Another question about a sub in the trunk - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ck42 · #1 05-17-2002, 10:09 PM

Talked to a guy at a supposedly reputable sound shop today. Talked at length about the trunk sound issue. Says he's even delt with a situation like this on an MB (sub in the trunk).

He said he could do something like a free-air 8" in the storage compartment on the rear deck but basically said you CAN'T predict what the sound will be like because of the trunk.

What he did with the other MB was put 2 12" subs in a sealed box. Said it worked. He recommended to me a single 12" in a sealed box (I told him I'm not wanting a THUMPER car - just need some bass lower than what my 4" rear speakers are providing).

He really feels that the sound will make it through the trunk and into the cabin.

But from all the stories I've heard about these MB trunks being so sound proof, I have my doubts.

All I'm wanting is some low end fill-in that I'm not getting out of these 4" Bostin Acoustic plate speakers I've installed.

Any thoughts on this?

adiaw83 · #2 05-18-2002, 12:57 AM

If you're putting this in you're 300Sd go for it. I've got an 83 300sd with 2 12s and they sound great. If you want details about my installation just let me know.

ck42 · #3 05-18-2002, 01:32 AM

Yes, this *would* be going into my 300SD. I am not AT ALL interested in heavy bass. ALL I want is just enough to fill in the bottom end where the little 4" drivers leave off.....no more, no less.

I have no idea but it seems like 2 12's would be excessive for what I'm looking for. I'd love to hear from someone who's had experience with a lesser setup, ie, a single 12" or even a single 10" sub.

jbaj007 · #4 05-18-2002, 02:52 AM

I had an older 12" ported enclosure subwoofer (Jamo) leftover from my home system. The enclosure has an extendable tube (for going thru a wall or floor) which I just popped thru the bottom of the passenger side first aid kit. Foam tape and "earthquake putty" took care of any rattles. Plenty of bass for me. Beats trying to overcome that large sound baffle referred to as our fuel tank.

1984 300SD

Ashman · #5 05-18-2002, 09:25 PM

I had my single 10" woofer in my box in the trunk without any porting, you could feel it, but barely hear it.

Sound is definately much better ported into the cabin through the first aid box.

I think with one 12, try it first and if y ou dont like it you can always cut and port later.

Alon

ck42 · #6 05-18-2002, 09:39 PM

Alon,

I mentioned doing this exact thing to the guy. He didn't like the idea....he was generally not to happy with ported boxes in general. Said the box would be 'boomy'

At the same time tho...w/o allowing some kind of access to the cabin, I really feel that the frequencies I really need (below 125Hz) won't make it into the cabin very well.

The 8" free-air in the storage box seems like a good bet except that it would require some cutting of a big plastic piece that attaches directly under the rear deck...I want to do as little cutting as possible to make this work.

...wish this could be easier

Ashman · #7 05-19-2002, 01:58 AM

why not try taking the lid off, and fitting a dual 8" woofer setup that can slip in, without much if any modification except a few hold down screws?

I could have done the same, my bass can be boomy or not, its only a matter of how high I set the amp. you could always have the 12 int he trunk, and make a port for the sound, without actually porting the woofer direct into the cabin.

If you heard mine and how it can sound, based on various factors, music, etc, you would like it, but it might be on the boomy side for you.

I can easily adjust the bass amp to a lower gain setting which cuts the bass and makes it sound less boomy. I can also change the subwoofer frequencies too. all this and I can tune it for boomy or not so boomy. I prefer a little bit boomy, but a little bit not so boomy, so I adjust mine all the time.

Alon

ck42 · #8 05-19-2002, 10:21 AM

Alon,

Not sure what you mean by a dual 8" config. Dual voice coil OR an 8" in each of the pockets?

Ashman · #9 05-19-2002, 06:30 PM

I have seen a cover for the first aid box with 2 8" woofers in it. I have seen this for a w124 chassis car yesterday at my cell phone guy's shop. He had it installed in someoens car, and they sold the car and took it out.

