subwoofer advice needed

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hebdenwill

hebdenwill

Active Member
Posts
116
Location
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
hi all,

I'm looking to mount a subwoofer in my defender swb van. i already have a stereo and speakers but the sound isn't great and there's no bass.

basically, i need to find out

-do they need to be independently powered? the radio (powered from ciggy lighter feed) already cuts out for a few seconds if i flash my lights and spots :s

-where's a good place to mount it where its cable can just be run from the radio to it?

-can anyone recommend a half-decent one that's not too dear?

thanks if you can help :)
 
hebdenwill said:
hi all,

I'm looking to mount a subwoofer in my defender swb van. i already have a stereo and speakers but the sound isn't great and there's no bass.

basically, i need to find out

-do they need to be independently powered? the radio (powered from ciggy lighter feed) already cuts out for a few seconds if i flash my lights and spots :s

-where's a good place to mount it where its cable can just be run from the radio to it?

-can anyone recommend a half-decent one that's not too dear?

thanks if you can help :)
Click to expand...

Yes they need to be independently powered by a heavy cable from the battery, I put mine in the back against the tub bulkhead and ran all the wires behind the fusebox, under the soundproofing and I removed one of the panels from the tub bulkhead. As for a cheap one, I think fli are probably the cheapest. If you go to halfrauds they'll sort out a complete kit for installation. Also you need a stereo which has fittings for the cable shown below. Don't know what it's called so here's a photo:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375550123.727419.jpg

Hope this helps
 
hebdenwill said:
hi all,

I'm looking to mount a subwoofer in my defender swb van. i already have a stereo and speakers but the sound isn't great and there's no bass.

basically, i need to find out

-do they need to be independently powered? the radio (powered from ciggy lighter feed) already cuts out for a few seconds if i flash my lights and spots :s

-where's a good place to mount it where its cable can just be run from the radio to it?

-can anyone recommend a half-decent one that's not too dear?

thanks if you can help :)
Click to expand...

Look at fli audio for subs.

You need a 12v from battery and then a 12v feed from the remote on the radio. Plus a good earth connection which is usually good on a door hinge or depending on wiring back to the battery.
 
AlbertDefender90 said:
Yes they need to be independently powered by a heavy cable from the battery, I put mine in the back against the tub bulkhead and ran all the wires behind the fusebox, under the soundproofing and I removed one of the panels from the tub bulkhead. As for a cheap one, I think fli are probably the cheapest. If you go to halfrauds they'll sort out a complete kit for installation. Also you need a stereo which has fittings for the cable shown below. Don't know what it's called so here's a photo:
View attachment 48712

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

Also if going for Halfrauds ask if they have any ex demo stuff they're selling off, my cousin got an ex demo vibe 12" sub for £10!
 
Try caraudiosecurity.co.uk

Theres a few sites online that are substantially cheaper than halfrauds. Try eBay and gumtree for pre owned ones too.

The red and white cables are RCA connectors.
 
Oo nice, might have to ditch mine and get one like that when I've finished my rebuild. Wt make is it?
Click to expand...

I believe its one of these :

Liteair Optisound | VIBE Audio

Very pleased with it. Was a little weak when I first got it but that was soon sorted with a little fiddle with the stereo settings/menu, its very customisable to your preference (at least depending on what head unit you've got). I listen to all sorts of music from rock to electro, so I certainly put it to the test. I would advise upgrading your battery if you do get one, I did (eventually :eek:). As with most you have to run them quietish until you 'break em in'. Powerful or subtle, it does it :D
 
D90mitch said:
I believe its one of these :

Liteair Optisound | VIBE Audio

Very pleased with it. Was a little weak when I first got it but that was soon sorted with a little fiddle with the stereo settings/menu, its very customisable to your preference (at least depending on what head unit you've got). I listen to all sorts of music from rock to electro, so I certainly put it to the test. I would advise upgrading your battery if you do get one, I did (eventually :eek:). As with most you have to run them quietish until you 'break em in'. Powerful or subtle, it does it :D
Click to expand...

Ok cheers, battery won't be an issue as the one I've got is for a tractor really and barely fits in the battery box :)
 
You need to be carefull how you wire it up.

