Underseat subwoofer opinions

[nedkerry]

Has anyone heard or used an underseat subwoofer like this?
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1gsE0JKi2ME/p_023THB200A/Blaupunkt-THb-200A.html

(I'm well aware of subs in the boot so please avoid recommending it).

I'm not after an extraordinary amount of bass - just something to give it more kick.

Are they worth it? Is it a waste of money? Is wiring it up a lot easier?

[Drifter995]

If you want one for a little extra kick, they'll be fine. Focal is probably your best bet for decent ones.

In all cases, they won't sound anywhere near as good as a sub in a well built box in the boot, but, they'll do the job.

[[stealth]]

depends on the size car u have also... im assuming u own a 3dr hatchback? if that's the case a slimline sub would suffice
sedan or anything larger... subwoofers are the way to go

[nedkerry]

;3912653']depends on the size car u have also... im assuming u own a 3dr hatchback? if that's the case a slimline sub would suffice
sedan or anything larger... subwoofers are the way to go

I didn't realise how expensive the Focal under seat subs are ($500?).
Anything a bit more affordable? ($300 max)

I have a 2007 Civic Sedan.
If I had a hatch or liftback I'd get a subwoofer but for a sedan, I don't like the sub being in a different "room" from where I'm sitting (e.g., I wouldn't install a sub in my kitchen if I was watching TV in my lounge), if that makes sense.

[Drifter995]

There are easy ways to avoid that. Even then, I doubt the difference would be very large.
I had a sub setup in my eg sedan, still sounded awesome.
Small sealed box with 2x12" subs.
Also had one 12" sub powered off 300wrms in my 1g trunk, which is more or less a sedan. It's all about how you build the box, what's stopping the sound from coming in (if at all) and how to remedy that. Half the time, you can use the rear speaker holes as vents, as you don't even need them.

[p0c1]

Has anyone heard or used an underseat subwoofer like this?
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1gsE0JKi2ME/p_023THB200A/Blaupunkt-THb-200A.html

(I'm well aware of subs in the boot so please avoid recommending it).

I'm not after an extraordinary amount of bass - just something to give it more kick.

Are they worth it? Is it a waste of money? Is wiring it up a lot easier?

Couldn't really comment on the brand that you're looking at (Blaupunkt),

I'm currently using Focal ibus20 on my Odyssey and would highly recommend the product..

I was also looking at Kicker Hideaway underseat sub, and I heard good reviews about it


Good luck

p0c1

[aka_NSX]

if you ever think of changing the headunit, just get the one with the Time Alignment so you can move the Bass forward then you can just buy a normal Subs and install it in the boot

but if you still insist on the underseat Subs, I can always get you Focal iBus20 Brand New with warranty from Focal Australia $390 delivered, if you interested please PM

--

[Vvvtec]

blowpunked

[RenzokukenJ]

Kablam

[nedkerry]

blowpunked


Kablam

lolz


if you ever think of changing the headunit, just get the one with the Time Alignment so you can move the Bass forward then you can just buy a normal Subs and install it in the boot

but if you still insist on the underseat Subs, I can always get you Focal iBus20 Brand New with warranty from Focal Australia $390 delivered, if you interested please PM

--

i am definitely very interested! give me some time to save up after coming back from holidays :)

[amant02]

I didn't realise how expensive the Focal under seat subs are ($500?).
Anything a bit more affordable? ($300 max)

I have a 2007 Civic Sedan.
If I had a hatch or liftback I'd get a subwoofer but for a sedan, I don't like the sub being in a different "room" from where I'm sitting (e.g., I wouldn't install a sub in my kitchen if I was watching TV in my lounge), if that makes sense.

Lol a car isnt a "room". Did you know the Hertz range for speakers that are in your living room is different to the ones installed in your car?

There's a reason why sub goes in the boot. Its something to do with the way sound resonates and the size factor.

I've had under seat Pioneer sub before in the jazz before i swapped it out for the cheapy sony one. Letme tell you one thing, if you after a kick then in boot sub way to go.

If your only after mooisk to your ears, i suggest good headunit + amp + really good speakers and call it a day. If you get say 5 way speakers, you may decide you don't need a sub.

