MB quart sub amp and Dayton Audio 8in subwoofer review; Ford install

Here are the specs for the amp:

Reference Series 1-Channel Class D Car Amplifier
RMS Power Rating:
4 ohms: 200 watts x 1 chan.
2 ohms: 300 watts x 1 chan.
1 ohm: 450 watts x 1 chan.
Tuned Bass EQ (0-9 dB bass boost) at 45 hz
Variable low-pass filter (30-250 Hz)
Subsonic Filter (15-50 Hz)
Frequency response: 15-300 Hz
Dimensions: 9.84" L x 8.3" W x 2.03" H

The specs for the sub can be found here:

Parts-Express.comayton QT210-4 8" Quatro Subwoofer 4 Ohm | subwoofer qt210-4 8" subwoofer dayton quattro dayton subwoofer dayton 8" woofer DayAudSub11408

This setup was installed in a standard cab Ford Ranger with the amp mounted under the driver's seat after some modification and the sub mounted in a modified seal wedge design at about .55-.58 cubic feet displacement. Knukonceptz 8 gauge amp wiring kit was used:

Knukonceptz product detail for KLMX COMPLETE 8 GAUGE AMP INSTALLATION KIT

One of the primary design concerns was the need to have the driver's seat fully to the rear without interfering with the operation of the sub at full excursion. Due a fairly shallow mount depth many of the 10" drivers I was looking at were to deep. The mount depth on the Dayton is 4". I had to countersink the speaker cutout 1/4" so that it could sit flush with the outer edge of the box and would not interfere with the seat. I didn't countersink the cutout until I realized the speaker would limit seat travel.

The recommended enclosures are .2-.5 cubic feet sealed. So my application is slightly larger than recommended. Comparing this to my stepson's IDQ12 the Dayton can hit hard but it's not a sub which you're going to rattle your fillings out. The Dayton does a great job of adding to the bottom end of my setup, Infinity 6x8 coaxials and Polk 5x7 coaxials in stock location with 4x45 watts. Given the small size of my cab this is a adequate compromise. The sub has added alot of sound that I've been missing. Many Norah Jones tracks in Come Away with Me have a cheloe(sp) bass line which came alive, my other driver's just couldn't effectively reproduce the sound. I played some NIN, and Faith Hill again a nice compliment to the music but not something that's going to overwhelm you. This sub will not win SPL competitions, if your looking for bass to be heard and not felt this sub can fill that roll.

The MB Quart Reference 1450 powers my Dayton. I've played with MTX, and recently Arc KS500.1 which I sold to my stepson. I purchased this amp based on cost $110 from Sonic Electronicx. Compared to the Arc the MB was flimsy in construction. The mounting tabs were easily bent and eventually broke off (on purpose). I pulled the cover of the amp to look at the guts, nothing really blew me away (should it for $110?). The aluminum heat sink forms the top and sides. Between the sides it provides an air gap of about .5 in on either side. For my install I had to hacksaw off one of the sides to make it fit (not recommended of course). This amputation didn't effect the amps operation. The units controls were also lacking, it was difficult to turn the dials with a flat blade screw driver due to the plastic material of the dials and the slightly recessed locations. My Arc had metal screws with deep slots. My screw driver had a hard time getting a good bite because the slots were shallow. I used 8 gauge for the ground and power, that's about as big as I want to go, you'd could stuff 4 gauge into the terminals but it'd be a chore. There's a phase shift switch, LPF from 35-250hz, sub sonic 10-50 hz, bass boost 0-9db at 45 hz, and level input from .2-6v. After figuring out the level input was not a gain control (the Arc is auto sensing for voltage) I had no problems adjusting the controls. I played with the amp for a couple of hours and it only got slightly warm to the touch even with chunk of aluminum I hacked off. There is an audible click when the unit turns on. For the cheap bass upgrade this amp was intented it fills the roll, but it's definitely not in the same league as the Arc.

I couple of quick notes on the Knuconceptz amp kit. I've used both their high end 4 gauge kit and now this budget 8 gauge kit. The RCA's were definitely on the low end of quality, they're getting the job done, asethetically Knu has much better looking and designed RCA's. I paid less than $30 shipped for the kit.

So there you have a brief run down of the amp, sub, and amp kit. All of the equipment listed was put together for less than $250. I'll try to post a couple of pictures but no promises.

 

I just installed this setup in my Ford Ranger, I've had to shelve plans for the Taco, wanted to contribute. Hope you enjoyed the reading.