Civic Sub

[crstrand]

I have a 1994 Civic Coupe. The stereo is ok, but I was thinking something was missing. Well, I think that thing was BASS.
I will post here my trials and tribulations with adding bass to the civic.
Of the utmost importance is cost control. If I spend too much and my wife finds out, well, you married guys know what would happen.
Anyhoo, I modeled the MTX 7512-44 and found it to be very good.
So, I headed down to XS cargo and picked up the cheapest 10" sub I could find ($CDN50 including box), and a MA Audio HX297 400W amp ($CDN99).

Here begins the saga...

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

The sub is so generic, it doesn't have any writing on it at all (other than the dust cap).
Here are some pics of the beauty.

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

The MA Audio HK297 amp is probably ok.
Its not reference quality for sure, but it should fit the bill.
I've also spent $CDN20 on a power cable (which still has to be installed) and some connectors to reuse the CD changer cable for the audio left and right.
Keep in mind people, this is not a serious attempt, just something to fill the time.

The documentation on Ultralinear's web site claimed that the cabinet was 3/4" MDF construction. I'm new, but not that new...
I suppose that sounds better than 3/4" particleboard construction

[Bing Fung]

Hey Cam, good to see you went the safe (inexpensive) route just to have some fun and see if that's what your needing :yesnod:

The Amp is a keeper, and the price of that Ultra linear Sub is cheaper than a night out at the movies :T

The MTX 7512-44 is one nice sub for the price and models very well. However it maybe a bit hard on that Ultra linear enclosure, as it will give it a bigger pounding that that OEM driver would :lol:


PS, I moved the thread here, as it'll get a but more exposure, and it is a DIY type of thread. Hope you don't mind.

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

Hey Bing, don't mind the move at all. I originally put in in NRFPT because it was an auto sub, not a HT sub.

After dremeling the 8 pin din to make it fit the Honda/Alpine 8 pin din (bottom two pins are in a slightly different place) I hooked the baby up.

The left channel on the regular speakers was crackling and sounded horrible. Also, the amp didn't turn on. Fearing I may have shorted something, I disconnected the power and went inside to bed.

This morning I went back out to the -3C garage with my multimeter to diagnose. I unplugged the DIN at the head unit and made some measurements and everything looked fine. I hooked up everything and tried it again. This time it worked!

The amp has a couple of cool blue LEDs.

The install is just as nice as it looks in the photos.

By the way, if anyone has seen a 1" diameter rubber plug for the firewall of a 1994 Civic, its mine. I popped the puppy out last night and can't find it for the life of me. :M

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

By the way, this SETUP SOUNDS....terrible. :lol:

The amp probably isn't bad, but the sub is definately worth no more than $CDN50.

However, this is based on 2 minutes of listening, so I'll give it some critical listening later. I'm not holding out much hope, but I never meant to match the bingo-sub anyway. ;x(

Now I have to find that stupid rubber plug and route the power wire through the firewall, under the carpet and into the trunk.

[Bing Fung]

By the way, this SETUP SOUNDS....terrible. :lol:

:laughat: :roflmao: :laughat: :roflmao:

Sorry to hear man, I suppose we didn't expect much from it :twisted:

You know if your not wanting to build the enclosure, A&B Sound, and Futile shop has those pre-built MDF auto sub boxes, you could fit a mid grade driver into for relativley cheap...

Anyone else have a good "Cheap" recommendation Cam could pop into his Civic forsome boom?

[Andrew Pratt]

A used Shiva or SVS driver might work ok in that small a box. I think Thomas was going to have a fire sale on his Shiva's so maybe drop him a line.

[David Meek]

Futile shop

Is that really the name of the place?

[Andrew Pratt]

No its called Future Shop and is owned by Best Buy...but the name suits them just fine

[Bing Fung]

David, Futile Shop is one of those plays where you apply the negative or inverse to the Company names pretension.

It's like calling Compusmart (Computer store chain), Compustoopid, or Best Buy , Worst Buy :LOL:

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

Hey, I found the rubber plug from the firewall!
It had jumped under the battery mount so I had to remove the battery to retrieve it, but it is not lost.

I punched a hole in the rubber grommet, fished the power cable from under the dash out the hole and through the grommet. It actually looks pretty good, but I don't have a pic yet.

I played with the sub/amp a bit more and, to be fair, the Ultralinear isn't THAT bad. The amp allows some "bass boost", gain, and LPF x-over freq adjust so by some unscientific dialing of those knobs, I was able to get it to sound not too bad.
Its a bit muffled with the rear seatback in place, but its cold in Canada and I don't want a clear view into the trunk.

It's no Blueprint 1503 with a kilowatt behind it, but it ain't bad for $CDN150 (+wiring). :T

[Bing Fung]

Sounds like you're getting your moneys worth then Cam :yesnod:

Now all you have to do is cut a hole in the back deck and cover it with a 6x9 speaker grill and you'll be getting all that bass with out having to fold down the seat. It can also be done more stealth like by removing the fiberboard/fabric deck, cut the hole in the metal, and then cut the fiber board with out cutting the stock fabric.


Good to hear you found the plug :T

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

I decided to make some mounts to mount the amp under the rear deck where the CD changer used to be.
After a quick trip to Home Depot, I selected some lovely 1 1/4" galvanized strapping (slightly less than 1/16" thick).
The price was right ($CDN0.98 ea).
Using the CD changer mounts as a guide, I decided to shorten the drop by 1/2" and lengthen the mount to accomodate the deeper amp.
Here's what resulted.
I'm in the process of applying a couple of coats of black semi-gloss enamel spray paint (borrowed).
After that's dry, I'm ready to install the mounts in the car and attach the amp to the mounts.

[Andrew Pratt]

did you see that Thomas is now selling of his Shiva's cheap in the for sale area?

[Bing Fung]

Good job Cam :T

How is the Sub sounding now?

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

I've attached pics of the power cable routing from the battery through the easily misplaced rubber plug in the firewall, and of the el-cheapo amp mounts spray painted in a beautiful semi-gloss enamel.

As far as sound goes...umm....
Well, it's not that bad. I flattened the "bass boost" dial on the amp. It adds a 50Hz hump which I definately didn't need. I did adjust the head unit to put out more bass and that seems to work ok.
I made some wave files of sine waves from 30Hz to 300Hz.
30Hz is barely audible, 40's not bad, 50 is missing (ironically), and 60 is back in there.
I'll use my Rat-Shack sound meter and some earplugs to get a plot of in cabin response. Don't hold your breath boys and girls...it ain't gonna be pretty...

[crstrand]

Civic sub continued

I finally got the custom mounts installed and mounted the amp to the under side of the rear deck.
Here's how it looks.
Not too shabby if I do say so myself. :P

[Bing Fung]

Way to go Cam :dance:

Now get that MTX and build that slot port box and you're cooking with gas, just like in your kitchen :W

[eddiem67]

Dude stick to home audio, leave the car audio to me

[RobP]

Have you tried turning your sub around? I have done a ton of subwoofer installs and this is one trick that I used to "boost" the bass. You may be restricting the output by placing so close to the seat. Give it a try.

Robert P.