MusicarNW Trunk Sub Installed

[Mandi90TT]

Originally Posted by biggripper

Where did you install your remote volume nob? Pics would be great. Not sure that I’d bother to run mine or not but I’m still curious.

I installed it on the outside of the sunglasses case/cubbyhole right by the drivers left knee. There's probably a better place for it, but I wasn't planning on spending too much time on it.

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by biggripper

Thanks for the pics/writeup. I’ll also probably be doing this soon. I’ll probably do the Full Bass Stage II. I like balanced sound but I also really like to feel the bass when I’m in a hip-hop kinda mood.

Where did you install your remote volume nob? Pics would be great. Not sure that I’d bother to run mine or not but I’m still curious.

On my car, the remote bass knob is mounted in the storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel, right above your left knee. It's mounted w/ double stick tape so no drilling required.

IMO, the remote knob is essential as the subwoofer bass level never matches the mids/highs that well at different volume levels and using the bass adjustments alone may increase the bass too much for the small 4" mids.

Also, the JL amps don't come w/ the bass control knob and you have to buy it separately whereas the Arc Audio amps come w/ the bass adjustment knob standard.

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by AlterZgo

On my car, the remote bass knob is mounted in the storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel, right above your left knee. It's mounted w/ double stick tape so no drilling required.

IMO, the remote knob is essential as the subwoofer bass level never matches the mids/highs that well at different volume levels and using the bass adjustments alone may increase the bass too much for the small 4" mids.

Also, the JL amps don't come w/ the bass control knob and you have to buy it separately whereas the Arc Audio amps come w/ the bass adjustment knob standard.

Alright I broke down and got the remote. It’ll be an extra pain to run the line and place the nob but I’m sure it’ll be worth it. At least it’s super inexpensive.

[TMR]

I tested the output of the factory HK woofer system and noticed it has a huge peak in the 50hz range but drops hard in the lower freq.

[TMR]

Another pic. This is running pink noise with mic 6" away from under seat woofer. I did this test because I noticed my 10" sub I installed up front wasn't playing some bass cd low fq

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by TMR

I tested the output of the factory HK woofer system and noticed it has a huge peak in the 50hz range but drops hard in the lower freq.

I always assumed that was the case for any of the 8" underseat woofers. I doubt if they could really generate any decent amt of bass below 50 hz anyways given the super shallow enclosure and weak stock drivers, regardless of what signal was being sent to them. Dial in peak at 50 hz to give a sense of good, decent bass, but capped off sharply at the low end to keep the woofers from crapping out.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by TMR

Another pic. This is running pink noise with mic 6" away from under seat woofer. I did this test because I noticed my 10" sub I installed up front wasn't playing some bass cd low fq

And that explains why people referring to them as woofers. Now that I have my car, the bass is almost lacking in the HK system. Then the only solution is an enclosed trunk based install like in this thread. But I don't like that the access to the battery is more difficult and you loose the toolbox @Dave90 TT did you relocate the toolbox?

My wife's 2015 Golf has a Fender Premium udio upgrade and the bass rocks the car ... The sub is factory installed in the trunk in the wheel well.

[TMR]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

And that explains why people referring to them as woofers. Now that I have my car, the bass is almost lacking in the HK system. Then the only solution is an enclosed trunk based install like in this thread. But I don't like that the access to the battery is more difficult and you loose the toolbox @Dave90 TT did you relocate the toolbox?

My wife's 2015 Golf has a Fender Premium udio upgrade and the bass rocks the car ... The sub is factory installed in the trunk in the wheel well.

Sub doesn't have to be above the battery .

[TMR]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

And that explains why people referring to them as woofers. Now that I have my car, the bass is almost lacking in the HK system. Then the only solution is an enclosed trunk based install like in this thread. But I don't like that the access to the battery is more difficult and you loose the toolbox @Dave90 TT did you relocate the toolbox?

