Added some subs to factory system this weekend - nice improvement.

I have the entune headunit and like most people on here - I agree the sound quality sucks. This weekend I added a janky ( very old ) amp and subs to the C and I was impressed after I got it all tuned how much more full the music was. With the Sub i was able to turn the bass way down on the entune headunit EQ and there is much less distortion from the factory speakers. Install is pretty straight forward, battery under the seat is very convenient for running power wires.

I used a line level converter hidden behind the glove box, tapped into the speaker and remote wires coming from the headunit, ran the wires and turned it on.

Its not an audiophiles dream, in fact the sound quality on the subs is terrible, some brand I have never heard of and an old rockford fosgate amp. When I say old the HPF/LPF is actually a PCB board that you pull out of the bottom of the amp and place in different directions for different filters, the remote turn on wire attachment was broken so i soldered it directly into the amp and put a connector on it. Its a temporary system until my custom box is completed but I can say that the volume I find acceptable has decreased dramatically. I typically rocked out at about 50 on the factory system, with the sub I am now able to get what I want at around30-35 volume.

With the Bass going to the factory speakers turned all the way down the distortion has decreased noticeably (as to be expected). Now I just need to finish sound deadening 2 more doors and install my Infinity Kappa 3 ways in all 4 doors.

Coming from someone who had $5,000+ systems in my vehicles I can not say that anything sounds "good" from a audiophile point of view, but the improvement from a little bit of Bass is pretty nice, and the decreased bass going to the paper speakers helps a lot.

 

I can take a pic, but its not really picworthy. It was something laying in a friends garage, since I was sound-deadening I ran the wires while the interior was pulled out. I will be building a stealth system in the back where the spare is currently located. Nothing serious - just want a good SoundQuality sub rather than an SPL speaker. Once the box is done the whole system will be under the OEM hatchback carpet, so from appearance you will not see anything, and I will not loose any cargo space. I will probably be building the box in the next few months - fall I get less hours at my second job than in summer and winter, so I will have free time and boredom which translates to productivity. I will document the box construction when I get to that point for sure.

 

Here is the picture - can not see too much but like i said - nothing really worth seeing yet. 2 - 12" Pro Series (thats the brand name - they are junk) subs in a downfiring box. The rear foam stuff has been removed from the car and the Amp sits underneath the box in the spare tire chamber. Its only 200w RMS but I had to turn the gain way down because they are too loud for the factory speakers, and the subs do not sound all that good either.

 

Yes the majority of the car is double layered with sound mat, the roof, hatch, trunk area etc. The doors were matted on the outer door skin (on the inside) as well as the inner door skin that you can see here. My goal with the sound deadener was to eliminate the road noise and it has done an excellent job at that.

When it comes to systems I am a former SPL competitor who really wrecked my hearing as a teenager, so I am not looking for anything too serious. I am really partial to infinty speakers, and was considering a single 10" Kappa, however I am not sure that the mounting depth is going to work with the box I want to build. I have been looking into various shallow mount subs and am not sure how I feel about the reviews. I am focusing on sound quality over sound. I like the Alpine Type R shallow mount, but the price is a little higher than what I would like to spend, not out of budget or anything but I think some of that money would do more good elsewhere.

I think until i get measurements and the box design started I will probably hold off on picking a specific speaker, but I am certainly up for suggestions as I have been out of the Car Audio world for a few years and have not kept current on new technology.

On a side note, 2 - 12" subs with 1000 watts each placed right behind the head of the driver and passenger in an S-10 extended cab is probably a bad idea for anyone who wants to maintain their level of hearing later into life... Lesson learned.

On this page I have more pictures / info on the sound matting project if you are interested.
Picked up my new PC3 today - HIDs installed, debadged, more to come | Page 3 | PriusChat

 

I would call around to your local car audio places - I would not expect this to be cheap however, I bought the fatmat at bulk wholesale prices, while a local reseller will probably charge you retail - however this may be negotiable. The real expense is going to come in the form of labor hours. Looking at probably 4-6 hours of work for an experienced installer - I don't know what they charge for labor but a lot of shops are charging $50-100 an hour.

Another Option would be to find someone locally - perhaps on Craigslist or through the forums that would be willing to help you do this. There are a lot of enthusiasts out there that love an opportunity to tear apart a car and put it back together, if you were local I would help you do it for sure.

 

Its honestly pretty easy to do yourself - if you can use basic tools, you can do this install. I did mine in small sections over a period of several weeks so it was not overwhelming. The interior door panels only have 3 screws holding them in, everything else just pop's on with snaps. The carpet is only held in by other trim pieces, ond the trim pieces for the most part just pop off with your hands. The seats have a few bolts and some electrical plugs, etc. If you have never done anything like this, why not start now, its fairly easy once you figure out how one thing comes off, the rest pretty much is the same. There are also tutorials throughout the forum on removal of specific panels, and if you get stuck anywhere, just send me a message and I can explain how to get that piece off.

Let me know if you do decide to tackle this task yourself, or if you have any questions.