brandonis

Hey Gbob, sorry for the late reply.

TL;DR: Yes. Tastefully fills in what the B&O is lacking, but powerful enough to thump.

I explained to the sound shop that I was only looking to fill the missing low end range to the B&O and I wanted it to scale with the main system without overpowering it.

Now, I get that the source quality matters, radio, hd radio, 128-bit, etc., so I brought 1 song with tonal ranges I was looking to achieve. Without the subwoofer, the bass is amazingly pathetic. So much so that the tech thought the B&O sounded great - I told him he's missing part of the music. I played the same song in the tech's personal car with a sub and in their showroom setup and he instantly understood what was missing.

I don't remember exactly, but I think the B&O doesn't produce anything lower than 65-70 Hz (ish) -- and if it does, it might as well not.

The shop had my car for about 6 hours and when I came back to get it, we tested about 4 different enclosures, 2 different enclosure shapes, and 3 different sub sizes, and then amp settings, and sound settings with top up, top down, and with the pass-through open/closed.

My music taste reaches the corners of the gamut so 1 setting is not perfect for all but I have it set up so that I rarely have to adjust the power level (dial affecting subwoofer output only).

The sub+amp I have is powerful enough that I still get rich sound while driving with the top down.

With the top down, the trunk is closed off. Sometimes the pressure will rattle stuff in the car but it doesn't sound muttled at all. With the top up, I can go a bit louder before the rattling starts.

The rattling doesn't start until I get to open-top-highway-speed volume level and at that point I can't discern rattling from road noise unless I am stopped. The rattling doesn't sound like a poorly installed Honda Civic, it's much more subtle, but still there. Without a truly professional sound proofing lining installed, it's going to happen.

After all that, I have a basic enclosure thrown in the back

...and I am very happy with the audio.

Gbob

Thanks for the detailed reply, brandonis.
Can I ask what brand/model of sub you are using?
Thanks Bob

brandonis

I'll have to look when I get home.

I know it's a JL Audio, not sure of the amp. If I remember correctly, I believe it's a JL 10TW PowerWedge - I know I tried several and an 8" was sufficient but went with a better amp and a 10".

I also tried various box shapes but most importantly, I had to get the unsealed (???) version enclosure -- meaning it's the type of box that allows the air pressure to pass through/out. A couple of the versions I tried (I think they're called "sealed boxes") would not get the low tones good enough, muffled and underpowered sounding. Unsealed (??), it uses the space of the trunk instead of just the enclosure. -- I don't know the terminology.

I went with the 10" because I often have the top down. I would've been fine with the 8" too.

Gbob

Thanks again, brandonis.
I am a fan of JL Audio. I was hoping I could find something that would fit in the TTs, but will now concentrate on an external sub.
Yes, you are correct regarding 'sealed' and 'unsealed' subs. I tend to like the former over the latter, but, as you have auditioned the two, it will save me a lot of time. (Wow, what a great stereo installer you have!)

macaddict111

Where do they tap into audio for the amp? I'm thinking about having a SMALL sub put in to bring up those missing sub-low's a tad but ideally it'd be off to the side or under the floor panel...

MattRG

Great thread and has already answered some of the questions that I have had about the B&O system in our cars as well as the feasibility of adding an external sub for low frequencies. I wonder how much it would change in terms of using a sealed vs unsealed sub and the size of the woofer needed for the coupe instead of the convertible? If it can be done for a reasonable amount of money then I would be definitely be interested!

onebelo

this is what I had installed in my previous MK2 TT
ACP108LG-W3v3 - Car Audio - Subwoofer Systems - MicroSub+? - JL Audio

Nice size and can easily fit behind the seat or off to the side without taking too much space in the trunk. With built-in amp, it takes up even less space although they do have a simliar sub without the amp. Since TTs is a small car with "open" trunk, I find an 8" sub is plenty for some extra bass. Havent installed it in my TTS yet though but maybe one day lol

MattRG

Thanks for the recommendation. I have bookmarked the product page. Once I get my tint (next week) and paint protection (the week after) installed I will start looking at this more seriously.