AJ_Gil mentioned the Bazooka VSE-SCI-145L-07 powered subwoofer that's designed specifically to fit into our right rear C-pillar (keeps the cargo area clear). From looking over Bazooka's site, it consists of a dual channel 50W/ch amp, a dual voice coil 8" driver and an approximately .5 cu-ft ported enclosure. The official frequency range is a non-adjustable 35 to 85 Hz. It has a factory compatible harness that uses a "T"-connector to plug between the head unit and speakers/power. There's a front panel level control and a green power LED (supposedly turns red if the sub overheats and shuts down). A rear switch allows polarity inversion and a remote level control is available for dash mount.

I received it last Wednesday and was hoping to open it up to check out the amplifier (wanted to use HU sub line outputs instead of speaker level), but wasn't able to find a way in ! The supplied harness has six wires feeding from the front (power, remote, left speaker +/-, right speaker +/-) and a rear chassis ground wire -- all being 18 AWG. According to Bazooka, max current draw is 7.5A. The harness attaches to the back of the sub with a fourteen pin dual row locking connector. The "T"-connector offers two remote options by selecting between single pin connectors, "ACC" power or "REMOTE AMP".

After giving up on getting into the cabinet I did a basic test by installing the "T"-connector with the sub sitting in the passenger seat and firing up the HU. Seemed to have plenty of level range and worked just fine with the other speakers, however, I really did want the flexibility of using my subwoofer line outputs so I picked up some RCA plugs and made a couple 8" pigtails. I clipped the speaker feed wires from the "T" connector, soldered them to the pigtails, plugged them in, and tried again. This time I could adjust my audio output to better cooperate with the sub and so I set the front panel level to max, the HU bass roll-off to 80Hz and found a sub level setting of +9dB (-15 -> +15 range) seemed to meld about right. I'm guessing the wiring change probably cost around 6dB of sensitivity.

In any case, it worked with the sub sitting next to me, so I went ahead with the wiring. Despite the fact it sounded fine, I decided I'd prefer to run power to the back of the car with something a little heavier than 18 AWG. I soldered a fuse holder to the main "ACC" feed wire at the "2F" connector (pin 5) above the cabin fuse block, and used that to feed a red 10 AWG wire which I ran behind the dash to join the Bazooka harness above and behind the glove box.



I moved the remote option connector wire to the HU side of the "T"-connector, clipped the power wire, and fully removed the "T"-connector (just not useful anymore). I then ran the harness and power wire together to the base of the right rear "C"-pillar. Since I didn't really want to make any more holes in the interior panel than absolutely necessary, I chose not to drill a hole for the wiring but instead feed it under the edge of the panel. I also decided to use something heavier for the chassis ground wire and went with some black 12 AWG I had left over from my earlier hitch harness install. Because of the two wire changes, I removed the black heat shrink from the sub connector and on down for a foot or more. I clipped the power and ground wires about 8" from the connector and soldered my replacement wires in their stead.

To verify the wiring, I connected the sub, put a 10A fuse in the new holder, and fired up the HU, everything OK. I then went to install the subwoofer and discovered the two heavier gauge wires were preventing the right side tray from seating fully and so the lower bracket was a fight and there was no gap under the sub cabinet for my cargo liner corner flap . My cure for that will be to run the original 18 AWG a few inches further from the connector so the heavier wires are below the panel. Of course, if I'd simply followed the instructions and drilled a connector sized hole in the back of the pocket, this problem would never have occurred !



In any case, I checked it out with a CD and several FM stations and an HU sub level setting of +11dB seems about right and the bass integration and sturdiness seem good. However, I've learned there's a shorty harness available (Bazooka ELA-HP-AWK) that provides access to the sub amplifier RCA inputs and so I think I'll try making that change and at the same time adjust the wiring to solve the side tray problem. (The original above photo has a blue tint -- I'll replace it when I can.)

By the way, I should probably mention this sub is designed to complement your factory HU and provide very good musical foundation for normal listening. It's definitely not for people who are out to serenade casual bystanders, so best bypass this if pounding bass is your thing ! My purpose was to see if I could convert it to work well with my aftermarket HU, and it's pretty clear it can. The speaker level inputs work fine with line level signals (though there is loss of gain).

