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

[Vgkfan]

Thank you both. I had the exact same question about the power as I didn’t want to tackle running wire from the battery to the back. I noticed the Rockville is considerably cheaper than the JL. I have no issue spending the extra on the JL, just curious what the differences are. Thanks again, I’m much more comfortable simply hooking up the new sub using the power thats already in the back.

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[Vgkfan]

Sorry to ask, i have not wired any stereos in about 20 + years. Wanted the simple way to add a sub to our 2024 Premium. if i just buy either the Rockville RW10CA or another powered sub type, i can just tap into the power wires behind the power point near factory sub of Violet/brown for +, Black/Green for -, then find the Green/Violet wire for + and Grey for - for speaker input to the powered sub, and all should be good, is that correct or am i forgetting something or need something more?

If you do this, would be very interested to see how it went and how you like the new sound.

 

[disneyfun1]

If you do this, would be very interested to see how it went and how you like the new sound.

i tried it yesterday. bought a sub off amazon, not a name brand, with sub and amp included, i used the power outlet in back for power, bought the one that plugs right into so no splicing, bought some T connectors i think they are called and tapped into wires just before the sub. First tried to use the included low to high level input convertor and plugged into amp with rca cords. no sound, no power even. checked all connections, had power, so tried to do the low level inputs. finally got power to come on and some sound. turned up the gain on amp, could feel it rattle, but not a lot. played with settings, not much difference at all. i just unplugged and sent it back since no real difference at all for mine. im guessing, hoping it was a bad speaker? i have a 24 so dont know if something is different but it made no difference and barely any sound. would like to try another sub, but now learly about spending the money if the first one didnt work for mine

 

[Vgkfan]

i tried it yesterday. bought a sub off amazon, not a name brand, with sub and amp included, i used the power outlet in back for power, bought the one that plugs right into so no splicing, bought some T connectors i think they are called and tapped into wires just before the sub. First tried to use the included low to high level input convertor and plugged into amp with rca cords. no sound, no power even. checked all connections, had power, so tried to do the low level inputs. finally got power to come on and some sound. turned up the gain on amp, could feel it rattle, but not a lot. played with settings, not much difference at all. i just unplugged and sent it back since no real difference at all for mine. im guessing, hoping it was a bad speaker? i have a 24 so dont know if something is different but it made no difference and barely any sound. would like to try another sub, but now learly about spending the money if the first one didnt work for mine

Hey, thanks so much for the info, really sorry you didn’t get results, that had to be really disappointing. I’ve heard the 24s are a little different from the earlier ones, but wouldn’t think it would stop the sub from working. If you try again with the same results, you might reach out to Mark Boris Before sending it back. I’m pretty sure he would be Able to figure it out. Good luck.

 

[markboris]

i tried it yesterday. bought a sub off amazon, not a name brand, with sub and amp included, i used the power outlet in back for power, bought the one that plugs right into so no splicing, bought some T connectors i think they are called and tapped into wires just before the sub. First tried to use the included low to high level input convertor and plugged into amp with rca cords. no sound, no power even. checked all connections, had power, so tried to do the low level inputs. finally got power to come on and some sound. turned up the gain on amp, could feel it rattle, but not a lot. played with settings, not much difference at all. i just unplugged and sent it back since no real difference at all for mine. im guessing, hoping it was a bad speaker? i have a 24 so dont know if something is different but it made no difference and barely any sound. would like to try another sub, but now learly about spending the money if the first one didnt work for mine

I now have a '24 and installed the same JL sub/amp that I had in the '21 and works the same and very well. I think it is important to have a remote adjustable volume control for the sub. If not, at least some type of adjustments on the sub. Did the one you sent back have gain and cross over frequency adjustments on the amp?

I also installed this same JL sub in a friend's '24 in Surprise AZ. Works perfectly fine.

 

[disneyfun1]

I now have a '24 and installed the same JL sub/amp that I had in the '21 and works the same and very well. I think it is important to have a remote adjustable volume control for the sub. If not, at least some type of adjustments on the sub. Did the one you sent back have gain and cross over frequency adjustments on the amp?

