For some time I have wanted a sub in my Cappo.  However, I wanted it hidden from view but without taking up any valuable storage space.  The perfect position was under the passenger seat, the problem was, I could not find any that fitted. 

Recently however the Mutant MT5AS came out, and I bought it straight away due to it's dimensions.  At only 5 cm deep it fits under the seat (just).  It does mean that the passenger seat cannot slide forward as much as it used to, but I always have the passsenger seat all the way back, so it's not a problem. 

The sound is awesome.  For such a tiny unit it creates a big noise.  It transforms the sound in-car and now I have a rocking system.   I would recommend this product to any cappo owner who wants more bass but does not want a big box in the footwell.

I was so impressed I have now bought another one for our other Cappo.

(thumb) Nice one Paolo

Very nice Paolo and the price is reasonable as well(thumb)

Nice! (thumbsup)

Is this the only product of its type available now, or are there others?
I can remember seeing slim subs before but I could never find them again!

Did this take much mounting?

And out of curiosity, where have you got your amp?
*Edit*
Just noticed its already amplified, so just need power cables to it...?

Any idea what kind of damage hooking a 200w amp upto this thing would do?

“ Quoted Text ” Is this the only product of its type available now, or are there others? I can remember seeing slim subs before but I could never find them again

There are quite a few like this, specially made for small spaces, here is one, and here is another.  The Mutant MT5AS however was the smallest and the only one that would fit. 

“ Quoted Text ” Did this take much mounting?

It was fiddly.  I had to bolt the seat down at the back first, then slide the sub in from the front, then bolt the front of the seat down.  It just sits on the carpet, it comes with sticky velco pads which secure it to the carpet very well so there is no need to screw it to anything.  The wiring was pretty easy,  It comes with it's own loom.  It needs a constant power (I just connected it straight to the battery) and you can also connect it to the stereo so that it only turns on when your stereo is turned on (which is what I did).  It also needs a RCA cable to take the sounds from your stereo, so you would need a stereo with RCA outputs (most have them).

It also has a remote control which I have pulled through to the glovebox.  This allows the user to turn it on/off and adjust the volume.

“ Quoted Text ” Any idea what kind of damage hooking a 200w amp upto this thing would do?

Don't know, not sure that would be a good idea to be honest!

In regard to connecting an external amp I think that would be far beyond the power this little sub could take - it's own amp must be pretty close to what it requires. :)

Certainly looks very reasonably priced.

If your head unit has low-pass & low-cut filters for the sub and footwells have you altered these to suit as well?

Ive been looking at these for a while but was unsure they would fit under the seat. They are sold under many brand names including JVC, and also Jaycar sell them.

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=CS2273&CATID=24&keywords=&SPECIAL=&form=CAT&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=921

Very nice guys, but takes all the fun out of showing off......lol, BUILD AN ENCLOSURE.....lol, You know you want to....LAZY BUGGERS..... ;D ;D

Speaking of these :)
cleaned the car on the weekend as i fixed up some more of the interior and found one under the drivers seat, intrigued i plugged it in and all i can say is :D
LOL factor = 10

Lucky b*gger....so why the Asterisk, when above, it didn't adjust...??? :-/

it was in captals! ;D

Halfords have rebadged The Mutant Sub and sell it under the ripspeed brand for about £50 (I think it's only 100watt though). I have it in my other car

“ Quoted from adilmon, posted Tuesday, August 19th, 2008, 7:41:40am at here ” Halfords have rebadged The Mutant Sub and sell it under the ripspeed brand for about £50 (I think it's only 100watt though). I have it in my other car

So they have, here it is.  It looks the same, although it does state that it is 69mm deep instead of the mutant's 55mm, not sure why that is....

Good price too, although I did only pay £49 + delivery for the mutant via Ebay.

Just checked the ripspeed site, looks like it is even cheaper there......

Thats great value! Is there a big difference in the quality of the Ripspeed at only 100w?

