Installed Kenwood KSC-SW1 Powered Compact Subwoofer Today

[cstetter]

To my knowledge, there are two super-compact powered subwoofers available today - one made by Clarion and one made by Kenwood. The Clarion is silver color and I had read somewhere that the enclosure is actually plastic so I decided to get the Kenwood KSC-SW1 instead. It is rated at 150W and weighs just under 8 pounds. I found it for $185 shipped and with warranty on Ebay after several online dealers showed it in stock for similar prices but when I ordered I was told that they were actually backordered. The list price is $300 or something thereabouts.

I am using the stock Acapulco head unit with some Kenwood KFC-XR401 4" in front and the stock speakers in the rear (too much of a pain to replace them since I have the harness bar). I also have the Blaupunkt i-Pod adapter installed per the instructions on this site somewhere. BTW, a note on the i-Pod adapter: I found that with the hard drive based i-Pod mini, the high-frequency interference from the drive into the speakers was quite bad. I am now using the FLASH based i-Pod nano which has barely any interference.

Back to the sub: It has a metal case and is matte black. Two kinds of brackets, a cable harness, and a wired remote control come with it. It fits perfectly in the shelf behind the seats, even with the harness bar in place.

Extra material used that was not included with the sub or the head unit:
1 standard single channel RCA cable (male to male) - 6'
1 RCA Y-Adaptor (female to two male)
2 Crimp-on blade connectors (male)
2 Crimp-on blade connectors (female)
Self-adhesive Velcro tape
Heat-shrink tubing
Some misc. wires (I just used the leftovers from the sub wiring harness that I needed to cut anyway)

I used the sub-out connection from the head unit and not the speaker level inputs. Not that I recommend it, but I actually did not remove the battery while doing this.

Since I didn't want to cut and splice into the existing radio wiring harness, I removed the sub out connect pin from the spare plug that came with the radio using a very small screw driver to unlock the pin from the plastic plug. I also removed the sub ground connection for the sub out from the plug the same way. The pin for the sub out fits into the connector that is already used for the standard installation. You can slide it into the empty slot in the connector where the sub out needs to go (pin 3). Again, since I didn't want to splice into any existing wires, instead of connecting the sub out ground to an existing wire, I just used the spare connector that I had removed the sub out from, cut off all remaining cables and the locking tab, and inserted the ground pin into the ground pin for the microphone input (pin 9). This plug fits into the empty connector slot on the far left of the radio (the vertical one). So now I had the sub out cable connected. You will need a standard single RCA cable plus a Y-adaptor (since the sub expects a left and a right while the head unit only provides one sub out connection) to route to the sub.

The only other connection to the head unit is the blue-white wire for switched power. The other spare connector that comes with the radio provides this connection (along with pre-outs but we're not using them here). I just soldered the blue-white cable from the sub harness to the wire provided and insulated it with heat-shrink tubing.

I tried for a long time (and many cuts - the edges of those aluminum panels are SHARP!) to route the two cables (sub out RCA and switched power) to the bottom of the dash but to no avail. In the end, I just routed the cables to the left cubby, just like you would do with the already mentioned i-Pod install. From there, I ran the two cables tucked under the door sill cover to the back.

I connected the sub power and ground to the lighter socket in between the seats. Since I didn't want to lose the socket functionality, I made a little adaptor cable using two male and two female crimp-on connectors (insulated ones!) where I crimped together the sub power and the socket power and similarly the sub ground and the socket ground and then connected to the existing connectors and wiring harness for the socket. Since there already is a fuse for the lighter socket, I did not use the in-line 10A fuse provided with the sub.

I mounted the sub to the rear shelf using Velcro tape. So far it is not sliding around and you can remove it for track days and the like since all the required wires have connectors in the back of the sub.

A general note: The wiring harness provided with the sub is ridiculously long - you will have to cut most of it off so you should have a soldering iron and some heat-shrink tubing around for the splices.

