Opinions needed on subwoofer..

[jeffreyli86]

Hey,
I am thinking about adding a subwoofer to the stereo of my W124 E220.. It is equipped with a Pioneer headunit, which then outputs to 4 midrange speakers and 2 tweeters.
I am thinking about investing in an Audic Subwoofer (preamped). What are you guys' opinions about preamped subwoofers? Would they provide enough umph?

I am not really into the quality of the stereo, I just want more umph as there's very little bass to it at the moment and I listen to rock and hip hop most of the time...

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Jukie]

Jeff,

I'm no expert. Don't even know what pre-amped means!!

However, I don know that Benz cabins are extremely difficult to force bass into (was told this by two, unconnected ICE professionals). So in the two W210s I have owned (previous & current cars) I've had twin 12" subs installed, powered by an amp. Sounds great!

Hope this helps, if only a little! David.

 

[guydewdney]

i had a steathbox made up for my 202 with a DECENT 10" sub (graham230k has it now) - get a decent amp and a decent speaker. my current car - w140 - has a crap 8" sub and a crap amp - and its next to useless - the focal components make more bass... the moral being - decent speakers work, shite ones dont...

i got it done here- http://www.stealthbox.co.uk/subwoofflatpk.htm but they dont list E class..

 

[GrahamC230K]

What Guy says is true......his JL10W3 is amazing (with a decent amp)!!

I have heard the bass into the cabin argument before in relation to Mercs, but not a problem on the w202.

Do w210's have the petrol tank behind the rear seat? If so then maybe you will have more trouble.

 

[jeffreyli86]

Thanks a lot for everyone's help
Are there any opinions on Audic subs?
My car is a W124 btw, I wish I have a W210 hehe...

 

[1998K]

I do not want to add stupid info but, if possible, and someone don't know already, easy way to hear good bass into the cabin (having the sub in the trunk obviously), is to leave open the factory hole for the speaker in the rear shelf.

This at least for the W202 without factory speaker in the shelf.

 

[Howard]

Jeff,

I have a w124 Coupe , i'm not a basshead or anything but the car was lacking in bass, what Guy says is correct , quality gear sounds much better than market specials.

I have a 8" Kicker subwoofer in a professionally built enclosure (the enclosures need to be matched to the sub, it's not just a question of building a box and bunging a subwoofer in it) , this is powered by a bridged cahnnel of my Pioneer amp ( about 100w).

Now , its not going to blow the windows out of the car, or win competions , but it just fills in the 'low frequency gap' nicely. The w124 has the fuel tank behind the rear seat so as was mentioned before, getting bass from the boot to the cabin is difficult, one option is to cut a bass port in the rear shelf under where the first aid kit lives. Personally mine sounds fine, and i havent cut any holes, it all depends what you are looking for.

If you want to blow lights out at petrol station forecourts you might need to think again, but if you just want to fill the gap , as it were, a good 8 or 10 incher should sort you out nicely (oooo er missus )

Anyway, hope this helps

H

 

[GrahamC230K]

I do not want to add stupid info but, if possible, and someone don't know already, easy way to hear good bass into the cabin (having the sub in the trunk obviously), is to leave open the factory hole for the speaker in the rear shelf.

This at least for the W202 without factory speaker in the shelf.

That is very true. Also on a W124 I don't think there will be any issue.

Or you can do it like this

With the speaker grille off:

 

[Howard]

i had a steathbox made up for my 202 with a DECENT 10" sub (graham230k has it now) - get a decent amp and a decent speaker. my current car - w140 - has a crap 8" sub and a crap amp - and its next to useless - the focal components make more bass... the moral being - decent speakers work, shite ones dont...

i got it done here- http://www.stealthbox.co.uk/subwoofflatpk.htm but they dont list E class..

Interestingly (or not depending on your point of view) , i contacted 'stealthbox' with a view to having one made for my w124 , they have a deal whereas if you let them use your car as a testbed, they will make your one for free.

Unfortunately, they decided the market for a box for the w124 e class was just too small, so they didn't want any of it !!

H

 

[guydewdney]

thats how i got mine for the C class estate :bananna: they even hoovered it after...

they now do one for the saloon graham...

 

[Sp!ke]

cant use Ski hatch on a W124, the fuel tank sits between seat and boot.

 

[jeffreyli86]

Thanks for all the input guys.
So what is the best way to get bass into the cabin?

Also, had anyone of you heard of the brand Audic?

Thanks once again
Jeff

 

[Shude]

cant use Ski hatch on a W124, the fuel tank sits between seat and boot.

So there is no folding rear seat option for the W124?

 

[Sp!ke]

I took out the first aid kit + the tray it sits in .... and carefully removed the cardboard backing of the lid (leaving the cloth and the first aid kit frame only).

This provides ample airspace for the bass to travel. I fitted an Infitity basslink sub which has two integral 10" subs and its own 150w amp.

http://caraudiosecurity.com/catalog/product_info.php+products_id+1538

It's pretty good at kicking the bass out but runs out of puff at really high volumes. I might be upgrading shortly so mine may well be up for sale in the near future (boxed with instructions)

 

[V12]

Nick, nope, all W124's have the petrol tank behind the rear seats...apart from the estate obviously!

