Shallow Subwoofers

[Pokaroo Kris]

Hey all,

So I've been racking my brain about a sub set. Whether to go regular huge subs, a shallow sub set, or one of those stealth subs dealies that fit under your spare tire. So far I've only heard one opinion about it from a T.O.P. member who said he personally doesn't recommend them (out of respect I'm not naming names). I've read a few reviews here and there online, but none so far for a first gen M3; particularly hatchback style.

So does anyone here have any experience with these shallow type sub set up? What do you think? How's the sound quality compared to regular size?

Main reason why I'm considering a stealth/shallow set is basically to keep the space, and to not let too many people around the neighbourhood walk up and see a huge box they wanna try and steal (and not naming the area I'm living in either).

Thanks

[Genpu_Mz3]

Hey all,

So I've been racking my brain about a sub set. Whether to go regular huge subs, a shallow sub set, or one of those stealth subs dealies that fit under your spare tire. So far I've only heard one opinion about it from a T.O.P. member who said he personally doesn't recommend them (out of respect I'm not naming names). I've read a few reviews here and there online, but none so far for a first gen M3; particularly hatchback style.

So does anyone here have any experience with these shallow type sub set up? What do you think? How's the sound quality compared to regular size?

Main reason why I'm considering a stealth/shallow set is basically to keep the space, and to not let too many people around the neighbourhood walk up and see a huge box they wanna try and steal (and not naming the area I'm living in either).

Thanks
SO Shallow mounting subwoofers are great for saving space or id you dont have any space, ive delt with kicker compvt, the kenwood shallow woofer, and the jl audio 13tw5 prices ranging from $200 (kenwood)- $800 (jl). the shallow woofer sounds ok, if you just lookin for a little bit a punchy bass the kenwood and kicker are what you want and both faily reasonable in pricing, now the jl 13tw5 is a nice shallow subwoofer, it has great frequency response, hits the lows and highs and is loud! ive installed all of these woofers and the jl 13tw5 is by far the best out of the three. now you can also get some regular sub woofer that are not like 10 inches long, the jl audio W0v3 (very loud for the price and matches up perfectly with the alpine mrp-m500 amp) and W1v2 are both fairly shallow along with the Alpine Type S and Type E subwoofers, and all are around the $100-$150 marker.

[Pokaroo Kris]

Oh yeah, the JL 13TW15 was the very first one I looked at. Saw a couple youtube vids with it and it looks awesome! Where abouts in the GTA can you pruchase one of those bad boys?

[Pokaroo Kris]

There was also the JL Audio Stealthbox SB-MA-3-HTB that I read about as well. Fits into the spare tire compartment. And as far as I've read, it raises your cpver abut an inch or so which is basically nothing. Anyone have any experience with that one?

[gabbygenier]

ive seen the jl in action and i was really suprised but what it could do, never seen any of the other ones though. im a JL fan and love their products and will vouch for them. i have 2 amps and 4 speakers that are JL in my car, LOVE them. Ive also tried a 13w7 in my car (to see if i could blow it) and that thing took a beating.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_15350_JL-Audio-13TW5-3.html

online will probably the cheapest place to get one. a few stores ship to canada, this site will include duties and stuff but there are other sites also. locally these will be expensive compared to online.

[Pokaroo Kris]

Thanks Gabby. Another question for this sub. I was readong on JL's site that they only recommend a sealed enclosure and not a ported one. Has anyone over looked that rocommendation and done a ported one?

Sorry for all the Q's. I'm pretty new to the whole modification thing.


ive seen the jl in action and i was really suprised but what it could do, never seen any of the other ones though. im a JL fan and love their products and will vouch for them. i have 2 amps and 4 speakers that are JL in my car, LOVE them. Ive also tried a 13w7 in my car (to see if i could blow it) and that thing took a beating.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_15350_JL-Audio-13TW5-3.html

online will probably the cheapest place to get one. a few stores ship to canada, this site will include duties and stuff but there are other sites also. locally these will be expensive compared to online.

[Pokaroo Kris]

Thanks Gabby. I also had a qustion about the enclosure. According to the JL site, they don't reccomend a ported box, on;y a sealed one. But has anyone got the ported way?

Sorry for all he questions. I'm new to the modification thing.