The Specs on the mutant sub are sounding by far and away the best, with dimensions and max power, its just dissapointing its activily amplified! When I mentioned seeing slim subs before, I meant just the speaker, no housing or amp and I was considering the possibilty of mounting one behind the passenger seat rather than under it.

But que sera, sera.

The idea of having 2 items of Ripspeed littering the inside of the car is perishable, one is more than enough!(tongue)

While on topic, I have a spare 200w Mutant amp, if interested drop me a PM

This is what I was thinking about for Slim Sub Woofers:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-x-PIONEER-TS-SW2541D-SUBWOOFERS-10-CAR-SHALLOW-SUBS_W0QQitemZ290253905501QQihZ019QQcategoryZ18805QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em122

3" Deep, and would need some mounts, but a pair is a nice idea... ;D

Those still need a box to put them in or they'll sound sh#t.

“ Quoted Text ” Sealed Box Volume: 0.35 - 0.70  cubic feet Ported Box Volume: 0.35 - 0.70  cubic feet

0.35 sft = 8.4567"x8.4567"x8.4567"

To fit behind seat? (hmmm)
Driver needs 3" clearance and the mounting depth is 3" then (assuming that the shallow depth won't have too great a detriment on the sound).
So, to fit under/behind the seat in an 18mm MDF box it would need  6"+ 0.75"= 6.75" deep at the shallowest.
Of course you could make it fit behind the seat?
Internal 2.25"d x12"h x22.4"w
External =(3.75"depth with guards to give 6" clearance so more) >6"dx13.5"h x23.9"w
That's if I can still addup in old fashioned money? (eh?)

Ok so I hadn't done any measurements, but I had visions of cutting into things, either the boot wall or if the was too imposing the seat. I've seen many a seat mounted speaker before. but perhaps its not going to be that likely I'll be doing that anytime soon as....



I now own a *shudder* Ripspeed 100w underseat sub!
£33.49 in store, had to ask for it to be reduced.
All the wiring in the box, several fittings and a single sheet of instructions!
Only one thing to let you know its a Ripspeed product really...



Bag of rusty screws!

I'll have fun fitting that another day, don't suppose theres an SOP for taking the passenger seat out is there?

Be interesting to see how it compares to its mutant brother!
And for the record its a very bad idea to wire a 200w amp up to a 100w amp.

The seats come out really easily. 

Undo the two front bolts. 
Slide the seat fully forward.
Undo the two rear bolts.
Take out seat.

The ripspeed looks identical to the mutant product.  It seems odd that there is so much difference in the height , 55mm for the mutant, and 67mm for the ripspeed.

Leddicoat, can you measure the depth of yours just to clarify?  I hate to say it but if it is 67mm you are going to struggle with getting it under the seat   :-/

Its about actually about 60mm (+/- 2mm) deep from the tip of the cage to the bottom of the magnet bulge. Thats measured pretty roughly with a couple of straight edges but theres no way its a full 67mm.

What kind of restraints that can get in the way are on the bottom of the seat?
If it really isn't going to fit as is, I'm sure a I kind find a few mm somewhere!

Looking at the pics again, the resemblance is beyond a joke, if the insides are different fair enough but that is the same case molding no doubt in my mind.

It's the same case for sure, so it will fit ok.

As far as the seat goes, the problem I had is that there is a horizontal bar at the back of the seat.  It is pretty low so I had to slide the sub in from the front.  However, you will have to bolt the seat down at the rear FIRST, because if you did'nt, you would not be able to slide the seat forward enough to get to the rear bolts, as the sub is in the way.

You'll know what I mean when you come to install it!

If the weathers fine I might have a lash at it tmw.
Hmmm, if its up to scratch might get one for the drivers side too ^^

Starting to think though, this sub cant be much bigger than my 6x9's, but should be able to get better dedicated bass from it. I'll not know till its fitted!

Maybe there are 2 versions/models of these with different depth and power output?
Mutant 5cm and rated @ 50watts RMS.
Jaycar Response & others 6.9cm and rated @ 90watts RMS.

