12V powered auto sub-woofer
I spent a long time at Circuit City yesterday waiting for a car stereo to be installed in my fiancee's car. Part of the challenge was that the factory speakers were too small to deliver any low end, so I needed to add a subwoofer to round out the sound. I'm not talking about one of those dual-cone carpeted enclosure pimp-my-ride specials that needs to be powerered by twin 1200-watt amps. I got her a little enclosed tube by a company called Bazooka that has its own built-in amp and thumps out a gentle 50 watts.
But installation of my little thumper and the bigass Kicker is exactly the same. Both need the same wiring kit that connects them directly to the battery and a special subwoofer cable designed to handle low frequencies at high volume. The installation is designed to hold up for the big speaker, and is grossly over-engineered for the little one.
When we went around to the back of the car to see where they'd install it, I spied the 12V power outlet right next to where we were placing the speaker.
"Doesn't anyone make a power adapter kit that plugs right into the 12V outlet instead of having to run heavy cables the entire length of the car?" I asked.
"Nope. You can't get the power you need for big sub-woofers out of the 12V," the tech told me.
"But I don't need that kind of power. Couldn't this outlet power my little subwoofer?"
He wasn't sure, but thought that it probably could. Which still leaves the problem of running a speaker wire to the back, but that's a lot easier (and less costly) than the power kit.
My situation is not unique, I think. Many many cars have the combination of:
- inadequate factory speakers
- 12V outlet in the hatch/trunk/back
- owners who appreciate audio but aren't quite able to be classified as 'enthusiasts,' meaning they will endure some expense and inconvenience to improve their experience, but not much
The Bazooka product that I bought is the only one aimed at this lower end of the market, but even this speaker overshoots many targets, I think. The goal is to find a balance between improved car audio quality and convenience/expense.
A powered 30-50 watt enclosed subwoofer tube (would have to be powered because cars with poor factory speakers usually have underpowered head units as well; but a little bass goes a long way towards improving the sound quality), able to be powered by the 12V outlet (saving the expense/intimidation/install time of the direct-to-battery kit overdesigned for 1200-watt systems), and requiring only a speaker connection were on the market for $100-$150 (including installation), I think it would be seen as a viable alternative to a full system upgrade AND create a whole new market of people not willing to pursue a full upgrade, but not fully satisfied with their current system.
And if auto makers were able to spot and support this trend, that would be advantageous to them. Just as many now include iPod compatibility (ranging from full integration where playlists can be viewed on the head unit and navigation is done through the steering wheel, down to a simple auxiliary jack the iPod plugs into) and Satellite-radio ready functionality, they could also offer 'Audio Upgrade Ready' packages, which would simply entail running a speaker wire to the back where the sub would go, and having a 12V adapter nearby as well, and then adding the product (whoever makes it) to their list of dealer-available upgrades.