I also installed this same JL sub in a friend's '24 in Surprise AZ. Works perfectly fine.

It did have the adjustments on it and the remote adj volume control, just didnt get hardly any sound out of it, could feel it bump but not really enough to hear it. any chance you want to install one in phoenix? maybe post the link for the part of that one and i can check it out, this is the one i tried https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2QLZP1D?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

[markboris]

It did have the adjustments on it and the remote adj volume control, just didnt get hardly any sound out of it, could feel it bump but not really enough to hear it. any chance you want to install one in phoenix? maybe post the link for the part of that one and i can check it out, this is the one i tried https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2QLZP1D?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Art, I think there is a big difference in quality and output between a woofer/amp costing $129 and one that is $800. Not like you have to spend $800 but that is the one I use and many here on this forum have bought. Unfortunately when I started this thread more than 3 years ago this unit was just over $600 so they have gone up quite a bit. You might be able to find one cheaper or maybe used on eBay. The model number again for the JL Audio 10" with sub is ACS110LG-TW1. I am not saying you have to buy this JL but I think you need something better than a $129 sub/amp combo.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-kwYf6...MIlcXcw-eqiwMVWTCtBh0KjCK1EAQYBSABEgIcefD_BwE

As far as installing one in your car, I would not mind doing that. It would take less than an hour but I would not be installing the remote volume. I will show you how to do it as it will take longer to do that than the entire sub install. I go to AZ (Surprise area) every few months but for only 2-3 days. While I am there I work on my friend's Mach-E (all mods) and other member's Mach-E's (mainly software updating). DM me and we can come up with a time. Maybe before you do anything, you might want to listen to what this JL sounds like. I can have Joe (my friend in AZ) get in touch with you so you can listen to his. His is the 12" version like mine but they are very similar. The 12" just plays a bit deeper but they both play more than loud enough for the anemic B&O system in the car.

 

[disneyfun1]

Art, I think there is a big difference in quality and output between a woofer/amp costing $129 and one that is $800. Not like you have to spend $800 but that is the one I use and many here on this forum have bought. Unfortunately when I started this thread more than 3 years ago this unit was just over $600 so they have gone up quite a bit. You might be able to find one cheaper or maybe used on eBay. The model number again for the JL Audio 10" with sub is ACS110LG-TW1. I am not saying you have to buy this JL but I think you need something better than a $129 sub/amp combo.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-kwYf6...MIlcXcw-eqiwMVWTCtBh0KjCK1EAQYBSABEgIcefD_BwE

As far as installing one in your car, I would not mind doing that. It would take less than an hour but I would not be installing the remote volume. I will show you how to do it as it will take longer to do that than the entire sub install. I go to AZ (Surprise area) every few months but for only 2-3 days. While I am there I work on my friend's Mach-E (all mods) and other member's Mach-E's (mainly software updating). DM me and we can come up with a time. Maybe before you do anything, you might want to listen to what this JL sounds like. I can have Joe (my friend in AZ) get in touch with you so you can listen to his. His is the 12" version like mine but they are very similar. The 12" just plays a bit deeper but they both play more than loud enough for the anemic B&O system in the car.

thanks for the info, i would love to hear your friends sub to see what i am missing. i would most likely just go with a 10" sub ill check out the one you linked and see what else i can find out there. Maybe once i can get a decent one we can see if you want to install. thanks again, feel free to have your friend email or DM me if he has any time.

