Need subwoofer

[El Cid]

Btw, conquering the subwoofer problem means reaching out to every manner of product maker for help. Leaves me sitting at the door waiting gratefully for a UPS/Fedex delivery.

The key however is finding replacement cloth and grate, which, incidentally can be done. If you can build out the plastic grate that is attached, it helps quite a bit..

 

[lhommec13]

Any updates to this thread? I'm very interested in seeing how the subwoofer replacement goes!

 

[drwapenshaw]

Here is a link to more info:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2006-mark-levinson-subwoofer.774583/

 

[El Cid]

Any updates to this thread? I'm very interested in seeing how the subwoofer replacement goes!

Sorry, short answer is it's been a tricky adventure, the temperature has dipped into the 20's, finally got warm, then is dropping again tonight. I need 50 degrees F on the weekend or this is difficult. Short answer, it's tricky to put in molex pins wearing gloves. On a positive note, we've found a product that works. The JL audio 6w3-3 6.5 inch subwoofer sounds pretty good.
I tried to get the JL audio subwoofer into the factory enclosure. While it fits in dimensions, the weight of it puts quite a strain on the enclosure itself and the associated, wood, glue, screws and metal we were using to secure it. It has been difficult and to be honest, I'm ready to give up on the idea of squeezing two subs in the stock enclosure.

It should be reiterated that part of the value an enclosure provides is the conch shell effect of channeling air/sound that the sub creates. So I was hesitant to cut the enclosure to pieces simply to jam it into the space. My goal was to keep it intact in the sense that it was still an enclosure of some sort.

The owners with single subs should have no trouble modifying the subwoofer to fit. That enclosure is an injection molded piece of plastic and it is easy to pop out one for a similar weight/size subwoofer. The owners with two subs have an uphill battle. Any replacement product is going to be larger and more importantly, heavier. We were able to squeeze in two subs in our enclosure and it fit, with some modification. The weight however has been too much. We drilled and screwed it into the enclosure and used pieces to reinforce it, but it's' easily a steep multiple of the original subwoofer in terms of weight. As a result, it bounced around quite a bit after a few laps around the block, up the road and on a few errands. So we yanked it out and the plan is to ditch the enclosure and wire the subwoofers a bit further back.

Currently, I've tried the microsub enclosure from JL audio that fits my particular sub. So far, so good. Now I need to do the same with the original and have two microsub enclosures. So I've got a plan that will move the subs further back, but it takes some wiring effort. With even one sub woofer hooked up and some dynamat/liner, it sounds really, really good!

Conclusion: TL;DR Replacing factory subs in the stock enclosure with JL audio 6w3v3's won't work, they are too heavy. It is possible to run the wires further back if you have different sub enclosures. It sounds impressive with even one sub hooked up.

Pictures soon, I have some packages going back and forth...

 

[SmoothLC]

Thanks for the update @El Cid - was wondering if this was going to be the case.

Still interested to see what you come up with though.

The system in my LC is all aftermarket and all I need is to fit a sub or two in.

 

[El Cid]

I wanted make sure I didn't mislead anyone that expected it to be a solution. The nutty part is that it fits, it's just too damned heavy. The It was disappointing to not be able to pull it off, but I'm still very happy with the result. Part of the problem is the value proposition and decision economics in the first place. None of us are going to go to the length of tearing out the stock subwoofer only to replace it with.....a similar product. This should be an upgrade. That JL in my example is one of the smallest possible subs, and it's brick heavy. You might be able to find smaller, but what's the point.

I also wanted split subs, too, that's part personal preference.

The positive is that all you need to do is get that plastic out and then change the wiring harness, which is actually very straightforward. Then with a longer length of wire you can simply run the wires to the back and drop in sub enclosures. I've got one in that looks like this, and expect to add another. That explains the wait, I wanted to try one and see how it looks.
http://www.jlaudio.com/cp106lg-w3v3-car-audio-microsub-subwoofer-systems-93300

I'll get a photo in the next day or so and you can see, it will still be possible to dress that enclosure a bit, add some velcro to secure it to the vehicle and it look just fine. The difficulty in explaining this to anyone via the forum is you have to see the sub and how it fits in the space..not a lot to work with here.. but it looks like it will be fine wedged behind the back seat..

Most importantly, it sounds kick ass already and I haven't even replaced the amplifier.

 

[TwiceWithHair]

When you find out you can fit just one, sell me your extra for cheap =)


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Bump.


