omegagavin

a new headunit installed in my 2000 GS400 (Kenwood KDC-MP342U) to get a little better sound out of my XM because I was using an FM modulator unit and it sounded like crap. The guy who sold me the Kenwood forgot to tell me that by doing the swap I would lose the abilty of the stock sub to work and now I am in a jam. He was really cool about it and said he would put my old system back and refund my money but, I am so impressed with the improvement in sound that I want to keep the Kenwood and find a budget solution to get a sub going in my car.

Ideally I want something that will fit in the stock location because I don't want a trunk full of sub box and amp. If anyone has suggestions on what is best within those parameters I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

ivory98es3

iTrader: (1)

There is no reason why you can not retain the factory sub while still having your Kenwood HU. I was able to do it w/ my '98 ES300 installing an Alpine W205 HU. All I did was find the correct wiring harness that had RCA plugs attached and used the RCA outs on the Alpine bypassing the HU's internal power. I will say the Alpine HU was a hell lot more sensitive to outside induced noise which required me to run power and ground straight to the battery and use a couple of ground loop isolators to stop what sounded like alternator whine. Once I was done, my new HU was integrated into the car like it came from the factory w/ no induced noise whatsoever.

Your other option is to install an amp under neath the front passenger seat and replace the stock 8"/10" sub w/ an infinite baffel one that would use the whole trunk as the enclosure.

omegagavin

Appreciate the reply man. The guy at the shop suggested that we put a JL 8W1 in place of the stock sub and power it with a Kenwood KAC-5204 amp. My research indicates that this sub is not an infinite baffle design as you suggested. What are your thoughts on how that would sound? Should I push for some other sub?

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

Not sure how much your shop knows, but it's not that difficult to convert an RCA (low level signal) into a direct input to a factory sub amp. If he can locate the factory sub's input to the amp, all he has to do it connect the wires from an RCA (cutting off the end to reveal them) and it will drive the sub. This assumes your amp comes on with the car, which it should.

If that's not feasible, then you should not hesitate to use an IB sub, as Ivory suggested. No, the 8W1 is not what you want to use. You could use this as a very reasonably priced alternative. You would definitely need an amp, and that 5204 is a decent option, but has limited capabilities. Not sure what your budget is, but you may want to look into something that has more flexibility. A fixed cutoff of 80 Hz, no variable control of output, and not a tremendous amount of power (150W bridged RMS) isn't a huge bang for your buck, but if you're just looking for some bump it will be okay.

Big Mack