Budget bass upgrade

[seeya1]

I'm happy with the stock ELS system but just wanting a little more bass.I'm looking for something cheap quick and easy. My buddy has this and it hits harder than I'm going to use it for. I was wondering if there is someone that could tell me if this would work with our systems being 2ohm. Would I be able to wire this in and keep the stock sub for mid bass? Amazon Amazon Amazon (Links) Thanks

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[cinobyte]

ill give ya answer just not the best answer since a lot of members here have much more experience than myself so do some searching and maybe others will respond. honeslty you could write many paragraphs to answer the question with all the variables that are possible.

it being 2ohm has nothing to do with your stock radio since that device supplies its own power with a built in amp. all it needs is a signal and a power wire from the battery. i "THINK" from the quick look i took at its specs you could pull signal from the factory sub but you still have to get power to it from the battery. I have used these type of all-in-one a couple of times and there just OK if you want to add a little bass but its not the best practice method. My personal opinion from looking at this by the time you get a heavy gaugae wire to the trunk to power it and run a signal wire you will be in for a few extra bucks SO if you are not electrically inclined to do the work your self I would go to a local shop or god i hate to say it worstbuy and have them install the power cable you need and get a 10 or 12 inch sub in a box. you will get the bass you want and if you get the correct wiring done it allows you to upgrade later on and i bet the price wont be a lot more than you are looking at now once you consider the tube plus wiring. hope that helps some.
as for keeping the stock sub for midbass the problem with that particular setup is the sub woofer control on our head units controls the level which would also control the tube and the stock sub. so to get midbass from that sub you would have to have something else in the mix such as a sound processor or cross over that would change the freq of the factory sub. like i said search some and hope that someone else with more experience will provide you with more detailed advice.

[seeya1]

I already have the wire and I would be doing the install myself.I have a non powered 12 inch in a box that's 4ohm now I would I be able to just wire this in by disconnecting the stock sub?

[stevemk07]

You could but output wont be very much on the stock amp since your sub has twice the impedance but depending on the efficiency of your sub and enclosure it might actually work. Just dont expect a whole lot on the stock power. Best to add an amp for your aftermarket.

[seeya1]

Originally Posted by stevemk07

You could but output wont be very much on the stock amp since your sub has twice the impedance but depending on the efficiency of your sub and enclosure it might actually work. Just dont expect a whole lot on the stock power. Best to add an amp for your aftermarket.

I tried it with 2 different subs 1 enclosed 12" and 1 bazooka style 8" neither was better than stock. Guess I just need to buy an amp.

[cinobyte]

Originally Posted by seeya1

I tried it with 2 different subs 1 enclosed 12" and 1 bazooka style 8" neither was better than stock. Guess I just need to buy an amp.

the link you provided is for a powered sub. the factory amp will not provide enough juice for UN amplified sub. if you already have the power wires ran to the trunk I would just get an amp to power one of the speakers you mentioned or you can still fall back to the amplified tube from amazon. if i rem right the audiobahn will except high level input so you should be able to pull signal from the factory sub for it.
I personally have never had any luck with the stuff that has a built in amp. I can usually find a better amp sub combo for about the same price

[seeya1]

I'm just going to pick up the first ones in this post http://cleveland.craigslist.org/bar/3159103194.html
I just need info on wiring it. I think I find the pre amp signal for the sub disconnect the factory sub run power ground and an on sensor for the amp. Correct? I have looked and read for hours and still am unclear of what wire I use for the pre amp sub.

[stevemk07]

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558485

Scroll down in that thread for all the wire colours.

[seeya1]

Originally Posted by stevemk07

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558485

Scroll down in that thread for all the wire colours.

Thanks do I need a line driver or line converter

[I hate cars]

If all you're doing is adding a sub amp, you're creating a ton of extra work by going pre-amp. Grab the signal from the stock sub wires in the trunk. Depending on your amp you might need a LOC to reduce the system voltage. Some amps do not require the LOC. There's nothing to gain by going pre-amp on a sub unless you want it to play above 80hz.