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[El Cid]

Bump.


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Actually, two fit, they just need to be moved to the rear corners

I will be jettisoning my original factory subs though...those things were puny!

 

[El Cid]

Thanks for the update @El Cid - was wondering if this was going to be the case.

Still interested to see what you come up with though.

The system in my LC is all aftermarket and all I need is to fit a sub or two in.

Update:

1) Here is a photo of the bedtred pro series product I think would be a perfect addition to the cargo area. My luck turned a bit and they are selling me a 6 foot wide cut of it. I also found the plastic snaps to secure the tailgate material, but I need to narrow down the precise size. it's a kooky but very effective little plastic snap and they are sold at most auto parts store. Just need to figure out which size is best. Though I'm honestly ok with letting an auto upholsterer(friend) handle this as I trust their carpet cutting over mine.

2) Here is a very rough photo of the JL sub sitting in the back of my LC. Gives you and idea of space/fit. Weather finally turned, hope to finish out the wiring for the remaining subwoofer over the weekend. The hold up is that I want to wait on the upholstery and I want to dress up the sub once it's in to hide the annoying JL logo. But bottom line, that sub fits in the very back corner very well. It sounds great and I think those are the smallest aftermarket subs that will fit for the most relevant value. It will mean you only have to make some modifications to the wiring. Very easy.

I'll add a photo of what I did to the wiring very soon.

 

[El Cid]

Here is a photo of the wiring, half way done due to disruption in my schedule. On the left is the old factory work and the right is the 4 circuit molex connector(.093). I've connected two wires thus far and voila, one subwoofer. Will connect the second sub shortly. My advice is to buy one of a molex connector(4 pin, but you can go higher), get a crimping tool and connect one of those to the factory harness, so you can remove these if need be. Then run longer 16 gauge wiring to the rear of the vehicle. That way you can remove these subs if need be.

I've got some ideas in mind for how I'll stabilize these subs behind the third row, but I need to finish out the connection and upholstery first..
These sub enclosures are as big as I think will reasonably fit behind the third row. Even with one in, it sounds great.

 

[El Cid]

Finally, wiring harness is re-wired to accomodate new subwoofers, and completed a recarpet of the cargo area.

 

[TheForger]

Finally, wiring harness is re-wired to accomodate new subwoofers, and completed a recarpet of the cargo area.

View attachment 1027544

Very nice! What material did you go with for the carpet? Also, what type of fasteners did you use? That's the only thing holding me back, the only ones that seem to fit for me are too tall and would be painful if bumped with a knee.

 

[El Cid]

Forge,

I had been hitting up a few truck bed places in that never ending search for the perfect texture and found one I really liked. http://www.bedrug.com/products/bed-liners/bed-tred-pro.html

Problem is Bedrug,(which is based near Knoxville), only wanted to sell kits that 'fit' particular vehicles, so what you'll have to do is contact them directly, ask for a 6x10 cut of their product(cost was ab $100) and have them ship it to you. The material is excellent. It's slick plastic on top, soft fabric attached beneath.

Here is the contact person:
Valeria@bedrug.com

From there contact a 'good' auto upholstery shop. I swear by good craftsmen, I found a place in the DFW area.
http://www.karsrkewl.com/ They focus on restoring old cars, so my project was a cinch and they knocked it out in a day. A little word of advice, I researched the auto upholstery world a bit through a site called hogring. They did put a layer of automotive padding under as well. Good restorers and upholstery guys are almost freelancers. So find a good one through word of mouth and reward them, you'll notice a big difference in quality if you do.

 

[El Cid]

Here is a quick photo of the tailgate...I was insistent about a couple of things: 1) I wanted trim around the tailgate edge 2) I wanted a tight fit around the plastic snaps. We went back and forth on the snap pieces that secure it, I think you could go either way, but I'm thrilled that we found a way to use screws, which are a better result.

After getting this 'right' and getting the bedrug in place, I'm now undecided whether I continue with a utility or luxury carpet throughout the rest of the vehicle. Iv'e found a nice boat vinyl, but the carpet in the LC gets so much foot traffic, I may continue this..

A word of caution, the really thick products are difficult to cut, are too thick and arent' flexible enough to fit around the plastic edges. The Bedrug is really just a carpet with a plastic topliner..but it flexes just enough.

I'll show you how the wiring and subwoofers ended up as well. I'm going to continue to modify the appearance a bit, but they are in and sound great.