Adding a real subwoofer w/amp to your Mach-E

[markboris]

The W7 home theater setup has to be insane!

Unfortunately those subs start at $5000 each. They better move some air at that price.

I’m happy with my SVS PB2000 pro, but it’s not gonna compare with that W7.

Insane is a good word for the JL Fathom series home subs. I had the single 12" model in my previous home theater I custom built when I lived in Santa Cruz for 30+ years. The room was 18' x 26' (12' ceiling) and was three levels. I had a 12 foot projection screen with 9 separate 500 watt mono amps for each channel. I won't get into the specifics but it was incredible and what I miss the most about that house. The Fathom is the only thing I took when I left that home theater as I also had 2 JBL 18" Subs which did a decent job.

Now, in this home, my theater is a converted bedroom (removed the closet wall) only 11' x 15' and the Fathom is a definite overkill. I am actually selling it to a good friend in the bay area and purchasing the JL E-Sub 10". It is basically a stripped down W7 specifically made for the E-Sub series and almost one third the price.

I've heard great things about SVS subs however, never tried one. I've been a JL Audio customer since the 80's even though they first started making DIY home speaker kits in the 70's. I've had many different speaker systems and subs in my time but won't get into that right now either......

Driver inside the E-Sub series home subwoofers

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[tobin1920]

Fantastic thread! I finally mustered up the courage to order the parts. One question that I haven't seen asked yet and couldn't find anywhere else.. any tips or considerations for disconnecting the negative battery cable from the chassis? I haven't disconnected the 12V in my MME yet, that's the only part I'm a little nervous about.

 

[markboris]

Fantastic thread! I finally mustered up the courage to order the parts. One question that I haven't seen asked yet and couldn't find anywhere else.. any tips or considerations for disconnecting the negative battery cable from the chassis? I haven't disconnected the 12V in my MME yet, that's the only part I'm a little nervous about.

I didn’t disconnect the negative of the LVB while doing this. Didn’t feel it was necessary. Others might have a different view on this.

 

[tobin1920]

I didn’t disconnect the negative of the LVB while doing this. Didn’t feel it was necessary. Others might have a different view on this.

thanks for the quick reply, Mark. I only ask because I have vivid memories of installing an amp + sub in my first car in HS with a friend and seeing little sparks when we disconnected the nut on the + terminal to run the 12V+ line. I think that blew a fuse IIRC... I always thought of that as a lesson to always remove the - terminal before doing anything like this, but I'm certainly no expert. I think the key is then to be super duper sure that nothing is drawing power while working on that part? I think my buddy and I had a door open and the interior lights on when that happened way back when, and that was the circuit/fuse that blew.

 

[markboris]

Correct you are not drawing any power while doing the install. Your doors and liftgate may be open for a long time but the car cuts power after about 20 min or so so it is no issue. I don't connect the +12 until everything is completely done.

 

[markboris]

This doesn't have anything do to with my sub install but thought I would post this here since I don't have a dedicated thread pertaining to the B&O audio system and didn't want to start another one as there are already a few.

Hammered, you keep talking about your little JBL amp and everyone else has been talking about upgrading the stereo in the MME lately so I thought, what if I take one of my used amps and add it to the B&O just to see how the system sounds with more power. The only 4 channel amp I had was a small 5 year old JL Audio 50w x 4 channel amp (MX280/4). Since I wasn't going to add an amp to the tweeters in the dash, I wanted to check the SPL before adding the amp as I did not want to overcome those guys. With the volume set at 14, I measured 80 db using pink noise. I installed the little JL amp between the B&O and the speakers. I remeasured the SPL and set the input level on the JL amp to match the 80db when volume was set to 14.

I know, I know, this is not the way to go as I am just amplifying the crappy B&O so not gaining any quality, HOWEVER all I can say is HOLY CRAP!! I often like to play my music loud and I'm sure you've had some tracks you can actually turn up almost full (or close to it) on the volume control. Two things that are apparent. First, even though I set the level on the JL amp to produce 80 db at 14 on the volume, turning it to 22 is now like full volume before and I cannot even think of going to full volume now (30). The speakers don't seem to have any problem handling the additional power but then again not sure how long they will be able to for a sustained period of time. Second, the sound seems more dynamic.