It had the woofers at a slight angle, and it fit over the first aid box area.

Alon

#10 05-21-2002, 10:57 AM

I had the same problem with my 98 s320v . I wanted a little more low end. I went with dual 10 inch Cerwin Vega Subs in a ported box. I removed one of the factory Bose woofers in the rear and stuck a 4" port into the box through the existing hole. No cutting of the rear deck. a factory look. I connected a 600/watt amp with a subwoofer crossover. Did this take care of my issue?

Rumble, Young Man Rumble!!!!!!!
Kevin, what?
I can't hear you!!!!

Mike400E · #11 05-21-2002, 06:20 PM

CK42:

I did a pair of 8" free air subs in an '88 300E I had, and I was quite pleased with the results. They were modestly powered, (Although the power ratings of most car amps today are wildly inflated anyhow.) with 80watts per sub in stereo. I also had the head unit replaced with a decent Sony unit that drove the front speakers and had a second separate amp for the rear speakers, which were OEM. (I ran out of $$.) I thought it sounded really good. I listen to rock at high volumes so I wasn't trying to rattle my neighbors windows with hip-hop or rap. Theoretically, this shouldn't be a very good setup, since the speakers were in a REALLY big box, that is not extremely well sealed, and two speakers working off the same cushion of air. Not only did I have really good deep response, the 8" were fast enough responding that middle bass was really good too. The whole car would pound and the rear view mirror shook when I had something with a thumping kick drum or bass guitar. In fact it could make the hair on the back of my neck vibrate!

I sold the car, so I can't tell you what kind of subs they were, (I know they WEREN'T expensive!) but there are very few free air subs out there, and you DO have to cut big holes in the back deck. I actually had the rear head rests removed and they went under there.

I recently bought a 400E and was loathe to do the same level of surgery, and also got frustreted with the lack of choices with free air subs. I am building a box (9" X 36" X 16") to go in the trunk which I will port into the first aid kit area. I am going with two 10" subs, in a single enclosure with two 1 cubic foot sub-enclosures, and then 2 3" ports. I believe that if the box is well built, and the ports properly sized for the speaker and dimensions of the enclosure, that a ported design should be very good. Since I'm not finished I can't give you a report card yet. It probably won't reproduce mid bass as well as my 300E design, but I think deep bass should be really good. The other benefit is that it can be done quite cheaply, whereas I'm not sure I would trust myself to cut big holes and finish them off professionally in the rear deck. With this concept, I will only have two relatively small 3" diameter holes, and I may just leave the first aid cover in place and see how that sounds.

With the 300E, I spent about $1200 for the whole rig, I will be out only about $250 with this arrangement, and I can do it in phases since I have a crappy old amp lying around I can use until I can buy something good.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Ashman · #12 05-22-2002, 12:20 AM

I just posted pics of my sub install. The bass can be boomy or not boomy, depending on the bass level of the stereo itself.

See pics in my thread I just posted.

alon

#13 05-26-2002, 11:55 AM

I cut out my entire rear deck to have better sound/bass flowing into my cabin from the trunk....

Ashman · #14 05-26-2002, 03:02 PM

What are you running in there extreme E500? I have a single 10" 6-7 year old Fosgate Q Series 8 ohm woofer, with a 450W (Yeah thats what the amp states, but at 14 volts..) so I figure its putting out like 200-250 maybe a bit more... It hits that 10 nice and hard. I have the bass level on the radio down to kill more bass to the interior speakers.

With the port, almost all of the sub sound comes intot he cabin, and I only had to make a small hole..

Alon

hedpe · #15 05-30-2002, 04:40 PM

one 12" in a sealed box will pump enough bass in to your car for you to hear, that will be clean, and it won't be thumping. In my W124 I have a JL 12W3 in a sealed box in my trunk and I get plenty of bass in to my cabin. I wouldn't worry about porting it by cutting your rear deck or anything. If you're looking for thumping bass, then you might wanna port it in to the cabin. Since you're not, it should be fine.