Also, the wired remote comes with a very long cable - I have not yet found a permanent place for it since I am still messing with the settings for crossover, phase, and level.

The sound is transformed! Since now I don't have to crank up the bass any more, the full range speakers are no longer overloaded and the head unit doesn't need to drive so much power. Don't expect ground-shaking ultra-low frequencies (the driver is a 6.5" and the unit has only 150W max) but it definitely fills in the sound nicely and for my taste, it can be plenty loud. None of the modifications is permanent and the cost is very reasonable, given the reward. The installation is pretty stealth due to the location and black color of the sub.

It took me about 3 hours for the install but this was my first sub installation in a car and I was taking my sweet time.

Hope this helps someone!
Claus

[Zippy_Slug]

Nice write up! Did you loose any seat space?

[Dave]

Nice write-up. Now, pictures!

[turbo2nr]

I saw that sub, but found another one I wanted. I bought a RockfordFosgate 6" ported sub enclosure. The speaker looks like a stubby Bazooka tube, but smashed down. The speaker is on a 45 degree slant. The tube is oval shaped. Fits behind the seat also. Have not hooked it up yet. I will be using an amp with a bridged output going to sub, and two other channels going to front speakers. RCA line out going to 4-channel amp in trunk is my plan. I have a few different amps in my garage, just looking for the right size. Should be a deep thump.

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by Zippy_Slug

Nice write up! Did you loose any seat space?

Nope - still can go all the way back.

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by Dave

Nice write-up. Now, pictures!

I didn't take any during the install but will take some of the finished product.

Cheers!

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by turbo2nr

I saw that sub, but found another one I wanted. I bought a RockfordFosgate 6" ported sub enclosure. The speaker looks like a stubby Bazooka tube, but smashed down. The speaker is on a 45 degree slant. The tube is oval shaped. Fits behind the seat also. Have not hooked it up yet. I will be using an amp with a bridged output going to sub, and two other channels going to front speakers. RCA line out going to 4-channel amp in trunk is my plan. I have a few different amps in my garage, just looking for the right size. Should be a deep thump.

Please do post the results. For me, I just wanted the convenience of the built-in Amp.

[Stan]

Looks like an update of last year's Kenwood sub. Here is a 16 month old (!) thread on the subject!!! LOL. I routed wiring along the hidden lateral channel under the dash.

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...subwoofer+news

[Beanie]

I have what is the precursor of that Kenwood powered sub, a "wOOx". The wired remote has crossover settings that may or may not be a good match for your head unit. I like having the level control on the wired remote, but am currently running without it. There's a switch on the back to disable it so make sure to flip that if you remove the cable. The bass is not a low as I'd like, but it definitely fills in the lows. Nice thing about these separate powered subs: they can be removed rather quickly if you want to suddenly lose the weight and/or use that space for something else.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by cstetter

I didn't take any during the install but will take some of the finished product.

Cheers!

In addition to an installed picture, if you can also show a picture of the velcro mounting with the sub removed, that would be appreciated. (Where on the car interior and on the sub back the mounting tape was put.) I am considering the same sub. (I am slowly getting away from my ambition of a do-it-yourself fiberglass sub enclosure for the area behind the seats. Just too much work. My dreams are usually bigger than my available time.)

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by turbo2nr

I saw that sub, but found another one I wanted. I bought a RockfordFosgate 6" ported sub enclosure. The speaker looks like a stubby Bazooka tube, but smashed down. The speaker is on a 45 degree slant. The tube is oval shaped. Fits behind the seat also. Have not hooked it up yet. I will be using an amp with a bridged output going to sub, and two other channels going to front speakers. RCA line out going to 4-channel amp in trunk is my plan. I have a few different amps in my garage, just looking for the right size. Should be a deep thump.

