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Subwoofer advice


TCdave

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Hey Crew,

I recently purchased and installed a new head unit and 4 speakers. I am now trying to decide on a sub. Since I have a little sportster my subwoofer placement options are limited. I would like to put something under the driver's side of the dash on the raised portion as shown in the second picture. I'm thinking of either an 8 or 10" powered bazooka tube or building a custom sealed box with a 10" polk and adding a mono amp. There doesn't seem to be much of a price difference between the two.

Powered Bazooka:

  1. easy to install
  2. lightweight
  3. somewhat water resistant
  4. punchy but not deep bass, the 8" has a 39Hz lower limit

Custom box:

  1. tighter bass from sealed box
  2. can cover with carpet to match boat, cleaner look
  3. not water resistant at all (unless someone has advice on waterproofing MDF)
  4. more complicated build / install
  5. May just use a 5 channel amp instead of mono to drive the other speakers instead of HU

It doesn't get all that wet under there but it does get damp from life jackets and towels that are tossed behind the spotter's seat. It did get soaked once when I got the bow a little to close to a Wakesetter plowing by :blush: .

Any other ideas are welcome.

post-26746-0-12116200-1452714095_thumb.jpost-26746-0-50461100-1452714118_thumb.j

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Can't you Line-X the sub box which would make it waterproof/ sound better?(completely sealed) Also I have found that for example the Solo Baric Kicker subs L7 ( 10" or 12") are square in shape and have always sounded phenomenal. You could probably fit two 10" solo baric kickers in there and it would sound really nice.

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I just rebuilt the sub box under the driver's dash of my V-ride. I built it out of marine grade plywood & brushed on resin to waterproof it (which was the reason the old one failed). I have been kicking around if I'll carpet it or what. But I think I'm going to have it Linexed with no grit now. Cost is $35.

BTW, I have a Kicker Hideaway 8" sub in my Chevy Avalanche. It sounds great, but that's in an enclosed cab. And it's nothing compared to the Kicker 10" sub in the boat.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
  • Like 1
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I know your space limits are different than mine. I shoved a 12" bazooka tube (passive using a Rockford amp) in the spotters compartment. It would do much better in a more open air spot but it works for what I need.

I went with the non marine version for a couple reasons:

1) we don't listen to the stereo much so I didn't want anything too expensive

2) the enclosure is plastic and won't die from water exposure.

I figure I could always reuse the enclosure with a better speaker that matched the enclosures dimensions if the speaker dies. I've had it for 4 years and moisture hasn't done anything to it yet (I've disassembled it a couple times just to check as I really wanted to do something different with a smaller speaker and enclosure to gain some storage back, so I'm hoping it dies).

I think others have made the following statement about bazooka tubes in other threads. They do the job on a budget and you get an enclosure that needs no work to live in a marine environment.

Edited by Wayne
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I have a similar set up:

Alpine 9856 head unit

Boston Acoustics GT40 amp

4 Polk DB651's

Infinity Basslink Sub

The self contained, powered sub I have under the helm. It all sounds great, clear while at speed, loud enough to rock out a bit when hanging out. So my recommendation is the powered sub, and you should definitely add an amp for the head unit.

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Infinity Basslink Sub

The self contained, powered sub I have under the helm. It all sounds great, clear while at speed, loud enough to rock out a bit when hanging out. So my recommendation is the powered sub, and you should definitely add an amp for the head unit.

This sounds like a good plan. I like the size and shape of the basslink over the bazooka but according to reviewers on Amazon, it seems to have reliability issues. It sounds like you have had good luck with it. I wonder if the poor reviews are from folks pushing beyond its limits.

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I've only seen/heard 2 of those Infinity Basslinks. One was in a Malibu Vride a buddy bought.... Sounded like crap & was replaced. The other was in a Toyota 4Runner that came out wheelin with us one time.....also sounded like crap. Not sure on the history of either but being a self contained sub & amp I thought it would be a little harder to drive it too hard.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I've only seen/heard 2 of those Infinity Basslinks. One was in a Malibu Vride a buddy bought.... Sounded like crap & was replaced. The other was in a Toyota 4Runner that came out wheelin with us one time.....also sounded like crap. Not sure on the history of either but being a self contained sub & amp I thought it would be a little harder to drive it too hard.

