Sub Locations

[lewisb13]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[lewisb13]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.