First thing is I would not wire the stereo direct to the battery.
There should be two +12v wires on the stereo. One is a permanat one direct from battery. This one is purely for memory of time and station presets and draws next to no power. The second will be wired to a +12v from the ignition which is what the main stereo power comes from. This should be a wire that has 12v when ignition is turned on and dead when turned off.
Try to pick from back of fuse box.

There should also be a +12v wire on the stereo marked REM or Pwr Att ro power anttena. make a note of this one.

You will need an amp that is adequte for the sub(LFE(low frequency Emiter))
Will you have a ported sub or a sealed air suspension sub. I prefer the latter - less chance of blowing the speaker and gives a more punchy sound. Ported can rumble and resonate more(Better for drum and bass)
Now remember that shops never give the true watts of a speaker. you get music power - total music power and pmpo but the true measurement is RMS. a 60 watt rms system will be more than loud enough.
Best to pick an amp with a low pass crossover built in. maybe 60hz or 120hz. The amp +12v needs to be direct to a good battery source. If not the lights could dim every time the bass drum sounds. An alternater upgrade is a consideration too. Now the amp should have a terminal marked REM. This needs to be connected to the Rem or power att on the radio. This means when you turn the radio on or off it will turn the amp on or off. All you need is some good quality rca cables from the head unit to amp and some oxygen free speaker cable to you speaker.
Try to keep wire runs as short as poss and get sheilded rca cables

Job done.
 
I had mine installed professionally as leccy isn't my thing (though Its improving :D ). What I can tell you though is that the Amp/sub (all in one unit) is directly hooked up to the battery. When doing mine I did replace the front two speakers with some high quality alpine ones. Although not very 'bassy' (hence the sub) the sound quality is fantastic.
 
Ah - an active sub is different. Means the amp is included in the enclosure so you do not need to purchase one.
If you make your own enclosure it needs to be out of ply reall not mdf.
Also a cube or square causes probs. You really need one side to be sloped to help the acustics.
Good book to to buy is the loud speaker design cook book by vance dickinson.
 
currymunster said:
You need to be carefull how you wire it up.

First thing is I would not wire the stereo direct to the battery.
There should be two +12v wires on the stereo. One is a permanat one direct from battery. This one is purely for memory of time and station presets and draws next to no power. The second will be wired to a +12v from the ignition which is what the main stereo power comes from. This should be a wire that has 12v when ignition is turned on and dead when turned off.
Try to pick from back of fuse box.

There should also be a +12v wire on the stereo marked REM or Pwr Att ro power anttena. make a note of this one.

You will need an amp that is adequte for the sub(LFE(low frequency Emiter))
Will you have a ported sub or a sealed air suspension sub. I prefer the latter - less chance of blowing the speaker and gives a more punchy sound. Ported can rumble and resonate more(Better for drum and bass)
Now remember that shops never give the true watts of a speaker. you get music power - total music power and pmpo but the true measurement is RMS. a 60 watt rms system will be more than loud enough.
Best to pick an amp with a low pass crossover built in. maybe 60hz or 120hz. The amp +12v needs to be direct to a good battery source. If not the lights could dim every time the bass drum sounds. An alternater upgrade is a consideration too. Now the amp should have a terminal marked REM. This needs to be connected to the Rem or power att on the radio. This means when you turn the radio on or off it will turn the amp on or off. All you need is some good quality rca cables from the head unit to amp and some oxygen free speaker cable to you speaker.
Try to keep wire runs as short as poss and get sheilded rca cables

Job done.
Click to expand...

Aren't these jobbies meant to stop the flashing light issue? FLI 1F 1 FARAD DIGITAL CAR SUB AMP POWER CAPACITOR CAP (BNIB) | eBay
 
thanks for all your replies, i'm not sure if i knew what a sub was. i assumed that an amp was part of a sub, not something separate.

what i'm looking for is something to up the bass a bit, i don't wanna **** around with a DJ Dickhead corsa soundsystem which will require me to use 2 truck batteries and a massive alternator. is there not a slightly easier way of doing this?

i have two of my speakers mounted to the dog guard, would getting a box made to put round the back of them help a bit? i've thought of that i just dunno how to go about it
 

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