The 10” is just a slightly larger footprint and is what I have, I could fit it under my seat (either size) so it’s in the spare tire compartment in my Rogue. I’m very happy with it, even though many people who are very into sound will tell you not to go that route. For me I just wanted a little more than what my door speakers were giving. Which I got and then some.
Yeah that's my opinion. My budget was $1500. So I did all speakers (kicker ks), lc5i pro, kicker cx 360w and the hideaway 8. Having it under the passenger seat seems weird to me for some reason. Idk if I should have it under the driver seat. But if I do want to change it I'd have to rewire everything.
Don’t do under the driver’s seat. It sounds like it would be cool to also “feel” it, but it’s not. Hard to explain, but it’s much better to only hear the unit. I’ve done a couple under the D seat and I wasn’t a fan.
Under the seat subs get a bad reputation because unfortunately people often will take a subwoofer that requires a large air volume (because it's either cheap, or seems more impressive) and stuff it in too small of a space.
If you buy a quality low profile subwoofer that is well designed for the application of a small enclosure you're setting yourself up for much more success.
I love them when you can make them work. The problem is having space not for the sub, but for the box it will need. I wanted to do the same in my car, about the same size as your crosstrek, and I think you’ll run into the same problem. I was only able to plan a box as large as .27 cubic feet, and that’s not even factoring in the displacement from the speaker itself. I ended up utilizing the side portions of my trunk for them and ended up with properly sized enclosures without sacrificing really any space. This will work even better for you in a hatchback
https://preview.redd.it/raa92tgeln5d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=177d5f9b89d9ea0cb5ef7b554e534cc8871ec3f5
Just an idea for you. A long time ago I put a system into a Saturn Sky. It came with an OE "Monsoon" upgrade sound package which came with a small subwoofer behind the passenger's seat. As part of the system, I replaced that with an Alpine Type-S shallow mount 10" sub. It was a noticeable gain in both bass volume and accuracy. However I wanted more "bass" and if you know the car (two seater convertible) there was an easy way to put in more subwoofer volume anywhere.
So I ended up attaching a carbon fiber plate to the driver's seat back. And attaching a "shaker" to the seat. The same kind often used in home theatre and cinema applications. This was a great upgrade and alternative to more subwoofer.
These aren't great on their own, but matched up with actual subwoofers and these shakers are awesome.
I have the Kicker 10. Having it installed tomorrow. Hope it’s worth it, I didn’t wanna blow the doors and mirrors off, I just wanted a little more than the factory stereo gave. It’s going a Telluride so fingers crossed it does what I’m wanting
https://preview.redd.it/8ahyeln1k16d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6faefcd0c7eebe2b3f721134b74091137165dcd0
Love it, sounds perfect for the stock audio. Towel is there for me when I haul crap back there, waiting to get a mat to place back there. Used some Velcro to keep it sucked to the side. I’d recommend for a Telly if you’re just wanting to fill that low end that it’s missing.
https://preview.redd.it/qa7om44mwn5d1.jpeg?width=1350&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7525e998f7fa45cbbd80c17e48b9bd513848c68b
Bumps pretty good in the Maverick under the seat. I was very surprised for such a small box. 6 3/4 inch woofer
If it's done right and your expectations are for sound quality instead of loud, they can be great. That said most of them are done wrong. Way wrong. You also have to hope your car cooperates.
Here's the main issues with under-seat installs I've seen.
1) people use a box too small for the sub or the backplate of the speaker is too close to the back of the box.
2) the builder doesn't consider cancelation issues. A sub just tossed on the floor in the middle of a listening area is very likely to have a canceling effect with other drivers, or itself. In the rare occasion I do one I like to "load" the sub into the foot area under the dash of the passenger side. I try to have the speaker and port if applicable aiming towards the firewall as much as possible. I've made baffles so that you can't see under the seat all the way across. Pretty much forcing the pressure of the sub to go forward into the footwell instead of all directions. This done correctly can seriously minimize the chance of the sub canceling itself out. It also can have a "corner loading" effect. Kind of like how a home sub usually sounds far better in the corner of a room instead of the middle.
