A client from Star City, West Virginia, contacted Extreme Audio near Richmond about a 2011 Subaru Outback audio system installation. The client had been researching options to create an audiophile-grade system in his car and needed someone to perform the installation. His plan was to tune the system himself, and he had researched the proper equipment to complete the task. We talked over the design of the system and came up with a proposal that balanced his performance goals and budget. With the plan approved, the client dropped off his vehicle and we got started.
Sound System Upgrade Foundation
The client is attending school in Star City but has family here in the Richmond area. With the extensive scope of the project, the client agreed to leave the car with us for more than three weeks so we could work on it between other jobs.
We began the project by running Stinger power wire, speaker wire and interconnect cables through the vehicle. We mounted a pair of Fuse holders beside the battery to feed each of the ARC Audio amplifiers. Rather than run a large-gauge wire and install distribution blocks, we ran a pair of 4 AWG kits.
We cut SoundSkins Pro deadening for each of the front doors. SoundSkins is a multi-layered damping material that reduces the transmission of sound energy into the vehicle. It also helps improve the performance of the audio system by eliminating back-wave cancellation from the door speakers.
Audiofrog Speaker Upgrades
The front stage consists of Audiofrog GB10 tweeters in the A-pillars and GB25 midrange drivers in the factory dash locations. We created custom mounting adapters for the mids from ABS plastic to let them mount to the factory fastener locations. The client brought us a set of 6.5-inch midbass drivers. We mounted them on the doors and added Fast Rings acoustic couplers to help channel the energy into the vehicle.
The client wanted rear speakers in the system. We mounted a set of Audiofrog GS40 midrange drivers in the factory locations in the back doors.
JL Audio Subwoofer System
To provide solid sub-bass for the system, we created a shallow subwoofer enclosure for a single JL Audio 12TW3-D8 sub. The enclosure sits on top of the spare tire and is flush with the false floor cover. The woofer fires down into the spare tire. We wrapped the enclosure in durable black carpet to prevent any squeaks or buzzing when the sub is playing.
ARC Audio Amplifiers
The system is powered by a six-channel ARC Audio XDi 1200.6 and a four-channel XDi 450.4. We mounted the amps at the rear of the spare tire well, just behind the subwoofer enclosure. Two channels of the 1200.6 are bridged to provide 600 watts to the sub. The other four channels drive the midbass drivers in the door and the midrange speakers on the dash. The 450.4 powers the tweeters and the rear speakers. The client chose a Helix DSPProMKII processor for the system because he wanted 10 channels of processing for complete control over the system. We mounted the processor under driver’s seat for easy access.
Subaru Outback Audio System Configuration
Before we returned the vehicle to the client, we configured the processor and amplifiers to work with the Alpine iLX-107 source unit in the dash. We optimized the sensitivity controls and set the crossovers so that the client would be able to listen to music on his drive home. The client planned to take on tuning the system as a hobby in between his ophthalmology classes.
The client was very pleased with our Subaru Outback audio system installation. Everything was secure and tidy, and he was able to retain all of the storage in the rear of the vehicle, thanks to our shallow subwoofer enclosure.
If you are near Midlothian or Mechanicsville and are looking for an audio upgrade for your Subaru, drop into either Extreme Audio location and speak with one of our sales professionals. We’d be happy to design and install something amazing for you. For more information about any of our products or services, send us an e-mail using our online contact page.
I have this same vehicle and have entertained installing the amps similar to the way you have done it here… are you not worried about overheating? Or are those amps designed to not have airspace around them?
Most premium amps are very efficient, as a result they don’t generate as much heat from the “wasted” power. If you’re someone that’s going to push the amps really hard for extended periods of time you may need more ventilation, but we generally have no issues burying amps.
I am working on installing a system in my new to me 2013 Outback and am having a hell of a time trying to preserve cargo space and still have my 2 vintage TheCrunch 10″ subs and all 3 amps, sub, mids and tweets. How can mounting a sub firing into a spare tire with a thick plastic lid and a layer of carpet over it create accurate bass in the car? After all the sub bass sound needs to create air pressure in the vehicle cabin which is not possible with this sub in the spare tire area completely sealed up??? I can mount the mids and sub amps in the rear corners of the cargo area and build custom carpeted enclosures to hide them as well as my electronic crossover and there is room under the front seat for the tweets amp. I am not sure how you got anything under the drivers side seat because there is only a couple inches of space with the powered seat mechanics. But losing cargo area for the subs is my biggest issue and losing tool storage and a spare tire under the cargo lid is not an option. Unfortunately I am no where near you guys for consult being in Grand Rapids, MI. But I have been scouring the internet for install ideas and any innovative ideas would be awesome if at all possible.
Rick, Thanks for the question. The rear area where the sub was located has quite a bit of open areas around it. That allowed the pressure being created to “get out”, vs. being contained in that space. That being said, it was a shallow sub that could be centered right over the spare, giving it clearance. I’m not sure how tight that might be with dual 10″. I don’t recall if he had a power seat, but the Helix processor was relatively thin, so it may be a more tight squeeze for some amplifiers.
Can you make the same box for me?
We didn’t save the specs on the enclosure to be able to make one without the vehicle here. Let us know where you’re located and perhaps we can refer you to someone near you?
Any pictures of the mounting and location of the tweeters?
I believe they were just flushed in at the base of the A-Pillar. It’s the one thing we forgot to get a picture of.