I'm thinking of adding a sub to my 03 Screw. I'm pretty happy with the sound system in the truck, I just wish it had a little bit more kick. I don't want to rock the neighborhood or anything! I do however want to make my setup completely invisible from the outside as I've had too many break-in's in the past.

With that in mind can anyone recommend a sub setup? I was thinking a single 10" but would a pair of 8" subs sound better than that?

 

I'd go for a 10 in case you ever wanted to upgrade, 10's are not only easier to sell than 8's but if you wanted more bass and wanted to keep your equipment, you can just add another 10 in a larger enclosure and your amp should handle it (depending on the load).

 

ya good point! Can you recommend a brand of sub and amp combo? Preferably pretty cheap! Are the Sony Xplod's I see at Wal-Mart for $60 any good?

 

no they are not, i have a Pioneer Premier TS-W1008D4 and it cost me about $65 new with free shipping on ebay from sonicelectronix.com's ebay store and its a way better sub.

 

Honestly, I believe a sub is a sub. They all create sound. Sony subs do what they are built for, give a nice low-frequency addition to your music. However, I am very partial towards round subwoofers. It's the dynamics of a round cone that make the design far superior than cones of sided shapes like the 5-sided Sonys and square Kickers. If you'd like for me to elaborate, just let me know.

As for a sub and amplifier combo, here is what I would aim for if you want something that will sound good without busting the bank...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPINE-MRP-M500-...item20b14b0b75

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-TS-SW100...item439f4493a3

Those are an example of a subwoofer and amplifier I'd suggest if you wanted great bang for your buck. The amp is capable of 500Wrms @ 2ohms, and the sub is capable of handling 300Wrms @ 2ohms. You are always better getting an amplifier that is capable of putting out more power than a speaker can take in, this way you can tune it better and have better "head room". There are TONS of other options for subs and amps. In fact, another amp that would be great to run would be a Kicker ZX400.1 amplifier. In fact, I installed a Kicker ZX400.1 amp and a shallow 10" Pioneer in my friend's 2007 4 door Frontier. It won't blow your doors off but it sounds pretty nice for a 10" flat subwoofer!

Since you mentioned you want something invisible, stick with shallow subwoofers. They are the easiest to hide under rear seats without lifting the seats. Some popular ones in the 10" size are Kenwood, Rockford Fosgate, MTX, and Kicker. There are others out there, but those are the more fluent ones that you will hear the most feedback with. Honestly, get whatever you can get the best deal on, which would be the Pioneer, or whichever one you like the looks of the most. Speakers only sound as good as the enclosure it's installed in and the tuning done through the headunit and amplifier. A JL13W7 is a monster by itself but sounds like crap in a cardboard box hooked up to a boom box running on 8 D-sized batteries.

 

Doesn't mean they all sound good doing it. You listed some nice examples of poorly designed drivers:
If I was the OP, I'd consider the JBL GTO10 or the Dayton HO10. Better designed woofers that include shorting rings for lower inductance, they have lower distortion, and are built with higher quality materials throughout. That Dayton can be ported at .6 - .7 cubes tuned to ~30Hz and blow your mind. Frankly it very possibly might be the best performing single 10" setup that would fit under the seat and still allow you to keep your jack. Wouldn't cost much either.

 

Obviously not al subs sound good making sound, but the determination of what "sounds good" or even "good enough" is subjective to each individual's tastes and desires of what people would classify as 'quality sound' based on how much they care about the top quality of high quality (which is subjective as well) and what they can afford, and not everyone is like you.

I listed examples of popular manufacturers of shallow 10" subwoofers. Not all of Rockford's, Kenwood's, MTX's, and Kicker's woofers are "poorly designed" in terms of sound output in volume and/or quality. In comparison, shallow woofers are never up to par with standard woofers, with the exception of the JL TW5 (which I only include because I am a huge fan of larger voice coils).

With that mentioned, the Dayton is a questionable application. Even with a 5/8" MDF construction, the driver and enclosure would be about 7" high including a 1/4" gap between the pole pole and enclosure. Then you'd have to give it about half an inch of clearance for it's 12.3mm Xmax and just enough space for the air to radiate. Now I haven't exactly measured the floor space under the rear seat of an 03 but if there isn't 8", then the OP would have to stick with a shallow woofer unless he knows how to glass. No doubt the Dayton subs are great, but they won't fit all applications. Same with the GTO, which is taller than the Dayton.

To the OP, here's what I would do if I were you. Check out stereo shops and let your ears do the shopping. See what sounds good to you, and go for it. Find the balance of your definition of "quality" and see if it works with whatever budget you set.

 

excellent debate all around! Thanks for all the input guys, you both gave me some good advice to consider. I'm really about 90% satisfied with my stock system, I just want to add a sub so I can turn it up a little bit when driving with the windows down and not have to worry about blowing out the factory speakers!

I'm going to go sub-shopping at a couple of different places tomorrow with $300 in my pocket and see what that can get me!

 

Right on man! Go with what you like the sound of. Might I suggest online buying? Like, check out retailers to see how the subs sound, then try an online store for your purchases? Just something to consider since you can usually find thing online for just over half the price of retail.

 

This is a good idea IF the online retailer is authorized. Often times you can get shops to discount or price match some of the authorized online retailers like Crutchfield etc. They will often discount you on installation too.

The Dayton HO10 has a mounting depth of 5" which will fit in almost any pre-fab box, and a home-made box will provide plenty of space. My Adire Kodas are the same size with 50% more linear throw and they fit. When I get some extra cash Im gonna grab a HO10 and build a .7 cu ft ported box tuned to 30Hz for it under the seat, see how it does. I'm just soooo curious.

 

Personally, I've had no good experience purchasing subs through retail or even chasing an online authorized seller in terms of warranty. Of the subs I've blown, I've yet to have one honor a warranty claim with a blown voice coil (or in the case of my shallow Rockfords, a hole blown through the cone). With amps though, I will only purchase through an authorized retailer.

And the Dayton just seems so tall. I mean, through calculations, the overall needed height is tremendous compared to what's available. But it would certainly be a monster even all on it's own, def something worth trying. Probably after my next build, I'll get one and try it out, ported @ 30hz just for an experiment only because I'm in need of a home theater subwoofer and I already have plate amps and I'll just build a box for it.