jazza08

An amp will give you more bass as I don't think the stock amp puts out that much, it'll also allow dedicated sub control. The issues I could see is it goes away from a more oem set up. The JL sub you wouldn't even know it was aftermarket as it seems to integrate perfectly. Running oem amp to the speakers and an aftermarket amp/sub would result in the typical doof doof stereo set up or just overkill on bass potential if you turned it down. Plus I think I'd be adjusting the sub controller every song if I had one. My advice is try to find a similar sub to the JL model listed unless you really like heavy bass.

Bobby Kinstle

Both A and B. Changing the sub adds bass below 50Hz down to ~28Hz, boosts bass volume a bit, and tightens bass a whole lot. However there's still a pretty noticeable roll off below 40Hz and the bass adjustment on the stereo is centered at a higher frequency, so you end up getting overwhelming mid bass when you turn it up enough to get lots of deep bass. I suspect the B&O amp has plenty of power to satisfy most of us, but the lack of a subwoofer volume "****" makes it suck. In other words, you'd only add an amp to get a subwoofer volume ****.

Godfather | Jay

Update: received and found more specs inside.
QTS: 0.686 ... this bodes well for the open air application.
FS: 37 ... another positive.

This sub seems perfect in theory. Now to find the time for the install.

lancerb

I was never happy with the sound from the open air setup. built an undermount box and really enjoy the tighter bass.

gflare

The two things that irked me about the stock B&O were exactly the two things you mentioned here:
1. The rolloff at really low freqs
2. The 'bass centered at a higher frequency'

It sounds like the new sub is going to take care of some of it, but the only way to fully control balancing of all bass frequencies is to use a custom amp for sub control and then be more reserved (lower values) on the stock B&O bass settings.

The stock B&O actually sounds perfectly tuned to the normal pop-edm, drum&bass stuff (standard kicks sound pretty crazy good in stock settings). However, when I get more into the dubstep/trap/electro genres, the car's drop-off under the normal bass-kick frequency really sticks out like a sore thumb.


As always, thanks for the detailed explanations and your observations. I'm anxious to hear about Jay's experience with the Lanzar too.

AK_Brian

Sorry if this has already been discussed but the JL Audio 10W1V2-8 originally used by the OP doesn't appear to be in production anymore. Does anyone have a good substitute? I just replaced my old A4 with a 2010 S4 and, like you all, found the B&O system to be lacking just a bit of low end.

Bobby Kinstle

There are several other excellent woofers discussed throughout this thread.

JamesCoyne

Go with the kicker.

Godfather | Jay

Just finished the install. Unfortunately it's not as good as I'd hoped despite the specs looking pretty good. Even though the power required is pretty low and the sensitivity is good, it still needs more power IMO. I have a feeling I would have said this with any sub running off stock power. I really didn't want to have to get an amp.

The other note I will say is that like the JL, the hole is still just a little small and required building up a little. Most other subs that have any potential have a wider diameter basket and would be even tougher to fit.

Bobby Kinstle

Give it a month to break in. I felt that way when I first installed the Pioneer sub, but after it broke in, I liked it a lot more.