Anyone currently using a Q-Logic stock replacement sub box?

[Faster Life]

I want to buy one. I recently replaced the blown stock sub with a JL 8w1v2. While this DRASTICALLY improved bass response, it just ended up giving me a huge desire to add more bass. I really want a decent THUMP! The problem is that my X is always parked on the street in a major city, so leaving a sub box sitting in plain view is a bad idea. Thus, the need to keep the sub behind the panel is a must.

Don't get me wrong, I've read through all the post about this issue. But I want some feedback about this particular box, as I've found a place where I can buy it pretty cheap. In old posts, it seems the sub of choice is an Infinity Kappa 10.1d; it fits, has a high sensitivity, and has nice range. Problem is, this sub is now hard to find because it has been discontinued.

Anyways, I hoping to get some feedback about the performance of the box itself, and what is a good (loud!) sub for it. (If the Infinity 10.1 isn't an option) I plan on running a minimum of 300 RMS to the sub. I like to ask the people who use this setup, so if that's you, please take a moment to comment!

THANKS!!!

 

[Joe Dirt]

I just put that JL into my truck, I don't know if you're going to notice that much more bass with the Q Logic box, my buddy has one and it sounds quite similar to my truck. I loaded my box with polyfill last week, and it hits much harder than when it was open inside, or even with the jute pad the factory included with their sub.

Are you running a factory deck? Also, what amp are you running?

I am running THIS amp and I have to say- for the money, it's performed incredibly well...

If you're running the stock amp, that's probably feeding your desire to more. For the $, maybe try an aftermarket amp and see if you have any better feelings before going the long dollar on the Q Logic box?

 

[Faster Life]

Right now, it's the stock amp. I was planning on running a RF Punch P300-1 for the new system. For the price this amp is pretty sweet. About 400RMS @ 2 ohms. I figure the box is where I'm going to lose some efficiency, as a 10" Infinity 10.1d hooked up to that wattage should kick pretty good.

I am running the stock deck for now. It's got all the typical problems, (display works 1% of the time, CDs play 20% of the time) but the 6 disker always works fine. I've read on the forum that if you pull the stock deck, it can be difficult getting the disc changer, wheel controls, and the front and rear 6x8 amps to work with the new HU.

I don't know. I don't need the system to let people know I'm there, but I would like to get a lot more bass then what I have now. As it stands now, the planned gear is approaching $400, and obviously when spending that kinda cash you would like to have considerable gains... Do you think a couple of 10s would fit under the rear seats?

 

[Faster Life]

Oh yeah. I just thought about this: With your buddy's Q Logic, is he just running the stock amp, or did he upgrade his amp too? I just can't imagine that the stock 85 watt RMS to an 8" could compete with a 400 watt RMS to a 10", regardless of the enclosure...

 

[actual_malice]

The best way to do it if you're going to spend the money is find out what sub you're going to get, if you do get the kappa, look up the specs for the sub and have car audio store build you one that will fit where you want it. This way you wont have to worry about whether or not it will fit and you wont take a chance damaging the sub either and it'll perform efficiently

 

[celly]

I've got a Q-Logic box and love it. I'm not one of these people that spends a small fortune on a system (but used to be until came to my senses). Anyhow the only lesson I learned with this box is that most high end subs won't fit it. You need a sub with a pretty shallow mounting depth. I ended up with a sub made by little known Italian company "Hertz. My sub had specs comparable to more well known offerings with a much lower profile. I don't remember what I paid, but there was a premium over other subs that fit the box. It's done well for me over the last 4-5 years. I also love having full use of my storage space at all times. The "U" in SUV still means something to me.
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[Faster Life]

The replacement sub box needs to be out of sight. This is a must, and I refuse to setup anything that can be seen from the outside. The reason I think the Infinity Kappa 10.1d is the way to go, (at least for the Q logic) is that it fits, according to older posts about using the box, and that it's performance and specs apparently mesh well with the box.

The ideal setup is to keep the sub's home where the stock stuff is, behind that panel on the passenger side. Obviously a thief will never know it's there, or if they figure it out they won't have an easy time ripping all of that stuff out. In terms of having a shop make a custom box, does anyone know the approximate cost of that? I found a site that sells the Q Logic for $160, and that seems fair. I can only assume a custom built box would cost at least that.

Celly, so you would say that the box would perform well with a 10" pulling around 400 watts? I figure it would be fine. Also, I have seen pictures of the Q Logic installed, and on some you can see the sub because there isn't a grill piece. It looks like there isn't much space between the sub's surround and the panel. Any problems for you there?

P.S. Thanks to all for adding your comments!

 

[Joe Dirt]

I grabbed an 8" stock enclosure for an Ex at the junkyard for $5, and my amp, JL sub, and wiring kit ran me $160 shipped from the site I liked to above. Remember- if you buy a 400w amp, you're not really getting 400w.

My buddy's Q Logic is using an older RF Punch amp, 400w. There is no discernible difference in sound level, and I think mine sounds better- just because I only spent what I did.

No kidding- If you're thinking about putting in (2) 10" subs, you want to be heard. If you listen to an 8" tuned properly, it's plenty loud for what you say you're looking for- mine vibrates my mirrors to the point I can't see out of them if I turn the volume up, and it sounds incredible. I can hear it outside the car at normal volumes.

The first thing I would do is figure out realistically what you want- if you're looking to turn some heads, you need more than a Q Logic box. If you truly want to fill in some lows and have a nice full sound with the ability to thump a bit if you want to, the 8" is more than adequate when running behind a good system.