[JayJay18]

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_26279_Alpine-PDX-M6.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_27183_Alpine-SWR-T12.html

IMO, JL is overpriced, you can get way better subs for same price, that do just as good or better.
The two links in combination will do a more than satisfactory job and cost 200-300 less.

Ported or vented is completely up to you.
Ported is for tighter quality bass not as boomy.
Vented is for louder bass with the loss of some sound quality.

[gabbygenier]

sealed or ported is up to you like JayJay said. some manufacturers recommend one or the other or both. as long as you follow the specs for the boxes they say. youll be fine.

its all a presonal preference really. in a ported box, the sub will move in and out more so it will have more play, probably y jl suggest sealed only. less play in the sub and youll be able to play it harder without reaching the extents of its performance.

Jl is pricey but the quality is good IMO. again thats preference.

The alpine stuff that JayJay posted would be perfectly fine also. i know a car audio installer that works at BB and the small amps are amazing he says, he swears by them for ppl that want a good system but not a crazy one. if you plan on putting speakers also, i would recommend getting one of the small factor 5 channel ones. tons of options out there but ive heard this one here and it sounded really good and had some good punch to it hooked up to a 10" sub
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43779_Kenwood-KAC-7005PS.html

ive also seen this one and heard good things about it while it was getting installed but the car was gone before i could hear the quality
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_45520_Alpine-MRX-V70.html

[Genpu_Mz3]

Thanks Gabby. Another question for this sub. I was readong on JL's site that they only recommend a sealed enclosure and not a ported one. Has anyone over looked that rocommendation and done a ported one?

Sorry for all the Q's. I'm pretty new to the whole modification thing.

they most likely recommend a seal enclosure because you have more control of the subwoofer, with a ported enclosure you have air moving out which controls your subwoofer. the xmax (maximum excursion) on the tw5 probably isnt alot, and the fact that its sucha flat woofer it doesnt need a big ported box to be loud.

[trulankan]

theres a Pioneer one as well, not sure how it sounds but its worth checking out and the price is good. Lockdown has it:

http://www.lockdownsecuritycanada.ca/product_p/piotsswx251.htm

[Pokaroo Kris]

Thanks for all your input guys. Any more input is greatly appreciated. And if and when i make a move for the system, I'll let you all know :headbang

[Flagrum_3]

Just something to remember; Although you'll get a much better price, if you buy JL equipment 'online' most likely there is no warranty from JL, they are pretty anal about that. But some online stores do come with a warranty. Also I'm pretty sure one of our sponsors recently mentioned they now carry the JL line, just can't remember who.

_3

[trulankan]

Just something to remember; Although you'll get a much better price, if you buy JL equipment 'online' most likely there is no warranty from JL, they are pretty anal about that. But some online stores do come with a warranty. Also I'm pretty sure one of our sponsors recently mentioned they now carry the JL line, just can't remember who.

_3

Audio Heaven is an authroized retailer but i dont think they do online sales

[stevenma188]

Going with a shallow mount, then using a ported enclosure is counter-productive. The point of a shallow mount is to be able to fit it into tight spaces. If you go ported, you will need a significantly larger volume box for the sub to hit properly.

[Flagrum_3]

Audio Heaven is an authroized retailer but i dont think they do online sales

But they would be an authorized dealer, and therefore carry a genuine JL warranty.

_3

[Flagrum_3]

Going with a shallow mount, then using a ported enclosure is counter-productive. The point of a shallow mount is to be able to fit it into tight spaces. If you go ported, you will need a significantly larger volume box for the sub to hit properly.

+1 Also I think they may be designed only for 'sealed' enclosures.


_3

[Pokaroo Kris]

Going with a shallow mount, then using a ported enclosure is counter-productive. The point of a shallow mount is to be able to fit it into tight spaces. If you go ported, you will need a significantly larger volume box for the sub to hit properly.

Oh ok, I didn't know that ported meant it had to go bigger. Thanks bro. I guess an eight inch depth box shouldn't be that bad.

[stevenma188]

Picture of my setup with a 8" sub. Something for you to consider.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/34394_445956537313_2088718_n.jpg

[Pokaroo Kris]

Picture of my setup with a 8" sub. Something for you to consider.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/34394_445956537313_2088718_n.jpg

I've seen a setup like that as well. It looks clever :D

[Impressive]

I've seen a setup like that as well. It looks clever :D

I've seen & heard his setup and I'd say it's probably as good as it gets when it comes to adding a stealth subwoofer to your ride.