Do I need another amp for a sub-woofer?

[Alien Mantis]

Let us know when you get your new goodies.

( Some pics would be nice, too! )

Don't be shy.

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

Let us know when you get your new goodies.

( Some pics would be nice, too! )

Don't be shy.

Yeah, I'll have to figure out that picture posting thing. You know, this is all your fault!

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

COOL!
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AND YOURS TOO MISTER!!!

[derickveliz2]

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You are going to love it! no doubt !

I'm still at work so officially I've been working for more than 26 hours in a row! I took a power nap around 5am, can't wait to get this over and work on my car and spend time with my family, man I only have 4 weeks to get most of upgrade done, Natalia will join us the first week of July!

Cheers!

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

I'm still at work so officially I've been working for more than 26 hours in a row!

That is just WRONG!!! But you gotta do what you gotta do. I hope you are done on time and can go home and get some much deserved rest.

I'm really looking forward to getting/installing the new stuff, then I can finally relax and enjoy all my cd's, mp3's etc, all over again! It will be like all new music!

[Herbicidal]

All my new stuff arrived on Thursday!

I stayed up until 1:30am Fri night/Sat morning to install it all! Man, I was wiped out on Saturday. There was no way the 2nd amp was going to fit under the passenger seat too, so I had to mount it under the driver seat. To do that, I had to cut out the bracket for the jack. I'll put the jack in the rear next to the spare tire. Once the bracket was out, the rest was fairly easy if not time consuming. I still need to solidly mount the subwoofer in the box, so I can lay it down without it falling out. I was able to use 4 gauge wire for power and for ground so that is good. I drilled a new hole in the firewall next to the AC drain and ran the power wire through a gromet, then zipped tied it to various out of the way things in the engine compartment then up to a fuse block, then over to the positive terminal on the battery.

All the connections appear to be 'solid' and now I need to 'tune it'. I'm re-reading Alien Mantis's recommendations and comparing against what the instruction manuals say. Their settings are more conservative, if I'm undestanding them correctly. I am just about done! All the 'heavy lifting' is complete, now it's down to a screwdriver to make the adjustments.

[derickveliz2]

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Awesome! keep us post it!



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[Herbicidal]

I haven't made the time to post up the other pics yet, but here's one of the speaker grill I just ordered to protect the 10" sub from when I put stuff in the trunk. Just a little bling in an otherwise black compartment. Hey, it makes me smile!

[Alien Mantis]

Fun looking "tarantula" grill you got there.

( Now get busy and post some pics of your new gear in the ride! )

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

Fun looking "tarantula" grill you got there.

( Now get busy and post some pics of your new gear in the ride! )

Looks like the Tarantula grill arrives today (just ordered yesterday)! Oh yeah!!! My stuff from Sonic is literally overnighted! I love it!

Here you go Alien Mantis:

Finally I have some more pictures! As I mentioned before, the install went pretty smooth, just time consuming to do a ‘clean’ install. I used an air powered cut off wheel to remove the jack bracket under the driver’s seat and the jack does fit snugly in the spare tire compartment. I had to place a piece of 2x4 under each amp to get a level mounting spot because of a funky space between some horizontal body supports. This made it easier to connect up the wiring. I figure this allows the air to flow partially underneath and will help with the overall cooling of the amp. I’m still experimenting with placement of the subwoofer box in the trunk. Laying it flat with the sub pointing to the rear of the car takes up the most room, but standing it up and rotating it 90 degrees gives me the most space in the trunk and puts the weight closer to being over the rear axle. Anyway, I’m still playing with the positioning for sound and space maximization of the sub.

Without further ado:

Eclipse XA1200 mono channel amp.


Alpine Type R 10" sub.


Alpine Type R 10" sub, top view.


Alpine Type R 10" sub, connectors. I used the jumpers to set it up for 2 ohms.


10" vented sub enclosure from Sonic Electronix.


Alpine Type R 10" sub-in-the-box.


Preparing for surgery. That car jack mounting bracket has to go!


Where the bracket for mounting the car jack was, under the drivers seat. Needed to make room for the other amp.


The blue wire is 4 gauge for power to the subwoofer amp. The black tube is the A/C breather that vents to the outside of the firewall.


4 gauge power wires through the firewall passenger foot well red for the speaker amp, blue for the subwoofer amp.


Eclipse mono channel subwoofer amp on the left, Eclipse 4 channel amp for the speakers on the right.


Alpine Type R 10" sub in a box. I'm still trying different locations and positions so the wiring isn't finalized yet.

[derickveliz2]

Looks nice!

I took out the tubes that vents the rear seats, did you take them out too?

Did you put some Poly Fill inside the sub box?

(o:

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

Looks nice!

I took out the tubes that vents the rear seats, did you take them out too?

Did you put some Poly Fill inside the sub box?

