Kenwood KSC-SW1 Powered Subwoofer

[seriousfun]

This fits perfectly under the passenger seat of my '07 Liftback. Kenwood claims 150 Watts and response down to 35 Hz, but these specs must be taken with a grain of salt. This has a 6.5" active driver and a 6.5" passive radiator, which gives more output than a single active driver and allows for lower frequency response from a smaller box, while not inducing sonic problems that ported cabinets can have. I got this for US$165 delivered from an eBay Buy-it-Now.

My goal was to relieve some of the stress from the main speakers by adding a powered subwoofer that did not take up any significant space in this tiny car. I didn't want to replace anything else (although I may upgrade the front door speakers some day), and I wanted to keep the cost reasonable. I work with audio all day, so I had to keep my sonic expectations realistic here.

The stock head unit has no pre-outs, so an active crossover (while ideal) was not an option. Speaker in and out to the sub, along with power and the included remote, was the whole installation (I paid a local installer US$65 to do this - well worth it).

After a little experimentation with setting the polarity (mis-named phase on the remote), crossover point (around 80 Hz with the bass on the head unit at -3), and level (I like plenty of clean bass!), this is a great addition. I hear about an octave of extra, clean bass. Instruments down below 60 Hz are much tighter - the stock setup was distorting somewhat when played loud before I added the subwoofer.

[Toddhata]

This is a good sub for the size, I have one in my 05 prius and my 00 boxster, just installed one mounted to the spare in my 07 yaris hatchback. I cut out a piece of wood to fit inside the spare, and the sub mounts on the wood, there's just enough room for the cover to fit without touching. I'll post pics next week.

I would recommend changing the door speakers, it would make a world of difference for a pretty low cost.

[YamilR]

Originally Posted by seriousfun

This fits perfectly under the passenger seat of my '07 Liftback. Kenwood claims 150 Watts and response down to 35 Hz, but these specs must be taken with a grain of salt. This has a 6.5" active driver and a 6.5" passive radiator, which gives more output than a single active driver and allows for lower frequency response from a smaller box, while not inducing sonic problems that ported cabinets can have. I got this for US$165 delivered from an eBay Buy-it-Now.

My goal was to relieve some of the stress from the main speakers by adding a powered subwoofer that did not take up any significant space in this tiny car. I didn't want to replace anything else (although I may upgrade the front door speakers some day), and I wanted to keep the cost reasonable. I work with audio all day, so I had to keep my sonic expectations realistic here.

The stock head unit has no pre-outs, so an active crossover (while ideal) was not an option. Speaker in and out to the sub, along with power and the included remote, was the whole installation (I paid a local installer US$65 to do this - well worth it).

After a little experimentation with setting the polarity (mis-named phase on the remote), crossover point (around 80 Hz with the bass on the head unit at -3), and level (I like plenty of clean bass!), this is a great addition. I hear about an octave of extra, clean bass. Instruments down below 60 Hz are much tighter - the stock setup was distorting somewhat when played loud before I added the subwoofer.

Do you think it can be bolted down on the back seat?

[seriousfun]

Originally Posted by YamilR

Do you think it can be bolted down on the back seat?

Behind the back seat in the trunk or lift? Sure.

[seriousfun]

I mocked-up a cardboard box with the dimensions of the subwoofer to convince myself that it would fit where I wanted it.

[BlueLiftback]

I just eBayed a KSC-SW1 and now am fretting where I should stick it (all jokes from co-workers aside lol...)?

How did they mount it under the seat (i.e. what did they fasten it to?)?

It looks like there's enough space, but I don't see any obvious place to bolt it down. Would some sort of double sided tape or adhesive be enough to keep it in place (it looks like it will be at a bit of an angle inward anyway)?

I'm trying to keep it DIY (more for the feeling of self-worth than the $$$ lol), but I need advice from the more educated hehe =).

Tim

[KSIbucky]

where would you put this its kind of weirdly shaped

[BlueLiftback]

I think I read somewhere that it fits just fine under the passenger seat. My real issue is how to keep it there if it does haha...

I wonder if I'd be better off just mounting it to a rear floormat and putting it partially under/behind the driver seat???

Anyone have any advice as to how to mount one of these things? Do I need to drill holes in anything lol?

Tim

[KSIbucky]

Originally Posted by KSIbucky

where would you put this its kind of weirdly shaped

oops its the first thing they say

[johnnyfive]

depending on how heavy it is, might just stick some male velcro to the back of it, and throw it under the seat ;)

[YamilR]

Originally Posted by johnnyfive

depending on how heavy it is, might just stick some male velcro to the back of it, and throw it under the seat ;)

Hmm. that sounds like a winner

[gamita]

Hi! I installed it under the driver's seat and a 4channel amp under the passenger's seat to drive my component speakers! I attached the sub with velcro!