bazooka bass tubes

[SuperHO]

anyone run these? I'm thinking about getting one for my trunk just to add some lightweight sub bass sound. It's either that or a pair of bazooka 10s with an amp. Basically, I want something cheap, lightweight with decent sound. Any recommendations?

 

[kzoosho]

dont do it tim it aint gone sound good. keep the single one you got or get a freeair sub. U wont be happy with the bass tubes. just my .02

 

[HoustinoJillian]

my brother's got one in his tacoma. it sounds alright, but being right behind the seat, sometimes covers up the truck's speakers. they are what they are, cheap bass. not gonna be spectacular but may give ya what you're looking for.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

i say upgrade the stocker to something nice and jsut stay with that. Or add one to the stock location if you dont have one. I havent herd good things about the bass tubes. I love my subs there amazing but the amp and subs weigh so friggin much it slows my car down, it added about 100 lbs to the car. The cars a lot more snappy with the subs in my garage

 

[SASHO91]

After I got out of the whole bass "scene".. I still wanted something that would amplify the music some.

I picked up a combo setup from Pep Boys from Visonik. IIRC it was 80 or so for a 300watt Amp, 10'' sub, and box. I can't complain at all for the price, and that's coming from someone whom had 2 15's in his car(with enough amp to basically power a small apartment). I did have to phase the amp 180 out though when I had the interior in the car, as the sub was mounted in the trunk. I then 'mounted' it behind my seat for some time, and that was plenty loud. Once I pulled the interior, I wired the sub up "correctly" and it still sounds great. It has a great range of sound (haven't tried my dB meter yet to see what she puts out though) and gets the job done easily enough. Anything from Rap/Hip Hop, Country, Rock, Techno/Trance, to classical (yes I listen to classical) and whatever else is on the radio...

Im sure you can find this combo on eBay. As far as the bass tubes go, I have only heard a couple of them. One sounded great (decent mids/highs) and the other not so well.

BTW, my setup only weighs in at 12lbs, wiring included.

EDIT: quick eBay search; this is what im running-
http://cgi.ebay.com/VISONIK-VB1-SUB...oryZ3291QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[JoesSHO]

I've had tubes in 3 cars and one truck, and one setup in my old '95 with a regular Rockford sub box and amp, and I can't say that I preferred one over the other- I think a lot of people get a regular sub/amp setup for fear of being poked by their friends because they don't have massive ass box in the trunk. i.e. "Hahaha! You have a bass tube!" F-that- I'll take 90% of the sound and 90% less of the hassle of owning a box. Then again, I could really care less if someone else is impressed with my system, or if you can hear my twin 15's from 4 blocks away... I'm not 16 anymore.

 

[RStalveyARFF]

I had them, they're a PITA to mount because they come with web straps, then they don't sound very good either.

 

[Armstrong]

PLEASE go over to caraudio.com/forums and educate yourself on car audio before you purchase. bazooka is well known for being one of the worst car audio companies out.

 

[newby92]

do what i just did. i had a spare mtx 6304 4 channel laying around and bought a 10 inch pioneer sub from walmart for 35 bucks. built a 1 cubic foot sealed box in about 10 minutes and for less than $20 (mdf is kinda expensive). i run the amps front channels to the front door speakers and bridge the back channels for the sub. i have a set of infinity kappa components in the doors and the sound quality is amazing. not loud on the outside so my system wont get jacked but def. loud on the inside and shakes your chest when you crank it up. mtx makes some of the best amps out there and even a cheap sub when set up right can respond well.

and total the system only weighs like 35 pounds with the box and amp included. its the best sounding stereo i have ever put together, but i dont like crazy loud bass either. but as far as sound quality goes its amazing.

 

[hawkeye18]

I have pioneers all around and an alpine amp powering two JL 10W1s in a JL ProWedge box. It sounds friggin' awesome. 350W of pure awesome from the trunk, and you can't hear it at all outside unless it's so loud that it's blowing through the trunk seal.

But, for your application I'd recommend that you put an 8" sub into the stock sub enclosure... I have just such a sub (MTX) that I might sell for pretty cheap since it's just layin' around...

 

[Armstrong]

brands you should be looking at


sub: fi audio, resonant engineering, kicker, digital designs, audioque, rd audio, ascendant audio, tc sounds, mach 5 audio, treo, alpine(type r or type x only), sound splinter, atomic

amp: hifonics, kicker, rockford fosgate, cadence, memphis, diamond, us amps, zapco, autotek, profile(for a low budget), soundstream, orion, sundown, alpine, dls, phoenix gold

component speakers: rainbow, mb quart, polk, boston acoustics, hertz, dls, phoenix gold(rsd line only), diamond, alpine(type x only), cdt, focal

that's basically all i can think of off the top of my head. if you're thinking about getting into car audio, please do yourself a favor and get some good equipment.