I didn't want to spend any money on the stereo in this car with the exception of the sub I put in last year, because I feel the sound is decent enough and I won't be keeping the car much longer than 2-3 more years. I'm going to keep the amp set up like this just to see if there are any issues. I know the proper way to do this is with a PAC audio interface and a good amp but this didn't cost me anything and you know I like to tinker.... I have a 3 hour drive Saturday and a 4 hour drive Tuesday so I'll see how that goes.

Last night was one of the first nights in a couple of weeks it has not rained/snowed so decided to take the car out on a drive. Back in the day when I use to install many car stereos my final testing was while driving the car. Of course you do a basic set up first but my final tuning is usually done while I am driving. The is mainly in the bass region as it changes quite a bit with the road noise (tires/wind) that can cancel out certain frequencies.

I didn't get into specifics above when I was talking about installing the amp so I will mention them here. I set the JL audio amp for both the front and rear to have a high pass crossover at 50 Hz. Using my spectrum analyzer and pink noise generator, I found that anything beyond 50 Hz, there was a drop in the bass (door speakers) and I wanted to retain as much as I could of the factory crossover but did not want to run the amp full range since it does not need to produce frequencies below this. I somewhat cheated on the 12+ power for the little JL amp as I did not run a dedicated power wire like I would normally do. Since I have a dedicated 8ga wire coming from the LVB for the sub right there in the cargo area, I just tapped off of it. Remember, this is supposed to be temporary just so I can test what some decent power would sound like. The amp outputs 50 x 4 into a 4 ohm load and 70 x 4 into a 2 ohm load which I'm sure is more power than the B&O puts out and wouldn't want the factory speakers to handle any more anyway.

Prior to installing the JL amp, my EQ settings were set as follows, Treble +2, Midrange +3, bass +4. I sometimes change the treble and midrange settings when listening to particular bands or music but not often. For the bass setting, I use this for mid-bass (door speakers) which the car lacks that is why I have it set at +4. It seems to fill in that mid-bass well while driving however if stationary, it would sound like there is too much. I have a separate remote volume control for the JL sub which I mess with quite a bit depending on the type of music played.

Using my spectrum analyzer again, I checked the frequency pattern and noticed the midrange was a little hot and the treble was slightly deficient compared to how it was prior adding the JL amp. This would make sense since the front door speakers are possibly slightly louder or more dynamic than before and the dash tweeters are still on the stock amp. I had to adjust the treble from +2 to +4 and the Midrange lowered from +3 to +1. I did not change the bass (mid-bass) as I can only do that while driving to get an accurate level.

I said up above when I first listened to the system with the amp installed it was louder, more dynamic, punchy. Well this seems to be very much in the mid bass. This little amp woke up the speakers which were sleeping with the B&O amp. While driving around, my previous setting of +4 for the bass was way too much. I brought it down until is sounded good which ended up being at 0. This was only a 45 minute drive and while I wasn't unhappy with the sound of the system before, I am much happier with it now. I'll probably tweak the settings a bit more after a couple of long drives I have coming up and will post back if anything changes.

 

[tobin1920]

I'm now at the "holy crap adding the JL sub is a massive upgrade I'm so happy!!!" phase of this journey, so I'm actively ignoring the post before this (at least for today )

Thanks again for this thread and to everyone who contributed to it along the way. I hit a snag with my install - I had used vampire taps into the OEM wires, which I quickly regretted. I couldn't get the JL to turn on at all (even though I was reading ~12-13V with a multimeter). I went back in and soldered the connections and now everything is great. Definitely invasive but ultimately super worth it, and not that bad - just took a while.

 

[JoeyD]

This doesn't have anything do to with my sub install but thought I would post this here since I don't have a dedicated thread pertaining to the B&O audio system and didn't want to start another one as there are already a few.

