Disappointed with Stealthbox

[Tony407]

I've got the Sony system with the Sony subwoofer. I recently put in a Stealthbox and I'm very underwhelmed. This is the 4th Stealthbox I've owned and this one is the worst. I'm not sure if it's bad placement of the box itself, or the limitations of the OEM system but no matter what settings I try it sounds mediocre at best, both in overall lack of volume and SQ. In fact, every Stealthbox I've owned previously has sounded great and actually makes people think I have more than just one sub or a much larger one than I have. With this one, I'd say it sounds like an 8-inch sub at the limits instead of a 10. And some songs it sounds downright awful.

I'm using an Audio Control LC2i line output convertor, and a JL Audio HD750/1 amp. Nice big 4-guage wire straight from the battery.

Tony

 

[GeoGeek]

Where did you tap in for input to your LC2i? I assume after the Sony amp?
I'm trying to figure out where to tap in to get full range signal for a processor & aftermarket amp.
Sorry to hear that about the Stealthbox....I too have heard several that I liked quite a bit....on an HD750 that thing should be gushing with output.

 

[Tony407]

Where did you tap in for input to your LC2i? I assume after the Sony amp?
I'm trying to figure out where to tap in to get full range signal for a processor & aftermarket amp.
Sorry to hear that about the Stealthbox....I too have heard several that I liked quite a bit....on an HD750 that thing should be gushing with output.

Yeah, after the Sony amp.

Tony

 

[Ronin559]

That is dissapointing to hear, I really wanted to upgrade the sub and have never had any issues with JL. I was concerned that a 10" would not be enough for the size of the explorer, maybe i need to look into some of the low profile subs that fit under the seat.

 

[Tony407]

Please no one dismiss JL until I know for certain it wasn't something I did wrong! I'm going to take the install apart piece by piece and double check everything, soon hopefully.

Tony

 

[Ronin559]

Please no one dismiss JL until I know for certain it wasn't something I did wrong! I'm going to take the install apart piece by piece and double check everything, soon hopefully.

Tony

I would not dismiss JL, they make the best sounding products on the market. The W6's are by far and away the best in the class, and I once had a W7 in an eclipse... wahoo! the bass practicly made a speaker out of that large rear window. I just wish the W7 was not so large in depth.

 

[bigtexan99]

Hi, any updates on the effectiveness of the Stealth box replacement? Anyone else tried it and happy with it?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Is the sound muddy/muffled sounding? Not all live out converters are created equal.

 

[Tony407]

Still overall very disappointed with this Stealthbox. Last year, the entire box fell out and landed on the cargo area floor while I was driving. One of the provided clips broke and I had to custom-make a mount with my own hardware, which solved that problem. However, there is so much rattling and buzzing that it detracts substantially from the music, enough that it's not worth turning up that loud because it sounds like poop. I suspect that this is an issue with the application (the Explorer) and not the product. Meaning, just because an aftermarket sub box fits in that location doesn't mean it will sound good. Structurally, there appears to be too many issues with unwanted structural resonances and even though I've meticulously applied a TON of damping materials (viscoelastic spray, damping sheets, closed-cell sound barrier), it just sounds...not great. I do not think anything I can realistically do will change that. I've been doing car audio for 30 years and this is the first Stealthbox I didn't like.

I had a local JL Audio shop bench test my JL amp and it's working perfectly.
I called Audio Control and explained to them the situation and they say it sounds as if the LC2i is working properly.
I double and triple-checked my connections, they're solid.
Reversing polarity doesn't help.
I temporarily replaced the Steathbox sub with an old W6 I had lying around and it sounds similarly lackluster.

Eventually I'll look into replacing it, but right now it's not my top priority. I suspect I won't be happy with anything less than a custom box, of which will probably have to be installed in the spare tire well. But until then I'm just living with it, unhappily, for now.

Hope this helps.

Tony

 

[boostedflex]

Hey what speakers did you tap into for your line level converters. On my old Flex (which did have the Sony system in it) I believe the recommendation was to tap into the front door speakers as they are full range. I seem to remember people having poor results when tapping into any other speaker outputs, particularly the factory sub output.

