Upgrades to stereo - JVC CS-BB2 Sub & Alpine speakers

[Lotusmotion]

I grew tired of my stock Bluapunkts overloading at the slighted hint of bass. I planned upgrades to the speaker system that would be reversible, keep things factory looking (to extent possible), and be reasonably priced. My Exige is all about performance driving, so an over-the-top award winning sound system was not the objective...just improved sound.

The speakers were about $110 in total, and the sub was $150 (special price, normally $200 at www.crutchfield.com), for an all-in cost, so far, of $260. I will be adding a Blaupunkt iPod controller ($45) and Blaupunkt 10H remote ($10) next weekend for added flexibility. Then I am done with the sound system, at an all in cost of $315 or so.

I installed Alpine SPS-10C2s (front, 4 inch co-axials) and SPS 13C2s (rear, 5.25 inch co-axials) under the factory speaker grills. It was a very simple swap (though, the rear passenger speaker was a tedious job since I did not remove the seat). There are no pix below, since there is nothing to really show given it is a stock looking retrofit.

I installed a JVC CS-BB2 powered subwoofer in the passenger footwell. It sits on the back side of the footrest and is tilted backward at the same angle. I fabricated two aluminum brackets (for bottom and top of sub) so it would sit slightly raised on the footrest and lean on the ventilation cover on the front bulkhead (above the footrest, it is the angled plate with two rivets). I also fabricated a base plate that attaches to the footrest with double sided tape; this covered the footrest holes and provided a greater surface area for attaching the unit. For the top bracket, to eliminate guess work I made a cardboard mock-up to measure / verify angles and distances of the sub, when sitting atop the foot rest, relative to the front bulkhead area. An extra step, but I got the sizing and angles of the top bracket spot-on in the first try (cutting and bending metal is not my idea of fun).

The brackets attach with industrial grade velcro (2 inch width, black). I placed two velcro pads (one side - fuzzy side, only - see picture) on the left side of the subwoofer to prevent vibrations against the center divider. Also, I used rubber pads under the brackets and grommets where the brackets attach to the sub to isolate any bracket vibrations that could otherwise occur from deep bass.

By the way, the sub is a PITA to remove. The velcro is grippy - there are two strips 8 inches long x 2 inches wide for a total of 32 sq. inches of grip area - and the sub is not going anywhere. I planned to remove it for track days, but I won't bother since it is so stable when mounted, and the main wiring loom is right above it to prevent much, if any, vertical movement. The sub could come loose in a catostrophic situation...but then, I will have bigger problems.

Wiring was straight forward...other than assuming the Lotus postion to access areas under the dash. JVC provided very clear instructions. I used a Blaupunkt Aux1 cable (it has 4 RCA connectors and a 12V+ wire) to hook up to the sub to the Blaupunkt Acapulco unit, and I ran that wire loom through the front most corner of the door sill cover, into the dash area behind the passenger storage cubby, and up and across the rear of the underdash to the stereo. For 12V power, I used an Add-A-Fuse to tap into fuse C5 (driving lights; under the dash) as it is sourced from the battery. I attached the sub's volume controller (with double sided tape) to the side of my gauge pod (www.blackwatchracing.com) and tucked and zip-tied the extra controller wiring (it is 9 ft. long) under the dash; the sub volume controller can be seen in the last photo, where it is attached to passenger side of the gauge pod. All wiring was wrapped in convulted wire covering (www.summitracing.com has a terrific kit for $12, including ends, zip-ties, tees, and three sizes of cable cover) and attached the cable covers, where needed, with wiring clips (adhesive backed, for 3/8 & 5/8 cable, www.radioshack.com).

All-in-all, there is a very significant improvement. I did the Alpine upgrade a couple of months ago, and I could hear a big improvement then. Now with the JVC sub added, the sound is greatly enhanced with a fuller range, and the sub provides more than enough bass for my needs.

A nice benefit is that the passenger footrest remains functional.

[slope]

looks good, i'm still deciding bewteen this sub and the powered kenwood sub.

[dukenyc]

Any chance of a link to the kenwood powered sub?

I was thinking of a bazooka tube or possibly this:

http://www.concept-intl.net/proddeta...ine=Subwoofers

[Lotusmotion]

It all comes down to powered sub dimensions and the space you want to put it into.

dukenyc, I followed the link but did not see any dimenions for the unit.

There are various ET postings (by others) about the Kenwood powered sub.

[dukenyc]

The kenwood sub is slighly larger than the JVC, but has more "power" (32w RMSx2 for the jvc and 150w RMS for the Kenwood).

Having heard neither, it is hard to predict which sounds better, or is louder.

I ordered the Kenwood, so I hope it is the better of the two, lol.

[erics75218]

would that JVC Sub fit on the shelf behind the drivers seat???? I've seen it in crutchfield and wondered.

[Lotusmotion]

Yes, it can. I considered doing that but did not for several reasons:

1) Possible buzzing or vibrations from the rear panel from sub harmonics.
2) I use the rear shelf to pack stuff when on roadtrips and the trunk gets full.
3) Didn't want to drill into or mod the rear shelf in any way in order to secure the sub-woofer.
4) Footrest position is more in-line with car's low center of gravity versus it being higher on the rear shelf.
5) It would have been a very tight fit because of my car's harness bar.

Though, a lot of Lotus owners have their compact subs mounted on the rear shelf and are quite happy. A benefit is that it cannot be seen to someone peeking in. But then, most people looking at my car don't notice the sub in the footwell until I point it out.

[Sh4rkattk]

Anyone ever compare the almani sub, they say it has 300rms. I have it in my car but nothing to compare it to. If anyone in socal would like to do a "shoot out" let me know.

[Anders2606]

Hello.

I have a question.
How the hell did you manage to pull the signal cables from the cd-player?
Where did you lay the cables? I have a serious problem getting the cable from the "hole" where the player is and down to the "wall" that separate the passenger footwell from the drivers.

[Lotusmotion]

Anders2606, it is not a direct route.

Behind the stereo head unit is a space that runs from side-to-side the width of the dash and dumps out in the space behind the panels (left and right) that house the A/C vents (top of panel) and key trays (bottom of panel). The bottom of those A/C vent panels sit on top / connect to the front of the door sills. The door sill panels have gaps (about 1/4 inch) at their front inside corners (located below the dash).

I ran the cables and wires behind the stereo, around to A/C vent panels, downward behind the A/C vent panels toward the inner corners of the door sill panels, and exited into the passenger compartment via the gap at the front corner of the door sill panel (below the dash area).

I used a coat hanger with one end hooked to hold cables during routing (and to prevent poking and scratching up stuff behind the dash).

Once you exit into the footwells, you can route cables and wires pretty much anywhere you want. I used convoluted cable wrap and tucked them up under the dash recesses to keep eveything hidden.

[Anders2606]

Lotusmotion:

Thanks for the fast reply. I might be asking a bit too much now, but i couldn´t quite understand your direction. Could you make a quick drawing, so i can se where yo mean?

Thanks
Anders

[onemeddy]

i know its been a while since you posted but i am thinking of adding the same sub and was trying to locate the adapter you mentioned above, Blaupunkt Aux1 cable, any idea where i can pick one up?

Michael
eddy.michael@gmail.com