The $90 dollar Amp + sub combo from sony outperformed the $400 underseat sub and its not that big and heavy. Couple of small hook and loops (double sided velcro) holds it down to boot carpet just fine.

[RenzokukenJ]

Lol a car isnt a "room". Did you know the Hertz range for speakers that are in your living room is different to the ones installed in your car?

There's a reason why sub goes in the boot. Its something to do with the way sound resonates and the size factor.

I've had under seat Pioneer sub before in the jazz before i swapped it out for the cheapy sony one. Letme tell you one thing, if you after a kick then in boot sub way to go.

If your only after mooisk to your ears, i suggest good headunit + amp + really good speakers and call it a day. If you get say 5 way speakers, you may decide you don't need a sub.

The $90 dollar Amp + sub combo from sony outperformed the $400 underseat sub and its not that big and heavy. Couple of small hook and loops (double sided velcro) holds it down to boot carpet just fine.
Tl;dr

[cbauto]

Tldr too

[TbM]

To op

in my experience i wouldnt recommend an underseat sub, id recommend you get a good set of component speakers with an amp and deaden\seal the doors, i actually dont run a sub most of the time just my focals on full range.


Lol a car isnt a "room". Did you know the Hertz range for speakers that are in your living room is different to the ones installed in your car?
dafuk you on about? both my HT and car setup have the same range
There's a reason why sub goes in the boot. Its something to do with the way sound resonates and the size factor.

I've had under seat Pioneer sub before in the jazz before i swapped it out for the cheapy sony one. Letme tell you one thing, if you after a kick then in boot sub way to go.

If your only after mooisk to your ears, i suggest good headunit + amp + really good speakers and call it a day. If you get say 5 way speakers, you may decide you don't need a sub.
deadening is the most important thing, my focals sounded like weak linglong sony speakers before i deadened them, now i have people asking if my subs in when its just the focals
The $90 dollar Amp + sub combo from sony outperformed the $400 underseat sub and its not that big and heavy. Couple of small hook and loops (double sided velcro) holds it down to boot carpet just fine.

[amant02]

Home speakers require to move more air then car speakers. Also to add extra little bit of nerd, Car audio systems are very limited in terms of currents and impedance.

I know for a fact my room speakers/sub cover more range of Hertz then my focals in the jazz.

I also agree on dynamatt, but in my view who thinks he drives a race car.... it adds weight.

[Drifter995]

Define more range?
They both cover the same hertz range. They'd both cover the same distance in a room, if built in the correct box to suit them.

Only major difference between home theatre speakers and car audio is the independence used, and how efficient they are. Home theatre speakers and subs can run off like 15w and 30w, and be loud. Car audio? About 10x that.
I can't remember why that is, but install wise, they both require similar box specs. The theatre ones usually have smaller boxes than car speakers, as doors are fairly big.

As for car audio systems, they aren't limit by currents and independence much at all. Current can range from 5-1000a depending on what you're doing, and how serious you're being. Independence is literally whatever you want it to be (albiet, subs and speakers are usually limited to 4ohm and 2ohm, some 8ohm, some 6ohm, some 1ohm, add dual coils, etc) you can wire them so an amp sees 16ohm if you wanted.

[TbM]

Home speakers require to move more air then car speakers. Also to add extra little bit of nerd, Car audio systems are very limited in terms of currents and impedance.

I know for a fact my room speakers/sub cover more range of Hertz then my focals in the jazz.

I also agree on dynamatt, but in my view who thinks he drives a race car.... it adds weight.

Your first statement depends on the size of the room, the smaller the space the less the sound dissipates. your limited in the amount of power you have until you upgrade your alt.

my klipsch floor-standing ht speakers do 35hz to 23khz a set of Moral Elate TI 903/902 do 25hz to 25khz which is a larger range. its more to do with the type of speaker not weather its designed for home or automotive use, a speaker is a speaker.

using minimal dynamat in the doors would add a comparable amount of weight to an underseat sub.

[amant02]

Okay lesson learned on hertz explanation.

I also agree on you can manipulate electricity quiet easily, but for how long? Running 16ohms safely = Big $$$. Running 16ohms safely for long time = Even bigger $$$.

Also the idea of voiding warranty.

[TbM]

Okay lesson learned on hertz explanation.

