Let’s see some subwoofer setups!

box is all routered out, just playing with the back top edge to make it look like i knew what i was doing. next is paint!






internal box clearances. i'm really glad i chamfered those edges!

 

This is impressive. Nice, clean factory- finished look and uses the space efficiently. Nice work!

 

box is in, just need to start working on getting the rest of the gear ordered, and adapter plates made for door woofers, then strip the interior for a few weeks for install.

finished the box with the rattlecan 'truck bed liner' stuff, actually looked really nice until i hamfisted the trigger and "wanted to touch up just a few spots" which ran all over..

it's accidentally an anti-theft box. almost perfectly sealed, though i think my terminal cup is leaking air. 2 1/4-20 x 2-1/2" bolts up in the top holding it to the body, only accessible through the box, could barely get a wrench on them to tighten down, and still took me 20 minutes, woofer screws are inaccessible without taking out the rear seatback. it'll be easier to just take the entire truck.

 

I had a center console band pass sub stolen once. Thieves destroyed the box. Which was worse than unscrewing it.

at least yours is out of sight. But just wanted to highlight that thieves act irrationally and steal gear not sub boxes. A cordless sawzall and crowbar can likely extract the subs in 60s.

makes me sad to think how fast a big project like this can be destroyed.

 

yep, been there too. that's why i work so hard to conceal all the gear.

main install is going to be much trickier now though. had been planning on 4-way full active with dual 6.5" peerless in the doors, with some peerless ring radiators in the dash, possibly some planar tweeters for rear fill. but a set of sb acoustics 8" woofers started taunting me from the shelf-of-projects-past, would mean 5-way active, with exposed sail panel/a-pillar tweeters, and a mid in the dash...

 

So I got the sub and amp installed a few days ago. Really happy with the turnout. Used a box specific to behind the drivers rear set to house the sub. Had to remove the seat backing and obviously that cubby back there to get it to fit. Installed the amp under the rear passenger seat in the cubby area. Had to weld a couple of 1” square tubes to mount it flat. Drilled and tapped some holes for the ground and to fasten the amp. Trimmed the cubby and added some edge trim. Really happy with how it all came out. Super clean. Impressive sound for the $$. Sub and amp were $197.95 and box was $188.90, so I’m in this a total of $378.85 plus my time. I already had wire and the square tube so didn’t need to worry about that cost. thanks again @soundman98 for the suggestions.


Mocking up amp


Welded in brackets


Amp mounted and wired up


Cubby installed



Sub installed

 

Oh and I installed a new radio as well! Joying 10.1: https://www.joyingauto.com/newest-1...05-2015-head-unit-supports-apple-carplay.html

Super awesome HU; tons of features for the price.



Next up is to install this sound deadening and door speakers I’ve had sitting on a shelf for the last two years

 

That looks great! I've looked into that head unit before, and I think the number of pre-amp outputs is what stopped me. I currently have 2 running to my 4 channel amp for front and rear speakers, and another pair that is run to where I plan to install the mono amp for the sub. So I need (maybe want) a total of 3 and IIRC, that one had either 1 or 2.

 

That's interesting. I have two Joying HUs, a 9" in my Taco and a 10.25" in my other car. Both have three sets of RCA outputs: FR, RR and SW. The problem on the Joyings is the line level output is garbage in that the signal is low (way less than 2V) and are noisy. The other weird thing is that the HU's EQ seems to have no effect on the SW signal. I'm considering installing an Audio Control LC6i and using the speaker level outputs from the head unit. Regardless, these Android head units are great bang for the buck and can be configured to your liking. There's an ongoing thread here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-audio-build-android-3-way-components-3-amps-wow.576729/

 

Makes me wonder if the description I read was inaccurate. I will give them another look.

 

preout number and hu settings used to be a concern for me as well--i ran a car audio specific carpc for a number of years just because the available head units at the time didn't have the level of adjustability i wanted until getting into audison bitone territory, or about $1500-2k for just the components... but the last 'semi-permanent-temporary' install, i added a dayton dsp408 just to see what/how it worked.

no install i do from now on is going to go without a dsp--does everything the carpc did without boot-up times, crashes, hard drive issues, or needing to be windows IT guru. way too easy and consistent to make any and all adjustments i could ever want. IMO, best $160 i could've spent next to sound deadening.

 

I’ll need to come back on here and talk to you about DSP’s in the future. I started looking into them when I found out about the low voltage output the Joying supplies but given my timeframe I didn’t have the time/desire to dig any further…

 

Anyone able to get a box for a 2nd gen DCSB that will fit 12"s?

 

I think I have seen custom ones. Expect to remove the back plastic.

 

Yeah. I epect I will have to gut it to the back of the cab and make some adjustments for sure!

 

Can’t find my pics, but I had 2 Sundown SD-4 12” behind my rears. Basically, lots of measuring, trimming and Fiberglas. Bottom was IIRC 7”. Top was 3.5”, baffle was 20” and back wall was 4 layers of fibreglass. All with .75” MDF.

I’ve since moved to an SQ setup, so no pics.

*edit* Use a dremel with a sanding drum. Lifesaver.

 

I added the

$370 Kicker 46HS10 Hideaway Compact Powered Subwoofer, 10"

Kicker 46HS10 powered sub behind the rear passenger seat. Fit perfect, easy to install, inexpensive and just the right amount of bass.

 

Thanks for this post. This is one that I wish I had seen before I bought an amp. I've been slacking on building a box and running all the wires.

Also, not too thrilled about running two amps off the main battery. Pretty sure I'm gonna be the guy at the light whos headlights dim with every hit of bass.

 

Time for a dual battery setup.

 

i dunno, i ran a soundstream usb-10p in my ranger--it was a pre-planned short term project, mostly did it for the limited space constraints and just to try it. new, unique, different challenge.


i can see how it's enough for people that just want a little extra oomph. it excelled at country, and alternative-- music styles that relied less on the bass, but still had some of it.

but if shake-your-seat, rattle-the-mirror, feel-the-bass is more your style(as it is mine, i don't actually care about loudness, but care deeply about clarity, even down low), it always sounds like it's about 1/2 the volume of the rest of the speakers, and it never really comes in clear--turn it up, and it starts sounding like a subwoofer installed in a car following behind you. turn it down and you question whether it was worth the purchase price. i was fortunate enough to have installed the dayton dsp408 in front of it, and ended up with a crazy eq just to maximize output to get some volume out of it-- off the top of my head, i had a 18db high pass at 30hz, +12db boost 50-80hz, with a narrow -5db drop at 72hz to get rid of a buzz, and a 110hz 12db/oct low pass. and that was the clearest, cleanest i could get it to hit.

but because it was so touchy, different artists of course were mixed slightly differently, so just playing my entire collection on random left me constantly adjusting the output to try to balance it with the front stage. always felt like riding a unicycle.

it might sound better more concealed behind a seat, or in a trunk. in the truck, it was always directly behind me, with little between it and my ears.