Audio upgrade reasonably happy

[robdmarsh]

Mine was branded Phoenix but IIRC is either the same as or identical to the Blam version. I was given the choice of 8 inch or 10 inch. Went for the 10.

For a year I ran it with just the new head unit and sub but with the original door speakers and tweeters. The sub made a huge difference as it filled out the low end stuff very effectively. At low speeds/volumes all was good as I didn't have to drive the door speakers as hard as before.

8" Under Seat Subwoofer with Built in Amplifier and Bass KnobDefault Title

Slim enough to fit under seat or any other hide away location, this 8" Slim Active Bass subwoofer offers a quick and easy way to add a high-powered subwoofer solution to your audio.

topvehicletech.com

Is this the model of sub you have except in 8 inch version? It seems like a very bargain price no?

 

[mbzclk]

I did the upgrade to Morels with Dynamat on my (now sold) CLS63 Shooting Brake.

Massive improvement. Would probably take it up a notch if I did it again and go for Blam or Focals.

 

[robdmarsh]

I've just spoken to my guy in Swindon who's told me the Kicker HS10 compact sub (10 inch oviously) blows everything else out of the water. He said it's better to go for 10 inch rather than 8 in a larger vehicle like an estate. This £399 for the unit but a very reasonable £120 for installation. I think I'll go for it. When I said "what about spending £200 on a sub?" he told me you get what you pay for. As I thought I would be paying £200 for a sub and between 2 and 300 for fitting this seems like a pretty good deal.

 

[Skd884]

I've just spoken to my guy in Swindon who's told me the Kicker HS10 compact sub (10 inch oviously) blows everything else out of the water. He said it's better to go for 10 inch rather than 8 in a larger vehicle like an estate. This £399 for the unit but a very reasonable £120 for installation. I think I'll go for it. When I said "what about spending £200 on a sub?" he told me you get what you pay for. As I thought I would be paying £200 for a sub and between 2 and 300 for fitting this seems like a pretty good deal.

319

Kicker 11HS8 HS 10" Hideaway Compact Powered Loaded Enclosure

Experience powerful bass in a compact package with the Kicker HS Hideaway Compact Powered Enclosure. Featuring a 10" subwoofer and built-in amplifier, this enclosure delivers deep and punchy bass response. Enhance your car audio system with immersive low frequencies.

caraudiocentre.co.uk

 

[robdmarsh]

319

Kicker 11HS8 HS 10" Hideaway Compact Powered Loaded Enclosure

Experience powerful bass in a compact package with the Kicker HS Hideaway Compact Powered Enclosure. Featuring a 10" subwoofer and built-in amplifier, this enclosure delivers deep and punchy bass response. Enhance your car audio system with immersive low frequencies.

caraudiocentre.co.uk

Thanks I saw this offer too but when you click on it the description is for the 8 inch version. The 10 inch seems to be £399 everywhere. Thanks for the heads up though. Going to get it fitted next week, I'll report back on the results.

 

[Londonscottish]

8" Under Seat Subwoofer with Built in Amplifier and Bass KnobDefault Title

Slim enough to fit under seat or any other hide away location, this 8" Slim Active Bass subwoofer offers a quick and easy way to add a high-powered subwoofer solution to your audio.

topvehicletech.com

Is this the model of sub you have except in 8 inch version? It seems like a very bargain price no?

That link doesn't work for me. Mine is the 200W ZR10P.

https://phoenixgold-eu.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ZR10P-TEST-CARHIFI-2022.pdf

 

[Londonscottish]

I've just spoken to my guy in Swindon who's told me the Kicker HS10 compact sub (10 inch oviously) blows everything else out of the water. He said it's better to go for 10 inch rather than 8 in a larger vehicle like an estate. This £399 for the unit but a very reasonable £120 for installation. I think I'll go for it. When I said "what about spending £200 on a sub?" he told me you get what you pay for. As I thought I would be paying £200 for a sub and between 2 and 300 for fitting this seems like a pretty good deal.