It's definitely nothing great, but it does add the lower end to my music, enough to "finish" the sound. Remember, it's a 4 speaker, small cabin set up that I and the OP have, nowhere near the space and size of a VRide.

Mine has been reliable, driven hard occasionally, gotten splashed a little, etc.

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Infinity Basslink Sub

The self contained, powered sub I have under the helm. It all sounds great, clear while at speed, loud enough to rock out a bit when hanging out. So my recommendation is the powered sub, and you should definitely add an amp for the head unit.

This sounds like a good plan. I like the size and shape of the basslink over the bazooka but according to reviewers on Amazon, it seems to have reliability issues. It sounds like you have had good luck with it. I wonder if the poor reviews are from folks pushing beyond its limits.

I too have the infinity basslink in my Echelon and have been really happy with the results. The sub is paired with 4 Kicker KM60 speakers and the combo does a good job of filling my small boat with tunes. I have had the Basslink for probably 7 or 8 year with no problems.

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Powered Bazooka:

  1. easy to install
  2. lightweight
  3. somewhat water resistant
  4. punchy but not deep bass, the 8" has a 39Hz lower limit

1) from some perspective, but keep in mind that a self powered unit requires a POS and NEG cable from the battery source, a turn-on lead and RCA from the head-unit that all have to be fished and routed. Unit needs to be mounted and secured.

2) I wouldnt worry about the weight of a custom enclosure with woofer

An active marine bass tube can be a viable solution for the right application. Looking at your pics, I think a mild 10" or 12" in a custom enclosure is a better solution and one I would explore first and put the bass tube further down the list. One reason being is I would suggest amplifying the in-boats. At this point, you are installing an amp for them, one that could certainly drive a passive woofer in a custom enclosure.

Custom box:

  1. tighter bass from sealed box
  2. can cover with carpet to match boat, cleaner look
  3. not water resistant at all (unless someone has advice on waterproofing MDF)
  4. more complicated build / install
  5. May just use a 5 channel amp instead of mono to drive the other speakers instead of HU

1) a custom enclosure and raw driver combo would certainly allow for some tuning flexibility.

2) or a custom faced covered in carpet to hide the enclosure

3) A custom enclosure can and should be waterproofed.

4) for sure it take time and materials to custom build an enclosure for a boat and woofer, but the payoff is worth it over a bass tube. Both the custom enclosure and tube need to be secured, but the custom enclosure only needs a speaker lead routed to it from the amp thats already getting installed for the in-boats.

5) Absolutely the most ideal scenario. Even a little power, like 50W rms from an external amp, will improve the sound quality and performance of most any in-boat.

  • Like 2
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  • 4 weeks later...

I have not installed it yet so I cannot tell you how good it will be once I finish the install, but I bought the Rockford Fosgate P300-10:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P30010/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-P300-10.html?search=P300-10&skipvs=T

You can find it cheaper on eBay, etc. but this is the model I bought. The enclosure is vinyl wrapped MDF, sealed enclosure, 300W Class D amp. The reviews were very good so I decided to give it a try. I had similar requirements to yours, and this will mount under the helm area with room to spare. Good luck!

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^^^ Aperiodic membranes. Very effective.

Yea, for a while..... courtesy of Stereo King in Portland.

BTW, there is some resin on there. Obviously not nearly enough. A lot of peeled off with the carpet.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I had the Infiniti Basslink (1st gen, 2nd gen sucks) that came with our boat originally. For an all-in-one setup, it is easily the best bang for the buck unit out there. That said, it doesn't replace a real sub/box/amp.

Why a 10" sub? 12" is more common under there and the cost is basically the same.

When I did my system, I bought a pre-made box to hold me off until I built my own. The pre-made worked so freaking well I ended up just keeping it. Came Rhino-lined; I coated the interior with some sort of cheap resin. I installed stand-off's to keep the box off the floor (just cut squared of HDPE and screwed them into the bottom of the box). 3 seasons and the box is still like new, even taken a few rollers over the bow.

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Resin coated MDF can hold up for the long term....IF the resin application is done correctly, IF the enclosure is built to near perfection, and IF the installation is done properly.

But if the technician is in a hurry, the box has flaws, and the box is mounted without being elevated, then the resin-coated enclosure stands no chance. Materials definitely matter but I would say it's more about the execution.

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