Audio/Visual & Electronics - Just one sub?

hey guys, i have my new head unit and front speakers in, my car is a hatch with only front speakers[:@] now i was wondering what my two front speakers with tweeters and 1 sub in the back would sound like? I ask this because it seems im getting all the mids and highs from the front speakers, but they severly are lacking in bass, now im not looking for the sweetest setup or blow your head off bass, but i would like to enjoyy my music with decent bass, and 2 speakers cant deliver it. I am looking at pioneer 12" sub with 800w max, is this a decent brand of sub, or my buddy has a sony xplod sub 12" he offered me. Right now im set up with a sony xplod gt500 hu, and front alpine 6.5 speakers. So what u think, 2 fronts with tweeters and a sub/amp setup, pioneer? or just hack the back of my hatch and install 2 more 6*9 speakers without an amp? and have any of u heard of a brand MTX? how r those subs and amps, and what about window tint, is it wise to install a woofer right now and amp without rear tinting? in a hatch? i dont want people seeing this sh*t and braking into my car, if that seems to be a problem, ill just make the custom mounting box and install the 6*9:( ;)

Well, If i were you I would probably be pondering the work it would take to install some rear's. This question was asked recently by someone else, having the same issue.

You could probably find a spot back there to mount a 6.5, and they make a shallow mount speaker to assist with tight spots, and leave them unamped, to get some mid's and high's out of the back. You would have to run some wiring from your head unit, but it would power them fine, as long as you don't go overboard.

You could just leave it the way you have it, and add a sub, which really would probably sound pretty good in a hatch. Just 1 sub is plenty, and it really doesn't matter what kind of sub your using, as long as it can be wired to an amp within a reasonable amount of resistance, i.e. 2 or 4 ohms.

They also make some hatch boxes that have mid's on them, and tweeters, but usualy they are crappy off brand setups, and you wouldn't want to use a sub amp to power them anyway, or you wouldn't have the low pass filter option, and it would sound like trash.

SO.. If I had to make an easy suggestion, I would say just get you a sub, amp it, and see what it sounds like. If it's not good enough, or sounds funky having all the bass in the back and no mid's, just make a point to slowly add some rear speakers later.

Pioneer and Sony make decent subs, they will do fine, but don't cheap out on the amp. You need to get something thats going to provide the right amount of RMS power, and not cut out at high volumes or overheat just the same. If you can get some specs on the speakers you were questioning about it will help to make an educated decision on the quality. But I will make you a bet, I can probably find a good name brand comp. sub for equal or slightly more then the pioneer or sony, if that interests you.

Let us know all about the options you have and we will make a suggestion or two on amps, etc..

i have 95 hatch with only pioneer 6 1/2" components in front doors, and then 1 orion hcca 10D sub in the back and it sounds awesome

sweet, someone who's heard of Orion, i thought I was the only one anymore.

Their new sub rollout is going to slaughter, I want a set.

ok stumasters, as soon as i can get 2 the audio shop in town, ill let u know brands they carry, if the pioneer sub is ok ill get it, im doing a budget build right now, but im all out for getting a good amp, so let me know, ill pm the brands just in case, btw the pioneer amp is 12" and 800w max, so something 2 handle that, lol i wrote this all on a psp browser, not at home[&:]

if youj are still looking for a setup ill design you something tonight. PM me if your interested and I'll get started on it.


Garrick

hmmm stu i dont know...every sice orion got bought out they are going downhill...if stuff use to be like the old hcca amps and stuff like that then i would be all over them but the last thing that they had that was good was the h2 subs....ummm and as im writing this i went to the orion site and those new hcca subs look like f'n monsters...lol...but i still dont know about the build quality like the old days.

I will agree, their raitings on their amps are quite lower then they used to be, but PPI amps are still picking up some of the slack, they are the same brand really.

I am pretty sure to get the full power of an orion or PPI anymore, you have to be running 1 ohm setups.


Anyway as for the Pioneer yeah its a good deal. If your going to get one sub, I highly suggest you get either a single voice coil 4ohm, or a dual voice coil 4ohm.

Dual voice coil (4ohms) will set you up perfectly for a nice wire up, and it will limit the expense you will have to put into an amp, meaning just about any lower priced amp will provide it with enough power to sound good. If you have to settle with a 4ohm single voice coil sub, you will have to invest alittle more into your amp to get the overall power.

We will fix you up with something, juts let us know!

what happened to your rear 6x9s?

