Hey all,

I'm an old Skool Gen 1 xB owner that's been out of the loop for a while, and my fiance just picked up a 2010 xB with the upgraded Alpine head unit.

I'm looking to get her a sub box that will fit under the passenger seat for X-mas. She wants good even bass, but doesn't want to take up any hatch space since we have a HUGE dog.

She's got some bogus fleamarket amp that will have to do unless I stumble into something better for cheap, but my current focus is either to build a box (which I can do in my sleep), or buy a box that will fit under the passenger seat and still give decent output. Sub driver alone, or pre-built box, I can work with either one.

So what's out there that comes highly recommended?

 

I'm not sure of your price range but there are a few choices of subwoofers built to go under the seat w/ an amp already in the box. I personally used 2 of the BOSS Bass600 in my Solara and will soon be putting them into my tC. They hit fairly well but didn't overpower the mids and highs. Blaupunkt makes a thin one and a bulkier one and Kenwood make one as well. I've read reviews that say Kenwood is the cheapest/worse quality and Blaupunkt is the more expensive/highest quality, but BOSS is the best bang for the buck.

 

I saw the Boss stuff, and I couldn't believe it would give any sort of real bass. Have you taken any sort of measurements to show what it's doing in your car? They sure look neat!

I'm open to driver and DIY box suggestions as well. I'm looking at Elemental Designs stuff right now, but always open to ideas!

 

I didn't take any measurements, no. You've probably got more options seeing as you have a bit more room under your seats. But a nice 8-10" sub would do well under each of the front seats.

 

Building a sealed box to fit under there should be a snap if you get some measurements. Measure twice, cut once.

As far as subs go, Rockford Fosgate makes somes great shallow 8"s or 10"s, as does RE Audio. How many watts RMS does the amplifier do?

 

Kenwood also has a few shallow subs you could try. For something really DIY, peruse through partsexpress.com and look at a few of the Tang Band offerings. Decent sounding stuff.

 

I don't know about the amp...it's some crap fleamarket amp. Whatever it says, I'd divide by 10 and consider that the real output. That said, I'm not worried about the amp now, I could either pull my old 80's vintage Fosgate amp out of storage, or just buy her something new when I can swing it. I'm only really concerned with getting a good sub that will perform under the seat.

I'd figured someone would have done it a few times over by now.

 

Pioneer also has some good shallow subs. They mounted a bit too thick for under the seat of the car. But should do fine with your usage.

 

Anybody ever thought removing the plastice bins underneath the back row and putting a sub there? There are a few 6x9 subs out there like this one: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=264-864

 

^ The other TB 6x9 should make a better sub;
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=264-837
Lower Fs and better Xmax for a couple bucks less.

 

I mentioned the other one because of depth. The neodymium magnet is only 2 1/4" deep, with the other is 4 1/2". The Xmax measurement is the total allowable travel of the cone by the suspension even after the voice coil is out of the magnetic field, and no longer linear. If you run a speaker to it's Xmax, it will sound like garbage, and the 1.5 mm difference is no big deal. The slightly higher sensitivity of the neo one, and the ability to fit a few of them should make for an interesting project.

 

^ That depends on what the Xmax spec is based on, Xmag or Xsus, but I guess you have personal experience with those specific drivers, as your statement implies the latter.

 

I have a first gen, but the Infinity Basslink fits perfectly under my passenger seat... I believe there's even more clearance in the 2nd gen.

 

That is a pretty good option. I've heard them and they are fairly musical. To the non-car audio addicted, it is a great all in one solution. You can even pick them up fairly cheap on ebay.

I took a look at the white papers of those TB drivers, and the efficiencies are wildly different than what PE put. There is 3dB difference on the actual papers, measured at 1w/m, but there is only 1 dB difference with PE measured at 2.83V/m. On paper, the regular cone looks like the better performer, but you have to agree that the flat piston of the neo one is sharp.

 

I know you're asking about an underseat sub, but the JL Audio Stealth Box might be an option for you. It's a 12-inch sub that fits right up on the right wall of the trunk. You don't lose much trunk space at all. I think you lose about 3 inches as the sub is as deep as the little storage divot.

There are two negatives with the Stealth Box, though. 1 - It's expensive (runs about $650). 2 - There's no built-in amp, so you'll need to spend more money to drive the thing.

On the plus side, it's absolutely gorgeous (strange way to describe something that's supposed to be stealthy) and sounds amazing.

Check it out: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s...hp?fit_id=1611

 

No doubt the JL Stealthbox is choice. As a cheaper alternative, there is a guy on eBay that sells a: "SCION xB Gen2 Subwoofer Enclosure" for $289.99 + $39.99 shipping. It is very similar in concept to the Stealthbox, but comes without the subwoofer. You pick your own. It has a volume of 0.6 - 0.65 cu. ft, and can take a subwoofer up to 7" deep with a 7" diameter magnet. There are a lot of subwoofers ot there that meet the depth requirement. The trick is finding one that's happy in such a small sealed enclosure.

None of these side mount sub enclosures (JL, Bazooka or Bay) are compatible with the cargo cover. For this reason, I decided to build my own enclosure in the spare tire area similar to the Elemental Design enclosures, but using a JL Audio 12W3v3-2 subwoofer. The subwoofer arrived yesterday. Hopefully, I can find some time to work on the enclosure this month.

PDX_xB

 

Raven, I just finished putting two subs under my front seats of my xB2. I'm using Fosgate P1S48 8" subs I got from Crutchfield (two for $90, such a deal I couldn't pass up). In order not to move anything around under the seat, the left and right boxes are different, but with the same internal volume (.254 cu ft.). I used 1/2" Baltic birch and dado/rabbet box construction. The amp is currently a small Kenwood mono sub amp (normally I use Fosgate amps, but my Best Buy gift card from the Scion dealer was only $300 and I had to get other stuff).

Keep in mind, I haven't even played them in the car yet, as I'm still waiting for cables to come in from Amazon (three weeks now!!!!). Amps are going in the back, over the spare in a simple wood rack panel. Oh, the cargo panel is being replaced by a wood one next week weather permitting. Pictures when if Finally Gets Done.

 

Don't know if this applies to the OP, but I ruled out under the seat subs for one simple reason. My 14-year old son, who often rides in the back seat of my xB, wears size 15 shoes (and still growing). He needs all the room he can get under the seats for his big honkin' feet.

Just something else to think about when considering your subwoofer placement options.

PDX_xB

 

1/4 cubic foot is pretty small - not even the 7" midbasses that I've fooled around with were happy in a box that size. You used the right material and construction methods though. Woodworking has always been my weak point. I really want to see pictures of these boxes.

Under the front seats is out for me becasue I have the factory Sirius satellite radio add on, and it's this huge box under the passenger seat. I guess it could be moved, but not worth the effort to me.