“ Quoted from Leddicoat, posted Wednesday, August 20th, 2008, 1:06:39pm at here ” This is what I was thinking about for Slim Sub Woofers: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-x-PIONEER-TS-SW2541D-SUBWOOFERS-10-CAR-SHALLOW-SUBS_W0QQitemZ290253905501QQihZ019QQcategoryZ18805QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em122 3" Deep, and would need some mounts, but a pair is a nice idea... ;D

That's EXACTLY what I have in my Sub Enclosure No.2.....still to be finished.
When I saw the price, thought way too much, then realised for a pair, so price compatible with same over here.... ;D.
The 2 x 12" I put into the Mirage Pods, came out of carpeted Pioneer Boxes measuring...550w x 370h x 150d. slightly larger than the 10", but I don't have that problem with the Enclosure... ;D

Stop it Sneaza, you're making me jealous :P


This must only be about a 9" sub.

“ Quoted Text ” you will have to bolt the seat down at the rear FIRST

Oh my God! What a pig of a job that was!!!
Without bolting the front down the Left hand side slide moves independantly of the right hand side slide with the handle  :X
Getting it all lined up was frustrating, especially down the space back there, but its done.
Ran into a couple more problems, I got a few pics on the way I'll post later.

Anyway, the sub! Its quite a meaty sound I have to admit, lot louder than I was expecting. Will require some fine tuning to get it properly in sync with the other speakers/amp but for less than £50 its an absolute bargain.

About 2 hours fitting time, with a couple of problems but all the power/remote wires to hand.

Good work Leddicoat, we must spread the word, and make it an MOT requirement to have a sub installed.

Question is now, do I get one for the drivers side and enjoy the a*se rumbling goodness :P
I takeit you've tried sitting on the passenger seat while its on? It's friggin' nuts.
I was so wrong to compare this to a 6x9" Speaker.

That would be pretty cool, I have tried sitting on the passenger seat with it on, it's very rumbly indeed, at first I thought it was the curry I had previously.

Problem with putting one under the drivers seat is that it will restrict the distance that the seat can slide forward, so it may not be suitable for persons of restricted growth.

“ Quoted Text ” it may not be suitable for persons of restricted growth.

I think they prefer to be called the "vertically challenged".

I'm more concerned about the thought of getting two Ripspeed products to play at the same volume!

They should play at the same volume and sync as each other since it's an all in one unit. It must have a small amp inside the casing so providing they are exactly the same model you should have no issues :)

I am going to have fun fitting my two 10" PHD subs in my capp though! Need Sneaza's skills to make the enclosure and then it will just be a matter of what frequency to cross them over at (my radio/HU has scope to have stereo subs running or mono too! :) )

“ Quoted from paolo, posted Friday, August 22nd, 2008, 8:59:49am at here ” so it may not be suitable for persons of restricted growth.

Oi !

It's not my fault the end stops are just in the right place  ::)  for my normal height.


(tongue)

Spaghetti anyone?

As chaotic as this looks, wiring didn't take 2mins, just had to connect the power/ground/remote to the amp.

Just fitted mine sounds great ;D

“ Quoted Text ” Just fitted mine sounds great

Cool! Ripspeed or Mutant?

Ripspeed got 10% off because my mate works there plus 15% with one off those vouchers they are doing at this moment,  so just under 35 nicker can't complain.Cheers Paolo for spotting them.

Couldnt help myself so I just bought the Jaycar one mainly because the other 2 brands arent in Australia and it has a higher RMS rating. $ 99.00 AUD.
Been looking at them for a while and didnt think they would fit under the seat but if Paulo got his in I should be fine.

lol, you've started something big here Paolo!

How have you got your RCA cables hooked to your head unit?
Had them the subs L/R plugged into the aux out L/R but that turned out rubbish,
so had to get a 2 - 1 connector to plug both the subs L/R into the single sub output from the head unit which worked out much better.

How you connect them up depends a lot on the connections and capabilities of your amp HU.

Do the subs have band pass/cut filtering or cross-over settings? You might want to play with the settings?