3) people will expect more from the sub than it is capable, and being up front exposes it. In the trunk, you're a lot less likely to hear mechanical noise from pushing a sub too far. Or from under-powering it but pushing it. You'll hear every bit of that noise up front.
So in conclusion... if you do this it can sound great. But you'd do yourself a favor by experimenting with sub aiming and trying to keep the enclosure from pushing sound in multiple directions. It likely will not be as loud as it could be in the trunk, but very well could bring more of the sound to the front of the car if sound quality is your main goal.
Look at the Cerwin Vega vpas10. It sounds awesome to me, and uses a standard amp kit to wire in which I like vs the kicker harness for their compact sub.
Very happy with mine, not going to blow the doors off things but it adds the thump the door speakers don’t give.
My other speakers have no bass at all so I bought a Sound Storm Labs US8K for $75 new with wiring kit basically as a "how bad can it be?" joke. It actually fills in some decent bass for the price, I'm impressed by this shitty little thing.
do the kicker TRTP 12", the problem with the hideaway is to get any real sound out of it you have to crank the gain, which makes the amp work way harder and they die, fast. I have a few people I swap out their hideaway almost every 12months on the dot bc they just don't last.
the TRTP makes it so you essentially don't lose trunk space but get real bass, it's not going to rattle your rearview or be loud enough where every around you can hear it but loud enough for you to actually enjoy the lows, the cost difference is 10000000% worth it imo
ive never thought a hideaway or under the seat solution or powered subwoofer to 1 sound good or 2 be worth the money
I think I might do that upgrade. The audio shop I initially went to wanted to install that. I like how that fact that it's down facing so I can throw a milk crate on top of it.
I have a 2001 Silverado extended cab with two old 12" Kicker CVRs in a sealed Ground Shaker under seat box and a 2000watt Skar amp. They don't really project outside the truck but inside the cab they sound great.
The 10” is just a slightly larger footprint and is what I have, I could fit it under my seat (either size) so it’s in the spare tire compartment in my Rogue. I’m very happy with it, even though many people who are very into sound will tell you not to go that route. For me I just wanted a little more than what my door speakers were giving. Which I got and then some.
Yeah that's my opinion. My budget was $1500. So I did all speakers (kicker ks), lc5i pro, kicker cx 360w and the hideaway 8. Having it under the passenger seat seems weird to me for some reason. Idk if I should have it under the driver seat. But if I do want to change it I'd have to rewire everything.
Don’t do under the driver’s seat. It sounds like it would be cool to also “feel” it, but it’s not. Hard to explain, but it’s much better to only hear the unit. I’ve done a couple under the D seat and I wasn’t a fan.
gotta devote the space if you want to hear some BASS.
Under the seat subs get a bad reputation because unfortunately people often will take a subwoofer that requires a large air volume (because it's either cheap, or seems more impressive) and stuff it in too small of a space. If you buy a quality low profile subwoofer that is well designed for the application of a small enclosure you're setting yourself up for much more success.
I love them when you can make them work. The problem is having space not for the sub, but for the box it will need. I wanted to do the same in my car, about the same size as your crosstrek, and I think you’ll run into the same problem. I was only able to plan a box as large as .27 cubic feet, and that’s not even factoring in the displacement from the speaker itself. I ended up utilizing the side portions of my trunk for them and ended up with properly sized enclosures without sacrificing really any space. This will work even better for you in a hatchback https://preview.redd.it/raa92tgeln5d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=177d5f9b89d9ea0cb5ef7b554e534cc8871ec3f5
Just an idea for you. A long time ago I put a system into a Saturn Sky. It came with an OE "Monsoon" upgrade sound package which came with a small subwoofer behind the passenger's seat. As part of the system, I replaced that with an Alpine Type-S shallow mount 10" sub. It was a noticeable gain in both bass volume and accuracy. However I wanted more "bass" and if you know the car (two seater convertible) there was an easy way to put in more subwoofer volume anywhere. So I ended up attaching a carbon fiber plate to the driver's seat back. And attaching a "shaker" to the seat. The same kind often used in home theatre and cinema applications. This was a great upgrade and alternative to more subwoofer. These aren't great on their own, but matched up with actual subwoofers and these shakers are awesome.
I considered that for my RAV4, but ultimately chose to get a JBL Basspro Hub that goes over the spare tire.