I also agree on you can manipulate electricity quiet easily, but for how long? Running 16ohms safely = Big $$$. Running 16ohms safely for long time = Even bigger $$$.

Also the idea of voiding warranty.

you can run 16 ohm as long as you like, car amps are usually rated between 1 and 4 ohm, the lower the ohm the more "stress" on the amp ie running 2 ohm on an amp rated for 4 is usually bad but running it higher than rated is fine it just drops the power output as your adding resistance.

[amant02]

So therefore... what your telling me is... I can hook up my ht amp to my cars speaker setup and power it easier to its limits??

[amant02]

I can't wait till i get home now.

[TbM]

So therefore... what your telling me is... I can hook up my ht amp to my cars speaker setup and power it easier to its limits??

depends on what your ht amp is rated too, for example my ht amp is rated to 6 ohm if i recall correctly and my car speakers are 4 ohm, so hooking that up would be a bad idea, the speaker ohm has to be equal to or greater than the amps minimum ohm rating.

powering it too its limits depends on the rms output of the amp at the ohm rating of the speaker, i dont know your setup so i cant comment.

[Drifter995]

What tbm said, if it's not rated to handle 4ohms, then I wouldn't.
You could chuck a car audio amp in to run your theatre speakers no worries, but maybe not the other way around. Just depends on what ohms the theatre one is rated too. It won't be loud though, compared to a car amp. As said, car speakers aren't anywhere near as efficient as theatre speakers. The whole 15w or so your amp is putting out (assuming it can handle 4ohms) wouldn't get the speakers anywhere near their limit. It'd also be pretty quiet. Wouldn't be any point changing from headunit

[lolmclol]

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/customavatars/avatar34799_8.gif

The Pope has spoken.

[Stupes]

I bought a 2nd hand Fusion 10" self powered tube for my Jazz.
Only needed light weight power wires so cheap to install too.

It's bloody awesome!!!

[cougarbait]

Would 2 underseat subwoofers be able to run consecutively or only one?

[RenzokukenJ]

2 will be fine, depending on what ones you get (are they self amplified?) and depending on what amp (if not self anplified), also what head unit are you using?

[cougarbait]

2 will be fine, depending on what ones you get (are they self amplified?) and depending on what amp (if not self anplified), also what head unit are you using?

Still working on that, I've been thinking:
4x Pioneer TS-G1644R
1x Headunit with GPS (still trying to find one)
1x or 2x (if needed) Pioneer TS-WX120A (powered subwoofer)

[Drifter995]

Still working on that, I've been thinking:
4x Pioneer TS-G1644R
1x Headunit with GPS (still trying to find one)
1x or 2x (if needed) Pioneer TS-WX120A (powered subwoofer)
4 sets of the coax? Ew. Just put the money towards a set of splits.

You would only need one underseat sub. I don't think two would be all that much louder than one underseat

[cougarbait]

4 sets of the coax? Ew. Just put the money towards a set of splits.

You would only need one underseat sub. I don't think two would be all that much louder than one underseat

I don't know what you mean mate, splits?

[amant02]

His talking about the speakers where the woofer and tweeters are separate.

Splits are good, I'd only get them for the front as I don't often have passengers in the back.

My view to sound system, buy really good front speakers - Full range. Headunit with at-least 3 RCA's, mono for sub and 4 chan for the speakers. I kinda jew out on rear speakers, but only need the rears to compliment the front speakers.

Never jew on the amp and wiring.


If your after a sub that will give you a them feels then I suggest just small one in the boot.


I had sony XS-GS80L in the jazz for a short period, before swapping it out for 10'. It was nice compact and light, hook and loops held it down very well. Very clean look.

[cougarbait]

I'm playing it by ear at the moment, not looking to ever go all out or anything. The headunit is important because I want GPS there and plus I find them easier to navigate music etc, as for the speakers I figured since they are cheap as is having them all around would be a good idea. I haven't settled on a subwoofer yet but if I do it'll be an under seat one most likely, but if I'm happy with the way the speakers perform by themselves then I probably won't even bother with a sub.

[amant02]

The speakers your looking at... are the kinds that I get for my rear speakers.... maybe not even depending on how the wallet is feeling.

Sound is subjective, what sounds good to me, may not sound good to you.

The speakers u have posted are 2 way, they gone lil better then stock. Nothing WOW.

