Subwoofer solution for Boxster?

[ALBERTQ17]

Hello all,

I have been working on a subwoofer enclosure for some time now. I didn't want to use the passenger footwell area or the space behind the seats so I fit a 8" shallow sub from Pioneer (TS-SW841D) into an enclosure that is the same shape and size as the rear storage compartment. I have one installed in my Boxster receiving 200 watts and it sounds great. I will be putting one for sale on e-bay shortly as I know that quite a few of you Boxster owners want a better sounding system. I attached some pictures so you can see what i did. Also attached is a picture of some sealed enclosures that I made to fit some 6-1/2" speakers in my doors. What do you guys think?

Albert

[1schoir]

Hello all,

I have been working on a subwoofer enclosure for some time now. I didn't want to use the passenger footwell area or the space behind the seats so I fit a 8" shallow sub from Pioneer (TS-SW841D) into an enclosure that is the same shape and size as the rear storage compartment. I have one installed in my Boxster receiving 200 watts and it sounds great. I will be putting one for sale on e-bay shortly as I know that quite a few of you Boxster owners want a better sounding system. I attached some pictures so you can see what i did. Also attached is a picture of some sealed enclosures that I made to fit some 6-1/2" speakers in my doors. What do you guys think?

Albert

Looks nice....probably sounds even better!

Did the 8" shallow sub have to be offset from center because of the depression in the housing that has to provide space for the latch hook?

Regards, Maurice.

[ALBERTQ17]

Yes. It would have looked better if the speaker were in the middle but you are right, it is impossible because of the depression you mentioned.

[geeklife]

Looking forward to your ebay listing. Definitely interested.

[Gary H]

Are the door enclosure the originals, but strengthened?

Looking good

[ALBERTQ17]

Are the door enclosure the originals, but strengthened?

Looking good

No they are not the originals. I made them from fiberglass, mdf and the mounting ring is plywood covered with sound deadening material. They are sealed enclosures and extremely lightweight, not ported and heavy like the oem. I made them to fit the door cavity just like the factory enclosure with the exception of the bottom part.They replaced some baffles I cut out when I first got a pair of 6-1/2" speakers and the diffrence was incredible!

Edited March 18, 2010 by ALBERTQ17

[Gary H]

Are the door enclosure the originals, but strengthened?

Looking good

No they are not the originals. I made them from fiberglass, mdf and the mounting ring is plywood covered with sound deadening material. They are sealed enclosures and extremely lightweight, not ported and heavy like the oem. I made them to fit the door cavity just like the factory enclosure with the exception of the bottom part.They replaced some baffles I cut out when I first got a pair of 6-1/2" speakers and the diffrence was incredible!

That's Awesome work! DO you have a baffle template, or more pictures?

[ALBERTQ17]

Are the door enclosure the originals, but strengthened?

Looking good

No they are not the originals. I made them from fiberglass, mdf and the mounting ring is plywood covered with sound deadening material. They are sealed enclosures and extremely lightweight, not ported and heavy like the oem. I made them to fit the door cavity just like the factory enclosure with the exception of the bottom part.They replaced some baffles I cut out when I first got a pair of 6-1/2" speakers and the diffrence was incredible!

That's Awesome work! DO you have a baffle template, or more pictures?

Here are some more pictures of the door enclosures.What you see is not just a baffle that holds a speaker in place, it is a speaker box. What I didn't like about the baffle is that there was no way to control the sound waves coming from the rear of the speaker. And there are a lot of problems associated with that. Even free air speakers were meant to be installed with a separation from the front and rear of the cone.

[ALBERTQ17]

Here is the Ebay listing if anybody wants to take a look.

Ebay link

Albert

[Gary H]

Awesome work there Albert.

[Charlestonboxster]

Awesome work there Albert.

Excellent work Albert! I put a lot of work into customizing my system, and can sympathize with the work required!

Smart idea on the sub, I though of that too, but with dual 6.5" long throws, tell, me, is there still adequate room for 3.5" coaxes next to the 8" in there, for rear soundstage fill in?

