I've been hunting the classifies on multiple F-body sites for a few weeks trying to find a drivers side stealth box for my car. I'm almost at the point where I think I need to buy a new enclosure and just hunt for a sub and amp.

I ran across a guy on ebay, "chevy35079camaro", who sells what appear to be subthump knockoffs. See the link here.

Has anybody used these before? Or should I just go for the subthump and be done with it?

Thanks!

 

If you're asking whether MDF is a good wood to use for a subwoofer enclosure, then the answer is yes. It's the material of choice because it has very little resonance.

 

Go with the Subthump and be done with it. Seriously.

The design of that box is really a little different than ours. There is a company in south texas that came up with that design. So this guy is esentially copying theirs. I actually bought one a year or so ago just so I could see how it compares to ours. There's a few things that are really bad about this box. First is the fit. If you look at the trim piece at the rear of the box, you will notice that it's so high that the trim piece won't fit under the weatherstripping. Kinda sloppy and looks bad IMO. Second, the internal volume is pretty small on their box compared to ours. He doesn't list the actual volume of the box, but I would say it can't be over .4 cu.ft. Third, if you look inside the box you see that not too far back is a wall with a small opening in the center. Most subs that are very deep are going to bottom out at this point. So you would have to be careful to choose a sub that would be shallow enough to fit. Not to mention that unlike this box, our box is not only carpeted on the face but painted black inside AND outside with black latex paint. Some ppl might see 80 bux and say hey this is a much better deal than the other guy who's higher. But if you really think about the features our box has over this guy's, then ours is definitely worth a few more. Plus you are buying from a reputible business (with a posted return policy) and not some guy who comes home from work and goes out in the yard to diy a few speaker boxes.

Below is a photo I took of the off-brand box that I bought. I won't name the company that makes it. You can see that the shape of the baffle is a direct copy of the JL vantage box, whereas ours was actually scribed from my camaro to get the best fit. You can also notice that terminal is placed in the far rear of the box, which would be a pain in the *** to wire. Our terminal is right on top so if you pull the panel off, you can connect the speaker wire to the terminal AFTER you install the box and don't have to worry about connecting it before installing it--or worse, worrying about it falling out and then having to pull the entire box to re-connect the wires. See, we think of everything here. Afterall, I use this box too so a lot of thought went into it's design.



And here's a quick pic of our version. Note how much more open the inside of the box is. This lets us use a lot of the larger and deeper structured subs that are on the market today. Not to mention that the whole thing is painted so it looks a ton better. Keep in mind that it's kinda an ordeal to setup and paint these things. It takes time to do it and money to buy the paint. You can also see where our terminal is located. Although we don't put the notches in anymore, this was one of our early prototypes. An all-around better product IMO than any other mdf box out there.



I don't like to show "out of the car" photos of our products very much because it makes it too easy for guys like chevycamaro here to copy our products. But I think it's important to know the differences between products before you just say eh this one's cheaper so I'll go with that one. Not exacly comparing apples to apples here because our box is so much better. See, I could sell our box for 80 bux too, but it would be a less complicated design and it wouldn't be painted inside and out with latex paint.

And for you enjoyment, here's some pics of a batch of our boxes in our shop. Notice our superior design. This is right after the paint dried and the baffles were put on --just before the carpet process. I bet chevycamaro doesn't have this many in stock.





So you get what you pay for. If you buy from a real place, you will get a much better product than someone who's copying other's work in their backyard.

 

Wow! Think I'll order a Subthump.

 

Amazing reply. THAT, my friends, is how you win a customer. I'll be placing my order tomorrow.

 

most prefab boxes suck. nearly every real car audio enthusiast builds their own box or has a custom box built for them based on the subs they are planning on using, but you won't find many car audio enthusiasts on this forum. check out the caraudio.com forums if you want to learn.

honestly though, if you're going with a smalled sealed box, there's not too much either company could mess up on, other than properly sealing it and making a properly fitting baffle.

 

That is how we like to do it. As soon as I get my 2010, we will be doing the same thing for it--that is coming up with our own original designs for fellow f-body enthusiasts

 

Great reply, I can attest to the ebay boxes and how they are usually horrible. I blew the top off of one in 5 minutes.
I sent you a PM mega