Sounds like a great idea. Good luck/let us know how it goes

 

[robdmarsh]

Sounds like a great idea. Good luck/let us know how it goes

Yeah, looking forward to getting these fitted at the Swindon car audio dealer. I went to visit the Oxford guy to talk about subs this afternoon and he was pretty p**d off with me and accused me getting his advice and then going elsewhere to get better deals etc and said I was "disrespecting him". I call this competition and failure to offer a competitive edge. Me and the Swindon guy had a bit of a good laugh it.

 

[robdmarsh]

So I got the Kicker Hideaway HS10 sub fitted this morning and I'm pleased to say I'm very happy with it. Now at last I can say I've got the sound I want. It's fitted on the floor under the passenger seat but it definitely sticks out into the footwell. I'm ok with that for several reasons: firstly, I want some air around it and don't want it getting hot, especially with these summers we've been having. Secondly, it's got quite a lot of controls that are accessible on the side of the unit and I can still reach these. Lastly, it's built like a tank so if it gets the occasional knock from back seat passengers it's no biggie (it's screwed into the carpet with the supplied bracket.) It has a remote control knob mounted on the centre console where I can dial up and down the amount of bass. Soundwise, it really fills out the bottom end of my favorite music, old rock (The Clash, David Bowie) sounds punchy and great, newer dance stuff like Daftpunk sounds awesome. It doesn't shake the whole car, which is fine with me as I'm not really a "bass head" and I don't listen to a lot of Techno etc. Even old sixties stuff and jazz has a lot more presence and impact. It cost me £480 including fitting and it was certainly worth it, it's taken the sound system in car up to where I wanted it. All in I've spent about £1400, not cheap by any means but a good sound system is important to me and with Amazon music HD downloads on my phone I've got all the music I want so all in all I'm pretty happy. Not sure if something like the Phoenix 10 inch discussed wouldn't be as good: it looks very similar to me with virtually identical specs and build and it's nearly £200 cheaper but apparently the Kicker is the best of its type.

 

[Skd884]

Excellent good to hear you are happy i love the set up in mine.

 

[Londonscottish]

So I got the Kicker Hideaway HS10 sub fitted this morning and I'm pleased to say I'm very happy with it. Now at last I can say I've got the sound I want. It's fitted on the floor under the passenger seat but it definitely sticks out into the footwell. I'm ok with that for several reasons: firstly, I want some air around it and don't want it getting hot, especially with these summers we've been having. Secondly, it's got quite a lot of controls that are accessible on the side of the unit and I can still reach these. Lastly, it's built like a tank so if it gets the occasional knock from back seat passengers it's no biggie (it's screwed into the carpet with the supplied bracket.) It has a remote control knob mounted on the centre console where I can dial up and down the amount of bass. Soundwise, it really fills out the bottom end of my favorite music, old rock (The Clash, David Bowie) sounds punchy and great, newer dance stuff like Daftpunk sounds awesome. It doesn't shake the whole car, which is fine with me as I'm not really a "bass head" and I don't listen to a lot of Techno etc. Even old sixties stuff and jazz has a lot more presence and impact. It cost me £480 including fitting and it was certainly worth it, it's taken the sound system in car up to where I wanted it. All in I've spent about £1400, not cheap by any means but a good sound system is important to me and with Amazon music HD downloads on my phone I've got all the music I want so all in all I'm pretty happy. Not sure if something like the Phoenix 10 inch discussed wouldn't be as good: it looks very similar to me with virtually identical specs and build and it's nearly £200 cheaper but apparently the Kicker is the best of its type.

Great to hear. I also listen to the likes of Bowie, Daft Punk, jazz, etc.

£480 fitted is a decent price for the sub. The rest is just what you have to spend if someone didn't spec the car up that way originally.

For me, like you, this sort of thing's important. I totally get it. Makes a massive difference.