Congrats on the good $ sale on ebay, and well worth it to the new owner, I'm sure.

Question: I unfortunately totalled my 986 4 weeks ago, but stripped/kept the entire sound system (see signature)

I'm considering parting it out for sale or selling it in one kit, I was wondering about your door baffles, would they take a standard 6.5" door speaker, and what is the depth limit for that speaker?

Reason I ask is if I sell my 3 way JL audio front state system, with the door mid bass speakers, your drop in baffles may be a good alternative to the standard custom cut wood baffle method that is frequently done. The benefit to that is the entire door space/volume/area (when well selaed) is the area the mid bass speaker uses to develop quality 120hz + mid bass, instead of a smaller box, but your boxes drop in convenience is a great compromise.

Thanks for replying, on the size and depth aspect of what can fit in your box, and also, if you have them for sale or reporductions for sale,

peraps the buyer of my front sound stage system could combine your boxes with my 6.5"s for a simpler door install then the custom baffles.

And...anyone interested in parts or all of my sound system, including the head unit and xm/sirius connector, please email or PM me or post, I have many photo's and original manuals of every component, many many hours of research, consultation and work were done on choosing and building it, and I would sell it, regretfully, but also very reasonably.

The custom foberglass 8" deep throw double voice cil 200 watt RE Audio Footwell sub is astounding (but takes space), and the front stage is about as good as you can get, German made JL 3 ways, complete with black dash speaker grills and screws, just wire em and drop em in replacing yours, etc..... 5 channel amp, crossovers, entire black carpeted rear enclosure with 3.5" Boston Acoustic coaxes all available.

Also have the mesh rear seat covers, a leather bra, and top quality car cover available.

Regards,

Tony

[ALBERTQ17]

Tony,

I have sold several pairs of door enclosures over some months now. They are made to fit 6-1/2" inch speakers and have a max depth clearance of 2-7/16". Although I cam make them for any size speaker smaller than 6-1/2".

Sad to hear about your accident. You had a very nice set up and must have sounded great.

As far as the 3-1/2" rear fill speakers in the sub box, there is space for them but its not as easy as making holes for them and screwing them in. I would have to make a separate chamber for them inside the larger enclosure. I didn't put them in the original box I made for myself because I didn't want the rear speakers in my system. But they can fit with some modifications.

Albert

[CAPDUNN]

What are the volumes of all thee enclosures and how much are you asking for the door enclosures? I guess there is not enough rom to mount 2 eights in the rear box r have you tried yet? I think you are n to something.

Edited March 30, 2010 by CAPDUNN

[ALBERTQ17]

What are the volumes of all thee enclosures and how much are you asking for the door enclosures? I guess there is not enough rom to mount 2 eights in the rear box r have you tried yet? I think you are n to something.

If I can remember correctly, the internal volume of the subwoofer enclosure is about 0.5 cu. ft. I'll measure again to have an exact number for you. The door eclosures have .05 cu. ft. or 95 cu. in. I started selling them late last year for $125 shipped. I'm sending some to the UK this week for a little more just to cover the shipping difference.

2 eight inch woofers will not fit because Pioneer recommends .4 cu. ft. for each woofer, which is about all I can get out of the enclosure.

The sub enclosures that I'm making are copies of the one I made for myself a while back. I wanted only one eight inch speaker because to me it's more than adequate for a small cabin. That's why there is no rear speakers either.

Albert

Edited April 1, 2010 by ALBERTQ17

[CAPDUNN]

Albert, PM me your phone number as I want to buy the boxes.

Thanks,

Cap

[Buzzen812]

Are you posting the door boxes on ebay anytime soon? or can i order them straight threw you?

[ALBERTQ17]

Are you posting the door boxes on ebay anytime soon? or can i order them straight threw you?

I sent you a PM.

[RaviMatharu]

Hi,

I've got an active subwoofer kicking around and was thinking of putting it behind my rear seats. Is there any power in that area? If nor where's the best place to run power to it. I was going to feed it off my back speakers.

