bdare

Just to update. With minor alterations I put an Elemental Design dual 4 ohm subwoofer in my 430. I filed down some of the plastic bracket so it would fit. Took maybe 15 minutes of filing. I highly recommend putting in a better subwoofer than the stock Levinson if you like rock and roll. The bass is just so much better. I actually sat in my car for an hour listening to it after I installed it. Awesome.

One regret, I wish I had put in one of the better subwoofers Robert listed. I'm not sure of the technical term, we used to call it "bottoming out", but the speaker will bottom out on some songs that I never expected it would. Steely Dan, Green Book?? Zepplin maybe but Steely Dan? It doesn't happen often but still, for another $75 I would never have to hear it.

Thanks for the help Robert and Hudini for starting this thread. Hope this helps others with the same problem.

Robert_J

The term is still called "bottoming out". That's when the voice coil hits the back plate of the motor structure. Do that enough and the coil becomes deformed. Step a beer can until the sides start to buckle a little. That's the exact same thing. The wires will start to rub inside the gap and their varnish insulation will soon be gone. That's the equivalent of a direct short of the speaker wires. Your amp will either go into protection mode or release the magic smoke that makes it work.

To stop this, don't use loudness or bass boost on the head unit. ED has a great video tutorial that shows what bass boost does to the signal. If you find that the sub can't handle your listening habits then you will need to upgrade or turn it down. ED makes the Ov.2 which has more excursion. TC Sounds has some with much more excursion.

-Robert