My Subwoofer Enclosure Build Log

[Emu1342]

I'm surprised you guys haven't removed the rear deck, remounted all of the components that rattle, and opened up the hole for a 12 free air subwoofer. Putting the subwoofer in the corner like that eats into your trunk space and probably gives everyone outside your car an earful.

I actually considered this, but I’m not too familiar with free air subs. I know the OEM one does this and sounds pretty good, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I guess I just wanted a project that I’m more familiar with. I do hope someone does the free air thing and maybe this enclosure will go up for sale lol.

Of course it takes up a bit of space, but the idea is that it’s tucked out of the way, unlike a standard box that sits in the middle of your trunk. Plus i think it looks clean.

Lol I think any aftermarket sub is gonna give outsiders an earful. I tend not to concern myself with them, plus I’m personally not blaring music all the time.

 

[BlackwingSwanny23]

I'm surprised you guys haven't removed the rear deck, remounted all of the components that rattle, and opened up the hole for a 12 free air subwoofer. Putting the subwoofer in the corner like that eats into your trunk space and probably gives everyone outside your car an earful.

Interesting and grossly inaccurate take.

 

[Emu1342]

Special shoutout to @MeGoFast with the ANC issue we'll all eventually face when adding an aftermarket Sub. Check out his thread if you're interested: 5V Blackwing Trunk/Sub Install

Over the weekend I went ahead and removed one of the ANC mic within the driver side headliner. This seems to have disconnected the system and is pretty easily reversible with a bit of time and cramped hands.

The process goes something like this (I used @MeGoFast images). Pull down the weather stripping from the headliner/door jam. Remove grab handle. remove left side of vanity mirror. This should give you enough space to open up the headliner and stick your hand in there. The mic sits in a little plastic cup. Pop it out and follow the cable to find the actual connector this mic attaches to. The mic has about 6 inches of wire then a plastic plug. Once there, pop the red lever open and used a screwdriver to gently press the 2 sides apart.

So far i've not had any issues with the ANC background noise. I'll update if anything comes up.

After a bit of tuning, and fighting the factory crossovers this thing is bumping really nice. Its not as loud as some of my other systems, but the sub is exactly what I wanted for this car. Hopefully someone finds this thread helpful and feel free to ask questions.

 

[mfcentex]

How did you bolt it to the car?

 

[Emu1342]

How did you bolt it to the car?

It is not bolted to the car, due to how the fiberglass was molded, there is a metal lip the enclosure sits on. Once put into place, it does not move.

 

[mfcentex]

I got my enclosure/setup finished. Did you tap into the speakers or subwoofer? I have the LC2i with Accubass. It is supposed to add bass if the head unit cuts the bass at a higher volume. I believe it needs to sense all frequencies. I have it tapped into the Subwoofer and it's acting weird with Accubass. It sounds good with Accubass off (all the way down).

 

[Emu1342]

I got my enclosure/setup finished. Did you tap into the speakers or subwoofer? I have the LC2i with Accubass. It is supposed to add bass if the head unit cuts the bass at a higher volume. I believe it needs to sense all frequencies. I have it tapped into the Subwoofer and it's acting weird with Accubass. It sounds good with Accubass off (all the way down).

Sorry for the late reply. I tapped into the subwoofer. I didn’t use an accubass unit since I figured I would keep the tuning of the stock system

 

[mfcentex]

Sorry for the late reply. I tapped into the subwoofer. I didn’t use an accubass unit since I figured I would keep the tuning of the stock system

Everything I have read states that the AKG amp tuning has bass roll off. As the volume goes up, it starts to reduce output around 60hz and gets more aggressive around 40hz. This is inline with what I am hearing from the subwoofer. I had this subwoofer installed in my previous car with a smaller amp and it had better low end response (below 40hz). It looks like the only real solution is the Kicker Keyloc.

 

[Emu1342]

Everything I have read states that the AKG amp tuning has bass roll off. As the volume goes up, it starts to reduce output around 60hz and gets more aggressive around 40hz. This is inline with what I am hearing from the subwoofer. I had this subwoofer installed in my previous car with a smaller amp and it had better low end response (below 40hz). It looks like the only real solution is the Kicker Keyloc.

oh that’s right, sorry it’s been a minute since I’ve thought about my setup. I ended up installing a LinkDQ unit from Wavtech. This allowed me to bring up the signal strength on those frequencies that lower as you raise the volume.

I will admit, it took a bit of fiddling and a lot of time with my oscilloscope testing, but I’m really happy with the outcome. Let me know if you need more info or pics.

 

[mfcentex]

I installed a Kicker Keyloc and took out the LC2i. The programming is difficult with the way the head unit in the car works. I can explain more if someone needs the info.

 

[Emu1342]

I installed a Kicker Keyloc and took out the LC2i. The programming is difficult with the way the head unit in the car works. I can explain more if someone needs the info.

I’m definitely interested in hearing how it all came together.

 

[FLYARMY]

Good thing have lost alot of my musical hearing over the past 45 years to auto body work noise, helicopter engines and NYC subway trains.
The radio speakers sound perfectly fine to me from the factory.

 

[mfcentex]

I’m definitely interested in hearing how it all came together.

The Keyloc automatically detects frequency response and delays through a 12 step process. It's done with three audio files. You download the Lossless WAV files to a USB drive to direct play them. The first file is used to set the input gain via finding the clipping point and dialing it back. This is a standard gain adjust screw adjustment via small flathead. It just lights up when the channels are clipping and you dial it back a little. The second file detects the noise floor. The final file goes through EQ, Allpass, and time delay detection. This is where I had issues. After the noise floor file is played the LED starts to blink. At this point, you need to play a Fulltest soundtrack. It should start to into the final area, but kept stalling on me. What I believe to be the issue is the USB playback function of the HU. I think it would fade into the next track. The Keyloc was looking for a certain start sound and couldn't detect it. What I ended up doing was switching to FM and then back to USB playback. This gave it enough of a stop/start to do the final automatic detections.

The Keyloc has an output gain as well. I have been tuning the output gain on the Keyloc and input gain on the RF amp. I've got it sounding good in the garage, but the battery was getting low and I didn't have time to go for a drive. I put the battery on a trickle charger. I don't drive the car much on the weekends (at baseball tournaments). I'll tweak the inputs throughout the weekly commute.

 

[Emu1342]

Good thing have lost alot of my musical hearing over the past 45 years to auto body work noise, helicopter engines and NYC subway trains.
The radio speakers sound perfectly fine to me from the factory.

lol, it’s not so much a hat you hear. It’s about what you feel