If your amp HU has band pass/cut filters on it then try  altering these, eg. lowcut filter to main speakers and a lowpass filter to the subs? make sure there's a little cross-over in frequency ranges, Eg. <80Hz to sub, >50Hz to main speakers. There may also be an option to alter the depth/fade of cut to keep it more natural, maybe shown in Octaves?

The 'amp' for these would be inside the sub box I think with no adjustment available  (unless it has a 'remote' with the freq and gain on it) :)

Sorry, when I said "amp" I meant "Head Unit" - my bad.

Forgot to add - does yourt HU not have a dedicated sub-out connection?

Usually only intermediate to high-end HU's have that feature, usually you just bridge a set of outputs like Leddicoat has done. :)

“ Quoted Text ” How have you got your RCA cables hooked to your head unit?

Just plugged them in to the RCA outs that are on the back of my head unit.  I don't have anything fancy on the head unit like filters or anything. 

“ Quoted Text ” lol, you've started something big here Paolo!

It would appear so.  Profile text has been updated accordingly

“ Quoted Text ” Underseat Subwoofer Pioneer

lol awesome

bottom line the connections, my subs connected to the HU sub output,
if i didnt have that it would be connected to rear L/R outputs.
If i didn't have those I'd be buying a new HU. :P

there is a frequency dial for the amp on the sub.

“ Quoted from Leddicoat, posted Sunday, August 24th, 2008, 3:40:37pm at here ” there is a frequency dial for the amp on the sub.

I think this is what it says in the Mutant ad is for altering the crossover frequency to help match it better with speakers being run from the HU: different crossover settings on the sub unit depend on the HU abilities, musical tastes and your ears.

Ideally you use the high-pass filter on the HU for the main speakers, if available. The crossover on the bass unit is set to overlap a little so to reduce bass load on the main speakers thus improve the sound by using the sub unit for most of the bass range and the main speakers for higher-bass, mid and high end : the sub unit is this format is REPLACING the main speakers in the lower-bass/subbass range. I'd guess here to set the crossover quite high?

Alternatively, if there is no option in the HU to filter the sound to the main speakers (other than global tone settings) then the sub unit is by contrast SUPPLIMENTING the bass sound of the speakers as well as maybe providing some missing sub-bass sound. Here I'd guess that the crossover is better set at a lower frequency?

“ Quoted Text ” reduce bass load on the main speakers

First thing I did from much experience!
I might not know what all that technical jargon means, but it appears as though I'm on the same wavelength:



Sub output being independent, of the main speakers I can make the most of high volume treble from the front foot well speakers, configure the amp for treble and mids for the rears speakers and the sub is sitting hammering out all the bass. ;D

In other words, people will hear me coming :)
And the music should actually be audible.

“ Quoted from Leddicoat, posted Monday, August 25th, 2008, 12:35:52pm at here ” In other words, people will hear me coming :) And the music should actually be audible.

I just wish I had two presets.
One for normal driving.
The other for when the roof's on when it's raining, lol.

You should get a Clarion HX-D2 like me and then have 5 presets! (and high-end SQ :) )

http://www.clarion.com/my/en/products/2006/audio/hx_series/HX-D2/my-en-product-pf_1149239490599.html

Hmm all these subs under seats, those this remind anyone of the Howard Stern movie (Private Parts)?

dunno what that is, but the ladies aren't complaining ;)

I have my hi-fi system for my bedroom under my bed...

Thats always seemed to work for me lol.  ;)

Finally fitted my sub woofer this weekend. After much masuring, mucking around, etc. I decided to mount it behind the passenger seat. 2 scews and some velcrow tape to hold the bottom in place. Great sound so here it is.

You must have very short passengers  ;)  My 6' plus bro and father struggle sitting in there without anything jammed behind the seats.

