^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There is no stock subwoofer. I would assume he was referring to the optional Bazooka tube sub. Which IS quite weak even for non-bass heads.

 

tcperconti, the xB doesn't come with a subwoofer, so I would expect the "stock sub" kacosta was referring to is the Bazooka offered by Scion as an option.

While it *is* a subwoofer, it can't really be heard/felt from three blocks away - which appears to be the primary objective of many of the more 'serious' aftermarket units.

Personally I don't even care for that Bazooka unit since it is wildly unbalanced with the rest of the system. I prefer something that accurately reproduces the original sound, not something that modifies it.

Have you listened to a normal male speaking voice on a system with one of those subs-on-steroids? A bit boomy, unnatural, eh? A good sound system will accurately reproduce the signal fed to it...

(And yes, I do have a legit subwoofer on my home system since that is one of the few ways to accurately reproduce a pipe organ - I need accurate response down to about 16 Hz - but I DON'T need something that's exaggerated.)

BTW, I'm not an illiterate teen - I'm closer to 60 than 20, and have been a serious audiophile for over 40 years...

Again, I feel that the original reviewer and kacosta were both referring to the Scion/Bazooka subwoofer, since that's the only one available from Toyota, but I could be wrong...

 

If a male speaking voice seems too boomy then that stereo system is mal-adjusted. That or some crossovers/ high/low pass filters are incorrectly setup. ALOT of guys just turn the bass way up and set it to full range.

 

Yup! You're absolutely right, hotbox.

Thing is, most guys that have massive subs installed seem to want to prove it, and have them purposely mal-adjusted...

 

Yeah sometimes I like to showcase my (weak) system , so... I have different settings for different sounds. I guess they just don't seem to care about sound quality much.

 

I think the average is even lower, but you are right with your point, they are reaching a younger demographic (on average) than their main Toyota brand is.

 

Well, then there ya go. I've never heard of an optional accessory referred to as "stock" anything.

If the tube sub provides stronger bass than the Pioneer HU w/ stock speakers, then I'd say it IS strong by car stereo standards. (maybe NOT by bassheads' standards)

I understand that the xB attracts a large percentage of the "Fast n Furious" streetracer-types but they have a skewed perspective...they're NOT the mainstream. Just as HP gearheads do when they're focused on raw HP. Or us gadget-freaks when we see a mainstream mag talk about how "powerful" a low-end Dell system is.

Money magazine is a mainstream mag. The write-up on the xB is very accurate from the perspective of the mainstream car buyer. The fact that Money "gets it" with regard to the xB, is pretty amazing. So focusing on the fact that the guy says the sub option is "bass thumping" (when on a scale of 1 to 10 it is a 1 by the clique) ignores the fact that it is far more thumping than the mainstream car stereo systems....

 

yeah the stero part isnt a major part of the review but , have you even been in a car with a monsoon system? or even a ford mach system? i'd say more bass are in those. not very good decks but more bass.