Hammered, you keep talking about your little JBL amp and everyone else has been talking about upgrading the stereo in the MME lately so I thought, what if I take one of my used amps and add it to the B&O just to see how the system sounds with more power. The only 4 channel amp I had was a small 5 year old JL Audio 50w x 4 channel amp (MX280/4). Since I wasn't going to add an amp to the tweeters in the dash, I wanted to check the SPL before adding the amp as I did not want to overcome those guys. With the volume set at 14, I measured 80 db using pink noise. I installed the little JL amp between the B&O and the speakers. I remeasured the SPL and set the input level on the JL amp to match the 80db when volume was set to 14.

I know, I know, this is not the way to go as I am just amplifying the crappy B&O so not gaining any quality, HOWEVER all I can say is HOLY CRAP!! I often like to play my music loud and I'm sure you've had some tracks you can actually turn up almost full (or close to it) on the volume control. Two things that are apparent. First, even though I set the level on the JL amp to produce 80 db at 14 on the volume, turning it to 22 is now like full volume before and I cannot even think of going to full volume now (30). The speakers don't seem to have any problem handling the additional power but then again not sure how long they will be able to for a sustained period of time. Second, the sound seems more dynamic.

I didn't want to spend any money on the stereo in this car with the exception of the sub I put in last year, because I feel the sound is decent enough and I won't be keeping the car much longer than 2-3 more years. I'm going to keep the amp set up like this just to see if there are any issues. I know the proper way to do this is with a PAC audio interface and a good amp but this didn't cost me anything and you know I like to tinker.... I have a 3 hour drive Saturday and a 4 hour drive Tuesday so I'll see how that goes.

Last night was one of the first nights in a couple of weeks it has not rained/snowed so decided to take the car out on a drive. Back in the day when I use to install many car stereos my final testing was while driving the car. Of course you do a basic set up first but my final tuning is usually done while I am driving. The is mainly in the bass region as it changes quite a bit with the road noise (tires/wind) that can cancel out certain frequencies.

I didn't get into specifics above when I was talking about installing the amp so I will mention them here. I set the JL audio amp for both the front and rear to have a high pass crossover at 50 Hz. Using my spectrum analyzer and pink noise generator, I found that anything beyond 50 Hz, there was a drop in the bass (door speakers) and I wanted to retain as much as I could of the factory crossover but did not want to run the amp full range since it does not need to produce frequencies below this. I somewhat cheated on the 12+ power for the little JL amp as I did not run a dedicated power wire like I would normally do. Since I have a dedicated 8ga wire coming from the LVB for the sub right there in the cargo area, I just tapped off of it. Remember, this is supposed to be temporary just so I can test what some decent power would sound like. The amp outputs 50 x 4 into a 4 ohm load and 70 x 4 into a 2 ohm load which I'm sure is more power than the B&O puts out and wouldn't want the factory speakers to handle any more anyway.

Prior to installing the JL amp, my EQ settings were set as follows, Treble +2, Midrange +3, bass +4. I sometimes change the treble and midrange settings when listening to particular bands or music but not often. For the bass setting, I use this for mid-bass (door speakers) which the car lacks that is why I have it set at +4. It seems to fill in that mid-bass well while driving however if stationary, it would sound like there is too much. I have a separate remote volume control for the JL sub which I mess with quite a bit depending on the type of music played.

Using my spectrum analyzer again, I checked the frequency pattern and noticed the midrange was a little hot and the treble was slightly deficient compared to how it was prior adding the JL amp. This would make sense since the front door speakers are possibly slightly louder or more dynamic than before and the dash tweeters are still on the stock amp. I had to adjust the treble from +2 to +4 and the Midrange lowered from +3 to +1. I did not change the bass (mid-bass) as I can only do that while driving to get an accurate level.

I said up above when I first listened to the system with the amp installed it was louder, more dynamic, punchy. Well this seems to be very much in the mid bass. This little amp woke up the speakers which were sleeping with the B&O amp. While driving around, my previous setting of +4 for the bass was way too much. I brought it down until is sounded good which ended up being at 0. This was only a 45 minute drive and while I wasn't unhappy with the sound of the system before, I am much happier with it now. I'll probably tweak the settings a bit more after a couple of long drives I have coming up and will post back if anything changes.

