[Nook Color General] craigbru:
Okay, in addition to the Nook, after all those years of pounding, my sub called it quits as well. I decided to build a new box...

It's a low-profile sub box. I will fit a pair of 10" subs, and is just around 1 cubic foot in volume. To get some idea of scale, it's only 6 inches tall. It's designed to fit in the rear of a TJ with a Bestop Instatrunk installed. If you don't have an Instatrunk, it will still fit of course. The rear seat will still fold and tumble without any interference.

This was actually one of the quicker projects I had to do. After the initial box construction, I was able to get it sealed with resin, and a coat of Monstaliner. I then added handles for ease of handling, and they will also double as tie downs once in the Jeep. In the pic below you can see I added electrical tape the under side to eliminate any unwanted vibration. The handles were easily installed.

Now, a sub box isn't of much use without subs. Due to the low profile of the box, and a volume of slightly less than 1 cubit foot, the sub choice was critical. For years I've only bought relatively high end audio gear, Alpine, Clarion, Eclipse, and etc. It's because of quality gear that I've had almost a decade of hard use out of my current hardware. That said, here is where I deviated from my past line of thinking. I decided to take a chance on something much cheaper based on very solid reviews. I bought a pair of Boss D10F Phantoms. My next choice up was almost triple the price per sub. Not that money was an issue necessarily, but audio wasn't the priority for me that it used to be. I don't need to wake up the neighborhood, I just want something solid that can be heard/felt on the road with the top off.

As I installed the subs I noted a few things. They are relatively heavy, and seem well built. There is an ominous 'Made in China' sticker prominently placed on the back, but no obvious design shortcomings. I did note that a gasket wasn't included. For what little they cost, I was disappointed that one wasn't in the box. The subs bolted right in the box and otherwise hooked up with ease. There were nice push connectors as opposed to spade terminals which was a nice addition.

So, moving on to the installed box... While it drops right in, it must be noted that it only installs one way. The rear seat must be folded forward, and in my case, the Instatrunk had to be removed. The box sits in place, and the Instatrunk goes back and is bolted in place. Also, the box is intentionally too wide to pull out the back. This was done for security purposes. You will never do a slash and grab on this thing. It's going to take some effort, and even then it isn't plainly obvious as to how it comes out. Sure, I can't remove it on a whim, but nobody else can either.

That's all well and good you say, but how does it sound? Let me say this... I am simply amazed! These things hit low and solid. There is no obvious distortion or bottoming out. Although they are rated at 800watts max/400 watts RMS, they are taking a solid 700 watts from my JBL BP600.1 and loving it. To think, I've bought RCA cables that cost what these subs cost. Time will only tell how long they last, but as long as the power stays clean, and I don't overdrive them, I think they'll be fine.