As the budget is not allowing for much in the way of extras these days, I want to add a small tube subwoofer to my vert. I'm not looking for competition level sound, just a little bass to complement my dinky 4-1/2" in-dash and 4" kickpanel speakers. Its got to be small to fit under the top when its down and cheap. There are a lot of these on ebay and one in particular is very cheap. Its being auctioned by a stereo shop that claims it is new but returned by a customer. It says Cannon Woofer on the side and is amplified and rated at 200 watts (which I'll never use the full power of). Is anyone familiar with this brand? Being that I just want a little bass, nothing to loud, would this be worth $35.00. The Bazookas are going for about $75.00 and up. Would I even hear the difference between the brands for my purpose? Any insight will be appreciated.

Regards,

Jim

 

:cheers: To tell u the truth, I had the same issue about a month ago... I had an old tape deck in my car..... I replaced it with a BLAKPAUNT in dash CD, I replaced the front dash speakers with Pioneers, and I purchased a small kicker 8 box.. it has 2 full range 8 inch subs, and 2 horn tweeters. the horn tweeters are essential if you want great sound for cheap cost, cause if not you will have to buy 6x9's. The tubes will add a lil bit of bass, but no highs or mids..... and it will not be stereo quality. Try to get a small box, even if its a cheapie, and replace the speakers with some nice 8's. 8's vs. 10's because they are lighter and cripser ( YET HARD TO FIND ) if you do want a bass tube, see if you can find one that has a horn tweeter on it. I have a 79 vette and the stereo sounds so damn good that it shocked me! I spent over 2K on my 2002 SUV with stereo and and concealed appliances.... but man I was so impressed by the vettes sound. Its such a small cockpit, and right behind you makes it awesome. Let me know if you need help picking out a sub! CHECK ON E-bAY for used boxes, even bass tubes....

FR8

 

If you have basic components in your car right now, as well as engine and wind noise :lol: :lol: I'd say, go for it. An important question, what will power the sub? Is it amplified or will you have to add an amp? If your going to use your current radio to power the sub, does it have a subwoofer out? Or can you install your own crossover?

For a sub to sound clean, the upper and mid frequencies need to be cut off. You can by a cheap two channel amp to do this easily.

Let us know your specifics

 

First my specs,

in-dash am/fm/cd unit with build in 25w/channel x 4 amp. Polk Audio in-dash 4-1/2" speakers and MTX 4" kickpanel speakers. They produce very good highs and some mid. I'll add bass blockers to them when I add a sub. The sub I am referring to is amplified although I have an old Rockford Fosgate Punch 45 amp on standby. I don't know if the sub has a built in x-over, but I can add on for cheap. Again, my objective is just to add a little bass.

I don't think I would be able to hear the horn tweeter with the convertible top down (which is most of the time). I think it will muffle the high frequency. On the other hand, the top should not really have an impact on the bass.

Regards,

Jim

 

2 8s w/ amp. works great in the Vette. Have the equil. of 2 8s which is 4 long throw 4s sealed.
You guys w/ convs. need to show a pic of back w/ top down.

:cool:

 

I've got 2 Rockford Fosgate Punch 10's mounted in a box with 2 horn tweeters in my 77' that is being pushed by a mild Kenwood amp. It uses a little more space than a "boom tube" but creates a much better sound and looks pretty sharp as well. I think I paid about $300 for the box & speakers 2 years ago. Good luck. :seeya


[Modified by Sean Willard, 10:20 AM 2/10/2002]

 

I've got the Bazooka 10" powered in mine. I would be lost without it. I didn't want to modify the car much so I have it strapped in with two bolts in the back and it pops right out when needed. A 10-disc changer sits next two it.

In my 78 the T-Tops fit back there with the sub and changing, even in the bags.

 

I prefer the rumble from my big block..
You can listen to a stereo antime..

:cool: :cheers: :cool:

 

A lot of good advice so far, so it's really going to come down to preference. It sounds to me like what your looking for is affordable, compact, bass....nothing else. I take it that's why you settled on Bass tubes...........In my opinion, you are right on track when considering what your goal is :cheers: I, like a lot of the people on this forum, have a wealth of Stereo installation experience (about 15 years). If you want the best sound you will need to have different speaker, for different frequency ranges. By that I mean that the best sound would come from a set of tweeters, a set of mids, and then a subwoofer of some sort, all crossed over to allow each speaker to concentrate on a set frequency range. As some have pointed out, you will get that with a box that has woofers and horns, but they typically have built in passive crossovers within the cabinets, that are not as effective as an active crossover. Your punch amp might have a built in crossover for you to use or the amplified base tube might as well. Remember in the audio world you usually get what you pay for.....so if a deal looks to good to be true and it's not a name you typically here used by the masses, i.e. Rockford Fosgate, Kenwood etc. ....then I would recommend you stay away. I have installed a lot of cheap componets for a lot of people, and usually the sound quality is not there due to high distortion levels. Head units are about the only place you can get a way with going a little cheaper and still get good quality sound....you usually just get less features. Now for my recommendation..............Depending on just how much room you are actually going to have......since it's a 73' were talking about....and.....a convertable at that......I would say that the box idea is out of the question for your application. For the later C3 models, they have more room than us earlier C3's, so I'd go with the bass tube. Bying a used one on Ebay may be the right way to go for you, but the original one you talked about ($35) and amplified is completely suspect in my opinion. Get yourself and amplified Bazooka and you will get the best bang for your buck. It your choice what size you can fit in there, 6", 8", or "10, but be careful as you usually don't get a return policy on Ebay. I purchased a 10" Fosgate bass tube off of Ebay for around $55 bucks, and when I got it, I found that the rubber surround that attaches the cone to the basket was seperated around half of the cone. I was able to repair it with some epoxy, but you never know. There are probably a few other brands out there I would trust as well, but Bazookas are the best known of the Bass tubes for a reason...they're the best. Which ever way you choose to go, just make sure that you seperate the frequencies going into the subwoofer through the use of either and Active or Passive crossover...........that way your Bass is clean and not distorted.


And yes I still have the 10" Bass Tube in my 70' and it puts out a ton of Bass!!!! Good Luck, and keep us informed of what you decide :D

 

Thanks all for the advice. I decided to stay with a name brand like Warp70 suggested. There a quite a few Bazooka tubes out there on the auction sites. I just need to be patient. I'm thinking either the 6" or 8" tube in order to leave enough space for the convertible top in the down position. I don't want the tube hitting the top. I have already spent nearly $700 restoring the convertible top frame. I think I can tweak and filter the 4" kickpanel speakers to give me enough midbass although maybe some in-door midbass speakers will be a future project. I found an auction for a nearly new and inspected Bazooka EL 604 non amplified tube that is bidding at $21.00 currently. Still 3 days left in the auction. Maybe I'll win for a change!

Regards,

Jim

 

Add my 2 cents for the 10" amplified Bazooka...Neat package plus my Sony CD player has a separate channel control for the sub so it is responsive to whatever sound level I want....