 

[peterk9]

Hey what speakers did you tap into for your line level converters. On my old Flex (which did have the Sony system in it) I believe the recommendation was to tap into the front door speakers as they are full range. I seem to remember people having poor results when tapping into any other speaker outputs, particularly the factory sub output.

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[CDW6212R]

My guess also would be the source signal. It isn't a great idea to use any full range signal, low level(RCA) is always preferred.

I had great success with my first try at a stereo in 1981, a cheap cassette deck and one 30wx2 amp, and two 5.25" speakers. That was amazing, and the deck only had speaker outputs. The amp was adjustable so in the end about 1/3 volume was maximum for the amp/speaker, and beyond that was terrible distortion. It was louder than you could hear someone yelling, outside the car.

I suspect that your signal from the converter is poor quality, whether the maker says it's working right or not. I'd change the deck to one with real RCA outputs, and then you have no distortion going into the amp(which magnifies it). Regards,

 

[Alptbird]

O.P. Has a 2015 sport. 2015 sport models have Sony can bus systems. Putting a deck in is not an option. (Presuming you are not trolling). Proper interface with the factory radio can bus system is not easy or cheap.

 

[Mbrooks420]

O.P. Has a 2015 sport. 2015 sport models have Sony can bus systems. Putting a deck in is not an option. (Presuming you are not trolling). Proper interface with the factory radio can bus system is not easy or cheap.

I disagree. He is using a line out converter which sources its input from a signal to the speaker, if I understand correctly what he has done. He has the factory deck installed.

Also, replacing the head unit is always an option, it just would some extra wiring and mounting headaches.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm sorry but I know nothing about the Canbus system. I do know a little about older Lincolns, which used way more wires between the deck and amp than seems necessary(a couple dozen), and those don't take retrofits well either.

My 91 LSC I replaced all of that wiring, with four signal wires(RCA), and new speaker wires from the PA 350 amp, to the four JBL speakers. The aftermarket deck(Kenwood DVD player) and amp have way less distortion(the amp is .003%) than any stock system. I like a well designed stereo, and lots of OEM systems do very well. But distortion is far more important than speaker balance etc, OEM tries too hard to deal with imaging etc, and very little on sound quality. I like that they spend millions on development, but they fail miserably at the sound quality. If there is distortion above normal listening volume, it's a failure. I want it loud, and clear. Hunt the old Nakamichi amps, and work with those. That will bring your music alive.

 

[reserved50]

I've had the Stealth boxes for the older gen Explorers and they were terrible. They only sound good on low volume. The boxes just didn't have the volume to make decent sound. I know a few people that had fiberglass custom enclosures made and they sounded pretty good. Do they have the volume of the box listed anywhere?

 

[boostedflex]

I had a JL 10 TW1-2 in a .35 cubic foot box (fiberglassed into the spare tire) and it sounded great. I have a lot of details on it on another forum, not sure if the moderators allow me to reference it or not. If they still make that line still it’s specs did call for a .35ish sealed enclosure. So for the size of the stealth box I guess it depends what sub is in it. For my comment on using the front door speakers, if I remember the problem with using the factory sub output is it has some funky equalization being sent to it, probably cause it is only an 8” sub, and that causes issues when using that as your feed signal.

 

[machine4321]

Here is a quick terst you can do to narrow down the issues. Take your phone (or mp3 ect) and run you phone directly into the amp that poweres to sub with a 1/8th to rca cord. MAKE SURE THE VOLUME IS DOWN ON THE SOURCE!! lol If the amp is full gain it could cause some damage. Try to get a cord long enough to go from the amp to the front seat. This will give you clean signal and you will know if you need to find anout source to tap into. The placement of the sub should be ideal for the driver seat (Bass like to build up in long waves.)

I Will alway try to feed off a full range source, fronts are damn near full range from what I can hear but you would think the sub output would be the best bet. My guess is they have doctored the output to offer a smooth and distortion free factory sub(which are commonly crappy quality) They may have added some sub sonic cut out on the fronts or maybe cut 40hz and below but hopefully not) Has any one confirmed if the feed from the source unit? I would like to feed pre processor but unsure of how the souce is sent to the amp or it may be all in the same unit.

