Ok, I'm a total newbie to the audio world, so bear with me. I'm great when it comes to twisting wrenches and finding horsepower, but with electronics, I'm a tool. Anyway...

I have a 91 CRX Si. I'm really happy with the deck and the 4, 6.5" speakers in their stock locations, but there just isn't enough oomph. The speakers go really fuzzy once the volume is way up, which is to be expected for small speakers.

My question is about subs. I really don't want to put in a big box, because I live in San Diego, where stereo gear is stolen more often than teenage girls get knocked up. The other reason for not wanting a box is the obvious issue of limited space.

I can think of a few places in the car to mount a pair of 8" subs. If I do not have them in a ported box, will they still sound decent? I don't know how much difference a ported box makes. Will a pair of 8" subs with an amp put enough thump in my car?

I'm not looking for bass that rattles the license plate, makes your heart skip beats or wins competitions. I just want enough low end that I can crank the stereo and hear everything instead of having to settle for 90% treble. Advice is greatly appreciated. Anyone have creatives places to hide boxes? Pics of custom installs? Anything to help out an audio newb?

 

You may want to start with a 4 channel amp for your main speakers, and see what they sound like then. It wont be amazing bass, but you'll have good mid-bass and you'll be able to play them louder without distortion.

I'm not very familiar with a crx interior... but i'm sure theres plenty of spaces to "hide" a box (or boxes). You could always put 2 "truck style" boxes behind each seat with an 8 in each... that'd probably be the simplest way.

A ported box (versus a sealed box) would make a difference in a car like that, given the subs are meant to be in one. I know alot of subs sound great in sealed boxes though. You may also want to look into a single 10. The overall box required would be smaller than a box for most 2 8's. Its all up to you where you put a box though... if you're very worried about it getting stolen, just make sure you bolt it to the car and hide the amp well (maybe under a seat).

 

Photos of the trunk of a CRX please!! I have no clue what it looks like. I recently did a pair of ID8v3's in a Civic Si. The box was only 0.7 cubic feet, and it sounded GREAT. You could do one 8 ported as well. This pair was sealed. Add 300W and it sounded great.

Personally, if you want to go loud, you will need a few things. First, I'd recommend more power to your speakers. Also, you will need a crossover to take the bass out of your small speakers and redirect them to the sub.

If it was me, I'd get a 50x4 amp. Run the front 6.5"s from it, and then use the other two channels to run a single sub or a pair of them. Then run the rear speakers off of the headunit.

This way, when you turn up your music, your highs will be able to stay loud and clean, and you will also have some pretty good bass.

Like you said, not winning any competitions, but some nice balanced sound. I'm sure there's places to hide stuff, but I'm not too familar with the car.

 

These are good suggestions! :goodjob: