Thought I'd share my experience on a new powered subwoofer that I just installed. I was inspired by the Kenwood powered sub thread and came across the Rockford Fosgate PS-8 subwoofer:
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/ps-8
I figured it'll probably be better than a free-air 8" and amp that I've been contemplating. I couldn't find much information on it as it's relatively new. When I found a good deal on it new on eBay, I gave it a shot.
Initial impressions on the subwoofer was that it was built solidly. It was slightly smaller than I expected and a little heavier. It is only 3.3" at it's thickest point! Most of the enclosure is made from cast aluminum and the backside is an ABS plastic plate.
After a week with the sub installed, I can say I'm very happy with it. It nicely fills in what was missing with just the door speakers and hit all the things I was looking for:
- No sacrifice in cargo space
- No cutting into body or plastic panels
- quick and easy install
- solid bass to round out sound system
An easy install was a big factor in choosing a powered sub as I didn't have time to build a custom enclosure. The mounting holes in the corners of enclosure made it a breeze. I have listed what I did as a simple solution:
What you'll need (I bought everything from home depot):
36"x2"x1/8" aluminum bar stock
beveled and flat rubber washers from plumbing section
1/4" bolts and nuts (the bolts in running through the enclosure was 4" in length)
1. Cut aluminum bar stock in half (each side measures 18")
2. Align the bar stock to outside edges of stock speaker bracket. Drill holes and mount together with bolts/nuts.
3. Drill holes on the bar stock matching the holes on the subwoofer.
4. Attach subwoofer to bracket using the rubber washers and bolts. I stacked 3 rubber washers per corner (and one on the backside) to give clearance for the bars and dampen vibrations.
That's it.. pretty simple and effective. You could bolt down the lower corners of the subwoofer to the body to make it more secure. It seemed sturdy enough for me and I haven't found any vibration issues.
The sub has an auto-on feature so you don't need to run a remote power signal wire making the install even easier. It powers on after sensing voltage from the signal cable. It also includes a wired level controller which I just put in the glove box.
Check out the pictures for more details - hope it helps.
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/ps-8
I figured it'll probably be better than a free-air 8" and amp that I've been contemplating. I couldn't find much information on it as it's relatively new. When I found a good deal on it new on eBay, I gave it a shot.
Initial impressions on the subwoofer was that it was built solidly. It was slightly smaller than I expected and a little heavier. It is only 3.3" at it's thickest point! Most of the enclosure is made from cast aluminum and the backside is an ABS plastic plate.
After a week with the sub installed, I can say I'm very happy with it. It nicely fills in what was missing with just the door speakers and hit all the things I was looking for:
- No sacrifice in cargo space
- No cutting into body or plastic panels
- quick and easy install
- solid bass to round out sound system
An easy install was a big factor in choosing a powered sub as I didn't have time to build a custom enclosure. The mounting holes in the corners of enclosure made it a breeze. I have listed what I did as a simple solution:
What you'll need (I bought everything from home depot):
36"x2"x1/8" aluminum bar stock
beveled and flat rubber washers from plumbing section
1/4" bolts and nuts (the bolts in running through the enclosure was 4" in length)
1. Cut aluminum bar stock in half (each side measures 18")
2. Align the bar stock to outside edges of stock speaker bracket. Drill holes and mount together with bolts/nuts.
3. Drill holes on the bar stock matching the holes on the subwoofer.
4. Attach subwoofer to bracket using the rubber washers and bolts. I stacked 3 rubber washers per corner (and one on the backside) to give clearance for the bars and dampen vibrations.
That's it.. pretty simple and effective. You could bolt down the lower corners of the subwoofer to the body to make it more secure. It seemed sturdy enough for me and I haven't found any vibration issues.
The sub has an auto-on feature so you don't need to run a remote power signal wire making the install even easier. It powers on after sensing voltage from the signal cable. It also includes a wired level controller which I just put in the glove box.
Check out the pictures for more details - hope it helps.
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