Right now I'm running:

Pioneer DEH1100 CD receiver with MP3 input ($80)
Wiring harness ($15)
4 Older poly cone/rubber surround Kenwood door speakers ($50 off eBay cause I love them, had them in other cars)
Speaker quick plug harnesses ($30)
Dash Kit ($15)
Sub amp (above) ($58)
Stock sub enclosure packed with polyfill ($5)
JL 8" sub ($80)
Amp wiring kit ($20)

When listened to, I think I've got a complete solid system for $350.

 

[toypaseo]

This is how stealth my Budget Bass install is at the moment.
I plan to paint the OEM grill, and the metal grill, with something that is close to the Willow Green color.

Click on image for larger view

 

[Faster Life]

So Joe, You're thinking a makeover on the stuff I already have is the way to go. So what exactly are you thinking I need to do? If you believe the 8" can provide what I want, I rather go down that road and save some money while at it...

First, I suppose I would need to buy a new amp and aftermarket HU. If I got the same stuff as you, it would be pretty cheap. I saw the deck on Amazon for $78 shipped, and the link for you put for that amp is like $60. Not bad. When I watch the JL 8" at full power, it's not hard to tell it could us more wattage. (It actually doesn't move very much at all, almost no excursion). I know that a the new HU and amp would help the sub to sound a lot louder/better, but how much better? I just want to be sure it will be enough...

I haven't tried adding polyfill into the stock box. It does have that foam ring in it though. If I add polyfill to the box, who is that packed? Do you pack the whole thing as tightly as possible?

toypaseo, that looks nice! I assume you used a custom made box? How does it sound?

 

[Joe Dirt]

The stock unit puts out very little power. I know that when I had powered up my sub with the new amp, it was moving a LOT. It's also a nice big magnet, I like the sub.

For what you want, hey- it's all subjective, these are just my opinions. Most of what I listen to is rock/classic rock/alternative etc., and with the sub, the bass and mix sound awesome. I'm not into rap, so I can't speak on performance on that... I'm happy with it, and for the money spent I wouldn't complain at all...

I have my remote amp mounted on the enclosure (like factory) since I have to use those wires. The sub amp is under my rear seat.

I picked the Pioneer unit because it had the mp3 patch input on the front, preamp for a sub, a remote, and could play just about anything. I've always liked Pioneer decks, and the green lighting matched my truck's green dash lighting perfectly. I changed my '97 (and previous truck '95) bluish/aqua lights to the green, and I wanted the radio lights to match. For the $ I spent on a deck, it does what I want- I didn't need tons of features, and the more expensive decks usually seem to have the same power ratings, just more features I wouldn't use.

If you get that setup, and need more, you could always get another larger sub and upgrade, it's not like you'd be out a lot of money. I just think that for what you're looking for, the stock enclosure with the 8" JL is great, and it fits perfectly inside.

For the poly, I used one bag of the stuff from WalMart, they sell it in the craft section. Just spread it out in the box, there was a BIG difference in sound from when it had none to when I stuffed it.

 

[toypaseo]

toypaseo, that looks nice! I assume you used a custom made box? How does it sound?

Mine is an OEM enclosure I pulled from a junkyard, carved out to accept an 8" sub. Sounds okay. Not a SQ winner. Not a competition winner. Good enough to add some depth. I think it needs some polyfill instead of the jute stuff from the factory. I still have an OEM head unit, so one problem that I have, is that that head unit cuts bass at higher volumes. Overall, it works great for me Amp and sub that I used are listed in my signature below.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Kent- try the poly- it made an absolutely HUGE difference in my truck. I think the just padding was too dense and didn't really fill much of the space in there to begin with- it was honestly night and day.

Stuff was like $2/bag at WallyWorld. It's the same stuff I re-stuff my seats with.

Note to Faster- if you find a 98+ Ex/Mounty, you will already have the 8" sub cutout. The '95-'97 had 6" woofers... My JL mounted right into the stock hole in the housing...

 

[Faster Life]

Hey Joe, I'm not sure if you know, but I have a 99' EB, and I'm running a JL 8w1v2 off all the stock Mach stuff. I just bought a new amp! Check it out: http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_575P3001P/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-P300-1.html?search=rockford+p300-1&ssi=0&tp=27743

 

[Faster Life]

It's nice how it has options. If I keep the 8" inch, I'll run the amp in 4 ohms, and the sub will get at least 150w RMS. Or if I choose to go for the upgrade, I can run over 400RMS to the new sub. This is a pretty sweet amp! Next I got to figure out a HU. This needs to happen, as my stock deck is a serious POS at this point. I just don't want to lose the 6 disc changer and steering wheel controls, but what can you do...

I also will polyfill the stock sub enclosure and see how that works. (This will be the 4th time I've ripped out everything behind that panel.)

 

[Faster Life]

toypaseo, so you mean I'm probably losing bass just because of the stock HU?

 

[Joe Dirt]

Yep- as you volume up it pulls bass out of the signal...

I looked at that RF amp actually- I liked how it looked- very clean... But was there any particular reason you chose to run a Mono amp vs. bridging a 2-channel amp?

 

[Faster Life]

Price, and the reviews about this particular amp. This amp actually runs higher wattage then what it says, and I only paid $120 with shipping. (and it's new!) I figured I'll only be driving one sub with it, but it still has the capability to push pretty much anything. One guy said he had 2 15s running off of it, and he couldn't believe the performance.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Cool cool... That's why I bought the $50 amp- same types of reviews. I really don't see the need of buying these $600-$700 amps when these less expensive models perform. That RF is a nice amp though- I've run RF before and it is a really nice product.

 

[toypaseo]

I like RF stuff, but only the older stuff... Punch 40, 60, 75, etc...

I run a Punch 60 in my Paseo. Runs a set of 4" Infinity Kappa components in the front doors, and a set of Infinity Kappa 6½" coaxials in the rear deck. Left side on one channel, right side on the other. Ran in parallel, for a total of 280 watts