Darth Kinetic

I am simply confused. After reading no less than 15 threads on How To Add A Subwoofer to our Gs because we all suffer from inadequate low end may I ask. ..

If in fact my Coupe had a pair or 10" woofers In the rear deck and its own amp WHY are we adding another woofer??
Has anyone thought to just upgrade that amp or modify the woofers or both rather than adding on?

I mean "its all there" why are we not leveraging whats already there?

Please share

KEG97

iTrader: (2)

Bose uses proprietary software and equipment and makes it very difficult to modify what they've installed without starting over with an entirely new system. Thus why many of us install a 2nd party sub.

No highs, no lows- must be Bose!
Bose- better sound through marketing.

Having cracked those jokes, this Bose system is better than previous Bose systems I've had. It's still not great, but it's pretty good.

warped ideas

I get plenty of bass out of my sound system in my sedan. That Bose system puts down my custom $2000 sound system in my F150. I don't listen to much music with extremely low end bass though. Mostly country and hard rock w/ a sprinkling of heavy metal. For a factory installed sound system it's pretty good.

socketz67

Stand-alone products like the Infinity Basslink really compliment factory systems by filling in some of the voids. I have had one in two of my others cars and will probably add another to my 13' Sedan next Christmas. Other than a simple upgrade like this one, you are limited in what you can add to the existing Bose system as it is really designed to operate as an integrated entity.

I found that the existing Bose system sounds good with CDs, but falls short when streaming digital music, especially over Bluetooth where the quality is marginal. I'm not sure if that's really the head unit's fault though...

warped ideas

A lot of people don't know or forget that the sound system will only sound as good as the quality of the sound files it's playing. Bass is the first to go on tracks ripped from CD's or off the net.

Tim30250

I had to add a subwoofer because I felt the factory Bose sub just wasn't loud or deep enough. I don't listen to a lot of music with low bass, but the factory bass is just marginal for hip hop, and completely inadequate for conveying any punch or depth from rock/metal drums or bass guitars. With the aftermarket sub, even when I listen to rock (which I do most commonly) the added low frequencies transform the studio music into a near-live concert experience. I'm very glad I upgraded, and since I did it myself, the entire package (using JL equipment) ran me less than $400 for everything.

KEG97

iTrader: (2)

You're absolutely right in describing how adding an aftermarket sub transformed the Bose system. I'm still not thrilled with the highs, but the whole system is MUCH better with a true sub.

blazeplacid

iTrader: (1)

I always completely rip out as much of the factory audio as possible.
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to swap out the head unit for something better.

For some people like me, every little detail counts.
Bose usually has some type of processing going on that restricts bass and treble outputs at loud volumes.
I run an Audison bit ten D. It takes the factory sound, cleans it up, and gives you a nice clean signal. You can then add any type of eq, time alignment, crossover, etc.

The factory locations really limit you in terms of depth and size for a subwoofer.

socketz67

It's actually interesting to watch the evolution of both voice call and audio quality based on the handset interpretation of both.

Can any of you recall when "5 9s" was mandatory for voice quality calls? Now we accept dropped calls, poor sound quality, cheap audio codecs, no coverage in emergencies, etc.

For Audio, we used to argue over AAD vs. ADD vs. DDD CDs and fidelity based on analog reproduction from vinyl onto quality magnetic tape.

Now, we download bootleg low quality MP3s from eastern European websites then blame the audio systems in our cars.

I guess I'm dating myself, but the evolution of what we have come to accept as status quo interests me, especially the manner in which we have abstracted the complexities from alot of things which used to be reserved for technical types.

TVPostSound

iTrader: (9)

I totally agree.

Also the interpretation of how much bass people need to have today!!

Listening to "rock" and I mean the rock I mixed back in the day, on my Bose, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that system.

socketz67:

5 9s!!!! Im dating myself for knowing what that means!!
Did you work for Ma Bell??

Darth Kinetic

All valid npoints and it just reinforces whst I have read. But IF we have 2 10" woofers in the rear deck with their own amp
That is described as having line level input ( to which EVERYONE is tapping into) then why can you just remove that last amp and preplace it with one more powerful to drive those 2 10" harder ??

When I Fade to the rear is sound 1/4 ad loud as the front and have 4 speakers back there ?!?!

socketz67

I have worked in Telecom/Datacom on the semiconductor side for years, so it's interesting to see how far we have come with regards to "best effort" quality for voice calls using IP vs. traditional SONET/ATM (the cable companies are the worst offenders). Nonetheless, voice is lower priority than data anymore as witnessed by all the main carriers giving away voice/text then getting creative with how they charge you for data. What's interesting is that in most countries outside the US, the voice service comes at a premium and data is the freebie.

socketz67

Regarding the thirst for bass, this evolved around 2002-2005 when the market saw a surge of cheap power amplifiers driven by lower materials cost (mainly smaller semiconductor geometries, decreasing component cost).

Once the mainstream population could afford decent 100W p/ch amps and automotive power sources moved beyond the current levels provided by mainstream battery technology, the race began and many decided that success was now based on being able to sonically alter the state of the asphalt beneath the car. It's all good as everything needs to evolve. However, setting the expectation for automakers to drive the bleeding edge of audio is not realistic as they are trying to appeal to the majority.

Many of us use the radios in our car to listen to sports, talk or as background noise to keep us company on long drives. A trunk full of subs, crossovers, super-caps and amps doesn't make alot of sense in this scenario.

I am however surprised that outside of the luxury car space just how much the quality degrades. I recall test driving a WRX and not being able to hear the radio inside the car. It was junk and I'm not sure why they even bothered installing it in the car.

Darth Kinetic

For the record. In my '12 xCoupe I HAVE 6X9 OR 5X8s in my rear deck NOT 10" subs!!
So either I misread several posts or the schematics are wrong.
I dont know what are in the rear side walls yet other than again what has been posted.
Now I understand why the rear sound SUX... even still a properly boxed and powered 6x9 could produce a good BUMP of lower end...so maybe there is hope.

So until I find an actual "sub" beyond whats in the doors, I may just proceed then as suggested with add a sub.

The coupe trunk is already ridiculously small so adding a sub there is going to be tough...

Anyone hide one in the seat back or drivers side rear seat bottom?

perdido34

Subarus--no matter what the model--have horrid factory-installed radios, even with the upgrades they sell. They all sound worse than a $50 boom box, and the iPod/iPhone navigation interface is all but useless. I'm hoping the 2015 models will be an improvement... Not to put down Subaru in other ways--they make some excellent machinery.