest that you try really hard to keep others from having to suffer through it against their will! CJ |
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I just did a minor upgrade to the sound system in my Yukon this week end. Total cost $1500. I just got sick of the shitty factory system. No competition audio system here just cleaner sound, especially at mid volume levels. We used a Panasonic Sirius ready head unit. KICKER speakers and amp. We replaced the factory speakers with Kickers. 6.5 and tweeter in the front door panels in the factory speaker holes and 6.5 three ways in the rear passenger doors. A little 8.5" sub in the factory sub location in the rear. Wired it with top line Moster type wiring with RCA jacks and the 400 watt amp fits neatly under the fold down rear seat so I don't loose any space in the cargo area. The whole inside of the truck looks stock. With the exception of the head unit the whole setup looks stock from the outside and basically the inside too. I like stealth. The outcome with about a 1000 percent increase over the factory system. No it will not blow the windows out of my truck but the sound is wayyyyy better in frequency response, clarity and it is much cleaner. It is not top end and I was not shooting for a competition system, just good clean sound. The price was right and I am happy with it. BTW listening at lower levels is much improved. No I don't listen to much hip hop. I am more of a rock and roll guy. ZZ top, Aerosmith, Stones etc. Denny |
Post or email pics. I want to do a little to make my Tahoe sound better. |
This should be...ahh...just a "little" better  CDT Eurosports |
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There is a newly released (or soon to be released, I'm not sure at the moment) product from JL Audio called the Clean Sweep. It will take whatever kind of signal you can get from your factory head unit (line or speaker level) and make it "aftermarket ready". This will allow you to keep the factory navigation, Onstar, etc that you have already paid for. There is a company called Ascendant Audio that is blowing out their current stock of subs that are based on the same technology as the Brahma, but for much less money. They have 2 models, one is the Atlas which is an SQ sub that will work in a small enclosure and take about 3-400 watts. The other is the Avalanche, it requires a slightly larger enclosure and will need about 600w per sub to get going well. Either of these would be a great option to have built into a custom enclosure on a rear side wall of the cargo area. If the installer is good you might even be able to fit a single 15 in there. Shorty A great place for info is www.elitecaraudio.com |
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Here are some pics. Nothing flashy to see. No custom grills sticking out. You cannot even see the sub as it is in the stock location as are all the speakers. I took a shot at the front door speakers as you can see the new tweeter. The amp is under the fold up rear seat and out of sight and out of the way. Head unit and Sirius control. These come with remotes so you don't kill your self. Also I mounted it near the main head so they were together at one glance and I don't have to look from the winshield much.  Door speakers installed. Component speakers with separate tweeter  KICKER Amp. This one rated out at 397 watts. It has all the necessary controls  For a moderately priced system that is virtually invisible it sounds great, especially comparted to the factory stuff. Denny |
Simple is better , nice stereo bud. |
I didn't install this equipment for volume, I installed it for sound quality. Denny |
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Again...... preference is up to the owner of the system. The systems I build usually revolve around the factory headunit. I use David Navones hi-lo adapters or the JLAudio "clean sweep" or the new Audio Control piece. I would rather spend my clients money on quality amplification and speakers then a flashy CD player. I really don't like the "Tokyo Lightshow" put out by most decks now a days. The bottom line is installation is the key.
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I know. My old Pathfinder had a Alpine Headunit, Alpine Amps and Boston Acoustics component seperates all around. I ran a single Kenwood self powered 8" basstube in the rear which gave me more than enough bass. I miss that truck. Now I settle for the stock Rockford Fosgate system in my Nissan Xterra. |