[seeya1]

Originally Posted by I hate cars

If all you're doing is adding a sub amp, you're creating a ton of extra work by going pre-amp. Grab the signal from the stock sub wires in the trunk. Depending on your amp you might need a LOC to reduce the system voltage. Some amps do not require the LOC. There's nothing to gain by going pre-amp on a sub unless you want it to play above 80hz.

I like hearing that saves me some work but won't taking the signal post amp mean I'm using an amped signal and amping it? Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Is the LOC the same as a crossover?

[I hate cars]

Originally Posted by seeya1

I like hearing that saves me some work but won't taking the signal post amp mean I'm using an amped signal and amping it? Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Is the LOC the same as a crossover?

Yep. But the problem with amping an already amped signal is you get a hiss since the stock signal is dirty. This hiss is well above the sub frequencies so if you're not worried about amping the mids and the tweeters yet, just tap into the factory sub wiring. You will get absolutely no hiss from the subs doing it this way.

[I hate cars]

The LOC is a line out converter. All it does is lower voltage. So if the stock amp puts out 8v to the stock subwoofer, a LOC will knock it down to something that's acceptable to your aftermarket amp like 2v for example. Some aftermarket amps are fine with a high voltage signal and the use of a LOC is unnecessary. A LOC will not act as a crossover.

[seeya1]

Ok so I don't even need a crossover due to the fact that I'm going post amp and it's already being capped at 80hz

[I hate cars]

Originally Posted by seeya1

Ok so I don't even need a crossover due to the fact that I'm going pot amp and it's already being capped at 80hz

The more I think about it you might want to double check on the 80hz thing. I read on here that it's capped at 80hz but I seem to remember getting female vocals from the subs with no crossover and post amp. It's all a blur now lol. Most amps will have a crossover built in anyway.

[seeya1]

Originally Posted by I hate cars

The more I think about it you might want to double check on the 80hz thing. I read on here that it's capped at 80hz but I seem to remember getting female vocals from the subs with no crossover and post amp. It's all a blur now lol. Most amps will have a crossover built in anyway.

Thanks a lot for replying here you have really helped me out I'm going to wire it up without a crossover and if it's no capped low enough then I will just add my crossover.

[stevemk07]

It is crossed at 80 but you can get response up to 120 if you turn the sub level up enough

[seeya1]

The amp I'm hooking up has no inputs for hard wire I need RCA how do I get the signal to the new amp? Is everyone splicing hard wire to RCA?

[stevemk07]

Easiest thing to do at this point is get a line outout converter (LOC). Best would have been getting an amp with high level (speaker level) inputs as they usually have auto sensing turn on control but at this point you will need to use a remote wire for your amp and the LOC. Using the sub signal works fine, especially with the rest of the ELS system kept the way it is. If you would like a little more clarity from the system deaden the door speaker area. Just a little will make a nice improvement.

[seeya1]

Ok everything is hooked up and sounding pretty good I've been putting the sub in different parts of the trunk and it sounds different everywhere. I know there is a place people suggest is the best sound.

[I hate cars]

Originally Posted by seeya1

Ok everything is hooked up and sounding pretty good I've been putting the sub in different parts of the trunk and it sounds different everywhere. I know there is a place people suggest is the best sound.

You just have to experiment. Usually facing to the rear will boost the lowest frequencies more. Some say corner loading it will give the biggest boost but that was not the case when I tried it. Most end up with the subs facing the rear of the car.

[stevemk07]

Not sure how far you are looking to go with this but I spent hours just trying to eliminate phase issues with my setup but I am not concerned with how loud it gets since I can easily overpower the other speakers even with them amped. I settled for in the corner on the drivers side facing the front. I used sign wave signals from 60hz to 120 hz to eliminate phase issues as best I could but my box is sealed. Some online matrrials will tell you it does not matter what direction the sub is facing but from my experimenting it does. The important thing is that you like the sound. Try reversing the wires as well as rotating the box to find the best sound to your liking. One problem with having the box close to the edges of the trunk and facing the body is you are more likely to hear rattles outside the car but it is all your own ears that should determine the location. A sub out of phase can also cause more rattling in the rear deck.

By the way most of the rear deck rattles can be solvved by outting something soft between it and the rear glass.