[amant02]

Okay ill be honest. They are shit.


I would rather just save the money, buy really good headunit amp and sub. Use stock speakers for now.

Then just save for when good ones go on sale.

[amant02]

PS: You will need a sub with them speakers, they wont make heart pounding bass.

[cougarbait]

I'm not paying more than $1k for a headunit man.. and why are they shit? From the reviews I've read and other feedback, its all been really positive ..? Even my mechanic said they were a really good choice.

[amant02]

I'm not paying more than $1k for a headunit man.. and why are they shit? From the reviews I've read and other feedback, its all been really positive ..? Even my mechanic said they were a really good choice.

Offt Baller, I dont use anymore then 300-400 on headunit, but you do want double din GPS.. i'd expect to pay ~1k for a good current model one.

They are only 2 way, if your chasing for something where you dont need a sub. I suggest to be looking at 3 way for the rear and 4way or better for the fronts including splits.

[amant02]

Pictures speak more then words.

2 way speakers -

http://images.kenwood.eu/files/images/products/product_id_113/category_8/original/KFC-1060C.jpg


3 way -

http://www.autotoys.com/pics/pioneer1671speaker1.jpg


4way -

http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-85b2/k2-_b9ac10a1-75bf-48ad-b58f-dbb6faa34d5b.v1.jpg

5 way -

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/B001NFHF6I-1.jpg


Splits -

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61yyw5%2BceWL._SX466_.jpg

[cougarbait]

So there would be a very notible difference if I changed it to the following?

Front: Pioneer TS-A1675R
Back: Pioneer TS-G1644R
Headunit: Pioneer AVH-X8650BT

[amant02]

Yeh I guess. 3 way in front will make a difference over the stock,

I would also add GM-A6604 to that list, to power the front speakers and sub woofer if your getting it. Run the rear speakers from the headunit.


Could I ask why Pioneer? I know its a good brand, but these days I have found their retail price tad bit on the expensive side. For few bucks more you could be buying yourself into say Alpine.

[cougarbait]

Just reading through reviews online, seemed to always be Kenwood & Pioneer in the lead and Alpine coming like.. 4th, before looking into it I thought Alpine was #1 for all car audio too.

[amant02]

Okay advise time. Stop reading shit on the net. I know I do and i fall for it.

Them reviews that your reading, are paid for duhhhhh. They only point out good things about the speaker and compare it to the ones in its range.

Your mechanic may know how to fix your car, his not a sound specialist, he told you 2way speakers were good. Neither Am I.

I have minimal exp in car audio, I have only been thru 4-5 setups.

If you want speakers that can compensate for a sub... your gonna have spend abit more and get full range speakers with an amp to power it.

I have had a few really good speakers.... nothing will ever replace wut a sub can provide. That heart thumbing bass.

Alpine is a better brand out of the 3 u have mentioned, I have only used Their splits and amp, the Type R splits shat all over the pioneer splits i had before. The quality of the amp, even just by feeling the plastic/connectors you can tell its a better quality then the kenwood amps I have used in the past.

I know this dosn't count.... the alpines came better packaged too lol.

[cbauto]

Okay advise time. Stop reading shit on the net. I know I do and i fall for it.

Them reviews that your reading, are paid for duhhhhh. They only point out good things about the speaker and compare it to the ones in its range.

Your mechanic may know how to fix your car, his not a sound specialist, he told you 2way speakers were good. Neither Am I.

I have minimal exp in car audio, I have only been thru 4-5 setups.

If you want speakers that can compensate for a sub... your gonna have spend abit more and get full range speakers with an amp to power it.

I have had a few really good speakers.... nothing will ever replace wut a sub can provide. That heart thumbing bass.

Alpine is a better brand out of the 3 u have mentioned, I have only used Their splits and amp, the Type R splits shat all over the pioneer splits i had before. The quality of the amp, even just by feeling the plastic/connectors you can tell its a better quality then the kenwood amps I have used in the past.

I know this dosn't count.... the alpines came better packaged too lol.

U talk so much shit.

[RenzokukenJ]

Says don't read shit on the net

Then says he does

Wot

[amant02]

U talk so much shit.

Im sorry.


Says don't read shit on the net

Then says he does

Wot
Im Sorry.

