I got a new head unit and some infinity kappa speakers for the door. i'm still not to satisfied with the amount of bass output. is there a way to get a better bass response by creating a barrier some how in the door where the speaker mounts? has anyone done anything like this? thanks

 

it's hard to get much bass out of 5 1/4" speakers, but you could see if something like these speaker baffles

 

The Kappa series speakers produce little to no bass. You will need to add a sub in order to obtain a decent amount of low end response.

 

i was considering to add 2 12"s in the trunk and i may try out those speaker baffles to. if they work at all i'll let you know thanks.

 

Do you guys know if there are custom speaker boxes for the 850 sedan?

 

Well, if it was custom, that means there's only one of them. What do you mean custom speaker boxes? For the doors? For a subwoofer? You're not going to get any bass out of some 5 1/4 speakers. Add some bass if you want that. Don't do two 12s, that's just obnoxious.

 

Agreed: unless you really want to be THAT guy, a single 10" is MORE than enough for anyone....Once i get around to putting a system in my car, I'll be using Dynaudio speakers and Focal amps. And it still wont bounce people out of bed when I drive by their houses at night. It's all about moderation and setting up a good, balanced stereo system. I plan on running 3 subs in this car - an 8" in each back door and a single 10 in the hatch area. The frequencies between the 8s and 10 will only overlap a little bit.

 

Custom meaning Vehicle Specific box. are there any that you can buy that can fit a sub in the trunk?

 

Ok, i'm not to sure how much bass one 12" puts out but that's good to know, i'll try one out and if it is as you say then you helped save my money on a second sub.if not then no big deal and i can just grab another.

 

Have you at least looked at subs and boxes? I mean, I don't get what you want. Do you want something that is molded to the trunk in some way so the sub looks completely factory? If so, then no, there is nothing. Do you want something that will hold a subwoofer and that will sit in your trunk, yes, just use google or go to any car audio site and they have tons of boxes that will hold subs that you can place in your trunk, they are not vehicle specific and you won't find anything specifically made for the 850.

 

i have looked at boxes but i was just checking to see if there is any website out there that are tucked away that sell Volvo 850 specific sub box'. thanks

 

you may want to look into building your own. boxes built specifically for a single sub and the performance you want will always sound better than an "off the shelf" box. check out the sonic electronix forums. TONS of useful info. I used them to help build the box for my 850 and it sounds great. I can turn the subs down so they're just a nice accompaniment, or I can blast 'em and be as obnoxious as I want (2 pioneer 12s in a 4th order bandpass box)

what kind of music do you listen to mostly?

 

JL Audio makes a bunch of vehicle specific boxes. Be prepared to pay between $500 and $900 for them (without subs) though.

 

Stripes: why did you go the route of 4th order bandpass for 2 12s? Thats a ridiculous amount of boom - not to mention that had to have taken up most of your trunk if the boxes are tuned properly.

Take a look at this page: it will answer a lot of your questions about subwoofer box design: Speaker Box Calculations

 

I wanted a ridiculous amount of boom :P
and about half my trunk, yes.
I went with height instead of depth, so the subs are a bit cramped, but they sound great

 

I dont use the radio I like listening to my car!! Haha!

 

lol. Same here, I think my stereo is barely on, I enjoy the sounds of my car more than I do the radio. lol

 

i'm not a music specific person. i grew up with my dad liking rock and metal, my mom likes country, one of my sisters like rap, and the other likes hip hop. i probably focus more on hip hop and rock/metal.

 

in that case I would recommend either a 10 or a 12" in a sealed box. if you're willing to get your hands dirty, you can build one, and if you're somewhat skilled in carpentry, you can make it fir your trunk (roughly)
you also have to decide how much you're willing to spend

I have a Kenwood KFC-10 in a sealed box that sounds fine with most music. just make sure not to cheap out on the amp, you can hear it in the music

I have 2 recommendations for you
Slightly cheaper pioneer package
More pricey, but better package

the second one also wants a smaller box, so you would save a little trunk space
also, as silly as they look, seriously consider something like this
the last thing you want is to get home and find something in your trunk has gone through your sub cone

 

Thank you for the links and how not to skimp out on the amp