I have been away from audio for over 20 years. Just bought a 2010 Subaru Outback with the base stereo in it. I upgraded the door speakers to some nice Polks but am missing the bottom end of the spectrum. Time for a sub. I checked out a few decks but by the time I integrate the steering controls, blue tooth, sat radio, it will cost way over what I think I really need.

What is the best route for me to go for a sub. I was looking at a sony amp XM-1S and a 10 inch (either Pioneer TS-W258D4, or a JL 10W0v2-4 - in a sealed box of about 1 cu ft. Which is better with that amp??

Also, a question on the wiring. I don't think I will be doing this myself. What would be the best way to wire the amp? The amp accepts both low and high level inputs.

BTW, I have an older 4 channel JBL amp of about 35 watts a channel, and was thinking of using this as well, but from what I understand on a Subaru forum the eq of the head unit amped sounds terrible.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

Not going to buy an aftermarket deck??

 

you can buy a good quality LOC and run it off the rear speakers, basically everyone you talk to on here is gonna recommend you upgrade your head unit if you actually want good sound and to run a 4 channel. can i ask why youve decided to buy a sony amp?

the best way to decide which sub to choose is to hear them both and choose the one that sounds the best to you for your personal tastes

also the two subs youve picked are both rated at 300 and 350 rms and the amp puts out 500 (if you are willing to believe sony numbers) so youll have it overpowered which isnt that bad in a sealed box as long as you have it tuned correctly and you manage to get a good clean signal out of your LOC but it could lead to cooking your sub if you demand too much form it

are you buying your equipment online? or at a retailer? any good shop should be able to demonstrate the subs before you buy

 

Well, I would prefer to upgrade the deck, but too many addons needed to make it what it is now - but with better sound of course. The cost is a real factor as well as fit and finish.

I went with a sony amp because I really have no idea; it did spec out well and had favourable reviews online - and it will fit under my seat nicely. It was what was recommended to me at Visions. I was unable to actually hear either sub as well - nothing was hooked up on their board. My research has been online. Essentially I live a bit in the bowels of Saskatchewan without ready access to knowledgeable people and that is why I am here asking here. All my purchases will be at a Futureshop / Visions type of store and plan to travel into a major area for the install.

I am not looking at scaring the neighbours with the bass, but basically want to fill in the bottom end on a bit of a budget. What LOC should I be looking at as recommended above?

I do have my old JBL 4 channel amp but am concerned that it will sound poor based upon a postings on a Subaru forum member's experience. They just could not get the head unit's eq to work well with the amp for whatever reason. So, based on that, I am only considering the amp and sub for my install.

Anything else I need to consider? Amplifier wiring kits, line converters, - do I add fiberglass or poly fill to the sealed sub box?

Thanks again for your input.

 

check the recommended box sizes for each sub, whichever one is designed for smaller sealed enclosures would be your best bet, personally id go for the jl just based on the fact that they seem to be of higher quality, youd have to ask a real expert,

but if youre just looking for some extra lows, go with the JL and futureshop usually has pretty good prices on alpine amps the mrp-m500 is around $299 which might be more than the sony but you pay a bit more for long term reliability and sound quality, id be more likely to trust an alpine amp over a sony especially when youre running off high level inputs so basically what i would say is do some googling about the benefits of using high level inputs or a line output converter and figure out what is best for you

if you wanna spend your money once and spend it right id say pitch the extra bit of cash the first time and not have any regrets, you could also look in the classifieds on here for an amp, generally used amps are good deals but i wouldnt recommend buying a used sub cuz shipping is high and they wear out pretty quick so you dont get much bang for your buck