[cbauto]

I have only been thru 4-5 setups.

I have had a few really good speakers....



Changing HU and speakers doesnt really count as a setup.
300buk splits are not good speakers

[Drifter995]

Ok, I'll slap my advice in:

Headunit; For a decent double din headunit that is worth getting, and the gps isn't woeful. You'd want to spend around the 800-1k mark no doubt. Sure you can get cheap ones for 300 or less. Odds are the interface is hitler, and the gps works about as well as a dyslexic reading a map.

Speakers; At no point in time is it worth buying coaxial speakers for your car. Period. Bar if you have passengers often, and they want to listen to music. The difference from 2way to 3way+ coax is very little, and the sound difference would be barely noticeable at best. However, going from 2way to 3way splits IS very noticable. Why? Instead of there being two seperate speakers doing the work (tweeter and mid) you have three. So, each speaker works less on certain frequency ranges, meaning they can pump harder in their own range. Although, instead of the difference being something like $10 (ie, 2way being $50 and 3way being $60) the price difference of 2way to 3way splits is a few hundred. (ie, $300 to $600)
But either way, you don't need rear speakers in your car. Scrap any plans for rear speakers, and put that money towards the fronts. Why? We use the example of a live band. When you go to see a band live, you don't sit in the middle of the band, and listen with the music around you. You don't turn your back to the band. You sit forward, facing the band. your ears are designed to listen to things from the front and side more or less. So, it doesn't make sense to have music coming from the back of the car, either.
A good sound stage in a car is having the band sound like it's playing on the bonnet. Hard to achieve, but around that is good enough if you're not aiming for top points in sq classes.

So, what you want to do, for the best results for your money. Get some splits. A good set is something like morel maximo 6.5 splits, crescendo opus 1, etc. Both around the $250-300 mark. Both very capable.
Next thing you want to do, is install them solidly. Now, what you want to do, is get some mdf, cut it out to suit your door, and so the speakers sit in there nice and solidly. Then you want to screw the spacers to the door, so they are solid. And screw the speakers to the spacer. Make sure to paint the mdf spacer with some form of paint, so it doesn't get waterlogged, and die within a few weeks.
Lastly, and very important. Look into dynamat. What it'll do, is help with the bass coming from the speakers, and make your door more solid. Reducing vibration/ rattles, increasing speaker performance, and just generally making them sound better. Including the satisfying thud you get when you close your door.
Just remember though; when choosing speakers, it is ideal to listen to them before you buy. Not everyone has the same set of ears. Some people love speakers with really peaky high ends. Some hate that with a passion, and it makes their ears bleed. Some love speakers with muddy sounding low end. Other hate it with a passion as well. It's all preference. Granted, it's hard to hear a lot of speakers that are well setup (sound boards aren't a good example of how they sound).

Amp; Realistically, you can get anything for an amp. Although, cheaper ones (ebay spec) can tend to lie about their performance, and be horribly in efficient.
What you'll want to do here, to keep costs down, but still get good performance, is get something like a jaycar 4x100 amp. A nice 4channel with a decent amount of power. Slap your front speakers off the first two channels, and save the last two for the sub (probably helps to make sure you can bridge those two channels). With the jaycar 4x100, you should see around 300wrms at the sub at 4ohms roughly there, which is heaps.
Avoid boss, powervox, kingwood, etc etc. like the plague

Sub; Now, this option is another one you'll need to be careful of. If you do the above with a 4channel amp, you'll need to get one or two types of sub. Either a single 4ohm voice coil. Or a dual 2ohm voice coil. Why? Most amps when bridging channels will only be stable at 4ohms. And a sub at single 4ohm or dual 2ohm will be able to wire to 4ohm, and keep the amp from frying, or catching fire. If you get a dual 2ohm sub, you'll need to wire it in series. What that means is amp channel 3 positive into voice coil 1's positive. Then a wire from vc1 negative to vc2 positive. Then a cable from vc2 negative to amp channel 4 negative.
I would suggest the sub I have, however it is the wrong setup (dvc 4ohm).
Although, since you want to look into an underseat sub(s), you won't need an amp, and they'll be fairly simple to install. Realistically, if you have two, it will be a bit louder, but not hugely. It'd be easy enough to install the two as well. And they'd sound fine, as they'd be getting the same signal. Unless you gave one like 5 meters of signal wire, and one 1 meter.