Great write up on the sub. I picked up a '21 premium a couple of months ago and this is the first thing I'd like to do. I've installed a few stereos in my time and this doesn't look all that bad.

About the amp you installed, does it power all the speakers? Was it easy to install?

 

[markboris]

Hi Joe and welcome to the forum.

The sub install really isn't that difficult, just takes time especially if you are not familiar with taking apart cars. Let me know if you have any questions when you do this.

About the little JL amp I installed, it powers most of the speakers. The two front door woofers and the rear door woofers and tweeters. It does not power the dash tweeters or center speaker. I have the center speaker disconnected which I do on all my cars. The dash tweeters (and center dash speaker) in the 10 speaker B&O system are powered by the ACM (Audio Front Control Module). All the rest of the speakers are powered by the DSP (B&O power amp).

I piggybacked the JL amp off of the B&O amp just to see how the system sounds with more power and so far I am very impressed. Definitely a more dynamic sound. I may end up doing this the correct way and buy a PAC audio interface and a more decent amp but since I had this little JL laying around, figured I would pop it in.

As far as ease of install, not bad at all. Took about an hour. Pulled the right rear quarter panel in the cargo area where the OEM sub use to be (took it out when I installed the JL sub) and behind there is the B&O amp. Wired the JL amp up between the B&O and the speakers and that's it. I tapped into the remote turn on and the 12+ 8ga wire I have coming from the LVB to my JL sub.

 

[tobin1920]

Yes i removed the two studs that are in the floor otherwise that 12" JL sub would not fit.

Hey Mark were you simply able unscrew those? I can't get them to budge w/pliers.

 

[markboris]

Hey Mark were you simply able unscrew those? I can't get them to budge w/pliers.

No, I cut them off at the floor. I don’t plan on putting that styrofoam thing back in even when I sell the car.

 

[Kmp14]

I installed the 10" JL, and was enjoying it but definitely felt like I could "hear" it due to some non-linearity (60hz bump?). I decided to upgrade to the 12" JL, and HIGHLY recommend it. Really loving it, and for me takes the B&O system up to the level where I am happy. As mentioned elsewhere, you also really need the sub volume control. For the music I listen to, mostly hard rock from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the bass level is all over the place and I pretty much adjust for each song, which I don't mind at all, keeps me engaged with the music. Thanks @markboris and everyone for this great thread!

 

[markboris]

I installed the 10" JL, and was enjoying it but definitely felt like I could "hear" it due to some non-linearity (60hz bump?). I decided to upgrade to the 12" JL, and HIGHLY recommend it. Really loving it, and for me takes the B&O system up to the level where I am happy. As mentioned elsewhere, you also really need the sub volume control. For the music I listen to, mostly hard rock from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the bass level is all over the place and I pretty much adjust for each song, which I don't mind at all, keeps me engaged with the music. Thanks @markboris and everyone for this great thread!

Ken, could not have said it better and yes I have mentioned it several times before. The 12" almost eliminates the bump at 60hz the 10" has and is the icing on the cake. AND yes the remote volume for me and you are a requirement as we listen to the same exact type of music.

 

[Mach1E]

Ken, could not have said it better and yes I have mentioned it several times before. The 12" almost eliminates the bump at 60hz the 10" has and is the icing on the cake. AND yes the remote volume for me and you are a requirement as we listen to the same exact type of music.

Don’t forget the ported 10” model!

I bought it because the sealed 12” was out of stock. Havent compared the 3 in person, but on paper at least the ported 10” sub seems very similar in performance to the sealed 12”.

 

[markboris]

Don’t forget the ported 10” model!

I bought it because the sealed 12” was out of stock. Havent compared the 3 in person, but on paper at least the ported 10” sub seems very similar in performance to the sealed 12”.

I am not a big fan of ported subs because they are usually more boomy BUT I have heard some really good ones and I would like to test that out sometime. Too bad you are across the country.....

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