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lewisb13
09-20-2010, 01:42 PM
Where do you all have your subs at in your boat? Im trying my hardest not to put a sub anywhere near the steering wheel as all those little nuts and bolts on the backs of all the guages come out from time to time even without the massive vibrations of a sub. I have seen some in the rear lockers, some in the cubby where the battery is at. Where did you put yours? Did you bounce the sound off of anything? Pictures? Cheers.

sandm
09-20-2010, 02:06 PM
I cut out the original fiberglas box under the dash that's molded into the floor. seems that is where most members on here are locating their subs, as are most of the rest of the industry as a whole..

I'm sure that our 3 resident audio guru's will chime in here in due time, however I would suspect that the under-dash location will be the predominant winner.

viking
09-20-2010, 02:11 PM
I agree with SandM!
You'll find most subs installed in someway, shape, or form under the driver's dash due to space and sound.

However, I believe with the XLV model you get more room/options and a void on the port side rear seating area that a box can be built. Other than that you end up taking valuable space from somewhere else and increased chance of moisture getting in your enclosure.

Just my .02

jmvotto
09-20-2010, 03:23 PM
Where do you all have your subs at in your boat? Im trying my hardest not to put a sub anywhere near the steering wheel as all those little nuts and bolts on the backs of all the guages come out from time to time even without the massive vibrations of a sub. I have seen some in the rear lockers, some in the cubby where the battery is at. Where did you put yours? Did you bounce the sound off of anything? Pictures? Cheers.

here is mine, 10" will be the largest you can fit. I now have the wetsounds 420 eq and it sounds great, meets my needs.


https://forum.moomba.com/picture.php?albumid=17&pictureid=730

lewisb13
09-20-2010, 03:31 PM
Did you just cut a hole into your kickplate? Did you remove the kick plate to accomplish this or did you cut it in place? Looks SICK.

viking
09-20-2010, 03:42 PM
here is mine, 10" will be the largest you can fit. I now have the wetsounds 420 eq and it sounds great, meets my needs.

That's not exactly true...........
I had a 12in woofer cut into my kick panel. It didn't sound up to my standards so I opted for another solution. I looked at modifying the kick panel like NEWTY or SandM but opted to build a sealed enclosure built to the exact specs of the sub that would squeeze in above it. I then made a new kick panel cover to go over the hole and retains the stock look.

Check out SandM's thread on his mod and then check NEWTY's profile pics for his clean mod. It's pretty trick.

Here's a couple snapshots of mine. You can also see more pics in my profile page.

lewisb13
09-20-2010, 03:44 PM
Mannnnnn thats crazy good looking. Bummer is that my boat is the older style and has all those wires going through the kick plate right where your speaker is sitting. Wow that looks awesome.

EarmarkMarine
09-20-2010, 03:51 PM
Lewisb,
The very best option is under the driver's helm in an enclosure. You are going to get the greatest output and best tonal constuction from this location. If the sub enclosure is reasonable in size then you will have adequate breathing room and the jackhammer effect on the dash will be minimzed. We find that there is less of this also in a direct-radiating position similar to what jmvotto is showing.
Mounting a sub box in the port locker is always going to be a compromise no matter what you do. You would need to vent the locker but will still lose some output and the bass will never be as articulate.
Squeezing or forcing a sub in a less than optimum location is a poor substitute. And placing a sub in the rear locker next to the engine and well behind you makes it very difficult to hear while underway. With the hatch closed its more of a boat shaker than a bass maker. The amplifier and sub are both overtaxed.
You can strengthen the dash by double-nutting certain studs, using silicon so that the nuts don't back off, using silicon and felt pads as insulators between plastic on plastic surfaces. Its really not a big deal to remedy this for the long term.

David
Earmark Marine

lewisb13
09-20-2010, 03:54 PM
When Im in the boat tomorrow Ill take some pictures of the kick plate, Ill post em up and we will see what kind of comments you guys have. The way the MAIN wiring goes through the top of the kick plate leads me to believe I might have to do something a little crafty. We shall see.

viking
09-20-2010, 04:02 PM
Mannnnnn thats crazy good looking. Bummer is that my boat is the older style and has all those wires going through the kick plate right where your speaker is sitting. Wow that looks awesome.

