I have been thinking about this for a while. I was not too sure as too how to add better sound to my X. and to also do this without sacraficing too much space. I have decided to go with 2 JL Audio 8W3V3 subs. They will be mounted in an enclosure in the trunk that is mounted to the rear deck lid. They will be firing up into the parcel shelf. I will have to dynomat the entire rear parcel shelf so i can prevent as much rattles as possible. I figire i would go with 8" sub for 2 reason: 1- they are a good size so i can still keep most of my trunk space, 2- they are large enough to give me some decient bass. Thie will all be done in the next month or so. I will follow up with a complete how too, and lots of pictures.
I have attach a 3D file so everyone gets the idea. Remember the subs will be firing up into the rear deck, hence the reaseon why i went with an acrylic/plexi type enclosure, so it will all look good when i am done.

 

I'd like to hear how you make out...

 

ive done this many times over the years. Have fun. One of the bigest challenges is making sure the front "wave" of the woofer is not loading under the rear deck. Meaning if your putting it behind say a 6inch metal hole, you need to direct the "wave" to that hole, dont let the subs play directly under the rear deck with space in between. It easier to show you than tell you. LOL Anyway, AS A SUGGESTION, take 3 inch foam from say a seat cushion, cut this out to match the enclosure on top. Cut out the speakers too. Now when you goto mount this unit to the rear deck, you will compress the foam to the rear deck and will save yourself from having to deal with cancelation of frequencies. Wow i could write about the do and dont's of this type of install for over an hour.........he he he. Anyway if you need more info, simply ask

 

ohhhh and it isnt "dynomat".......... its Dynamat,(sorry kinda a pet peeve) and thats a specific manufacturer. I suggest looking into Hushmat or Dynamat Extreme for this install. It is what i have used in the past with good luck. And buy a small rubber roller too.

 

there are a few different ways to do this. Which facxtory stereo do you have?

 

I am going to use a AudioControl LC7 (http://www.audiocontrol.com/t34/1761...ut----LC7.html). Is is a line level converter that will boost the signal for the amp as well as give me an AUX input for my MP3 player. There are other solution you can go with but this does have a signal summing interface, meaning you would only have to input the front and rear channel and the unit will "infer" a 3rd set of preamp outputs for you. Makes hooking up the whole system a lot easier, consider i will be replacing all of the speakers and adding subs. I will be connecting these to Infinity Kappa amps (the Kappa One, and Kappa Four). However you could buy a $20 line level converter @ best buy, or even buy an amp with speaker level inputs.

I have also decided to go with Second Skin's (http://www.secondskinaudio.com/) Damplifier Pro sound isolation material. It is a lot better. (did i spell that right??????)

 

You could always contact Ant directly, his info is below. I forgot about his stuff. We used it on the show too.




Anthony Collova
Second Skin Owner
3611 W. Cambridge Ave. Suite #3
Phoenix, AZ 85009
623.533.8193
800.679.8511

 

thats a nice job..I'd like to hear how you make out so that I can install it to with my jeep grand cherokee parts..

 

That's the good job, please keep updating.

 

So after many months of not updating this thread i am ready for the final installation of my car audio equipment.

I have changed the original plan a bit and have decided to do 2 12" inverted DIYMA R12's. these are SQ (sound quality) oriented subwoofers. I will be running these with an Infinity Kappa ONE (800WRMS).

i am replacing the fronts with Focal 165Vr with custom tweeter pods on the dash. i am removing the rears as this will muddy up my fronts as well as make it next to impossible to balance out the fronts.

I have enclosed some pics of the box i have designed and built. Is has the 2 12"s mounted as well as a center amp rack. oh yeah any i installed a custome acrylic jaguar logo piece in the center of the box thats lights up green whne the trunk is opened. I still have some final trimming to do but it will look great when it is all done.

 

looks awesome!

 

Not to take this too far off subject.but I have purchased two 6.5 closed air kicker subs for rear deck.I havent heard of anyone doing this yet ,as most people want more bass. I thought these pushing directly into the car should sufice.I only have the basic 120 watt audio so this should be much improvment.However I do like loud music and am wondering if this is a waste of time.Sound's like jaguardoc already had sub's in rear deck and was'nt enough low's.Should I take em back and do eight's or will these 2x300 watt rms little subs really kick

 

I had some 6.5"s installed but they did not hit deep enough to really get the intent of the music. I am by no means a bass head but i like my music loud and clean. going with something larger will give me a lot of head room as well as sounding good.

On the other hand some would say the 6.5" or even 8" would be adequate enough.......

 

Irish, keep in mind that the human ear can hear down to 20 Hz and most of the bass that people like to hear is in the 20-60 Hz range. Running 6.5" speakers, you are going to be just entering the 20-60 Hz range. Those speakers may be able to go down to about 55 Hz. So, you are still loosing a lot of the base. Running say 8's, you are going to get down to around 40 Hz. Stepping up to 10's will get you into the neighborhood of 30 Hz.

Also keep in mind that the bigger speakers tend to push more air, so you will get a bigger thump. SOme people like that, some people don't. I normally run 10's as they are a nice compromise between getting the maximum range of sound without taking up your entire trunk with a subwoofer box and also getting a bit sloppy due to the heavy cone that has to be moved.

I'm getting ready to also install some 12's in my X for a new stereo system. HOpefully this weekend I will be building the new sub box and getting the pieces installed.

 

Gl with the build Thermo.

The 12's i went with have an extremely light cone hence they do extremely well on the sound quality side.

Also most true sound quality guys use 15"s or even 18"s because of their ability to accurately reproduce sound. Sound is the movement of air the more air you can move the more realistic the sound becomes. A 15" sub will not only be far more accurate than a 10", but it will also be able to play louder, due to it not haveing to be pushed as hard at a given volume as a 10" would.


And correct the human ear can hear down to 20Hz but we can feel down to 1Hz. and sometimes there are certain things going on in music that will be felt more than heard. This would also warrant a larger sub since even though the 6.5" may be rated down to 25Hz it just physicall isn't big enough to move enough air for you to be able to hear it from more than a foot away. so you may only hear the higher end of what it is actually reproducing.

 

i did the 8"s in my rear deck, not real happy with them though. First im going to add my own amp to it. Using the factory amp didnt do too much really. I do things in steps so i know where the best changes take place.

 

Nice start phd, keep working down your list. Hope you have some success soon that you will like.

diggin the custom box jaguardoc!

 

i wonder if the line level converter wil work in my 04 xj8.dying to listen to my ipod

 

awsomee