Spikes infinity basslink is pretty much the best all round active sub...but the most powerful you will find are the Vibe alternatives...

I only have a single 8" sub in my car, but it will blow away nearly any other sub most people have heard, and certainly anything halfords will try and palm you off with...it's all a question of design and set-up...

 

[jeffreyli86]

I'm kind of looking for a rather low cost alternative to the infinity sub...
I am not a audio freak of any sort I just want to have some beats while I listen to my tunes.. However, I do favour a powerful subwoofer.. It doesn't have to provide REALLY low notes, but a powerful kick would be preferred... Any suggestions?
I've been looking at Sony Xplods... The 10" ones.. However, I would rather buy one with an integrated amplifier... Would there be a difference though, between subwoofers without integrated amplifiers and those that do? Would the ones that do, be less powerful?
In my other car (I have a feeling someone would ask, so I might as well confess.. It's a Honda SMX.. Here it is), I have a Tekin 8" subwoofer with integrated amplifier.. However, the other car is a 1 (or is it 2) box design, hence no boot.. So I guess it is different..

Any sugesstions is greatly appreciated,
Jeff

 

[guydewdney]

imho the integrated ones are more 'woofy' than 'punchy' to satisfy the boy-racer types who listen to.... (deleted so as not to offend anyone)..

rather like home cinema - the best solution, and often a similar price is separates.. the amps in basstubes or whatever are crap.

stick to a reasonable make (JL for example on the speaker, Pioneer on the amp) - just make sure its happy to be bridged.

choose a new amp for the sub - rather than a 5 channel (4 for speakers, 1 for sub) as the bass can 'suck' the life out of the other channels... - or just get a basic stereo amp with 'cutoff' adjustability (aka low pass filter) and wire that up as a mono. set the pass at the same freq as the fronts start to give up (e.g. 100Hz)

as a comparison - the HUM from mains is 50Hz - its not that low - 35 is a nice low-ness

check the frequency response curve of the speaker - see how much it drops at 35Hz - some cheap speakers state 10 - 1000Hz (50dB) - this means that at 10Hz (very low) its 50dB quieter than at its best loudness - ie you wont hear it. but a freq response of 10 - 1000hz looks good doesnt it?

good speakers state 25 - 150Hz (2dB) - so the loudness stays the same whatever you are pumping through it.


ive just had a look at sonys speakers http://www.xplodsony.com/products/?CATEGORY=Subwoofers&MD=XS-L101P5 - and am surprised that i cant seem to get any tech info - no drawings etc etc...

compare with JL for exaple - http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/10w0.html - on the page is the size of the box, and a direct link to the tech info - no rambling on about sooper dooper technology of the plastic clip that holds the speaker into place

hth

guy

 

[V12]

Explain that then : http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/w7_Technologies.html

Not much rambling about fixing the surround, hidden screws etc etc...

Reasonable make? How do you determine that? Kenwood make fairly decent headunits, and some nice amps, but terrible speakers!!
Sony's top range gear is some of the best anywhere...
Jl are a very quality brand, but 99% of the time, you can get the same results, or better for less money...
I know many brands that most people here will never have heard of that can beat all the above brands in many ways...

Intergrated ones (active subs) are generally like that (wooley, with no definition), but the infinity basslink is the exception to 'the rule'.

Having a sub on two bridged channels of a 4 channel amp will not draw anywhere near enough current to "'suck' the life out of the other channels... "
Having a sub on a seperate amp will do exactly the same...The thing that determines this is the power being supplied to the amp...(are the cables adequate, is your battery and alternator upto it) In most cases mercedes are perfectlky adequate without any modification, unless you are talking over a KW...

Good speakers will state the tolerance within 3db (which is effectively doubling or halving the power...) They can still have dips and peaks in the frequency response.

If you post a rough budget i can suggest the most cost effective option that will still be respectable...

 

[guydewdney]

yeah - but in comparison to the sony site - at least you know what size box to put the thing into..

personally i hate kenwood - three HUs were flakey on me..

but the speakers (custom fit C class ones) were OK.

'decent' is relative - read opinions etc on epinions.com (sp?)

and i was assuming that the amp will have a single pair of inputs = 1 pair of pre-amps which means its possible (if the amp is a more budget type) that the sub will affect the fronts (a bit)

I loved my JL - and didnt want to sell it - but it wont fit in my CL (twice the size car, less space )

 

[V12]

I agree on the kenwoods personally...Becker all the way for me

Did you ever compare the speakers to the pioneer custom fit ones?

Agree perfectly on the relativity of this subject, and that everything is opinion.

But there is a clear distinction between good and bad.
As some things are just crap even for the money(SPLX/Sony Xplod range)

I have a JL 8W7 sub myself and I have found alternatives since, that are a fair bit cheaper which do nearly the same thing...