If i had my way the passenger seat would be removed to lose weight but my OH is not good at walking long distances  :(

Gotta be honest i never use the stereo in my car apart from when i need to know the time, the wooshes coming from the engine bay coupled with the sonic boom i get from the exhaust and the touring car transmission whine is all the music i need  ;D

Good jobs by all fitting these subs though, it's like managing to get a pint into a quart pot (thumbsup)

Got to listen to Dean's today and it sounded very impressive.  So who's going to be first for having one under each seat?

It doesnt effect the seat travel or parcel shelf access at all, theres just enough space to mount it there. Plus its easier to get at the controls for setting it up.

Thought I'd give 'em a go and see what all the fuss is about :D

All up and running then Andy, did the y thing work ok????????????

Yep and it certainly did.  Made no difference on mine running the subs on both rca cables or just one with the Y cable.  I'll probably still keep my eye out for a good quality 2 to 1 cable though.

Just don't get caught short when driving with the sub under your seat :B

I don't think I could drive with the one under the driver's seat turned up too high to be honest! lol

The oh might lol..

Well my son seemed to like it :D

Looks like "Piles" of fun ;D

Wouldn't life be boring if Cappo Owners/drivers had no initiative for their inovations and and know Inovations for their creative minds!!

Keep up the great work guys and I'll join you when I get my pocket rocket!

Can you guys guide a bit with the wiring.  I've just got one of the Ripspeed jobs.  It's instructions but I know nothing about wiring.
The RCA cables are simple enough.  It's the power connection.
1. How & where did you route to get the power lead to the battery.
2. Do you conect this wire to the actual positive battery connection.
3. Where did you connect the earth to? (I don't want to drill any holes,  I was thinking of using the one of the threads around the gearstick.)
4.  What do you do with the ignition live wire?

I took the power leads up through the passenger side grommet in the firewall.  These are then attached to the positive terminal on the battery.  I think I had to open the terminals on the 12v wires slightly.  I took me a while to work out that the fuse holder dismantles so you can get it through the grommet  :B

I used the ECU earthing point just under the dash on the passenger side and the earthing point just under the dash on the driver's side.  You need to remove the speaker kick panels to reach these.

The ignition live wire I connected to the headunit's ignition live wire.  I spliced it into my Autoleads ISO lead.

Cheers Andy,
I'll dig out my head unit's manual.

PM sent, oh yes.

Right then, I've fitted the sub under the seat.  Although looking at Andy's pictures.  I think my installations is a bit too far forward.  So I'll be lifting the seat to try again.
The wiring is done except for the blue ignition live wire.  I havn't connect to the battery yet so I wouldn't drain the battery.
When I pulled the head unit out I was presented with a sea of wire.  Now I did find a red wire that had a bullet connection fitted that was covered by a rubber grommet.
According to the sticker on the head unit this wire is described as "accessories"?

http://www.jvc.ro/files/installation_manual/kd-g631-632_install_ro.pdf

The above link is to a pdf copy of the installation instructions for the head unit.

Can someone guide me to which is the correct wire to connect to?

Go for the blue with white stripe 'to the remote lead of other equipment'  I think I did actually use this feed now I think about it.

I got one of the eltronics guys I work with to advise me.  He told me to connect to the red wire.  Which I have done.
All works fine, except when I turn the ignition on there is a pop noise form the sub.  Is this normal or I have I wired something in correctly.
When I turn the ignition off the green light on the sub remote does go out.  Which I hope means the power isn't being drained from the battery.
Could the earthing point I chose be wrong.  I went for the easiest screw I could see, which was the one holding the footwell speaker mounting in place.

Adam,

The way you have it wired at the moment is fine...... but it means that every time you turn the ignition on the sub will power on, meaning it's on all the time that the ignition is on, regardless of if your stereo is on or not. 

There is nothing wrong with that, but if you wire the blue ignition live wire from the sub to the blue with white stripe 'to the remote lead of other equipment' from your head unit (as Andy suggested), the sub will only turn on when you turn your head unit on.  I would say that way is a slighty more logical way of doing it, because if you turn your stereo on or off durning your journey, the sub will be powered on or off at the same time. 

