Bass on a Budget

All builds are budget builds, budgets are just different.  Here are four budgets and some gear that will get you the bass you crave.  Make sure you check out the end of the article for a few caveats*.

 

$300 Amazon Build

For this build we are going with a single 12" instead of an 8" or 10".  Cone area is king.   

1. Enclosure:  SKAR Audio SK1X12V     $94
   
2. Sub:  SKAR Audio SDR-12 D2             $90
3. Amp:  LEGIS Audio 500.1 D                 $66
4. Wire: Recoil OFC 8 Gauge Kit               $50
   

LEGIS Audio 500.1 D

 

That puts us right at $300 before taxes, most of it is on amazon, so shipping is free for prime members. I have personally reviewed the SKAR box and the LEGIS amp.  If you go this route pay close attention to the subwoofer and the amp.  Make sure you get the dual 2 ohm sub.  Wire the two connections in parallel to get the most power out of the amp.  When looking at the amp LEGIS also has a "1600 watt" version for the same price.  Look at the fuses.  The 500.1 D has 2 25amp fuses.  The "1600 watt" version has 1 25 amp fuse.  You cannot pull 500 watts through a 25 amp fuse, much less 1600.  You will be hard pressed to do beat this set up for under $300.  SKAR has the budget bass market cornered, and Recoil is putting out some great budget gear. The weakest link in this setup is the amp.  You may want to spend some more and upgrade to the Recoil RED 600.1 for another $30.  But that puts you over the budget.  You may be tempted to go with a cheaper sub box.  Please don't.  Here is an image of the SKAR box nest to a cheap enclosure.  

SKAR Audio SK1X12V

 

 

The SKAR is bigger, a bigger box will give you more bass. It is called Hofmann's Iron Law:

 

$500 NVX Build

Have you heard of Sonic Electronix?  If not you should check them out.  Their house brand,NVX, provides excellent bang for the buck.  For the $500 build we are going to kick things up to a pair of 12's  and 700 Watts total system power.  If you purchase directly from NVX use the COUPON CODE DIYAUDIO10 for a discount!

1. Enclosure: NVX XMDFP122  $120
2. Subs:  NVX NSW 124 v2     $90
3. Amp:NVX XAD 11   $110
4. Wire: NVX 4 AWG Kit:  $90

That brings us to  $410. If you use the discount code it brings you down to $370. Plenty of room to throw in some NVX Sound Deadener to keep your trunk from rattling or a quality bass enhancer to integrate with your factory radio..  The subwoofers are dual 4 ohm, when you wire everything up in parallel you will get a 1 ohm load.  Double check when ordering to make sure you have the dual 4-ohm subs in your cart.  The amp is a "Brazilian style" full-bridge.  Some people do not like Brazilian style amps.  One alternative is this N-Series amp.  Another alternative is the Recoil RED 600.1:

 

 $1000 Build

At this level we kick things up to a pair of 12's and bigger amp.  This is the threshold for what you can do with a stock electrical system. You may need to consider upgrading your battery or alternator (or both) before ordering this gear, but it is not 100% necessary.  All of this is available from Down4Sound.
 

1. Enclosure, Subs, and Amp:  Down 4 Sound Bass Package:  $900
2. Wire:  Down 4 Sound 4 Gauge OFC kit $70
   

JP8 AMP from Down4Sound

 

This is a package deal.  I personally run the single 12 version of this with the same amp and I am very happy with the performance.  The official ratting on this amp is 700 watts, but this amp will give you over 1200 watts IF you have a good enough electrical system.  Expect 900 watts at the most with stock electrical.  I tested it on my bench and was able to get 900 watts before my power supply was unable to keep up.  But I still got over 800 just running off of the battery.  Plus the JP amps have the best bass knobs in the business. 

 

 Before we look at the next budget, we need to draw a line right here.  At this point we move from "daily driver" systems that can work OK on stock electrical to a system that requires upgraded electrical.  Most people will install a second battery, but that is the wrong thing to do.  Most people do that because it is cheaper than doing it the right way.  What is the right way?  Upgrade the alternator.  You might end up spending $300 to $600 on this, you will probably need a new serpentine belt.  You will also need to look very close at your available space.  The boxes get huge, so you will need to make sure your subs will fit.

 

Down 4 Sound Pro-Fab Enclosure

$2,000 Build

Now we are really kicking things up!  We are moving to some big beefy 15" subwoofers in a HUGE enclosure.  

1. Enclsoure:  2 x 15 Profab Enclosure  $550
   
2. Subs:  Sundown Audio SA V2  $770
   
3. Amp:  JP23  $350
   
4. Wire:  Down 4 Sound 0 gauge wire kit  $140
   
5. Deadener:  Down 4 Sound Deadener:  $100

 

That puts us at $1910, so that gives us some extra wiggle room.  There are lot of other good options out there at this price point.  I went with products from Down 4 Sound because I have personal experience with both the pro-fab enclosure and the JP amplifiers.  The Down 4 Sound organization focuses on the "basshead" market so if you want to make big bass that is where you want to look.  This option includes sound deadener because it is no longer just an option or a good idea.  It is a must have for a system this big, I would recommend spending the rest of your $90 budget on some more.  If you are looking for an alternative to the Sundown Subwoofers, then I suggest that you look at the Kicker Q class 15's. 

Over $2000

You would not know it by looking at social media, but builds this big are pretty rare.  Most car audio consumers are running 10s and 12s on less than 1000 watts.  Remember that cranking up the power means you need to make other upgrades.  If you want to spend over $2k on just the sub stage then you will need to do a lot more research, or visit a local shop.

 

 

Here are the caveats I mentioned above.

1. In this post we are just looking at the subwoofer part of the system.  You will need a head unit or a good line output converter (LOC) to get signal to your subwoofer.  Most amplifiers will accept speaker level inputs.  Not all of them are good.
   
2. These may or may not fit in your car.  Measure the size of your trunk opening (not the trunk, the trunk opening)
3. If you are on a budget you probably don't have tools, so we are looking at pre-fab boxes only.
   
4. Good installation is important.  A lot of budget builds are garbage due to improper installation, tuning, and cheap wire.  
5. If you have some extra money, buy sound deadener.  It makes a huge difference.
   
6. Pay attention to the OHMs and the voice coils.  If you are going to be using a 1 OHM amp you need to make sure you can wire your speakers to 1 OHM 
7. Prices change over time, so you will need to follow the link to get updated prices.
8. I am including an amp wire kit in my budget.  Don't cheap out on the wire.  Go ahead and get OFC wire, avoid CCA.  If you insist on getting the cheaper wire then you will need to go up in size.  Keep in mind that smaller AWG numbers are lager wires.
9. I tried to group these all together so that you can order everything you need from one place. The links in this video are affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase.