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Subwoofer addition to overpacked XJ

Bones

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Mid Missouri
Well since I dumped all the spare drum brake parts with the addition of the discs, I have a bit of extra space in back and want a bit more bass for everyday listening. I have been following Grizzley's stuff in "other tech", but with questions on a XJ modification, I thought I would post my Q's here.

I'm not a person that likes the slam of a huge bandpass or ported set up. I want a system that compliments the Infinity 5.25" speakers I now run front and rear. The Infinitys I have put out decent bass, but they seem overly sensitive and need a limiter for the real low stuff. I want something to take up the lost bass and step up the level of sound with a tight and accurate low range output. I am currently running the factory head unit, but that will probably change soon. Even with a new stereo set up, I will still rely on the head unit's power, as I do not plan any separate amps (KISS principle applies here).

I'm looking at small size and tight bass as requirements. I would also like a self-powered enclosed set up with line level inputs for ease of installation (KISS again) and ease of "leaving it behind" when space is at a premium.

I am considering three SMALL self-powered enclosed subs (Clarion's SRV-303, Infinity's BassLink, and Kenwood's wOOx KSC-WA62RC). All of these self-powered enclosed subs take up less than one cubic foot of space, so that is good with the way I usually pack for trips. Cost is close on all, and deals can be had if looking hard enough.

Does anyone have one of these subs? I have been able to find reviews on the wOOx and Baselink, but not the Clarion. Anyone know of one?

Are there other subs that meet my requirements out there I'm missing?

For those that have the wOOx, after owning it for a time, do you wish you "had more power"? How does it mount? Any problems with it?

For a mild amount of desired base, is the Baelink just too much? It is the biggest and most powerful of those presently considered (10" and 200watts). I'm not sure it's worth the added loss in cargo room. Anyone have any real world experience with this Infinity?

Should I even be considering the Clarion? I cannot seem to find much out about it. Has anyone had a chance to hear one? It runs a 7" sub with 120W of power, so it's the intermediate of the three units in both categories. I would really like to know more about this unit before I plunk down my cash on any sub.

Anyone have any other "pearls of wisdom" on this endeavor (besides, "quit wasting time and money on bling and buy your damn alloy axles" :D )


Thanks,

Bones :skull1:
 
Personally I would not run one of the setups your thinking about just my opinion. If I were you just look at ebay and pick up a 10 or 12 and put 200 watts to it. Dont know how much the things you lookin at are but this would cost more than250-300.
 
also do a google and look up infinite audio I just bought a couple soundstream amps from them that total 1300 watts for 650 shipped, called a store and they wanted a grand for the same thing.
 
If you want a self enclosed setup, google cause they have a ten in a box already that fits in the "wasted" space on the passenger side.
 
I had the infinity basslink in my car for about a year. The sound was great, I highly recommend it. The unit takes up such a small amount of trunk space as well. The single ten is really enough for anything that you can throw at it, including rap if that's what you're into. Mine worked flawlessly up until it broke lol from condensation in the unit expanding after a -10 degree day. As of right now it's sitting in my garage waiting to be sent in for warrenty. I've upgraded my system for massive amounts of bass (2 JBL 15"s). As far as price, I picked up my infinity basslink for $195 off of discountsjungle.com a madd cheap looking website but i've had good experiance with them in the past, just make sure w/e you're buying is not a refurbished model for obvious reasons.
 
Skip the ten's and 12's. Go with 8's. They will give more then enough bass when powered decently, plus they take up even less room. I have two 8's in truck boxes right behind the rear seats and they are fine. I think I'm running them with 120-150watts from a Kicker amp.
 
Try MTX thunderforms or JL Audio custom enclosures, I believe one or both of them make powered 10" subwoofers that fit in the cutout area of the right rear of there cherokee.

MTX's are cheap but kick hard for a long time, JL audio kicks hard but are more expensive.

Crutchfield.com is good for prices and stock.

As for running any sub without an amp, your not gonna get good bass without one.

I personally run 2 12's in a hatchback box with the amps mounted to the rear of the seat, I prefer big bass and if I need the extra room when wheeling, I just take the box out and the amps are up and out of the way. Personal preference though...

Brian

96 XJ
66 CJ
 
mtxbigtruckin said:
Try MTX thunderforms or JL Audio custom enclosures, I believe one or both of them make powered 10" subwoofers that fit in the cutout area of the right rear of there cherokee.

Tell me if I'm missing something here, but all the ones I ever see are for the Grand Cherokee.
 
no there was one of the speaker boxes in 4wheel and Offroad a few months ago, or maybe Four Wheeler. But I have seen them at the local stero store in one of the catalogs. Juice
 
Atl XJ said:
Tell me if I'm missing something here, but all the ones I ever see are for the Grand Cherokee.

the cherokee version is discontinued, but you still see 'em come up on ebay or the "for sale" forums on the XJ sites...

it looks like a really nice fit from the photos i've seen, but not exactly cheap either. i had the chance to buy one a few months back, but decided the money was better spent elsewhere for now.
 
What kind of a sub are you using in it? I'm really curious about this, I wonder if this is something that could be fabricated. Does anyone have any pics of one? I'm more curious about the back of it and how it seals up.
 
If you look on crutchfields web page they have reviews of both the basslink and the wOOx in a cherokee. Personally, I have a basslink in mine with amplified infinity components up front and 5.25's in the ceiling. The basslink is a perfect companion to this set up. I listen to everything from rap to country and have been pleased with the way it fills the sound in. If you buy a basslink, make sure it comes with the remote so you can control the amount of base from the front seats. Some sites are selling the remote seperate for $40 or more.
 
I used to have an 85 S-10 Blazer in high school. I built a custom box out of MDF and fiberglass for the rear behind the wheel well. I have been wanting to do this in the XJ for some time. I think this summer I will tackle this project.

I basically just built a frame of wood. I plopped that down on top of a bunch of foil, then used fiberglass to fill everything else in. When it dries it comes right out (thanks to the foil) and you have a perfectly fitting box.

I had a 10 mounted in the box that amounted to about 1 cubic foot. It was a pioneer woofer made for a small enclosure and it sounded awesome. I like the clean tight bass that comes out of a quality sealed enclosure.

I spent less than $50 on a sheet of plywood, and everything else I needed to make the box. It only took a few days to make and it sounded great.
 
Even if you change head units, the speaker outputs are not going to be enough to drive a sub. I've never seen an aftermarket head unit that has more than 2 sets of speaker hookups anyway. In theory you could splice some of your speakers, but that will change the impediance the head unit sees and could botch some stuff up.

Even the good aftermarket head units only put out a couple watts nominally. They may say 50w x4, but good luck getting that much power out of it.

A SMALL amp is almost mandatory. It sounds like you don't need anything over 100 to 150 watts. But remember, if the amp is rated for huge power and you only use a little, you get better sound reproduction. Maxing a amp out isn't the best thing; all sorts of distortion.

This means you have to run power to the sub one way or another, as well as either your line level inputs or your RCA outs. So if I were you I wouldn't look at the package deals with sub and amp. The only thing they are going to save you is building the enclosure.

8 inch subs take up remarkably less space than 10's, speaking in reference to how much volume the enclosure needs, and 12's take up huge amouns of volume compared to 10's. It would be easy to only have one 8 with decent power that could fill in the low frequency gap.

www.partsexpress.com is a great reference. Good luck!
 
There are amps out there (usually low powered ones) that will run off speaker level inputs so you would be able to use your factory unit which obviously doesn't have RCA outputs. You get a better signal using RCAs, esp the higher end 4v outs, but the speaker level inputs would probably be okay. I've never heard a system that used them, but I'm guessing the amp would just be less efficient.

And on the note of running a sub off of a headunit, the owners manual on my Pioneer CD/MP3 player says that you can bridge the rear channels and run a sub off of it. It doesn't give you much power to it and it wouldn't drive it very well, but you could do it. There's no way you could even consider it with a factory unit. Also, I agree about 8's using a smaller box and all, but I like 10s better and they don't require nearly as big of a box as 12s--esp in a sealed enclosure. Just my opinion. :spin1:
 
From my site:

I made the subwoofer enclosure out of 20 mm MDF with the back matching the angle of the seat so it took as little space as possible but still had the right volume for that speaker. The angled back is also good for the reflections along with the acoustic filling. Velcro strips are attached to the bottom and back to stop it moving around while still making it easy to remove. The amplifier is mounted under the dash behind the fuse box out of harms way with good cooling. If you build a bigger enclosure for a ported speaker you can place the amplifier inside because it will get air flow from the speakers pulsing. I chose non-ported because it needs less space and is more efficient at the low volumes I mainly listen to.

Cdsub.jpg
 
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