 

Cool! Glad you got it working.
I'm kind of regretting not jumping on that deal because I haven't seen them for less than $299 at Amazon since plus, the wife lost her job so no new goodies for the immediate future :-(

 

Sorry to hear about your wife's job, way too much of that going around ! If you're interested, the same seller is still advertising, but the 10% off sale was only for a day or two. I definitely appreciate your posting that deal !

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bazooka-2007...item519b356e2e

 

Received the alternative harness, but decided not to use it since although the wires were the same gauge, all but the RCA wires had much thicker insulation and would worsen the fit behind the sub enclosure. I tried mounting the subwoofer without the wiring and there still wasn't room underneath to insert the cargo liner corner flap. For some reason, the right side tray corner sits higher than the left side . However, I found if the wires pass up the right rear of the corner (instead of the left rear), they don't interfere with the tray to panel fit, so I went with a reroute instead of a rewire.

Purpose of getting the alternative harness was to access the amp RCA inputs, but since wiring it in didn't seem a good idea, I decided to relocate the speaker level wires on my existing connector to the RCA positions. Took me awhile, but finally got the high-level contacts extracted and re-inserted for low-level input. Put everything back together and tried again. With the high level inputs I used a +11dB subwoofer setting, whereas with the low-level inputs, even with the HU sub output bottomed (-15), it was still too much. However, by reducing the sub front panel level control half a rotation to the shaft slot horizontal position, its level seems about right with an HU setting of 0dB (HU bass boost remaining +3 dB). The sound is majorly improved over before installing the sub !

 

looks like a good fit. The price on this is always right too. I did something a lil off the deep end on my ride.

 

That looks very nicely done, and that big boy should surely move some air (I'm guessing the amp is a tad more than 100W )! Of course, relative to a few I've seen on the net, some might consider it modest, but mine would fall into the why-did-you-bother or why-did-you-waste-your-money or what-subwoofer category !

Guess it all depends on ones goals and mine is to have a good coherent foundation for my normal listening. It's pretty clear the sub has far more loudness capability than I'm using, though even at my mild listening levels, the sub moves enough air to make itself felt in the back of my seat given low enough notes. If the bass is tuneful (pitch preserved), then the low bass harmonics are being reproduced with an amplitude reasonably consistent with the upper bass and lower midrange harmonics (as per the source spectrum). That's what I like !

I'd been considering an under the seat setup, but this package just seemed so convenient and with such an attractive price, I just couldn't resist! Still, if you want a lower bottom roll-off, then you need a bigger cone and/or a bigger box (depending on infinite baffle or bass reflex). If I decide that matters to me, and I'm willing to give up cargo space, at least the wiring supports it !

FWIW -- Although an 8" cone moves less air, it also involves less mass so it can more quickly/accurately respond to the amplifier. However, if higher air pressure and/or lower frequency requirements result in voice coil excursion exceeding its linear range, then harmonic distortion increases, and so a larger cone becomes a better choice. As usual, all things are a trade-off .

 

Just replaced the blue tinted upper photo and here's another .



Seems to me the right side tray corner may have relaxed down a little more, however, there still isn't room for the cargo liner flap. I'm concluding the design just didn't allow for it. I guess that's legitimate since it is just an accessory, would have been nice though ! In any case, it's impressive how closely the cabinet follows the contours of that corner, including the pocket behind it.

 

Three more photos !

 

Nice Job

 

Resolved the cargo liner fit problem!





Probably could have kept another 1/4", but it seems to work fine !

 

I have a 2009 Scion XB that I picked up last week. The car came with the dealer installed bazooka sub as well as original HU (no RCA for sub). I opted to install a new HU and now I am dealing with a huge learning curve as I try to figure out how to make the best of my HU as well as the sub. I would like to accomplish the same as you did above (independent sub control via the HU).

Without having to reroute a new harness from the sub to the HU is there a way to control the sub via RCA connectors? Like some sort of harness hook up near the HU? I have been looking at all the bazooka mod harnesses but only am becoming more frustrated.

Where is the "crossover" that I have read about that prevents all the base going to front speakers that is going to the sub?

The only things that I have done thus far is install a Kenwood DPX791BH HU with the harness adapter to maintain steering wheel control.

Thanks in advance and hope you are still around to help out.