I just upgraded my stereo in my Quad cab. I have an Alpine AM/FM/CD/MP3/XM head unit with Alpine 6X9's in the front doors and 6.5's in the rear doors. The speakers were being powered by the head unit.

I also had a Clarion SRV-303 self-powered, self-contained subwoofer (approx 7") under the center front seat. This is a nice compact unit that does help fill in the missing bass in most systems. But was a little weak with the windows down and did not provide a lot of feeling all around. It served its purpose well for two years.

Then I got "the bug". I purchased an Alpine V12 (can you tell I like Alpine) MRF-352 amp (390 amps total) from a friend that took it out of a car she sold. This is a 6 channel 'in' and 5 channel 'out' unit (fr,fl,rr,rl and mono sub out). I looked long and hard for the purfect sub. I really like to keep things low key and hidden in my truck. I hide all that I can in this thing. I use space that is wasted anyway where ever I can. So a big box taking up the back seat area was out of the question.....that would make my step-daughter a little chilly, tied in the bed of the truck on those 300 mile trips to my parents place[sm=badidea.gif]. So my options were the MTX under rear seat unit (2-10's), the JL Stealthbox under the front center seat, or the SubSolutions sub box.

Given that the size of the amp gave me few options to 'hide' it, the only place to put it and keep it out of site was under the center front seat. Of course that would mean losing the rear cup holder but it is seldom used anyway. Now the JL Stealthbox is out. The MTX box would mean that the under seat storage would be used permanantly (ok it could be unbolted, but what a pain). So I decided to try the SubSolutions box (model RTXC).

This has one 170mm (approx 6 3/4" driver). It seemed a bit small to me. I really wanted to feel the bass but didn't care if other outside the truck could hear or feel it. I talked to the guys at SubSolution and they told me I would be very pleased with the results. They said that my amp would be perfect for their sub box. They even said that if I didn't like the unit that they would take it back for a full refund. Who can pass that up?

I removed all of the door panels and installed new Moster Cable to each of the door speakers and ran one wire to the passanger side under the rear seat for the SubSolutions box. I put 150mhz cut-outs on the rear door speakers to keep the deep bass and distortion down on them. Used 8 gauge power wire to the battery (with a 60 amp fuse at the battery) and 8 gauge wire to a ground point for the amp. The RCA cables are sheilded twisted sets from the deck. Of course I hide all of the wires under the carpet, behind the kick plates, under the sill plates, under the shift-pod (and drink holder) in the front (its a 5 speed), and through the factory door wire-pass-throughs. I removed the jack and relocated it inside the spare tire. I wrapped it in a towel and put it in a seal 'Tupperware' container (its been there for a few years now and no damage to the jack or 'Tupperware'). I then removed the jack bracket altogether. The SubSolutions box fits perfectly under the seat. It is a very clean install indeed (yes I am very proud of myself).

Then I fired it up. At first I was not inpressed. Then I started to tune the amp controls. In a word......WOW! That little sub can really kick. I am very impressed. I even plugged in an 8" Bazooka tube (for comparison) that I had and this little Sub Solutions box out performs it easily. It has very tight precise bass and a very nice feel to it. When you turn it up and shut the doors it can be heard but not felt out side the truck.

The only thing that still needs attention is to anchor the box down. I have not figured that out yet. The unit will slide a little if you drive "spirited".

It is my opinion that if you are picky about the space in your truck and you want bass then give this unit a try. Those looking to break windows and set off alarms do not bother. This is not the unit for you. But if you like clear, tight, precise bass IMO this unit should be given serious consideration.

Eric

 

I recently did the upgrade myself in my 04 quad cummins, here's what's done. Under the front seat is a Clarion 400W amp running 100W each to the Clarion Pro audio 6" x 9"'s in the front doors and 200w to the 8" planet audio sub under the passenger seat. I built the box as big as would fit and ported it to the front and the rear. I lined the inside of the box with felt as well and filled it with poly-fill to deepen the bass a bit. The rear doors are Clarion pro audio as well and ran off the deck. This system is loud enough to cause some ear damage if one were so inclined. As for normal listening it rocks. The sub surprised me the most because of the small size, but with some trial and error with the porting and dampening got it just right. Here's some pics.

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