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iaonbb
09-01-2006, 08:00 PM
Hey all..Curious what/where/how everyone has their subs installed. I have an '04 Mobius LS. Looking at the newer boats it looks like it's just installed in the carpeted kick panel under the drivers console...is this a free-air sub? Or does the factory build some sort of enclosure? Looking for that factory look, but unsure how they're installed in the newer boats...and more importantly, how they sound? Considering some sort of custom encosure or perhaps a turn-key approach such as this...

http://kenwoodusa.com/products/ListProduct.aspx?k1=2&k2=43&k3=158&pr=2024

Show me your subs!

AZHeet
09-02-2006, 10:21 PM
Take a look at my install. I have a Polk Momo 10" SVC. They are marine rated, and they are made to go into small sealed enclosures which is what I have it in. This install is in an 06, but I originally had it in an 05 which it fit nice right above the sloped area under the dash. I built the box so that it would just fit between the floor and the fiberglass that supports the dash. It's about 11"tall by 15" wide by 9" deep.

http://web.mac.com/heeters/iWeb/Site/Subwoofer.html

iaonbb
09-03-2006, 01:54 PM
Thanks AZheet...I guess you're the only one on here with a sub :p ...I was leaning towards puling out the kickpanel and using it as a template to make a box behind so the sub shows just like yours, but the box isn't visible...Stil curious what the factory instal is like though...

NCSUmoomba
09-05-2006, 02:48 PM
I don't know how the factory sub is mounted, as mine is not a factory sub, and was actually already in my 2001 Outback when I bought it. However, I would recommend not mounting it like you were thinking or the way AZHeet has done. Subwoofers work by moving air, and not much actual "sound" comes out of it like a midrange speaker. Therefore, mounting it pointing into the cockpit area into the boat may look cool, but will not sound as nice. They really should be mounted firing AT something solid, like the hull or the floor. When I bought my boat the previous owner had mounted a 8" JL audio sub in a sealed box, that would swivel on the mount, in the port behind-the-seat storage area. It was aimed towards the back of the seat, and it sounded decent. However, I knew instantly from the car stereos that I have done that it was pointing the wrong way. So I loosened the mounts and swiveled it until it was firing right into the hull, and it instantly sounded dramatically better, much tighter and louder. Since subwoofers move air, as I mentioned before, they need something to resonate off of to make more sound, hence they sound best mounted 3-4 inches away from a solid surface, and firing AT IT. It is the same as with cars. If you have ever seen someone with subs firing at their back seat and it doesn't sound that great, it is because the back seat doesn't have very much mass, and being mostly foam, it absorbs the sound waves. If you take those same subs and turn them around and fire them at the trunk lid, it sounds a LOT better. And the closer you get to the trunk lid (to a point) the louder and better it sounds. In my car, I have a 8" bazooka tube pointed into the corner of the trunk (like the instructions recommend) and it thumps pretty hard for a small sub. And in my boat, people can't belive that one 8" sub in making all that base. As far as where to mount it, since the low frequency bass tones are not really directional, you can mount it pretty much anywhere in the boat, but the closer you mount it to the amps the less wire you will have to use and the less signal you will lose due to the resistance of the wire. Also, I would not mount (or sit) anything on the floors since it has a better chance of getting wet. The previous owner of my boat had made an amp rack out of MDF and sat it on the floor in front of the driver behind that panel. Well, it got wet and puffed up and fell apart. So I mounted them on a sheet of PVC and mounted it up on the side of the hull so I can have 3 inches of water running through the floor and the amps will be dry. If you are making a box, make it out of PVC or something similar, not wood or MDF, and make sure you follow the manufacturers suggestions for box size. If the box is too small, then you will limit the excursion of the sub and you will not get all the sound from it, and if you make it too big, then you allow the excursion to exceed what is allowed and you will destroy the sub. If you build a box, I prefer sealed boxes. They are tighter sounding, but not as boomy. Ported boxes are louder and bommier, however, they are a bit of a science, you can't just cut a hole in a box and expect it to sound as good as it can. The bazooka tubes are ported, but are designed by an acoustical engineer for the best sound without damaging the speaker. I would definitely not free air mount it. If you want to do some tests, once you buy the sub and mount it in the box (if that is the route you take), hook everything up and just get a long piece of speaker wire and move the sub around in the boat and point it different directions at different distances away from stuff to see how it sounds the best. It will probably help to have the boat in the water since the water adds lots of mass for the sound to resonate off of. I would guess that mounting it near the middle of the boat and firing it towards the water will sound the best, so my vote is for inside one of the storage areas under the windshield. I hope this helps. Good luck and if you have any more questions, let me know.

iaonbb
09-05-2006, 04:09 PM
Thanks NCSU! After thinking about this all weekend. I'm kinda' leaning towards buying one of these since I'll be getting the ower speakers as well...

http://audioformz.com/monoglass.asp?img=red.gif

Meets the no wood criteria and I could fire it back under the dash, against the side wall or similar...thanks for the thorough reply...I WILL take your advice for sure...

NCSUmoomba
09-05-2006, 05:22 PM
Those are sweet enclosures, I like them. I am kind of wondering about how or where you can mount it, though. It looks like you will need a pretty good sized flat spot to mount it, which can be tough to find in a boat, except for the floor, which I would be wary of because of the water. Where were you thinking about mounting it?

iaonbb
09-05-2006, 06:29 PM
floor under driver dash...firing forward or sideways at your suggestion...website says it's 100% waterproof. Really nowhere else I can think of?

pickle311
09-05-2006, 09:44 PM
that guy is correct, subs need to be firing at something solid, it's called loading them. I have a Kicker L5 solobaric in a proted box firing at the hull, it's insanely loud. When I turn it up, I can literally see ripples in the water and I can't read the guages in the dash. It's all in the box.