I researched this one a bit compared to the KSC-SW1 and other small tube subs. This is the only tube sub I could find that might actually fit on the rear shelf (the others are too long). I noted that the speaker efficiency is the same as the SW1 (around 85 or 86 dB, which is rather low for most subs I have seen). The main difference I see (other than physical size and speaker placement) is that the Rockford Fosgate version without the built-in amp is able to handle twice the power of the SW1 and you can use whatever external amp that pleases you best. (The version of the tube with the internal amp is lower power than the SW1.) Of course, twice the power is not twice the perceived loudness, but it does allow for lower distortion amplification than the typical built-in amp. Also, the SW1 claims a lower frequency limit than the Rockford Fosgate one (35 Hz compared to 50, if I recall correctly). Of course, that just may be specification games played by the manufacturer, as I don't see a frequency plot from either one.

I would love to see pictures of both subs, and some comments on how the Rockford Fosgate one sounds.

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by ChrisH

In addition to an installed picture, if you can also show a picture of the velcro mounting with the sub removed, that would be appreciated. (Where on the car interior and on the sub back the mounting tape was put.) I am considering the same sub. (I am slowly getting away from my ambition of a do-it-yourself fiberglass sub enclosure for the area behind the seats. Just too much work. My dreams are usually bigger than my available time.)

Crappy pictures and dirty car - I apologize. Been driving it in the rain

I have not done the final cable routing with zip ties and a cable channel so it looks messy.

A few more observations: The MP3 volume on the Acapulco is a lot lower than radio and CD volume so be careful when you switch back and forth. At high volumes, the firewall cover that the sub is attached to starts resonating which "dirties" the sound. I also found that the sound is best when you have the sub crossover frequency set to about middle and the volume also to about middle. I am using the Equalizer preset "rock" for the Acapulco. Finally, I am not too concerned about only the Velcro holding the sub in place - it is right behind the seats and harness bar so those things would keep it from flying forward in the unfortunate case of a crash.

Hope this helps!
Claus

[Surferjer]

Thanks for the pics. I'm not desperate enough for more bass to do this yet, but after the top comes off this spring I may be. I've long considered the Woox or it's replacement as a possibility. I'm not a fan of how the wires look. There's got to be a better way to run wires to the back...

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by Surferjer

Thanks for the pics. I'm not desperate enough for more bass to do this yet, but after the top comes off this spring I may be. I've long considered the Woox or it's replacement as a possibility. I'm not a fan of how the wires look. There's got to be a better way to run wires to the back...

There definitely is a better way to hide the wires. I just haven't gotten around to it (too much business travel). If you have the touring pack, you can hide them under the carpet.

[Troy_Audio]

Take a look here for when you got time to clean it up..
http://cableorganizer.com/
Peace Troy

[ChrisH]

If anyone is interested, I found the manual for the KSC-SW1. It is too big to attach, so here is the link where I found it.
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/Man.../113KSCSW1.PDF
You might want to save it to your computer in case it is taken off that web site.

I sent an email to Kenwood (from their questions page) asking what is the output sensitivity (or efficiency) and at what frequency they measure it, since the manual doesn't list the sensitivity. I had seen one web site list the sensitivity as 85 dB, but it turns out that was the signal to noise ratio. I also asked them for a spectral plot of the frequency response, since they claim the frequency range goes down to 35 Hz, but they don't say at what relative power (is that 3 dB frequency range? I can't see how with a 6.5 inch woofer and radiator). I doubt I will get an answer, but you never know.

[ChrisH]

I got a response from Kenwood that pointed me to their manual server. Unfortunately, they didn't answer my real questions. In case you want just about any Kenwood product manual, you can ftp it from the following:
ftp://inform.kenwoodusa.com/MANUALS/

[ChrisH]

Does anyone in the San Diego area have a Kenwood KSC-SW1? I have an instrumentation microphone and a sound card with a flat response down to at least 20 Hz. I could use it to measure a spectral plot of the response.

[dukenyc]

So what was the final verdict? Are you pleased with the sound?

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by dukenyc

So what was the final verdict? Are you pleased with the sound?

Were you asking me? Happy as a clam. Plenty loud for my taste, even with the top off and the sound is not bad.