Anyone have a subwoofer under the seat?

Looking at adding a sub to my system because the stock non-JBL is just completely lacking in that area.

I listen only to rock music, so I just need enough bass to fill the car. I dont want it to be heard outside of the car, down the block or anything.

I'm basically far more concerned with quality than quantity. I want to feel the thump of the kick, and hear every bass note clearly. Right now, with the stock system, the kick is sort of implied rather than heard clearly, and half the bass notes are simply non-existent.

Its a lease, so it needs to be self contained, and very small.

I used to have a kenwood WOOX a few years ago that was a smaller 6.5 sub w/ 5.25 radiator - I wasnt entirely enamored with it, it sounded a bit boomy, but it was better than nothing for sure. I want something slightly tighter and deeper.

I was considering the Infinity basslink, which seems to get generally good reviews, but I'd have to mount it in the trunk and take up trunk space.

Id really like to mount one under the seats for simplicity's sake, plus having it right under my ass will certainly help me "feel" it.

I'm considering this BOSS BASS1200:http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B001DXF990?tag=priuschatcom-20 have any experience with it? I'm hoping by virtue of it being a 10-inch rather than a 6.5 it should sound cleaner than the WOOX.

Is there 3 inches of space under the seat?

Any other under-seat subs I should consider?

This would be a nice option. I could go for this. I have a 12" Alpine sub and Amp, but I could definitely sell them and have more than enough to do a project like this. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

I have a BOSS, it's in my Gen II, but bang for the buck, I LOVE IT!!!
If you can make it fit under the seat, kudos to you. I ended up putting it in the back..


The BOSS works quite well. It's a set it up once and then "Fuggiddaboutit" type of audio gear!

Show us a pic wih what you come up with!!

I think someone put something like that under the passenger seat. My question is if so, what did that do to the heater duct? Did they extend the duct? Does that heat up the sub amp too much?

Well, I went outside and measured it, and it seems like height wont be a problem - even at the ridge in the rear under the back seat theres 3 inches of height at the lowest point, and 4-5 at where I normally comfortably sit. Width wise it would fit with room to spare, but length wise, the duct is going to get in the way. I could prob fit it in there in front of the duct and have it sticking slightly out of the back over the little ridge, but I'd also be really concerned that the duct would heat the sub amp up in the winter.

OTOH, the temps coming out of that duct cant be outrageously high even in the winter, and I rarely have passengers so I'm not too concerned about blocking it for comfort reasons.

Aside from under the seat, it seems like it would fit very comfortably in what I call the secret weapons compartment under the main storage area of the trunk, although I dont know what that would do to the sound. It could potentially even fit in the pocket behind the seat.

I'm gonna order it and see what I can make happen under the seat. Worse case scenario its so slim I can mount it in the trunk if I have to.

Is there any way to remove the duct entirely?

For those who have a sub already, how did you wire it? To the battery in the trunk? What about the yellow switched wire? And to where did you ground?

For best results, wire it directly to the +12 battery. Both Positive and Negative wires. As far as the power sense wire, find the acc voltage that turns the JBL amp on and bridge across that!
That's how I hooked mine up and it works really SWEET!!!!

I dont have a JBL amp, I have the II.

Is it fine to wire it to the yellow wire running to the head unit, so I can run that wire alongside the same wires for the audio signal? Its not actually drawing power, just sensing that the HU is on, correct?

Yes that will work equally as well!

Hmm, in that case, since its just a switch, does the gauge matter? Or can I use a 20ga wire to keep things simple and make it easier to tap the harness?

Yes, the sense line in low current, +12 volts. 18 /20 Ga. would work fine!

I have BAS600 under passenger seat. I love it.

I compared my setup with my coworker's Bose system (from Nissan Altima Coupe). We both agreed mine sounds better.

My setup includes Kenwood DNX6960 head unit, Infinity Reference Components in the front and Infinity Kappa in the back.

Why under the passenger seat and not the drivers? Is there more room down there or something?

I have the 8" under the passenger seat. Did not bother even looking at the heater vent (small car, to me - not a bother - but someone could extend it).

Mine was $70 delivered (Christmas special Amazon).

I put the control - hot melted - under the drivers right for adjustments.

Overall, it's nice in filling the bass. If you want hard thumping (at least in the 8") - you need to put a larger one in the rear (the Euro car has a thumper above the spare tire - I wish someone would post pics - cause that is a great spot).

Was at a nice car spot a bit back, and there are some crazy good *low profile* subs. Saw a nice 12" that could be mounted in a custom cabinet under a front seat. That would give you nice thump - but is a hassle (amp + cab).

Bottom line - front seat is not bad, easy to install, and fills nicely sonically - but if you are looking for extra big thump, you need something else...

Great price on that.

I was looking @ the 1500 (10" sub) and was wondering why reviews were mentioning heavy guage wiring? As far as hookup, all you need are the low inputs (RCA) and power, ground and a amp-on trigger right? These are powered units right?

TIA.

Yep, amp is included. I used supplied power cables directly to +12 volt battery. You get both, low level pre-amp, or speaker in!

I'd rather not shake my kiwis because I plan to have perfect babies soon. Plus, my wife could make a better use of it. If I decide to upgrade to an external amp, I'll put it under driver seat.

Be careful with the choice of power. Prius is designed to have low power consumption. BAS600 drains the HV battery noticeably -- not as fast as A/C but you'll notice the bars drop. It is rated 400 Watts RMS. Prius HV battery has ~500 Watt-hour usable capacity. It should be able to power my sub for about an hour. I'll have to add the power required for the speakers and then to run the car.

I think the HV battery may run down after less than 30 mins or so if you are idling. It will then have to recharge by running the ICE. I normally turn off the subwoofer during traffic jam (especially when the AC on) and only use it when the car is moving freely. The goal is to prolong the HV battery life and minimize MPG hit.

Eh, I'm not too concerned about mpg hit. I dont plan on running the sub to anywhere near capacity, and any minor loss in fuel efficiency is totally worth it to actually hear bass notes under 100hz.

At the volumes I listen at, I doubt I'm pushing more than 20W continuous through a sub.

Btw, I went to SBU also a few years ago.

Do you live on campus?

Also, what did you guys do to secure the sub under there? I'd like to avoid drilling, and I refuse to remove the seat.

Kelly Quad was my home. Hamilton and Baruch if I recall. They call them frat houses but definitely for CS majors. :focus:

I was going to secure with the provided sticky velcro but the BAS600 fits perfectly in between the four seat mount corners. I will be putting it on for safety and install the provided remote to turn on/off. I am currently using the head unit to turn it on/off.