 

[disneyfun1]

Art, I think there is a big difference in quality and output between a woofer/amp costing $129 and one that is $800. Not like you have to spend $800 but that is the one I use and many here on this forum have bought. Unfortunately when I started this thread more than 3 years ago this unit was just over $600 so they have gone up quite a bit. You might be able to find one cheaper or maybe used on eBay. The model number again for the JL Audio 10" with sub is ACS110LG-TW1. I am not saying you have to buy this JL but I think you need something better than a $129 sub/amp combo.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-kwYf6...MIlcXcw-eqiwMVWTCtBh0KjCK1EAQYBSABEgIcefD_BwE

As far as installing one in your car, I would not mind doing that. It would take less than an hour but I would not be installing the remote volume. I will show you how to do it as it will take longer to do that than the entire sub install. I go to AZ (Surprise area) every few months but for only 2-3 days. While I am there I work on my friend's Mach-E (all mods) and other member's Mach-E's (mainly software updating). DM me and we can come up with a time. Maybe before you do anything, you might want to listen to what this JL sounds like. I can have Joe (my friend in AZ) get in touch with you so you can listen to his. His is the 12" version like mine but they are very similar. The 12" just plays a bit deeper but they both play more than loud enough for the anemic B&O system in the car.

also, if you have any other lower priced models that may be good, let me know, price does play a factor but it at least needs to work, obviously that cheap one did not!

 

[StuMc]

Hi @markboris, how much of a difference did you find adding the extra amplification on the stock speakers make?

I’m going to start with the subwoofer install and appreciate your advice of feeding a key loc with the front speakers channels for the sub output.

In your experience, would there be any issue with tapping those speaker, wires and essentially running the key loc in parallel with the stock speakers? Would that change impedance or loading and diminish the sound on those speakers? Worst case I guess I can then add in the extra amp. ?

I love my powerful JL amps but might pick up the kicker Key 500.1 as it has the built in keyloc functionality. Anyone have any experience with this amp?

I may also pick up a cheap or free key 200.4 which I can use instead of a JL to power the interior speakers if it will make a difference. In that case I’m not sure if I’d want to use the EQ feature on the stock speakers as it wouldn’t be controlling the tweets. Any insights would be appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[StuMc]

I'm wondering if anyone has figured out the make/model of the speaker wire connector that plugs into the stock B&O subwoofer. I have a leased vehicle and would like to avoid splicing into the plus/minus subwoofer speaker wires. It seems like there should be a molex or some other brand connector that would connect with the wire leads from the amplifier in place of the subwoofer connector. If I used this and used a 12v cigarette extension for power, I wouldn't have to splice into anything and can very quickly return to stock. Anyone have some ideas on a connector to use?

 

[markboris]

I'm wondering if anyone has figured out the make/model of the speaker wire connector that plugs into the stock B&O subwoofer. I have a leased vehicle and would like to avoid splicing into the plus/minus subwoofer speaker wires. It seems like there should be a molex or some other brand connector that would connect with the wire leads from the amplifier in place of the subwoofer connector. If I used this and used a 12v cigarette extension for power, I wouldn't have to splice into anything and can very quickly return to stock. Anyone have some ideas on a connector to use?

Is this the connector you want or the other end?

 

[mkhuffman]

I'm wondering if anyone has figured out the make/model of the speaker wire connector that plugs into the stock B&O subwoofer. I have a leased vehicle and would like to avoid splicing into the plus/minus subwoofer speaker wires. It seems like there should be a molex or some other brand connector that would connect with the wire leads from the amplifier in place of the subwoofer connector. If I used this and used a 12v cigarette extension for power, I wouldn't have to splice into anything and can very quickly return to stock. Anyone have some ideas on a connector to use?

Great question. Sorry I don't know the answer.

But when you return the car, just cut the new wires off and wrap it with electrical tape and all is good, right?

 

[StuMc]

Is this the connector you want or the other end?

Yes indeed, that appears to be the one. It looks like the black and green wires were snipped between that connector and the 6x9 subwoofer speaker, so that's precisely what I need.

I'm not familiar with car audio, so I'm guessing that it may be a proprietary connector.

Is this the connector you want or the other end?

 

[markboris]

Yes indeed, that appears to be the one. It looks like the black and green wires were snipped between that connector and the 6x9 subwoofer speaker, so that's precisely what I need.

I'm not familiar with car audio, so I'm guessing that it may be a proprietary connector.

DM me your address and I send it out to you.

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