 

[JoesSHO]

just a bump, Tim's not new to the CA game, I think the point was to get cheap lows. I seriously doubt he will be entering any audio scream-offs with bass tubes.

From the Crutchfield Advisory archives... (.vs a truck box, a hatch box, and a bandpass box)
Original article with details HERE


Bazooka BT1014 10" subwoofer tube

Bazooka's BT1014 is a different animal: a 10" woofer housed in a ported polypropylene cylindrical tube. Originally designed to fit behind the seat in small pickup trucks, the Bazooka tube is known for producing big bass from a relatively small enclosure. Another plus — the tube design eliminates bass "standing waves," the booming distortion created as low frequencies resonate within an enclosure. The down side — more than other designs, the bass tube depends on proper location for best performance. It works best facing into a corner, so you have to experiment a little before mounting it.

The Bazooka is more compact and much lighter than the other three enclosures, so I was curious to see how it would fare in the matchup. Again, I played the reference Buddy Guy cut, then switched from the Kicker ported box to the Bazooka tube. To balance the bass in my system, I faded 2 notches forward, so the Bazooka had just a little more impact than the sealed box. The overall sound of the Bazooka seemed closest to that of the sealed box, surprisingly tight for a ported design. Oddly enough, the Bazooka seemed to be more "invisible" than the other three enclosures — it sounded like my front speakers were suddenly kicking out big bass, not at all like there was a sub in the back of my car.

The kick drum had plenty of impact, and the electric bass stayed well-defined into the upper ranges. Even with the bass-heavy Alpha Blondy cut, the bass stayed tight, focused, and balanced, with very little resonance. The acoustic bass sounded clean, with the string sounds clearly audible. The Bazooka did not have the ultra-heavy impact of the bandpass and ported boxes, and it even seemed a little lighter in the lowest octave than the sealed box — but still plenty loud and plenty fat. I could swear I was hearing more midbass production (even though the low-pass crossover on the amp was set at 80 Hz) than with the other enclosures.

Conclusion: " Punchy" is the first word that comes to mind to describe the BT1014. This bass from this compact tube tied in with my front speakers beautifully. In the past, the rap on the Bazooka tube has been that it sacrificed accuracy to achieve its compact size — well, I sure didn't hear it. With the Bazooka hooked up, my system sounded very big and extremely natural. Whether or not space is an issue in your vehicle, the tube is a great-sounding, user-friendly option.

 

[Armstrong]

if he's looking for cheap, but good equipment, look into mach 5 audio subs and profile amps. way better choices than a bazooka bass tube and probably just as cheap if not cheaper.

 

[DirtSHO]

I have a 10" tube and I have to say it's the best of the pre-fab plastic sub enclosures. The one I have is the 200W amplified version. It's cheap, super-light, easy to take in/out, and has decent sound output compared to the plastic boxes that brands like Infiniti and Kenwood make. It also can be easily expanded with remote bass level controls and such. Just make sure to install it correctly or you'll get lots of buzzing.

I don't think it's fair in comparing pre-fab plastics with constructed boxes made from MDF cause they're designed totally different. In sound-off competitions around here there are cars with constructed tubes made from PVC pipes that sound just as good as traditional box setups.

It's certainly better than the stock setup for sure.

 

[SuperHO]

Yeah, I'm not really a newby when it comes to the car audio game. I've been in it since I was 8 years old (I'm 27 now), and I'm one of the few people on this forum who can identify a Rockford Fosgate Power 1000 simply by looks. I went to my first soundoff when I was 10, and been a basshead ever since. My last system was a single 12" sub in a ported pre-fab enclosure and hit 138.9db using the Gorillaz "Clint Eastwood". Yeah, I kinda know my shit...

However, seeing as how my hearing's getting progressively worse (mostly due to the military, but I'm thinking a competition level audio system in my car ain't helping), I'm wanting to tone things down a tad. Right now, i just want some low end filler, and I'm trying to avoid going with some **** shop brand or something from the JC Whitney catalog. I'm not brand loyal, but I know that in car audio, you get what you pay for.

I might get lucky and be able to get my old system back, but if not, I might buy a pair of Alpine Type R 10"s off a buddy of mine. Then all I gotta do is scare up an amp.

 

[Armstrong]

check out mach 5 audio. i'm telling ya, i've been hearing GREAT things about their products. they're lower budget subwoofers, but they're supposedly GREAT quality for how cheap they are. i believe they're like $75 a piece for a 10". may aswell check their stuff out.