My kickplate has the wiring going through it as well Lewis. I just made sure my enclosure would fit without modifying the hole/wires. They are routed through the kickpanel to the starboard side which allowed room for the enclosure. Had them been through the MIDDLE it would not have worked.

Razzman
09-20-2010, 05:04 PM
Lewisb what sound level are you looking for? What sub are you looking at? What amp will be driving the sub? There's a lot of info you need to know before making a decision. Your basic 10" low output sub in the kickplate would sound ok but won't wow you as it's not a sealed environment and there's really no way to seal it. You could put a free air sub in there and you might be happy.

A sealed enclosure on top of the kickplate would be a better option and would produce better sound, i had mine that way for almost two years and nothing rattled loose. A few on here have partially cutout the kickplate and molded it in to made room for enclosure and that works well too.

Depending on how much you want to spend and how much power you want you could add the Exile LSV enclosure and 12" sub as I and a few others here have done as well.

lewisb13
09-20-2010, 05:19 PM
Ill get back to everyone on what it looks like under there. I dont think Ill be able to "set" a box on top of it like you guys have. Im looking to do about a $400 setup. I have 2 12" Hifonics Olympians that Im going to try to rob one of them. They are 200RMS. I may try to get both in there somehow. I have a 600 watt lanzar amp that Im going to use IF i can find it. My whole life is currently in a storage unit. At the end of the day, I might scrap this whole idea and start fresh, which like I said, Id like to spend about $400 to get the sub, amp, wiring, and box, which I believe to be completely doable. My requirements are not necessarily the sound produced, but more about being able to do it on a budget. The boat is an 05. If it was a 2010 or 2011 I would be spending 4K to hook this joker up as some of you have done. Thanks for all the responses, let me see if I can get you guys some pics...

jmvotto
09-20-2010, 09:06 PM
Ill get back to everyone on what it looks like under there. I dont think Ill be able to "set" a box on top of it like you guys have. Im looking to do about a $400 setup. I have 2 12" Hifonics Olympians that Im going to try to rob one of them. They are 200RMS. I may try to get both in there somehow. I have a 600 watt lanzar amp that Im going to use IF i can find it. My whole life is currently in a storage unit. At the end of the day, I might scrap this whole idea and start fresh, which like I said, Id like to spend about $400 to get the sub, amp, wiring, and box, which I believe to be completely doable. My requirements are not necessarily the sound produced, but more about being able to do it on a budget. The boat is an 05. If it was a 2010 or 2011 I would be spending 4K to hook this joker up as some of you have done. Thanks for all the responses, let me see if I can get you guys some pics...

Lewis reason i put the polk in the kick panel was that i found it brand new on ebay for under 50 bucks shipped otherwise i would have use a jl free air 10 like razz and david state. but those are like 249.00 and i like the sound that rounds out the system i like bass but not a bass head. tazz put one of those audioformz enclosures up behind the kick panel and sound good as well, but since your on a budget, not sure it will do the trick. check you height on the KP for a 12" before you cut...

ooh forgot cut it right on the panel, KP is non removable on the 07

sandm
09-21-2010, 07:09 AM
not sure what your $400 is earmarked for and what equipment you can cannabalize, but here's what I did:
https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?t=9578

I don't remember the exact costs, but it was around $100 for the medex wood/rhinoline in a can/plastic risers(the complete box), $200 for the jl 12w6(overkill, but it friggin rocks, used, but looked brand new) and around $250 for the fosgate 500.1bd amp(new) to run it. all the install was me, and that will be the majority of your costs.. bought all the equipment off ebay last winter, one summer and not a single problem :)
spend a little less on a sub and amp and you are there. many here are using the kicker subs with awesome results, they build a real nice product..

you really just need to figure out how much work you want to put into it, what your skill level is and how much you really want to spend. remember that most projects like this probably won't come in on budget :)