FYI - i'm coming at this from a home stereo perspective, and i listen to mostly acoustic jazz, with a smattering of classical and "classic rock".

granted the sub in my 5.1 rig at home is in a "box", but that "box" was computer designed to work in conjunction with my specific speaker/amp combination. most of the car boxes i've seen are seemingly generic boxes with a cutout for a specific SIZE sub, and that's it.

while most pitches below 200Hz DO tend to be unidirectional (the deep bass definitely is), don't you lose just a LITTLE of the attack/definition in your deep bass when it comes out of the trunk??? having the rear shelf between the sub and my ears would seem to be a less than ideal solution for obtaining that last octave of bass. personally, i like hearing the sound of a finger "plucking" that low E string on an upright bass.

are there any systems which have the sub in, say, a cutout in the middle of the rear shelf (i have no interior brake light - one of the reasons i got an SE - and i wouldn't want it behind the arm rest), with the 6 3/4 stock speakers on each side? does this require a specific sub?

i'm a max newbie, and couldn't find an FAQ on AUDIO stuff, so if you know a link that answers my questions that would be great!

thanks

 

If your asking if a sub can be placed in the rear deck facing up, the answer is yes, but it will have to be completely custom. I would imagine you would need to go with a 10 inch sub, but I haven't measured. And from what you have said above the 10' would probably better listening for you since they are more precise then 12's.

PS. I know I saw a post yesterday referring to the direction in which you aim the sub (rear, front, up) and it explained the difference in sound quality. Rear normally gives you louder bass while aiming it toward the front of the car gives you more detail.

 

Reference size of sub and detail there is an old wives tale that indicated small subs had better transient response. It was mostly based on poor system implementation. Most cars are so small that transients are rarely affected by trunk sub placement.

Reference mounting subs in the deck it has been going on for decades. I had three 12" subs in the deck of my current 4th gen. Currently planning to put one or two 15" subs in the same rear deck.

 

You are absolutely correct. Most people do not have a box specifically designed for their sub; usually because it's too much work. Though some manufacturers make specific boxes for their subs, such as JL.

Just recently someone sold their custom deck mounted 10" box. They had it in the shelf where the BOSE 8" normally goes. Not a bad idea.

 

Abosulutely YES. I am extremely disapointed in the bass SQ in my Max compared to other vehicles. Unidirectional or not, you lose a decent amount of articulation by separating the subwoofer from your ears by a trunk. All I can say is if you want outstanding bass performance, get an SUV or a hatchback!!! I'm not saying you can't have an awesome system with a trunk, but comparitively...

I'm not even very happy with the trunk setup where you open one of the seat-backs and face the sub directly into the passenger compartment. I'm not sure why this is, but I'm guessing it has something more to do with sub placement rather than venting.


Exactamundo!!

Oh yes...I do to. However, you can acheive this in a car by concentrating on your front soundstage. A very good 3-way set in the doors and/or kickpanels with an 8-inch mid can really put that low E string pluck in your chest (with the help of a properly designed sub). Consequently, the more the front is developed, the less harder the subwoofer has to work. A car with no front-end midbass and a poorly designed sub system will sound boomy. A car with a strong front-end and a poorly designed sub will sound much better. A car with both is something to strive for.

I don't know of anyone that has this setup, but when I first got my Max I specifically looked into this. I believe you should be able to fit a 10-inch sub into a shallow, sealed, upward-facing box that could be mounted to the bottom of the package shelf. As far as specific subs, any will do that don't require a ton of airspace. I don't care for ported boxes, but one might fit there as well...the advantage being you could vent the port directly into the passenger compartment as well. I have a Bose Max, though, which has the 8-inch cutout in the center of the package shelf.

I don't hear much of this any more, but the old-school theory of subs in a trunk is to vent the cone of the sub directly into the passenger compartment via the package shelf and rear window. I would be interested in why this isn't mentioned more nowadays. Has this method of install been shown inferior? Anyone?

Thanks, drumsky, for the awesome post.

Tony

 

The sub on the package shelf with no enclosure other than the trunk is primarilly not done because of the need to seal the trunk from the cabin. This takes quite a bit of work as there are many holes from the trunk to the passenger compartment and it would take some work to seal them properly. The other reason is that you lose the ability to pull the rear seat out and put something big in the back of the maxima.

This enclosure style would need a sub that can take high power or is designed for large boxes as it is very efficient. Not much power would be needed to push the sub to it's mechanical limit. It is basically a large sealed box with the trunk as the enclosure.

 

So six years later.. has anyone done a sub in the rear deck like this? pics? Im looking on adding one 12" sub right between the 2 existing Bose speakers in the rear deck. Any pros and cons on this type of setup? The reason I want this type of setup is because I don't want to loose trunk space and it eliminates the need for a bulky enclosure. I do not want to add the sub in the ski hole.. So being that the trunk would be the enclosure I know some good sound deadening would be needed. Would the rear deck and trunk lid be sufficient enough? or would I need to do the entire trunk? Any info on this type of setup will help.

 

it has been done....
give me a minute to find the thread...

 

found it...
http://forums.maxima.org/audio-elect...enty-pics.html
enjoy.

 

Cool I'll check it out. Thanks