I have used many many JL Audio subs both with and without the amp built in. It all depends on the installation and simplicity. I chose to go with the built in amp on this install as the box fits perfect and I did not want another item (amp) to mount and deal with under the floor.
WARNING: This is a long winded write up of my very simple, easy and fairly inexpensive upgrade for the sub bass of the Mach-E audio system. Once I started typing, I figured I would explain also why I did it not just how I did it.
A couple of days ago, I had no intentions on upgrading the lack of low end bass in the Mach-E. The sound inside this car is decent. Not great and not bad. I have upgraded many, many cars and trucks in the last 51 years I have been driving. I currently have three other vehicles that have much better sound systems that I have upgraded and I drive all of them about equally, except the GT500.
I was finishing up my sound deadening project on the Mach-E (one on of the first things I do to any vehicle besides changing wheels and tires) and in the last trim panel I removed, came across the pathetic, cheap, 6x9 paper cone subwoofer, if you can call it that. I thought to myself, this has got to go. Some cars I revamp the entire system and limit myself to between $5000-$8000 and others I just change out the sub and call it a day. The Mach-E is one of those. I’ve had all the door panels off and even the dash soundbar cover and the speakers in this car are not of the highest quality but they sound decent and get the job done especially if you don’t need to turn it up too loud. Speaking of volume, the amp in this car measures about 5”x5” and powers all the speakers. I am pretty sure it isn’t very powerful so the speakers are obviously very efficient.
My go to sub and sub amp manufacturer is JL Audio. I have been installing their equipment since the early 90’s. No, I have no affiliation with them but I’ve just been a happy customer for all these years. There are many good subs out there and JL is not the only one for sure but they have never let me down and make a quality product here in the US. I also use their subs for my home theaters. They start at $900 and go up to $16,500!!
Back to the Mach-E sub install, I could have gone all different routes. Small 8” with built in amp all the way up to dual 12” subs with a separate amp. This car does not warrant or need that much volume as it would certainly overpower the rest of the system and you are just wasting money. As it is, even the 8” lower powered sub JL makes would be 10x louder and have a lower range than the OEM sub.
While I had a lot of options, I also had a few requirements. 1. Wanted to be able to continue to use the cargo floor in both the upper and lower position in case I needed the extra space. I normally keep the cargo floor in the upper position so it is easier for me to take things in and out and it gives me the room under the floor to have quite a bit of air space for the bass sound to come out thorough the back seats. I can still store the charge cords, electrical air pump, portable battery charger/starter, rags, cleaners, polish, etc. 2. Ease of install. Really no need to install a sub and separate amp as there is more mounting and wiring to do and not really necessary for this system. 3. Cost. While I have no problem spending any amount of money on this project, again unless I were to revamp the entire system, it is not worth it.
JL makes all kinds and sizes of subs and you can usually find something that fits your application. I prefer a sub with a sealed enclosure because I like tight, accurate bass. While sealed enclosures are not as efficient, it will have more than enough volume for this system. Ported enclosures are much more efficient but at the expense of being a boomy and less accurate. This also depends on the type of music you listen to. Classical, Rock and Pop, you probably want a sealed enclosure. Rap and electronic music you might want the ported enclosure. I listen to mainly Rock, Pop and Country.
My sub of choice for the Mach-E was the JL Audio ACS110LG-TW1 Single 10” PowerWedge+ with built in 400 watt RMS amp. I chose this because of the requirements above. Height is only 5” so fits with the cargo floor to the lower position. It has a built in amp so all wiring (only four wires plus volume control cable) terminate at the sub. Cost is $520 for the sub/amp. I did buy the optional remote volume control which I always do with their subs so I can adjust the volume depending on the music I’m listening to. The RBC-1 remote volume control is $45. Total cost including wiring and power fuse was around $610.
Before I removed the OEM sub, I wanted to test the loudness and frequency that it added to the rest of the system. I was sure it was not much but it actually does add some, just not as much as I would like in the lower frequencies which is what the job of a SUBWOOFER is supposed to do. Adjusting the bass setting in the sound settings of the Mach-E actually is controlling more mid-bass and it is centered around 125 Hz. Now after the install I have two controls, the Mach-E mid bass setting and the JL sub bass setting which is centered around 50 Hz.
I set the volume at 15, all three eq settings flat and pumped some pink noise through the system via an app on my iPhone. The analyzer was set to 80db. I was surprised to see how nice and flat the midrange was and the high end looked good too (it is supposed to have a roll off like it shows). In the first two photos of the spectrum analyzer, the first one is without the OEM sub, second one with it. There is only a 2.5 db difference with and without. While it is something, that is not much. As I suspected, most of the bass in this system is coming from the four door speakers. Adding in the OEM sub, just adds a bit more volume to the bass and doesn’t add any more to the low frequencies. The third analyzer photo is after adding the JL sub. Now of course I have the remote volume control and can vary the output but what is more important is the low end frequency. 31.5 Hz is now much higher than it was before and there is also a little more at 63 Hz all with very little effect on the higher bass frequencies. The final analyzer photo is what I ended up with after setting the bass eq of the car up +2 to remove the dip at 250 Hz.