Now, I'm going to say; The mainstream brands (ie, alpine, pioneer, kenwood, etc) aren't anywhere near as good as you'd think. They are all entry level brands these days. Entry to mid. And are well outclassed in their price by many lesser known brands. A good example is something like the alpine type s being dominated by the shok triton sub. Which is about half to a third of the price.
Reviews and feedback places aren't the best places to find info on speakers. Generally with feedback and reviews, 90% of the reviews are negative. the other 5-8% are paid for, and the last percentage are actual good ones.
Basically, don't use them.
Personal reviews are better, but still not great. Your mechanic might love his 2ways, but they'd be not much better than stock, and would be destroyed by a well setup pair of splits in the setup above (solid install and dynamat). Although, keep in mind; shit speakers in a great install will sound better than amazing speakers in a shit install.

In car audio; Install is 80% of how your car sounds. If you cheap out on the install, it's highly likely your install will sound rubbish. Gear choice is 20%, but still very important. You get what you pay for. Except with mainstream products. They have extra cost for their logos


Changing HU and speakers doesnt really count as a setup.
300buk splits are not good speakers

On the contrary, you can get some bloody good $300 splits.

[amant02]

Changing HU and speakers doesnt really count as a setup.
300buk splits are not good speakers

Lol by you saying this.... your only helping my point towards cougarbait.

hi how you been? Was wondering why you had stop posting. Did miss your childish shenanigans.


PS: I have owned only 1 car in my life. I only change headunit cos owning car from 90s come wit fullsik speakers and sexy brittle bronze coloured wiring.

Well my 1st em1 setup did consist me just replacing headunit and mono block amp with a 12" Asplode Sony sub in a phat box. Cuz for a 17year old in highschool it was fully sik. #truestory.

[amant02]

On the contrary, you can get some bloody good $300 splits.

Na mate only competition level shit is good. cbauto is rite.

Im gonna go buy 2k honda sikvic and install a 7k sound system. Fully sik uleh.

[Drifter995]

Na mate only competition level shit is good. cbauto is rite.

Im gonna go buy 2k honda sikvic and install a 7k sound system. Fully sik uleh.

M8. I drive a 2k civic with a 5k sound system in it. Give or take. It is my spl daily though. 143.7db so far. Aiming for 150db before I retire it

[amant02]

M8. I drive a 2k civic with a 5k sound system in it. Give or take. It is my spl daily though. 143.7db so far. Aiming for 150db before I retire it

Lol Im sorry. Ofcourse your in different shoes, your an sound enthusiast.



Letme change it to something of cbautos taste -

Imma go buy 2 wrecked CRX's and then put them together with all my hard work and sweat, then instead of kswap imma put that money towards a fully sex sound system that will blow girls undies away.
Then eat noodles to save money till I can kswap.

[cbauto]

Lol Im sorry. Ofcourse your in different shoes, your an sound enthusiast.



Letme change it to something of cbautos taste -

Imma go buy 2 wrecked CRX's and then put them together with all my hard work and sweat, then instead of kswap imma put that money towards a fully sex sound system that will blow girls undies away.
Then eat noodles to save money till I can kswap.

You need a butt plug for ur mouth.

[itsdle]

I also have a Focal iBus 20 and IMO its pretty good. Not really into boomy/loud bass but more clear punchy bass. Mainly listen to R&B/Hip Hop and the occasional EDM/House. Probably not enough for bass-heads though.

They also make iBus 2.1 which is the same under-seat sub but with 2 x 55w RMS amplifier to power front speakers. Decent set up if you don't want to run power wires through the car and into your boot.

[cougarbait]

Had Carbon install my sound system and they didn't think much of the underseat subs at the time, told me after hearing the TS-WX120A (Pioneer) he wants to stop selling the Focal underseat sub land stick with the Pioneer ol :D I love it though, would def. recommend!

[arverson]

so im bored. havent used ozhonda in a lonnnnng time, came back to check out how the audio section is going and i read amant02's garbage.. *sigh*, just *sigh*. kid has no idea what he's on about, i had some good laughs tho lol

OP, what was your end result? did you end up with a underseat woofer you liked?