(o:

Thanks!
Not sure what you mean about the "tubes"?
No, what would that do?

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

Thanks!
Not sure what you mean about the "tubes"?
No, what would that do?

My car came with some ducts that take hot/cold air under the seats towards the rear seats. Maybe yours came without that feature, I took them off.

Every sub-woofer box requires some kind of buffing material, most common used is Polly Fill, it's all about acoustics (in some cases a MUST) check with your woofers specs/instructions.


D.

[Alien Mantis]

Nice photos!

Good job. I mounted my sub amp exactly like you mounted yours.
I used a small piece of 2x2 to level my amp. The floor under the seat is uneven.
Looks like we ran our wires the same way.
I have had no problems with my setup. The amp has plenty of space around it to breath.

You don't need any polyfil in that subwoofer box. The box is already at the max size for that subwoofer. Those boxes are nice. No need to do anything to them. They are ready to go. You typically use polyfil in a sealed enclosure that is smaller, to trick the woofer into thinking it is in a larger box.
Correct size ported boxes, and larger sealed boxes do not need polyfil.

I'm sure you already know this, but if you fold down one side of your 60/40 rear seat, your bass will sound much better.
I have a hatchback Yaris, so this is not an issue for me.

Here is a couple of pics of my setup:

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

You don't need any polyfil in that subwoofer box. The box is already at the max size for that subwoofer. Those boxes are nice. No need to do anything to them. They are ready to go. You typically use polyfil in a sealed enclosure that is smaller, to trick the woofer into thinking it is in a larger box.
Correct size ported boxes, and larger sealed boxes do not need polyfil.
:

It's a learning process, thanks Alien, for sharing the proper information, I learn some thing new every day!

I see you have a Pioneer amp. which one is it?

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[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

My car came with some ducts that take hot/cold air under the seats towards the rear seats. Maybe yours came without that feature, I took them off.

Every sub-woofer box requires some kind of buffing material, most common used is Polly Fill, it's all about acoustics (in some cases a MUST) check with your woofers specs/instructions.


D.

Ahhhh! Nope, no ducts for me! Based upon Alien's info, I'll skip the poly fill.

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

Nice photos!

Good job. I mounted my sub amp exactly like you mounted yours.
I used a small piece of 2x2 to level my amp. The floor under the seat is uneven.
Looks like we ran our wires the same way.
I have had no problems with my setup. The amp has plenty of space around it to breath.

You don't need any polyfil in that subwoofer box. The box is already at the max size for that subwoofer. Those boxes are nice. No need to do anything to them. They are ready to go. You typically use polyfil in a sealed enclosure that is smaller, to trick the woofer into thinking it is in a larger box.
Correct size ported boxes, and larger sealed boxes do not need polyfil.

I'm sure you already know this, but if you fold down one side of your 60/40 rear seat, your bass will sound much better.
I have a hatchback Yaris, so this is not an issue for me.

Here is a couple of pics of my setup:

Thanks!
Yup, that floor is something else.
Nice pics! Very clean install!
Great minds think alike! Haha! I haven't tried folding the seat down. I usually pick up my kids after school, so they are in the rear seats.

[Alien Mantis]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

I see you have a Pioneer amp. which one is it?

Basically, this one. ( I have the older model )

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...GM-D7500M.html

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

IF you follow these instructions, you will be close, and have a good baseline.
You might be totally happy with it using these settings.

Let me know how it turns out. Good luck.

I finally was able to spend about 2 hours yesterday to tune my amps. Crawling around in the back seat with Alien Mantis's instructions in one hand and a small screwdriver in the other, moving the front seats all the way forward so I could get to the adjustment screws, making adjustments, moving the seats back to the regular positions so I could sit in the drivers seat and listen, then repeat the process all over again about six more times. When I first took a look at the adjustment screws, everything on both amps was basically turned "off". While installing them, I didn't even look at the adjustment screws because I really didn't understand them. Since last Saturday, essentially I have not been using the subwoofer amp, and for another two weeks at least, the speaker amp! I was so focused on the install and keeping it all neat and tidy I just didn't even pay any attention to what position those adjustment screws where in! What a dumba$$!

HOLY FREAK'IN MOTHER OF BASS BATMAN!!!

I can't believe the difference! I still have a HUGE $hit eating grin plastered on my face this morning! AND I'm using the stock head unit! I can't imagine the sound getting better than this, let alone what a decent quality HU would do for me! WOW!!! Obviously I am very happy with the amps, speakers and subwoofer! Once I was done, I even vacuumed and washed my car. Ahhhhhhhh! My 13 year old daughter was in the house and came out to the garage to find out what the heck was going on!

LESSON: Make sure to TUNE YOUR AMP(s)!!! If you haven't done it yet, get out there and do it!!! Othewise you are just wasting your hard earned $$$'s!!!

[derickveliz2]

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CONGRATULATIONS, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!!