In the past I’ve taken many photos while doing mods on my cars but in the last few years have gotten lazy but mostly forget to do it. Below are a few photos I did take while working on this. Removed the panels and storage bin in the frunk to gain access to the positive terminal of the battery. Ran the blue 8 gauge wire from the terminal to a fuse that I zip tied to the negative battery wire. It was a good location for the fuse and if I ever need to access it I only have to remove the one panel across the back. In one of the large rubber boots in the firewall with a large bundle of wiring going into the interior, there was an area that looked like it was intended for more wires but closed off. I made a small cut in that rubber area and again made another one on the inside of the firewall under the dash to allow the wire to come through (it is a double wall boot). Ran the 12+V wire down behind the left side kick panel, under both front and rear kick plates and to the rear cargo area.
I removed the right trim panel in the cargo area in front of the OEM sub and disconnected the wires to the sub. Attached an 18 gauge speaker wire to the two wires that were going to the sub for my audio input to the JL amp. Green/Violet + and Gray -. Just above the OEM sub is the B&O amp and to the left of it is a ground to the metal wheel well. I also used this grounding point to attach my 8 gauge ground wire for the JL amp.
Next was mounting the remote bass volume control. There are several places in the Mach-E to do this but I generally like to mount the control where I can easily adjust it without reaching to the dash or taking my eyes off the road. I found the perfect spot at the front of the console. The console cover that has the shifter dial and parking brake switch just unsnaps and lifts up. I drilled a 3/8” hole and mounted the control. It is easily adjustable using just one finger and you cannot see the control while seated unless you move the seat all the way forward. Ran the 18' cable along under the left side of the console then under the driver’s carpet then along the underside of the kick panels to the back and popped through the hole I had made for the other wires in corner of the padded floor.
The sub box fits nicely in the area that was occupied by the styrofoam container that housed the air pump and charging cords. I did not bolt down the sub box as being 20 lbs. it is decently heavy and does not slide at all because of the carpeted box on top of the padded floor. The two materials together are like Velcro. It’s not going anywhere especially since there is a cargo floor and a very heavy Lloyds custom fitted carpet above it. I still have room for all the stuff I had below the floor and now there is a real subwoofer too. If I want to drop the cargo floor down to the lower level, I do have to remove the charge cords and roll of paper towels. On the lower level, the cargo floor actually sits on the grill of the subwoofer which sticks up about 3/4". I can remove the grill and then the floor would be flat as it was before but I'd rather keep the grill on the woofer.
How I have the levels and controls set up: The car’s EQ is set to plus 3 on the treble (I like it a bit brighter on the top end), left the midrange alone and bumped up the bass +2 to bring up the 250 Hz that was lacking a bit. On the sub amp I have the input level set half way, crossover frequency set at 50 Hz. The remote sub volume is set around ½ way which sounds about right for most tracks I listened to . That means since I have the input level on the amp 1/2 way up and the remote volume 1/2 way up, I am using about 1/4 of the volume the sub can put out to match the audio of the OEM system. Tons of volume in reserve if I wanted to produce some rap bass for everyone to hear down the block. The turn on power for the amp is set when it sees an audio signal. I may have to change this if it drains the battery. Have had that happen in the RS if the car supplies signal to the sub for various reasons even when the car isn’t on. I can pull and ignition wire from the B&O amp for the turn on if that is the case.
Ok, done boring everyone with something that could have probably been written in two paragraphs. ?
UPDATE: I posted if using the 12" JL Audio PowerWedge+ sub amp on this post. #14
If you are going to use this or any JL Audio sub with built in amp, you don't need a turn on wire. While you can use one, there is also a setting for sensing the audio input and when you have that, that amp turns on automatically.
Thanks for that. Just picked up 2. One for my wife’s Explorer ST and one for myself. Pretty disappointed in the B&O system all around. Hopefully these helpFor those following. Its $535 right now with their Black Friday code.
What are you looking for? Louder bass or tighter bass?
The sealed 10" PowerWedge + JL sub has more than enough output for the B&O system in the Mach-E. Also as I mentioned earlier and what Mach1E posted above, you will get better quality bass out of a sealed box vs a ported one especially when it is in an area like the rear of your car.
The dealer pointed out — persuasively, at least to me — that the normal sound-quality benefits of a sealed sub versus a ported will not be realized when placing the sub under the cargo floor in the rear.
That is true and the full potential of a sealed sub will not be realized but while I have not done a comparison test in the Mach-E of both subs, I have done this in the trunk of several cars and definitely still prefer the sealed sub. However, like you say, if you want to lower the cargo floor, the sealed 10" would be the only way to go.
