The Simple Subwoofer Solution
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
From: Dallas, TX
The Simple Subwoofer Solution
This forum has been a great tool for me, so I thought I would give back, and contribute to the collective knowledge.
I have a stock 2007 X, begging for customization. After some outward changes I decided to fix up the stereo system with a subwoofer. However, here were my challenges:
I bought a JK for the space, why would I want to take it up with a big box? (although you will see my finished product did end up a bit larger than I wanted). A slim, flat box, and low profile sub is the best option. You still have room for golf clubs, groceries, luggage, etc.
I want to ride around with the top off and having thousands of dollars of stereo equipment in plain site is just asking for trouble. So how can I get the best use of a stock HU? (so would-be thieves don't know I'm packing!)
Mulling these over, I came to the following conclusions.
Keep the stock HU and tap into it with a line level converter. (for you purists, I know, the quality is not as good, but we are talking simple here.)
The rear speakers suck anyway so tap those.
I looked around and Quadratec has a nice low profile box, amp, and sub for $520. Way outside my budget so I decided to build it myself instead.
carpet gets put on next weekend!
Here you can see a 10" 1000 watt slim Pioneer subwoofer hooked up to a 700 watt mono California Profile amp.
I tapped into the rear speakers and ran the wires down the roll bar to the back. Then hooked to a line level converter, then to the amp. A speaker wiring diagram is also helpful. You can find one here: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-electrical-lighting-sound-systems-13/wiring-diagram-speakers-24394/
I punched the fire wall for the remote start wire and battery connection. See the FAQ for firewall punching and here (https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-cb-ham-radios-128/found-another-switchable-source-power-35210/) for info on a switchable power source.
An extra pair of hands (or paws) might be useful too!
Finished product...almost
If I had it to do over again, I would have built the box a little bit shorter, and little bit wider. It's about 8 inches tall right now.
I bought the amp and sub new on Ebay for $178. MDF, carpet, connections were about $50. Amp kit with wires and converter was $60 at Circuit City. So finished cost was about $300 plus a full day of construction and installation. I thought it was fun.
Hope this helps somebody
almost forgot....it bumps oh so nice!
I have a stock 2007 X, begging for customization. After some outward changes I decided to fix up the stereo system with a subwoofer. However, here were my challenges:
I bought a JK for the space, why would I want to take it up with a big box? (although you will see my finished product did end up a bit larger than I wanted). A slim, flat box, and low profile sub is the best option. You still have room for golf clubs, groceries, luggage, etc.
I want to ride around with the top off and having thousands of dollars of stereo equipment in plain site is just asking for trouble. So how can I get the best use of a stock HU? (so would-be thieves don't know I'm packing!)
Mulling these over, I came to the following conclusions.
Keep the stock HU and tap into it with a line level converter. (for you purists, I know, the quality is not as good, but we are talking simple here.)
The rear speakers suck anyway so tap those.
I looked around and Quadratec has a nice low profile box, amp, and sub for $520. Way outside my budget so I decided to build it myself instead.
carpet gets put on next weekend!
Here you can see a 10" 1000 watt slim Pioneer subwoofer hooked up to a 700 watt mono California Profile amp.
I tapped into the rear speakers and ran the wires down the roll bar to the back. Then hooked to a line level converter, then to the amp. A speaker wiring diagram is also helpful. You can find one here: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-electrical-lighting-sound-systems-13/wiring-diagram-speakers-24394/
I punched the fire wall for the remote start wire and battery connection. See the FAQ for firewall punching and here (https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-cb-ham-radios-128/found-another-switchable-source-power-35210/) for info on a switchable power source.
An extra pair of hands (or paws) might be useful too!
Finished product...almost
If I had it to do over again, I would have built the box a little bit shorter, and little bit wider. It's about 8 inches tall right now.
I bought the amp and sub new on Ebay for $178. MDF, carpet, connections were about $50. Amp kit with wires and converter was $60 at Circuit City. So finished cost was about $300 plus a full day of construction and installation. I thought it was fun.
Hope this helps somebody
almost forgot....it bumps oh so nice!
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
From: Dallas, TX
I found some carpet on Ebay, but AutoZone had basic gray for $8. I figure I'll start with that then, if needed, drop $30 on something else.
To answer two questions at once:
The box will hold 2 10's but I'm not sure if there is enough air space. You could put some poly fill in to help, but I don't know. My box has 3 inches of space from the back of the sub to the box wall. The shallow mount sub is designed for tight spaces, so I bet you could trim it down a bit. I think 8 inches is feasible.
It's not my place to tell another man how to outfit his Jeep, but the single 10 hits pretty hard. I wanted something to give a little depth to the music. I've got this thing running at 1/4 power and it's still pretty deep. Anything more and it's to much bass for me.
I would have liked to "fit" the top of the box to the shape of the cargo area better. With a little jigsaw work you could match the interior shape of the cargo area and not have the dead space along the sides. That would also increase the air space a bit. Lessons for next time!
To answer two questions at once:
The box will hold 2 10's but I'm not sure if there is enough air space. You could put some poly fill in to help, but I don't know. My box has 3 inches of space from the back of the sub to the box wall. The shallow mount sub is designed for tight spaces, so I bet you could trim it down a bit. I think 8 inches is feasible.
It's not my place to tell another man how to outfit his Jeep, but the single 10 hits pretty hard. I wanted something to give a little depth to the music. I've got this thing running at 1/4 power and it's still pretty deep. Anything more and it's to much bass for me.
I would have liked to "fit" the top of the box to the shape of the cargo area better. With a little jigsaw work you could match the interior shape of the cargo area and not have the dead space along the sides. That would also increase the air space a bit. Lessons for next time!
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 475
Likes: 0
From: Suffolk,VA
Check with the speaker mfg or do a search on the net for that speaker and they can tell you what the size it needs to be. you'll be suprised how small a box can be. your only limited to the size of the basket. and depending what kind of effect you going for a deep bass your better off will a enclosed/sealed box and for a decent sound you can go with a bypass/ported box. Rockford Fosgate has a box builder program on their web site just input your dimensions and it will tell the rest.