Single Solo-baric Sub With Bose System 2020 Denali Is Perfect

Rook126 · February 20, 2021

My objective was to have a great sounding audio system by adding a sub to the stock Bose system while retaining some storage under the rear seat. This single 10" Kicker Solo-baric does the job perfectly without requiring a large enclosure. It is a sealed enclosure so the bass is clean and tight. This sub is not the shallow mount version and it was able to fit under the seat in the enclosure.

The amp's gain and crossover settings are set to work perfectly at all volume levels. (No overbearing bass as low volume or lack of bass when it is turned up). I do have a Kicker wired remote bass volume knob at the dash that I can adjust if necessary.

Because of the added sub, I now keep my radio's bass setting at -10. This allows my doors and dash speakers to focus on the mids and highs without premature clipping or distortion at higher volumes. My factory Bose amp is still powering the factory speakers. I have only added a sub amp to the factory system which gets it's audio signal directly from the factory Bose subwoofer speaker wiring. This was accessed from below the center console on the passenger side floor. No special amp bypass wiring or harnesses needed for this install.

This post was meant to show that you can achieve great sound without compromising all your storage space. This was a custom box build out of the garage with ideas taken from the internet so feel free to ask if you have any questions.

bluemonstercali · February 20, 2021

That is super clean and the idea of a double box but keeping storage in awesome!!!. Great job.

kodiakdenali · February 20, 2021

Very nice work!

did you do any drawings of your design? in-progress pictures? this is a project I will take on at some point and just like you, the more information I can absorb prior to my own design the better it will be!

Rook126 · February 20, 2021

1 hour ago, kodiakdenali said:

Very nice work!

did you do any drawings of your design? in-progress pictures? this is a project I will take on at some point and just like you, the more information I can absorb prior to my own design the better it will be!

I initially sketched out the general shape just to figure out how much wood I would need. Half inch MDF works fine for a 10" sub. Held together with Gorilla wood glue and brad nails. Here are some pics from the build so you have an idea of the shape of the bottom plate and how I did the front corners.

kickass audio · February 20, 2021

Your build is really nice! Great job on the enclosure and setup. I wish my 14 had a higher seat height like you get on the crew cabs since I have a DC audio level 3 12 that is too high to fit under the seat. I just threw my box upright on the floor with the passenger side of the bench flipped up. I mounted my Sundown Audio SAX200.4 to the underside of the larger side of the bench seat.

I noticed the same point as you about turning down the bass level on the radio to prevent premature clipping/distortion. I have my bass level set to 3 taps above the lowest level and I can get the volume to go up as high as 4 clicks of the volume knob before it begins to show distortion with my SMD DD-1.

I initially was loving the sound of the factory speakers with the sub but now it seems kind of quiet and I am contemplating upgrading the door and dash speakers with aftermarket speakers and hook them up to my amp for even more power.

Did you run a sound processor or just a high-lo converter? I am running my old Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.2 and it shows a TON of peaks and valleys in the factory EQ band.

L87Powered · February 20, 2021

Nice set-up! I have been thinking of adding a sub myself. You got me thinking...

GS357 S · February 21, 2021

Wow, you are very talented! This is an awesome setup.

TSchevy · February 21, 2021

Incredible! I have 12” Solo-baric collecting dust....

Have you thought about selling these to order????

Rook126 · February 21, 2021

2 hours ago, kickass audio said:

Did you run a sound processor or just a high-lo converter?

I'm not using any signal processor. The Kicker CX amps will accept high or low level input at the same left and right RCA inputs. For my audio signal, I tapped directly to the Bose Sub speaker wire at the subwoofer and then ran that wire to the amp. No high/low converter required. I believe that signal from the Bose sub wire has already been processed/crossed over by the Bose amp so I'm only receiving a low frequency audio signal.

GS357 S - Thanks for the compliments.

TSchevy - I have a 12" solo-baric collecting dust too. I think that would be a tough fit under the seat so I used the 10" that was also collecting dust. I built this as a challenge project and it took a while to complete because there is just not enough time in the world anymore. Sorry, I'm won't be selling these to order.

For anyone who plans on building their own, I did utilize the three mounting bolts from the jack and jack tools to secure the box in place. There are two bolts coming out of the floor on the passenger side and a single bolt on the driver side. I created a bracket by putting a bend in a piece of steel and bolting it to the bottom of the box. If you look carefully at the pic, you will see that the black bracket is recessed flush with the the carpet on the bottom of the box. I created this recessed area with a router and there is a little side hook. This bracket goes to the bolt on the driver side and is tightened down with a nut and washer. This may help keep the box in place in case of a minor forward collision.

The amp rack slides and locks into place from the storage compartment side. I created a track that the amp board slides into. The carpeting around the rack is so tight that it keeps it locked into place so no screws are required. I can easily slide it open if I need to adjust any setting on the amp and then tap it back into place.

Here are a few additional pics for you to study.

lapoolboy · February 21, 2021

Why brown carpet?

Rook126 · February 21, 2021

1 hour ago, lapoolboy said:

Why brown carpet?

LOL, thanks for pointing that out. The interior has some trim, floor mats and leather that is like a dark chocolate brown. I ordered the darkest carpeting I could find and when it arrived I noticed it was more like a creamed mocha coffee. I have since applied some browner dye to it and this made it a shade darker but not dark enough so it now looks like milk chocolate. I may need to blend some black into the brown dye to get a dark chocolate color and hit it one more time. It's easy wipe on, wipe off and let dry with a bottle of Rit dye. Here's a pic of the box after the first dye.

204Denali · February 23, 2021

On 2/20/2021 at 12:39 PM, bluemonstercali said:

That is super clean and the idea of a double box but keeping storage in awesome!!!. Great job.

I second this. That box is well done indeed. Great work.

Rook126 · February 24, 2021

11 hours ago, 204Denali said:

I second this. That box is well done indeed. Great work.

Thanks for the compliments.

I’m working on dying the carpeting to a darker shade of brown to get a better match to to brown interior color. Picked up some black dye to blend with the chocolate brown dye. Will see how it comes out.

This sealed setup is still sounding sweet with music from all genres. You’ve got rock, pop, bass/electronic, country, R&B, and then there is RUSH. I listen to it all. A kick drum sounds and feels like a live kick drum. You feel it in your chest and it is clean without that inaccurate boominess.

After some testing and tweaking, I now keep the bass tone level on the radio set to -12 which is as low as it goes. Amp gain setting is at about 40% on the dial and I have a Kicker volume knob on the dash that stays at 50%. My mid and treble tones on the radio are both set at zero (no increase or decrease). When I turn the main volume to about 70-80% which is loud, there is no distortion or shrilly sounds from the mids or highs. This single 10” sub has more than enough bass for me with the Bose system. I’m more interested in an amazing sounding system on the inside of the truck rather than advertising my sound system to the outside world. Priorities change as you grow older.

If anyone else decides to build a compact sub system like this, I would definitely recommend using a subwoofer like a Solo-baric that is specifically designed to work in very small enclosures. Save some space for storage.