[Johnb]

Hi, recently brought this active subwoofer Pioneer TS-WX300A.
I'd usually wire up a separate amp and sub but thought this would be easier to just add a bit more bass.
The sub has speaker input levels so I took a signal off the oem sub wiring.
Power to battery, earthed and remote to fuse box in boot.
Problem I'm having is this subwoofer doesnt sound any better than the oem sub... can any help?

Thanks.

 

[heylinTTnz]

For starters is it a b&o or bose system? Those speaker levels are usually too high and need a LCi control unit to handle the 80 RMS or so they put out. Is the new sub too quiet, distorted, lacking frequency depth?

 

[Johnb]

Hi,
It's not B&O so assuming its Bose. I've got the mmi 3g.
Sub is too quiet, standard sub is louder.

Thanks.

 

[heylinTTnz]

Hi,
It's not B&O so assuming its Bose. I've got the mmi 3g.
Sub is too quiet, standard sub is louder.

Thanks.

TS-WX300A should have a larger amplifier than the stock system, is it quiet in the cabin but loud in the boot ? or is it like the gain on the new sub isnt set right (assuming youve set the gain levels at the new subwoofer). The Bose sound processing is still in play as well so its likely the sub isnt getting its optimal frequency(ie Bose might be cutting it at 60hz and the Pioneer 12" is loudest at 35-40hz)

Another issues may be the stock sub fires into the cabin, where the aftermarket is in the boot, means you need more sound and pressure to get through the seats and shelf.

I ran a Pioneer Shallow and a powerful class D amp (using B&O output and a LC2i) in the boot of my RS5. and to me it didnt sound as good as factory. Perhaps another option is find a suitable replacement sub to run in factory location something that is built to run on factory amp (ie high senstivity) and has free air type specs.

The B&O sub in the S5 and RS5 can be replaced with such subwoofer (ie the Rockford Prime R2) (see here

)

Gives about a 10% improvement in volume and bass with cleaner rattle free bass.

Short of expensive gear and complexity to by-pass the bose sound processer (pre amp vs post amp) you might be stuck with upgrading the bose sub direct with a suitable 8" that can use what the bose system as able to give it.