Oh, and the "pop" you hear, that is just the sub turning on.  I get it too.  You currently get it every time you turn the ignition on because the sub is being turned on at the same time.

I hope this makes sense.  I just read it through and it kind of sort of does.  ;D

That does make sense.  Thanks Paolo,
I was leaning towards changing the connection to the blue & white wire.
So the advice I got from the electrical guy here at work, although correct isn't the best way.
Lesson learned.  Always do what Andy says to do!

Once re-wired to the blue & white wire, will the pop noise go?

“ Quoted Text ” Once re-wired to the blue & white wire, will the pop noise go?

No, but it will only happen when the stereo is turned on, not when the ignition is turned on.

I think the pop noise is an unavoidable "quirk" with this product.  I suspect this is partly due to the "no expense spent" quality of its budget parts!  I am however willing to be corrected is somebody knows otherwise.

I'm with Paolo with all the points above.

It pops because the volume output is set (full-on), so when the power comes on there is therefore a power surge causing the pop.

Most newer HU's being digital have a "soft-on" option to overcome this and sometimes this is even programable as to how soft.

Really old HU's like the Clarion the Capps came with have analogue controls which effect the "soft-on" manually as the volume is at minimal when the HU switch is clicked on as this was also the volume controller knob, ie. you switched it on and turned it up.

If the subs have a softon or fadein option then select this to overcome the issue.

More talk about "soft-ons" here than in an Erectial Dysfunction ad :D

“ Quoted from crisp, posted Monday, February 9th, 2009, 8:32:50pm at here ” It pops because the volume output is set (full-on), so when the power comes on there is therefore a power surge causing the pop. Most newer HU's being digital have a "soft-on" option to overcome this and sometimes this is even programable as to how soft.

No "Soft one" options with these, I guess we will have to stay with the "Hard on" option. ;D

All you need is an 'accesories wire delay/remote turn on module' if you get popping noise on startup... They cost $15 -$20AUD/not a lot (for uk'ers). 

Cool, any idea where we can source such a product in the UK?

how are the alternators in these cars?  will running 2 of these sub/amp combos over work the system?

They're only little toy bass units, Azi, not like the big boxes you find weighing down the back of the odd Saxo, so they won't have a huge impact really.

ah yes, I looked into it a bit more.  A little misleading when the unit says 200W, yet its max is 100W (50W RMS).  Not very big at all.

Check ebay I guess if you don't see the remote delay on the shelves - stinger make one. aerpro and a fair few others :)

Update! 

I have found a newly released active sub that I think will fit under the seats.



Click here for details.

I say I think it will fit because although it is slightly shorter and marginally less wide than the mutant/ripspeed units, it is slightly thicker at 7cm, when the mutant/ripseed subs were 6cm (even though the mutant was advertised at 5cm).  Only one way to find out I guess.......

I would imagine that the sound quality would be improved, and I hope that a branded product such as this would not have the annoying pop when powering up (owners of the mutant/ripspeed will know what I am talking about).  The only downside is the price - £199.99!!!!  That's four times the price of the mutant/ripspeed subs!  Four times better?  I think not.  Worth a try?  Definately - someone buy one and try it!!!!!!

*grumbles about not having any free under seat space....*

I dont need the foot well speakers....right?

If it is taller than the Ripspeed ones then I don't think it will fit under the seat.  Not without the seat being uncomfortable anyway.

If you don't have passengers often, lie it behind the passenger backrest (or get a fully dedicated sub enclosure like what Sneaza makes :) )

If it fits snugly in the passenger foot well that might do the trick...
*gets his tape out...

Yep, that's been done before :) 

Sneaza's designs and builds:

I am now the happy owner of a Ripspeed Subwoofer under driver's seat.


And it's really a must have.


BOUM BOUM  yaaaaah ;D

“ Quoted from Ricou, posted Sunday, November 29th, 2009, 9:12:39pm at here ” I am now the happy owner of a Ripspeed Subwoofer under driver's seat. And it's really a must have. BOUM BOUM  yaaaaah ;D

Welcome to the underseat sub sect!