Stock Radio with Sub

**Mtepete** · 07-30-2008 12:55 PM

ok... so i got the stock radio..non bose.. and i was wondering if anyone could tell me iabout the overall sound quality of the system if i added a 10 in sub with around 500w of power. is it going to sound good with out up grading anything else???..i like the sound of the stock but it just need a liiill more thump, i dont want the sub to drown out the speakers... i also hate getting into someones car that has to much bass...im interested in sound quality not setting off car alarms im waffleing over this...

... i guess if i have to, ill upgrade everything and leave the stock face...would rather spend that money at the bar getting girls to go back to my place in the car, ya know??

**bcramer** · 07-30-2008 01:05 PM

First, to say whether or not it sound good is way to subjective. I don't know what you consider "sounding good." Also, there are way to many variables invovled to make a valid judgement. Those include but are not limited to the install, equipment, tuning, etc.

I will say that most people who have installed a subwoofer to the stock system seem to be satisfied based on their posts around here.

I hope you don't think that your car is going to get your girls. I really hope that you didn't buy it thinking it would.

**Mtepete** · 07-30-2008 01:12 PM

well i dont know about where you live, but i cant sit at the bar in my car...but thank you for your reply was just looking for an overall opinion like if someone had installed a sub and had a bad experience with what i was talking about..

**GEkido** · 07-30-2008 01:49 PM

I have the same setup as you are describing and i'm very satisfied with the sound. "Does it sound good?" is a very subjective but for the most part I believe you would be satisfied. I just ran a crossover switch into the glovebox to turn down the power of the sub so it doesnt sound distorted. And I turn it up when I want to give the people in the backseat a massage. :)

**Quattro** · 07-30-2008 03:27 PM

adding a sub to the stock car that is 500watts would be a good addition to your car...but as fellow AZers mention sound is subjective.

When I got my car I rocked the stock speakers and a sub, till I upgraded my speakers. The sound was stock just with a lot more bass.

Question comes down to if you like stock speakers and how they sound now, adding a sub will not make your speakers sound better or worse. Speakers will get better if you add an additional amp for your speakers...but that is going off topic

With 500 watt sub, depending on what amp you get and how much RMS the amp has and the sub, I doubt you will set off any alarms. Will the bass over power the stock speakers? I doubt it, but if you turn up all the bass on the amp you might have more bass than speaker sound, but can be corrected by having a median point with bass output and speaker output..

hope this helps

**Bllzll** · 07-30-2008 04:12 PM

may be a stupid question.. but how do you know what car speakers you have??

does the bose system say bose on the speaker grilles?

my speaker grilles are blank, and my head unit says audi symphony.. im assuming thats just stock right?

**bcramer** · 07-30-2008 04:29 PM

Yes you are stock. However the Symphony is the upgraded OEM stereo. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

**davis449** · 07-31-2008 06:20 AM

As long as you ground the Bose pin, it will sound ok. I hate that compression Audi HU's add onto the sound. I, personally, would get the sort of sub setup where you can control the bass from the front via some sort of control unit. Otherwise you end up with disproportional bass to volume. Use a Clean Sweep or something similar. I changed the HU to an Avic D3 and I love it!

**GEkido** · 07-31-2008 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by davis449

As long as you ground the Bose pin, it will sound ok. I hate that compression Audi HU's add onto the sound. I, personally, would get the sort of sub setup where you can control the bass from the front via some sort of control unit. Otherwise you end up with disproportional bass to volume. Use a Clean Sweep or something similar. I changed the HU to an Avic D3 and I love it!

Exactly! Here's a pic:

**a4dc89** · 07-31-2008 08:27 AM

I know a lot of people who do that. in general, the stock systems of most cars have very good quality generally better than a lot of aftermarket systems (unless you spend a fortune). So adding a sub on top is a good idea, its cheaper and sounds just as good if not better and you keep the stock head unit which is also good

**Quattro** · 07-31-2008 12:01 PM

Clean sweep or something similar is actually a good idea to add, if you are really anal about sound quality.

It all depends what route you are going to, if you want something simple than stock sub is great. I would just suggest going with a sub, trying it out and see how it performs to your standards then go accordingly.

-randy

**B7A4Sport** · 07-31-2008 12:07 PM

I have an extensive thread showing what I did, and it basically is the exact config you outline: a 10 inch woofer w/a 500w amp.

I did a stealth install so there's no bulky box taking up my trunk space, but that type of work doesn't come cheap (if its quality, anyway). I don't have your ordinary 10" woofer either, the JL 10W7 requires a lot more air volume in the enclosure than pretty much all other 10's. Here's the link to my thread for some pics:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212044