IronMike

I bought a used Audi A4 a few weeks ago that has a stereo system. I'll just start off saying that I use my trunk A LOT, and having a big sub box with two 12" subs in the trunk does not make me happy. As if that wasn't enough, I don't know how to properly word this, but the subs are "slow". When I listen to music with a fast bass beat, the two subs fall behind the beat. My friend who sold me the car said the sub box holds two 12" JL subs and they share an airspace. The in-cabin speakers are Boston Acoustic Pro Series coaxials. All these speakers and subs are powered by a 800 watt Soundstream amp that is connected to a Alpine in-dash monitor unit.

I listen to all kinds of music. I'd say in the car it is 30% top 40, 30% FM talk radio, 15% classical, 15% country, 10% techno / electronic music. I don't want to nuke my ears though, my hearing ability is key to my profession. I'm thinking about removing a sub..... is there anyway to only retain one sub and position it in a way that maximizes trunk space? I have seen some pics of a sub built into the CD changer area, but I have an Alpine DVD navigation unit in there. I don't want to have to buy new subs, I would prefer to keep one of the JL subs that I already have.

<img src="http://www-scf.usc.edu/~huoh/temp/audi%20002.jpg">

Jarrod

some of the lower line jl subs (and older jl's) can sometimes sound muddy and not super crisp so you maybe are not hearing a clean crisp boom to go with the beat which would probably make it sound "behind" the music.

Not much you can do about that, except maybe try a smaller box.

Yes, you can keep one sub, but the amp might be too powerful for just one sub. You'll have to get the specs to determine that. Then of course you'll need another box to fit the one sub properly. But if you want to do a somewhat custom job that will include a box. Then you can fit it is a well or what have you depending on what you want.

kkii9

your subs probably fall behind beat because they are taking too much power. but if you kill the 2 sub setup and do just 1 sub in a sealed box, you will probably get the bass you are looking for.
Cleaner crisp bass which is probably what you are looking for in ur application.
Techno and electronica music needs something small and sealed to get accurate bass notes... and those top 40 music still sounds good w/out boomy bass. it will take all that power u have from that soundstream and make use of it..

Of course there are so many other subs out there as well, but it depends on ur budget, i just dont assume u plan to be a $2k car audiophile

you should sell those subs altogether and get a rockford HX2... its a very strong and affordable sub and it sounds great in a sealed box

HIS4

Usually crossing over the sub at high frequencies (&gt;100) can cause boomy bass. Words like fast, tight, accurate in terms of bass are usually associated with the midbass drivers and not the subs. Try crossing over your coaxials at about 90 Hz and the sub at 90 or less and see how the sound changes.

IronMike

I figure what I should probably do is take it to a stereo shop and tell them what kind of sound I want and have them retool the whole thing.

jerobean

If the box is the improper size, it will sound liek crap no matter how good your subs are. Find out the ideal airspace for the power given, and design a box with that in mind. You can easily ditch one of the subs and still have plenty of bass(unless you are a bass head)

What model JL's are they?

Merkin

1600w rms in 1 cqft

drewd1296

I was thinking of doing a single Shiva, just becuase I have one lying around. A Brahama would be nice.

O.W. Kenobi

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/20137/sub_1.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/20137/sub_4.jpg">

IronMike

Awesome! How much does an installation like this cost?