The Low-Down (Sub Bass)

Look out Margaret, it's got bump!

A good subwoofer to provide the bass that is missing in so many factory stereos is something you must hear to appreciate fully. Things just sound wimpy and lifeless once you get used to the sound of good low bass (this is why you see guys loading their living rooms and cars and any other space they can find with speakers). If you have never heard Enya with subwoofer bass like this, you are missing an experience. All of your music sounds great again.

In the rear of my ride there is a lone subwoofer. It is a JL Audio 10W7, powered by the amplifier that was designed for it, a J/L Audio 500/1. The sub is in a reference vented enclosure that J/L Audio publishes on their website. This setup provides more than enough bass for my little car, and would probably be more than enough for just about anyone. In fact it can drive you clear out of the car. The 10W7 is so accurate with the 500/1 amplifier that you often hear things that you never heard before. You may think for a while that there is something wrong because of this, but it becomes natural very quickly. The vented enclosure is very loud and extremely accurate.

Unlike front speakers, subwoofer locations are not as critical as low frequency sound is non-directional. When a good subwoofer is installed correctly, it will sound transparent - that is, you should not be able to tell where the sound stops coming from the satellite speakers and starts coming from the sub.

Increasing output for pennies on the dollar

In my current system installation, I have lined the trunk and door panels with a product called Dynamat. This material is acoustically dead and dampens the excessive vibration caused by sub-bass pressure. By reducing the amount of vibration and noise in the car, you get more from your amplification. It is generally accepted that to increase sound by 3 dB, the minimum amount the human ear can detect, you must double your amplification. You can see where this would become prohibitively expensive.

Dynamat serves to reduce the noise floor in a vehicle. Depending on how much you use and how much coverage your vehicle has, you can reduce interior noise by up to 18 dB (!) which means that your amplifiers will sound up to six times louder at the same volume level without Dynamat. I consider this product somewhat of a secret weapon since many people have no idea it even exists. More information on Dynamat and what it does can be found by following this link.

Mobile Audio, Continued: Amplification and Cabling