One sub is what i rock and i love it :)one Alpine Type-E 12"

I'd say get one 12" (or 10", which wont hit as low but still sound really good), and replace your lost 6x9"s with an aftermarket set (preferably the same brand as your front speakers/headunit/sub or amp, brands seem to all sound better together). Thatd prolly sound good

hey flip, my civic is a hatch it only has fronts, i have some 6*9 laying around but i dont want to custom fit them right now, im not sure i want to do that, for resale sake and the fact ill probally have to cut stock mouldings, i dont want a hack looking job, i think your suggestion is a good one though, if i can just figure out a better way to install rear speakers, besides cutting. How hard is it to install a sub in the back of a hatch, what skill level do u guys think it takes, because this is my first attempt at installing aftermarket equipment, my hu and wiring went well but im a bit uncomfortable about installing a sub and amp, is this stuff fairly simple with insturctions? is there a website i can look at like that installdoc site? and stu i will check and see if that pioneer sub is a dual voice 4(ohms), it would be nice right now to spend less and still get decent quality sound:eek:

hey, what do u guys think of building myself a custom little box(like a sub box) so i could mount 2 6*9 speakers in the trunk for now, instead of the sub. Would the sound with two high quality 6*9 in the rear be fairly satisfying in a hatch, will it give me a bit more bass depth? and could i still use an amp with just 4 speakers and no sub, or are amps made for subs only? If the 6*9 would be decent, i will consider making a box, my dad has a lot of wood work tools and ive made one before in a course i took, so how would this work/sound?

I have seen it done alot, the box to me gives the sound a deeper more crisp sound, but you can buy them if you don't want to make them.

they make amps for everything, from 1 channel sub amps, to 2 channel, 4 channel, whatever you need. A high amp is typicaly a 4 channel, that way it can provide steady power to 4 seperate speaker connections.

It's all up to what you want, if your ok with midrange bass, then some 6x9's would probably be perfect for you, you could always add a sub later.

6x9's do sound pretty good amped, you might not even want a sub if you get the box just right. Just be sure to match the airspace that the speaker suggests, this can make or break your sound outcome. Sounds like a fun project though, If you can't find a place to mount them in the metal.

ya should be fun, and easier as well, what ab out those cone mounting things u can mount door speakers in, they say they help with improving bass, and limiting air space, is this true? and what about theft, is it smart if i do mount a sub and amp in the back of my hatch, to do this without tint? (highly visible from a walkby/glance)

dam it, will two front and two 6*9 in the rear give me better bass then i have with just the two fronts now? or will it just increase the surround?

im telling you get a mid grade sub and one of the amps i listed and it will sound like you want.

Yeah, the 6x9's will give you more bass overall, not just surround, but only about 15% of the bass you will hear with a midgrade sub and smaller amp.

I vote single 10" with amp, and mount it in a corner and cover it up somehow when your not in the car, or hide it, there are tons of ways to hide a sub, just use your head and whatever you have laying around your garage.

both me and my friend have Pioneer 6x9"s and my friend can actaully get the rear view mirror to vibrate with just the 6x9"s. Yes there will be a difference man, and as for a box, i ALWYAS built my boxes. I've gone through 4 boxes now and built every one of them (all sealed). Wiring a sub/amp is really easy though, just takes a little while. Behind the HU, just plug in the remote wire and the RCAs, then just run a 12V 4 gauge wire w/ a fuse from the battery back to the amp, ground the amp on the chassis or any steel part of the trunk. Then from the sub to the amp just run speaker wire and you're all set :) i say screw the box into the floor board of your trunk so it doesnt slide around too, and make sure to hide all your wires.

And the hatches dont have a spot for rear 6x9s? Thats no good [&:]

cool thanks flip for all that info, it does seem pretty easy, what do u guys think of the MTX brand of subs and amps? I know they build the worlds biggest sub:eek: i think i will just put in a mtx setup, that or orion or pioneer sub with audobahn amp. Ya i didnt realize the hatch i bought had no rear speakers until i went to install them, lol[:@]

MTX is real good man, i was thinking about getting MTX's subs but just never ended up getting them. They will defiantely sound clearer and hit harder than stock, i say go for it.

And as for the 6x9"s, maybe you could do somethin custom with a piece of plywoodtowards the back of the car, behind the seats or somethin. Somethin nobody else has ya know? Everyones gotta give ya respect for somethin new :)

cool, alright ive decided i will go for the mtx setup for now, and yea, ill see what i can come up with for the 6*9, i was thinking mabey somehow i could mount them under the rear seats on the side panel just behind the foot space, that would be nice, out of view of car theifs and right behind the drivers seat! I just wonder how the sound would be mounted down there, alright so ill get the sub/amp this weekend

dude, sorry my mistake, ill get the 6*9 for now, as im on a budget, and later i will definitley get mtx setup, im so excited to make a custom box for the 6*9, i need to make it smaller so my subs will fit in the hatch eventually:D hey do u guys think i should make my box to the smallest dimensions possible for best bass sound and low air space?