My wife's 2015 Golf has a Fender Premium udio upgrade and the bass rocks the car ... The sub is factory installed in the trunk in the wheel well.

Best bass is up front bass!

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by TMR

Sub doesn't have to be above the battery .

Cool! Is this also a musicar kit? If so, I guess they custom build different enclosures? That would be a bit better option on the left side of the trunk but you'd loose that handy small net storage area and the +12v.

The passenger install is a No No for our climates as we get tons of snow and slush and ... Thanks for the ideas, few options to consider. How are you liking your sub and is it the same as The OP?

[whatheheck]

Very nice setup Dave. Thanks for sharing.

Dan

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by TMR

Best bass is up front bass!

That's awesome! Bass must be really intense. How much leg room do you lose up front?

[Mandi90TT]

Who cares about the passenger

[TMR]

Originally Posted by AlterZgo

That's awesome! Bass must be really intense. How much leg room do you lose up front?

4" of legroom lost. If you are in OC, you should come listen to it. It is on another level.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by Dave 90TT

Who cares about the passenger

My wife didn't like your comment : but seriously any upgrade, trunk or cabin based is a must and must be an exponential improvement compared to the car's stock bass handling capabilities. I am just waiting for a bit more cash flow and doing speakers, amp and subwoofer kit.

I am a bit familiar with subwoofer placement in a home theatre setting, but not sure what differences it makes in either trunk, rear or front setup in a car? Confining the sub in an enclosed space like a trunk would def provide more surfaces for the long waves (low freq) to reflect off but is separated from the listener, obviously those low freq sounds do propagate through objects. So could it be that given those waves have to propagate through obstacles, they may probably attenuate further than a cabin based install? Just thinking out loud here... What's your thoughts on this?

[slavearm]

Originally Posted by TMR

4" of legroom lost. If you are in OC, you should come listen to it. It is on another level.

Wow... who did that setup? I am in OC!

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

My wife didn't like your comment : but seriously any upgrade, trunk or cabin based is a must and must be an exponential improvement compared to the car's stock bass handling capabilities. I am just waiting for a bit more cash flow and doing speakers, amp and subwoofer kit.

I am a bit familiar with subwoofer placement in a home theatre setting, but not sure what differences it makes in either trunk, rear or front setup in a car? Confining the sub in an enclosed space like a trunk would def provide more surfaces for the long waves (low freq) to reflect off but is separated from the listener, obviously those low freq sounds do propagate through objects. So could it be that given those waves have to propagate through obstacles, they may probably attenuate further than a cabin based install? Just thinking out loud here... What's your thoughts on this?

Hell yes it attenuates the bass when trunk mounted. My trunk mounted musicar sub sounds like 2x louder w/ one rear seat open than with both seats up and trunk sealed.

[Mandi90TT]

Yes, but....it's plenty loud even with the trunk sealed.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by Dave 90TT

Yes, but....it's plenty loud even with the trunk sealed.

Ok thanks! I am not looking to shake my quiet neighbourhood but I like to have more bass than w the stock underseat woofers. Loosing the 4" foot space for the passenger is not an option for my passengers, we are all tall

[tom @ eas]

Saw this over the weekend, not a bad unit. Looks OEM when the trunk is popped.

[Mandi90TT]

Thanks, Tom.

[biggripper]

So I just installed mine and the installation went great. However when I plugged everything in my sub was just making a bunch of distorted sounds. I’m not sure what to make of it.

I can tell everything is working fine in terms of the interface with the factor system because everything sounds great if I unplug the sub. I can definitely appreciate the extra juice going to the underseat drivers. That’s gonna be nice!

Also, of interest, I noticed that the horrible rattling distortion seems to resolve somewhat if I really crank the volume up. Perhaps is a signal issue--sub harness is wired wrong either at the amp or at the sub or perhaps the sub channel of the amp is faulty?

Here’s a video I made of the distortion.