Stereo & Electronics - Different type of sub enclosure

I have a convertible and the trunk is laughably small as most people know. I had a sub in an enclosure from another car that I plopped in the trunk but I couldn't even get my briefcase in there with it. So I decided to make a new one. Check here (http://www3.sympatico.ca/brian.mackay/Sub/). With this enclosure, I have a grill that plops over the sub to let me pile things on top of it. I have yet to cover it with some matching carpet that I bought from Parts Express (http://www.partsexpress.com/).

I had to compromise on the total height and therefore the volume of the enclosure but it sounds better than the one I had before.

If you needed more volume, why didn't you mount the amp sideways and extend the length of the box?

Neat idea but I like my spare tire well box.

I wanted plenty of air space for cooling the amp, but yes I could have tipped it on edge.

I really wanted to keep my spare tire and the roof pump is on the other side so I decided to go with this idea. The key feature is the whole thing is connectorized and pops out in 10 seconds. Just throwing the idea out there for people who might want an alternative.

That's pretty cool man. Wish I had the craftsmen skills to make something like that, well I have the skills, just not the patience lol.

I am no cabinet maker but it works. The toughest part I think will be getting the carpet to wrap around the opening without looking crappy.

got the dimensions on the top n bottom plates?

thx


j

might be a silly question.. but how do subs work in a convertable? There is no object where it can really make its attack with the sound waves. Seems to me like everything would just get lost?

I have carpeted the enclosure now and its just a bit lighter in colour than the trunk carpet but its a pretty good match. I can't measure it right now because I had to take it out to make a trip (the whole point of the thing actually). To size it I made a cardboard cutout using scissors and made it fit nicely on the bottom of the trunk. I cut out the base plate from MDF and checked it for fit. Then I place two rolls of paper towels under it to raise it up a few inches and measured the space around the edges since the trunk is tapered. Its about an inch greater in each direction.

With the roof up the subwoofer is much stronger sounding. The roof is between me and the sub when the roof is down. On my Sony deck I have several customizable equalizer settings so I flip to a different setting with the roof down where the bass and mid range frequencies are bumped upin volume. It actually sounds pretty good even on the highway.

might be a silly question.. but how do subs work in a convertable? There is no object where it can really make its attack with the sound waves. Seems to me like everything would just get lost?


Your right, with no top there is no cabin gain. Sound works from pressurizing air at a certain frequency, with the top down there is no pressure (very little sound). I would think its for when he has the top closed

Good job on the box. I always enjoy seeing DIY'ers :thumb:

I have a Jl audio sub in my convertible running at 200 Rms and I think it sounds amazing even when the top is down, to my liking at least. My box is very similar to yours. Very nice install though, looks good.

Nice Job. I love seeing people get creative. You can get some Sound reflection with a Top up, but not much at all. Mostly it becomes lost due to flex in the Top so No gain.

Convertibles are the Hardest enviroment to work Car stereo Magic in. Damn hard. Boxes like Band-pass become all the more desireable due to less need of re-enforcement of the sound. Ported are good, but still not great. Wind noise is a Bitch.

Still. Good looking box.

I have a Jl audio sub in my convertible running at 200 Rms and I think it sounds amazing even when the top is down, to my liking at least. My box is very similar to yours. Very nice install though, looks good.

My amp is old and quite small, I think its 110 W in bridged mode. It sounds good up to its limit though. I really need to put my scope on it to see if its clipping.

I didn't want lose anything with the top down, so I made this box to fit behind the driver's seat.

Convertible stealthbox (http://www3.telus.net/acarnut/subwoofer.htm)

--
DaveH

http://www3.telus.net/acarnut/images/MVC00798.JPG

Why don't you try an elemental designs Sub? They only require something like .8-1.1 Cu.ft. of space. the K series doesn't need a lot of watts to sound good either. www.edesignaudio.com

I didn't want lose anything with the top down, so I made this box to fit behind the driver's seat.


That is a neat looking box. In my case my daughter would have nowhere to sit if I did that. I will have to live with the limitations of it being in the trunk.

That is a neat looking box. In my case my daughter would have nowhere to sit if I did that. I will have to live with the limitations of it being in the trunk.

Thanks

I have two kids myself. I just pull the plug on the speaker wire, lift the sub out, and drop the old cushion in. 30 seconds.

Although I do plan to mechanically fasten it somehow to the roll bar to slow potential thieves. And I have to add padding to the bars before I can sit the kids back there again.

DaveH

I didn't want lose anything with the top down, so I made this box to fit behind the driver's seat.

Convertible stealthbox (http://www3.telus.net/acarnut/subwoofer.htm)

--
DaveH

http://www3.telus.net/acarnut/images/MVC00798.JPG



Very nice work :cheers:

Check out the link in my sig for another idea for a 'vert sub box. Leaves almost the entire trunk volume for luggage, and couples bass to the passenger compartment very efficiently.