Also could you let me know how I can get hold of the door boxes.

Thanks

Ravi

[Gary H]

Hi,

I've got an active subwoofer kicking around and was thinking of putting it behind my rear seats. Is there any power in that area? If nor where's the best place to run power to it. I was going to feed it off my back speakers.

Also could you let me know how I can get hold of the door boxes.

Thanks

Ravi

You have 'back' speakers?

[ALBERTQ17]

Hi,

I've got an active subwoofer kicking around and was thinking of putting it behind my rear seats. Is there any power in that area? If nor where's the best place to run power to it. I was going to feed it off my back speakers.

Also could you let me know how I can get hold of the door boxes.

Thanks

Ravi

I think the best way to power the amplifier is to have a dedicated power cable connected to the battery and a ground cable connected to the chassis of the car. The power and ground cables should be the same gauge and it is regularly recommended to keep the ground cable no more than 18" long, the shorter the better. Put a fuse in the power cable as close to the battery as you can. The size of the fuse and cables should be determined by the amplifier. There is a rubber plug behind the battery that I used to rout the cable into the cabin, then you can hide the cables under the carpet or under the center console. As for the signal, getting signal from your rear deck speakers is not ideal but if you want to do it, I think your best bet is to get a low level converter so you can connect RCA cables to the input of the amplifier.

I hope this helps.

I sent you a PM concerning the door enclosures.

Albert

[MrEd]

Hello I saw your ebay sale on this sub box and would like to contact you to pick one up and the door boxes too. My first day here so not sure how all this goes down. Hope we get in touch soon.

Thanks Bro

[ALBERTQ17]

I haven't put any enclosures on Ebay because right now I've been building them for people who have bought them through Paypay only. I lowered the price of the sub enclosure, and have sold one without the sub. The door enclosures have been selling more than the sub box, I even sent a pair to the UK last week.

Right now there is kind of a waiting list but I keep everyone updated on the progress of the their enclosures until they are shipped and delivered. And I always stay in touch for any question or comments.

If you are interested or have questions e-mail me.

albertq17@yahoo.com

Albert

[rogerjohnsen]

Wow - I think this is my first post... I really like the design of the subwoofer enclosure. I have the upgraded sound package in my '03 Boxster S so don't really have the option unless I wanted to rip out the rear speaker set or molest the door speakers. I instead opted to put a 12" Alpine Type R in the front trunk of the car running off a Kenwood mono block amp. I tapped into the existing subwoofer speaker wires coming from the stock amp in the front trunk and ran them into the Kenwood amplifier with amazing results. The only real issue I have is the air movement is so massive, it pushes the hood up due to the air tight seal of the trunk. Has anyone put a decent size sub in either the front or rear trunk? I'm assuming you had to do some sort of vent solution and would be curious how you did it.

[Gary H]

Hey Albert - Just to say, after a panic at the post office, the door builds arrived on Saturday. Superb quality and surprisingly light.

I'll spray the insides with Dyna shield before adding wadding and coat the back with Dynamat Xtreme.

Thank you again for your effort - I am really pleased with them :)

[rogerjohnsen]

Wow - I think this is my first post... I really like the design of the subwoofer enclosure. I have the upgraded sound package in my '03 Boxster S so don't really have the option unless I wanted to rip out the rear speaker set or molest the door speakers. I instead opted to put a 12" Alpine Type R in the front trunk of the car running off a Kenwood mono block amp. I tapped into the existing subwoofer speaker wires coming from the stock amp in the front trunk and ran them into the Kenwood amplifier with amazing results. The only real issue I have is the air movement is so massive, it pushes the hood up due to the air tight seal of the trunk. Has anyone put a decent size sub in either the front or rear trunk? I'm assuming you had to do some sort of vent solution and would be curious how you did it.

Seriously? Nobody has put a sub in the trunk of the car? I've searched the forums but can't find anything useful. Anyone? Please?