I care more about functionality, quality, and longevity, than "loudness"

and I still do jobs on the weekends, mainly alarms but Ive been known to wire a system or two

 

Im not going to argue with you, the component setup will more than likely come out louder, but cleaner is in how it is setup. The Basslink can produce a very nice clean sound with out problem if its not pushed past its limits (which is hard to do as Infinity set it up to optimum specs for the equipment used.

There are alot of variable that are unanswered.....

Is the OP willing to give up the trunk space that a prefab box is going to take up (around 12"x14" unless he goes with a truckstyle box)? Doesnt seem like much (and its not), but why give it up if you dont have to.

Does the OP have an aftermarket headunit? If not, he may be looking at line level converters (depending on amp used). Extra cost. Basslink has high level inputs and comes with the plugs for it. Even if he has an aftermarket HU, could save some money/time by not running RCA's (I dont recommended not using RCA's but its a possibility).

Does the OP really need or want more output than the Basslink in capable of?

And no matter what, he has stated he looking for as stealth or factory looking setup as possible. A prefab box would be a clean install, but is hardly stealth or factory looking. He could glass something in the side trunk wall or spare tire well, but thats not really cost effective for a non-show, DD single 10" setup.

 

Hmm, you both present good points. I do have an aftermarket deck (Pioneer Premier 50x4 MOSFET and all that crap) and its not unusual for me to turn it up 3/4 or 2/3 of the way to listen to a song I really like. Nothing in the world sounds worse than overstressing a speaker, and with the ability to control the RCA channels with a menu on my head deck there very well may be a song that I want a little more bass with than usual.

But theres light grey carpeting in the trunk. I think I could get over the box if we could get it decently shallow and wide to look halfway normal...but I can't see any amp looking decent. It just looks like shit to me to see an amp sticking out in the middle of the trunk... a custom box with an overhang on the side that you set the amp right into and drill right down would be nice, but again I don't see how you could get a sensible looking box large enough to do so with.

Does anybody make 'compact' amps? I'm thinking if I could so a shallow box but make up the cu inch by making it wider and get a long, skinny amp I could just do the idea with hiding it on the side.

 

the alpine amp I mentioned has a height of 2.5" - a box could easily be fabbed with a lip on the top that would totally conceal the amp within its shroud. The footprint of hte box would be 10x12 or so - slightly under a cubic ft of airspace will sound nicely. If you were to face the sub forward in the trunk you would have two visible sides of carpet and nothing else. The wiring and amp would be hidden behind the face of the wood and the wires along the side of the trunk neatly bound.

The problem is not the infinity components, its the lack of airspace that restricts the truly low frequency output of the basslink. if you listen to punchy rock you can probably get away with it, but throw in some LP or some rap and your =) will turn to =(

 

If you are willing to do a box, the possibilities are endless.....

Figure out which sub you would like to use and we can give you some options. You can always mount the amp under the rear deck between the 6x9's, up out of sight. If you get a a decent 4 channel, you could bridge 2 channels for the sub and use the other 2 channels for your front and rear. You would lose your L/R fade from the headunit, but it can be setup properly.

We will need to know what sub you want to go with to spec a box, mounting depth and cuft reqiurements are most important.

 

Hmm...that would truly take some custom work since the bottom of the deck is far from flat...I MAY be able to pull off an amp that isn't very wide. Is it safe to mount an amp upside down?

Most of my listening is classic rock and rock..but there's also rap and techno type stuff...if the sub falls on its face when the bass 'drops' I swear to god I'll pull over, rip the sub out, and pitch it into traffic. Alpine Type S sounds like its right in the power handling range I want, and Dual Voice coil = cleaner sound and a mono block amp that I need to bridge down, right? MTX also makes the MTX 4510-44 (as well as a million other 10 inch subs) for about half the price that works about right and also has a dual voice coil. I've heard Alpine's new stuff is garbage, but I have no idea if MTX is worth shit.

 

Ive personally had amps mounted upside down in that spot for years with no problems..... my .02

Sidenote, Toby (TJelite) had some decent Audiobahn 10's for $25 brand new...

Not high end subs, but cant beat the price! Not sure iuf he still has them though , they were out at the "garage sale" he had awhile back....

 

Open to any sub thats decent and wil hit clear and nice, really. Ability to function in a slimmer box is always a plus. I remember hearing some JL gimmick saying they were made for smaller boxes, but with a single 10 I think it should be decently small anyways.

Edit: Those audiobahns look like they mount really deep. I'm trying to keep the box as slim as possible. Is that gonna screw up the sound quality? Tomorrow I'll post up some measurements of hte spaces/surfaces I'll be working with. Shouldn't be hard to cut some MDF and carpet it if they don't make one around my desired specs.

 

I bought those, they dont exist anymore.... mwahahahaha

 

Of course it will, anytime you change properties that are out of reccomended spec, you will begin to sacrifice quality.

Its all up to your ear though.

Buy a couple boards of MDF and try different boxes.


I'll probably come out to less than 50 dollars of material, still much lower than any prefab box you can buy.