Underseat subwoofer

Has anyone installed the OEM Subaru underseat subwoofer? If so how is the sound?

 

It looks like a lot of work in put this unit in, is it?

It's an easy job and fits with the OEM stereo well. It's not going to beat the hooptymobile with the dual 12" quad amps though.

 

Basic hand tools will complete the job. You should have a subwoofer, bracket, and harness.

 

Abbreviated install:

Remove the fascia around the head unit

Remove stereo fasteners

Remove the seat from the mount (unbolt it and lean it back)

Run the harness under the carpet in the channel made for the wiring into the center console area to the head unit

Plug in harness to stereo

Install Loosely

Plug in subwoofer

Test Stereo

Assemble everything in reverse of removal

I would not recommend it. How much are they new? $125.00?

 

Why spend that amount on an "OEM" driver when you can spend that exact amount on aftermarket components w/ the use of a LOC.

 

If I were in your position, I would look for a used mono or 2 ch. amplifier, & a used subwoofer. Craigslist, diyma or CACO has a great classifields section. Heck, maybe you'll stumble across an amplifier that accepts high livel inputs so you don't have to purchase a LOC ...even though they're as cheap as $15.00

 

When I had my OEM system in (yes, w/ the OEM subwoofer), I RTA'd it. Peaked buck nasty in the 60-80hz region. The EXACT frequency range where the OEM subwoofer packs most of it's punch. Haha, actually it probably bottoms out anything below 55hz or so.

 

I sold my OEM subwoofer. It was well worth it. The "muddiness" was gone. Stage cleared & I'm happy.

The best price I have seen for the Subaru accessory subwoofer for a 2010+ Legacy is $230 shipped. Add the price of the Subaru accessory tweeters to that and you are over $300, which goes a long way towards the price of a respectable system.

This OEM subwoofer is more like a 'woofer'. It does not really reproduce the sub frequencies below, say, 50 Hz. But it is a nice lil baby punch if that's how you like it. I use it in my car as a midbass speaker.

Another option would be visiting ae64.com and getting wiring harness adapters to hook up the sound ordnance powered underseat subwoofer which will give better extension into the lower frequencies. I also looked at this, but figured since I am a decent carpenter that I would rather buy a $30 sheet of mdf and build a spare tire mount subwoofer box, buy a 10" sub and a decent amp and get some real extension.

I hooked up two of the oem subs. Got them used on the cheap. Definitely a nice boost for the price.

I just saw post. Sorry for the late addition. I bought one through

Crutchfield...sound ordinance...fits under passenger seat. I'm very

Happy! Check out my pics in profile!

Lieutenantcolumbo, where did u happen to find the used oem subs? and how did u mount and wire them??

Bought at least one here off the classifieds, probably both. Just got to troll a lot cause they go fast. If not I got the other one off ebay.

 

Put the second one under the rear of the passenger seat. I just re-drilled the holes in the bracket and re-bent the end that fits under the seat. Works perfect. The one came with a harness, the other one didn't, but that didn't matter because I needed a Y cable. Bought the connectors off SVXdc from this site. I have the second one daisy chained off the first one. Dave said I might have to upgrade the fuse in the main cable, but its never blown yet.

thanks i was hoping it was that simple. As far as daisy chaining the harnesses u mean splicing the passenger side harness to the driver side's harness which was connected to the head unit?

Just order these below from SVXdc at http://ae64.com/

 

(2) Subwoofer reverse harness (1) Subwoofer forward harness

 

Make Y cable or a t cable by connecting them all together, just match up the colors so its a pass through cable, nothing fancy.

Measure how long you need it and leave yourself a little extra. I put the Y under my drivers seat.

 

The OEM harness plugs into the Y end and the other side of the Y goes into the sub.

The other end gets snaked under the carpet / console and plugs into the other sub.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3813696&postcount=10197

Just order these below from SVXdc at http://ae64.com/

 

(2) Subwoofer reverse harness (1) Subwoofer forward harness

 

Make Y cable or a t cable by connecting them all together, just match up the colors so its a pass through cable, nothing fancy.

Measure how long you need it and leave yourself a little extra. I put the Y under my drivers seat.

 

The OEM harness plugs into the Y end and the other side of the Y goes into the sub.

The other end gets snaked under the carpet / console and plugs into the other sub.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3813696&postcount=10197

 

Is there anyway you could make a DIY on how to do this?

is there anyway you could make a diy on how to do this?

 

 

+1

Its too easy

 

Just buy these two reverse connectors & one forward connector shown here:

 

http://ae64.com/Legacy-pinout.htm

 

Let Dave know what you're doing and he'll make sure you get the right parts.

 

For the end that will be plugged into the subwoofer under the driver's seat take one forward and one reverse connector. Then twist the matching colors of the two connectors together. You now have all 14 wires from the two connectors paired up.

 

Figure out how long a wire you need to get to your location for speaker #2. Next grab some similar gauge wire. Cut 14 equal length pieces for jumpers, I think mine were around 3'. Strip 1/2 inch of each end.

 

Now pick a color to start with, say orange. Twist the jumper onto the orange wires for the two connectors that will go under the driver's seat. Solder together. Connect the other end to the orange wire of the reverse connector that will go to speaker #2. Solder together.

 

Rinse & Repeat until all the matching colors have been soldered together. Double check your work. Tape up (or you could have used heat shrink like me).

 

Unplug the original connector from speaker under the drivers seat. Plug it into the forward harness connector off the Y cable. Plug the reverse harness connector into the subwoofer under the driver's seat.

 

Route your cable to the speaker #2 location. Probably want to go under the console. I am going to swap out my carpet so that's all I did at this point, and you can't really see it any way.

 

For the bracket that holds speaker #2 under the rear of the passenger seat, just put the portion of the bracket that fits under the seat frame in a vice, and bend it the opposite direction. Then lay it out on the floor w/ the speaker, and drill new holes in the bracket to hold the speaker where you want it. Alternately slap some velcro on the back off speaker #2.

 

Now plug the reverse connector into speaker #2 and enjoy.

 

When I get time to swap my carpet I'll snap some pics, but there's nothing to it really.

I got a lead on an OEM underseat subwoofer for a fair price, but I thought I read someplace on here that the subwoofer is not compatable with the head unit in a 2012 Legacy Preimum.

 

Is this accruate, is there a workaround?

I got a lead on an OEM underseat subwoofer for a fair price, but I thought I read someplace on here that the subwoofer is not compatable with the head unit in a 2012 Legacy Preimum.

 

Is this accruate, is there a workaround?

 

If its not compatible you could probably just run your own wires and tap into the speaker wires.

Picky1, is 2012 Legacy Premium your model and year? (please add that info to your profile). What is the model number printed on the front of your factory radio? Do you have the OEM harman/kardon amplifier and speaker system? What model/year did the subwoofer you found come from?

 

In many cases, an older sub won't have the correct harnesses to work with a newer car. But it's often possible to use a different sub harness (or modify the old one) to make it work.

Anyone know what the frequency range of the crossover dial is for the OEM subwoofer?