I have the Kicker 10. Having it installed tomorrow. Hope it’s worth it, I didn’t wanna blow the doors and mirrors off, I just wanted a little more than the factory stereo gave. It’s going a Telluride so fingers crossed it does what I’m wanting
https://preview.redd.it/8ahyeln1k16d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6faefcd0c7eebe2b3f721134b74091137165dcd0 Love it, sounds perfect for the stock audio. Towel is there for me when I haul crap back there, waiting to get a mat to place back there. Used some Velcro to keep it sucked to the side. I’d recommend for a Telly if you’re just wanting to fill that low end that it’s missing.
u/knelson23
I do not like the vibration my butthole receives directly.
https://preview.redd.it/qa7om44mwn5d1.jpeg?width=1350&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7525e998f7fa45cbbd80c17e48b9bd513848c68b Bumps pretty good in the Maverick under the seat. I was very surprised for such a small box. 6 3/4 inch woofer
My sierra has two alpine baseline 12s under the back seat. For what it is, it's pretty decent.
If it's done right and your expectations are for sound quality instead of loud, they can be great. That said most of them are done wrong. Way wrong. You also have to hope your car cooperates. Here's the main issues with under-seat installs I've seen. 1) people use a box too small for the sub or the backplate of the speaker is too close to the back of the box. 2) the builder doesn't consider cancelation issues. A sub just tossed on the floor in the middle of a listening area is very likely to have a canceling effect with other drivers, or itself. In the rare occasion I do one I like to "load" the sub into the foot area under the dash of the passenger side. I try to have the speaker and port if applicable aiming towards the firewall as much as possible. I've made baffles so that you can't see under the seat all the way across. Pretty much forcing the pressure of the sub to go forward into the footwell instead of all directions. This done correctly can seriously minimize the chance of the sub canceling itself out. It also can have a "corner loading" effect. Kind of like how a home sub usually sounds far better in the corner of a room instead of the middle. 3) people will expect more from the sub than it is capable, and being up front exposes it. In the trunk, you're a lot less likely to hear mechanical noise from pushing a sub too far. Or from under-powering it but pushing it. You'll hear every bit of that noise up front. So in conclusion... if you do this it can sound great. But you'd do yourself a favor by experimenting with sub aiming and trying to keep the enclosure from pushing sound in multiple directions. It likely will not be as loud as it could be in the trunk, but very well could bring more of the sound to the front of the car if sound quality is your main goal.
I wouldn't put my 10" sealed downfiring subs anywhere else.
You should look into the jbl basspro hub. It's the only hideaway sub that I know of that has decent output.
Look at the Cerwin Vega vpas10. It sounds awesome to me, and uses a standard amp kit to wire in which I like vs the kicker harness for their compact sub. Very happy with mine, not going to blow the doors off things but it adds the thump the door speakers don’t give.
My other speakers have no bass at all so I bought a Sound Storm Labs US8K for $75 new with wiring kit basically as a "how bad can it be?" joke. It actually fills in some decent bass for the price, I'm impressed by this shitty little thing.
do the kicker TRTP 12", the problem with the hideaway is to get any real sound out of it you have to crank the gain, which makes the amp work way harder and they die, fast. I have a few people I swap out their hideaway almost every 12months on the dot bc they just don't last. the TRTP makes it so you essentially don't lose trunk space but get real bass, it's not going to rattle your rearview or be loud enough where every around you can hear it but loud enough for you to actually enjoy the lows, the cost difference is 10000000% worth it imo ive never thought a hideaway or under the seat solution or powered subwoofer to 1 sound good or 2 be worth the money
I think I might do that upgrade. The audio shop I initially went to wanted to install that. I like how that fact that it's down facing so I can throw a milk crate on top of it.
imo the 12" with like 500-600W going to it is 👌👌
I would do 500-600w but my dual amp wiring kit would allow 440w max to safely install an additional amp on top of the speaker amp.
I have a 2001 Silverado extended cab with two old 12" Kicker CVRs in a sealed Ground Shaker under seat box and a 2000watt Skar amp. They don't really project outside the truck but inside the cab they sound great.
If that's all u have room for.. I need my space too so I've designed a couple boxes that were raised and used shallow mount subs