Would it be possible to add a sub without an enclosure to my Bose-equipped '98 SE? I was thinking about mounting it between the two rear speakers. Is this something that can be done? If so, what kind of setup would you guys recommend (amp, sub, placement, etc.)?

I'm not looking for a ton of bass -- just something to "round out" the Bose system, which is a little weak in the lower bass frequencies. Thanks in advance, guys!

 

free air subs are available, they sound okay, but have a signifigant drop intheir power handeling.

 

What is power handling and how does it affect sound quality (sorry -- I know nothing about car stereos )? If free air subs aren't good, could I get a sub with a really small enclosure perhaps? There's just no way I can deal with the size and weight of a sub box.

 

I'm sorry. I am perplexed by anyone who can not fathom how small a sealed box can be in a car. Many 10" subs will work in 0.5 cubic ft or less. And with fiberglass the weight could be under 20 lbs. Significantly less if you try hard. Free air typically halves the power handling. So a fairly decent sub rated at 300 watts RMS would only be good for 150 watts. There are other reasons I don't feel that I have the time to explain that make free air a poor sub choice.

 

Thanks for the information. I really do appreciate it -- I won't be getting a free air setup. You gotta remember, though -- I'm a total newbie to this stereo stuff, so I have no idea about anything at all and how it works.

So, for a very small enclosure (about .5 cubit feet), what kind of 10" sub would you guys recommend? I don't want to spend too much money on this, so what would be a good, relatively inexpensive setup? Also, an appropriate amp to power the sub? What kind of cost am I looking at here?

 

What do you mean by not too much money? For me, if I work 60 hours in a week and walk away with $300 after taxes, I would consider that a starting point for my next stereo piece. But most don't spend every extra dime on their precious stereo, and most, myself included, make more than $300 in a week.

A Boston pro, a JL 10W6, a Diamond M5 or HEX. There are many, many, many others to consider. Literally hundreds. Image Dynamics, Kicker L7, Kicker solobaric. I just don't have the raw data for most to compute minimum box size for sound quality system. But most people new to audio are not interested in SQ so I guess we could throw that out the window.

 

Well, as far as money is concerned, I don't mind spending what I need to to have a setup with good sound, but I'm not an audiophile by any means, so spending something like $1500 on just one sub and an amp for that sub is out of the question for me.

Thank you for the suggestions on the subs. I do want to say that I AM into sound quality. I'm not just looking for "bass" and that's it. I want something to fill out the pretty rich sound that the Bose system already has, not just a bunch of bass to ruin the quality of the music being played. I am very much interested in sound quality, and I'm willing to pay for it and get a setup designed around it, but my feeling is that I only spend a limited amount of time in my car and the money I have could be much better spent on a home audio setup. As such, I'd like to make my car sound as good as possible without spending a fortune.

 

A single eight inch properly installed will easily round out the bottom end of the stock system. Any more than an eight and the rest of the system will need upgrading to come close to the output of the low end.

 

I recomend a 8 or 10 illusion sub. Shallow mount very shallow. Small box sound good not expensive.

 

Thanks jmax and max'n out. Do either of you have any recommendations for a specific model of 8" sub? I know you already gave one, max'n, but what is the model number, etc. if you have one? Or maybe a website I could go to?

Also, any recommendations for an appropriate amp?

 

Diamond doesn't make any high quality 8's.
www.bostonacoustics.com
www.adst.com
www.jlaudio.com
www.morelusa.com
www.illusionaudio.com/illusion/Homex.htm
www.directed.com
www.alpine1.com
Kicker is probably www.kicker.com

 

Illusion Audio Luccent Im-8 and carbon nd-8 or 8.1 is what you should look at the vary in price...www.illusionaudio.com

 

Ok, cool. Thanks for the info. I'll have to go listen to them at some point. One other thing: I just rode in my cousin's truck with two 10" kicker's in the actual cab, and it sounds fantastic -- very crisp and clean and not muddy at all like many subs are. Would it be possible to mount the small box with the 8" between my two rear Bose speakers for better sound quality? Would that actually improve the quality?

 

A single eight between the rear speakers is possible. But putting it in a sealed box would involve a pretty complicated install. Free air would be the only way to do it 'easily', and that would reduce the power handling. And possible cause the driver to bottom out on deep or heavy bass. It would probably be easier to rebuild the center console, or extend it back to the rear seat. And have one of those house the 8". Also, if you are up to the mod, the doors can easily house an 8".

 

Ok...what about the possibility of simply mounting the sub behind the arm-rest to get almost the same effect? Would that be an easier install?

 

That would be very easy. And you could mount it so that it is easily shifted to one side or the other in order to use the pass through hole. I know the old JL 8W6, no longer available and Boston Pro eight could be used in a box with internal net volume as small as 0.35 cubic feet.

 

I'm not sure I'm folling exactly right. If your refering to free air I would disagree that it's any easier. The deck would still have to be sealed off. however if you talking sealed then i'd agree with Jmax that you could run a very very small sealed enclosure perticuly with an illusin 10 which I think it 1 inch deep so you could run a box thats 1.5 inches deep and a little wide and not take up alot of room

 

Great. Glad to hear this will work. What I'm thinking is that if it's going to sound better with more air space, I may make the box a little bigger -- just keep it really shallow but make it fairly wide. Thanks for your help guys. I'll be back when it's time for me to make the investment!