Tosh

Blose blows. Pseudo science (equalization+99 cent speakers) and marketing hype. But it's the speakers that are crap. The 4 channel amp, while not awesome, is not pure crap and has the advantage of already being wired in and mounted (and paid for). So why not take advantage of it? Why not replace the Blose 6x9s with a pair of free air woofers and use the existing Blose amp?
The following may not satisfy those who have unlimited time, money, and bravado to gut their cars in pursuit of big sound. Now hear me out: In my 2001 CL-S, I've replaced the front 6-1/2" with Polk DX-6, and they alone were a big improvement. Not quite as loud, but usually loud enough, and they gave a much faster, smoother, and detailed sound. I chose these because they had the blessing of Southbound over at Acura-TL.com and I was already a Polk convert for mid-fi sound. And they were cheap on eBay. Yes, cost matters to me. I don't want to spend money on big changes without exploring all the options first. So with nothing except the 6-1/2" Polks, I find that the sound coming from the rear Blose 6x9s is slow and muddled, like the fronts were, so I cut the tweeter leads to them, and I have the fader turned all the way forward. The little bass that comes out from the rear makes useful fill, but not tight bass. But here's the point: With the fader all the way forward, the 6x9s are plenty audible. With the fader in the middle, quite loud. So why not replace them with a pair of free air woofers and expect a significant improvement? (Free air woofers are designed to be used without an enclosure, but with a large baffle. A rear parcel shelf is ideal for this application.) The power to drive them seems to be available, the wiring and the trunk volume is there for the taking, and with a spacer, there might even be room for 8" woofers. I have a pair of MB Quart free air 8" woofers lying around, so that cuts another expense. (Whether I go with new 6x9s or 8" woofers, it seems the magnets are too large to use the existing mounting point because the trunk support springs are in the way. True?) I would expect to make a special baffle (maybe from 1/2" MDF) to replace the 6x9 trim and grill, but this would have the welcome effect of stiffening the rear deck, which is a major rattle trap. I might also need an inductor to cut some highs. And then if there wasn't enough power after all, later I could add an amp using a converter from the rear outputs of the Blose amp. And then I would have wasted no effort since I needed to replace the rear speakers anyway...

Tosh

phipark

Mainly because the Bose amp is rated at 2 ohms. Therefore, if you used 4 ohm speakers, the power supplied would be cut in half. So, originally, I think the amp drove 25 w/ch @ 2 ohms, which would be 12.5 w/ch @ 4 ohms.

proaudio22

In addition to the above, free air woofers suck ass man. If you want something like that with no enclosure, get an amp and a nice sub w/ an aperiodic membrane.

Tosh

Right, the Blose amp will put out half the power into my 4 ohm speakers. But based on how much volume I'm getting now with the fader all the way forward, I think I might have enough with the fader in the middle at half the power. 12Wx2 is still something, and I don't need it that loud. Just enough to keep up with the fronts, but deeper bass.
I should have said that I don't want to give up any trunk space for an enclosure. The trunk is my enclosure. I had these 8" MB Quart free air woofers in the rear deck of my previous car, and they're pretty good.
Keep'em coming!

brianlin87

iTrader: (1)

does any one on this forum have an aperiodic box? i've always heard they sounds great, but never sat in a car with one... and never saw pics on thsi forum either

proaudio22

Aperiodic box is an oxymoron. It's a membrane usually placed over the cone that puts pressure on the cone to make it think that it's in a box. They won't sound quite as good as a nicely designed box, but they can sound better than a poor box b/c they don't have any of the shitty reflections/standing waves that a poor box would have.

brianlin87

iTrader: (1)

thanks proaudio22 for the information...