 

[boostedflex]

Hey Tony407, did you ever figure out your issue?

 

[Tony407]

I've had the Stealth boxes for the older gen Explorers and they were terrible. They only sound good on low volume. The boxes just didn't have the volume to make decent sound. I know a few people that had fiberglass custom enclosures made and they sounded pretty good. Do they have the volume of the box listed anywhere?

My 1997 Explorer with a Stealthbox was amazing, and I mean really amazing. I had a Nakamichi CD-700 head unit, old-school Phoenix Gold ZX amps, and a Dynaudio 3-way all-active component set up front. That Stealthbox actually did VERY well keeping up with all the other high-end stuff I had. I got compliments on the bass everywhere I went, many from seasoned car audio peeps like me. Also had one in my 2006 Mustang that sounded very decent, same thing with my 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

No, JL Audio was unwilling or unable to give me the box volume. Although they would tell me that the box was custom made for the 10W3v3, which calls for a sealed enclosure at .625 cubic feet. LOL

Here is a quick terst you can do to narrow down the issues. Take your phone (or mp3 ect) and run you phone directly into the amp that poweres to sub with a 1/8th to rca cord. MAKE SURE THE VOLUME IS DOWN ON THE SOURCE!! lol If the amp is full gain it could cause some damage. Try to get a cord long enough to go from the amp to the front seat. This will give you clean signal and you will know if you need to find anout source to tap into. The placement of the sub should be ideal for the driver seat (Bass like to build up in long waves.)

I Will alway try to feed off a full range source, fronts are damn near full range from what I can hear but you would think the sub output would be the best bet. My guess is they have doctored the output to offer a smooth and distortion free factory sub(which are commonly crappy quality) They may have added some sub sonic cut out on the fronts or maybe cut 40hz and below but hopefully not) Has any one confirmed if the feed from the source unit? I would like to feed pre processor but unsure of how the souce is sent to the amp or it may be all in the same unit.

That's actually very good advice, thank you. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that myself.

I can't comment on the quality of the signals from the OEM sub wires I tapped into, other than it's what I've done for many of the vehicles I've owned and I've never been as disappointed as I am with this particular Stealthbox.

Hey Tony407, did you ever figure out your issue?

Sort of. I've always suspected that one of the reason(s) it sounds so awful is that the physical mounting location is pure crap (not to be confused with the placement of the subwoofer driver, which is likely very optimal in my opinion). Even with my DIY mounting hardware upgrade (courtesy of the Stealthbox coming loose while driving around last year) the box isn't solidly attached to the vehicle. I have no doubts it'll stay in place now, but I can easily move the entire enclosure around with my hands (I could do this before as well). I'd say probably about 1/2-inch movement in all directions. AKA wobbly.

So I used a section of a 2x4 to press up against the bottom of the Stealthbox on one side and the lower rear cargo area on the other side. I had to really jam it in there so the box was pressed HARD into the side of the vehicle. And the sound improvement was SUBSTANTIAL. I really don't have anything to compare it to because the box has always sounded that way, but the sound quality was night and day different.

When I called JL Audio back about this revelation they told me I needed to sound dampen the area. So I did. Very meticulously. Absolutely zero change.

Having said all this, I recently decided (after 3 years with this Explorer) that I'm going to invest a ton of money and time into installing a really, really, really good sound system. Just yesterday I took out the third-row seats (never used 'em) and I'll be making a custom-fit sub in the spare tire well/lower cargo area. There appears to be ample room down there and underneath the new floor I'll be making to fit everything I need: amps, battery, sub, sound processor, etc. I'm pretty excited.

Here's what I have planned so far:

Possibly two JL Audio 12W7AE subs.
Audio Control DM-810 processor
Maybe an Audio Control Epicenter
JL Audio HD 1200/1 Amp for the sub(s)
Arc Audio SE 2150 amplifier
Arc Audio SE 4200 amplifer
Dynaudio System 362 (8-inch midwoofers, 3-inch mids, 1-inch tweets) in the front doors (no passive crossovers, all active).
XS XP950 secondary battery

Thanks, everyone for the help!

Tony