O.K. I got my stealthbox installed today and it is awesome! If you are looking for an easy solution to the subwoofer problem, this is it. The box comes with a 10" sub that seems just perfect for this little car. When installed in the boot it fits perfect and doesn't look terribly out of place. I also installed an amp from JL along with new 6.5" JL component speakers in the front (the rears are now disconnected) and the sound is just unbelievable, even with the factory radio and CD Changer. The stealthbox is new, and pobably not on JL's web site yet, but they do have them.
Check this out when you can!

 

Any chance for some pics?

 

i've been waiting for this too!
how expensive is it?
which jl amp do you have too?
i'm really jealous! i need bass!:D

 

>>i've been waiting for this too!
>>how expensive is it?
>>which jl amp do you have too?
>>i'm really jealous! i need bass!:D
As soon as this old guy can figure out how to do it, I'll post some pics. but, if you look around on this forum I think Dvertress did post some pics, this is where I got the idea.
I have a 300/4 amp and XR650-CSI component speakers. I don't know how much each component sells for, but I paid less than $1,000 for the whole system professionally installed by Audio Excellence, a local high-end stereo shop. :smile:

 

Hey Mardav, where did you purchase your stealthbox? Also, do you have specs like the freq. range and power handling?

 

nice nice nice!

 

Been there, done that!

-Alpine CDA-7894 CD-R/RW, MP3, cd changer
-XM Radio
-JL Audio XR525-CSi 5 1/4 front component speakers and tweets
-JL Audio XR650-CXi 6 1/2s replacing the stock 6x9s
-JL Audio 10W7-3 10inch subwoofer in custom box
-JL Audio 300/4 (powers all except sub) and 500/1 (for sub) amps under 4inch false floor in trunk

 

>>Hey Mardav, where did you purchase your stealthbox? Also, do you have specs like the freq. range and power handling?
My local JL dealer, I am not a stereo expert, but the sub is a JL Audio 10W3, and they have the specs you want on their web site. I know the sub will handle a lot more power than I am using because the stereo shop really wanted to put in two amps, a 250 watt one just for the sub and the 300 for the other speakers, but it was too much for my tender ears.

_________________
<img src=http://www.liquid2k.com/peace108/mini3.gif>

 

>>Been there, done that!
>>
>>-Alpine CDA-7894 CD-R/RW, MP3, cd changer
>>-XM Radio
>>-JL Audio XR525-CSi 5 1/4 front component speakers and tweets
>>-JL Audio XR650-CXi 6 1/2s replacing the stock 6x9s
>>-JL Audio 10W7-3 10inch subwoofer in custom box
>>-JL Audio 300/4 (powers all except sub) and 500/1 (for sub) amps under 4inch false floor in trunk
Sounds Great! You are much more advanced than me! I'm what you call "audio challenged"

 

This is a link to an old thread with pictures of a prototype stealthbox.

Mardav, is this what yours looks like?

Link

 

Well, I can't figure out how to get my pics on the post, but...I did upload three to the member MINIs Gallery "new MINI" photos #1025, 1026, 1027. This is my first attempt at digital photography, don't laugh! It doesn't look like it in the pics but the color is right and the material matches the interior very closely. I hope you can make sense from the pics.

_________________
<img src=http://www.liquid2k.com/peace108/mini3.gif>

 

To post a picture from the member gallery:

-Click on the picture to view it from the thumbnail in the gallery
-Once it's showing, right click on the image and select "properties"
-Copy the "address"
-When posting, use the "image" button to bring up a small sub-window
-Paste in the "address" of the image.

Voila!

So...question for you....what's with the vinyl? Is that covering an amp on the floor? Did it come with the stealthbox, or was that a custom bit done by your installer?

R

 

Thanks, now I know how to post pics!...sorry for any confusion. the stealthbox is on the left, it looks sorta like a spare tire might be underneath instead of the nifty subwoofer. The amp rack was not included it was built by Audio Excellence here in Orlando, they do a lot of custom work and really rose to this challenge. what you can't see in the pic is that the amp lights show through the bars on the left side of the MINI logo! It really is hard to believe this was not originally part of the car when you see it.
There is also a stealth box that mounts on the right (but that's where the factory CD changer goes) if you prefer or don't have a cd changer there. If you put in both boxes you could run two subs.
As far as the sound, it really sounds as good as most systems I have heard (much better than most actually) but bear in mind I don't crank up the bass so much that you lose the mids and highs, so if you just want to blow the windshield out, then use two stealthboxes (left and right of course) with one or two dedicated amps and there you go!

 

I've checked with two jl audio authorized shops here in Minnesota and have been told that the stealthbox won't be available until March! Maybe they don't deliver subwoofers in the snow?????? I'm bummed.

 

Hello Guys,
I'm the guy who originally posted those Stealthbox pictures a couple months ago. I work for JL Audio and did much of the design work on the Mini Stealthbox. Those were pictures of the prototype. As you can see in the pictures of Mardav's installation, the enclosure has a pretty large recess in it's side compared to the prototype. This was done to tune the enclosure to the Mini's interior. The prototypes were built to the woofer parameters, but we found when testing in the car that it performed even better in a slightly smaller enclosure volume. So the recess was added to the original mold design.
Mardav was very helpful to JL Audio in allowing us to do some of our testing in his car. For that reason, we were able to provide him with a pre-production enclosure. It is, however identical to the production parts that will be available very soon. We expect to have the passenger side model available first. (I know, we should have done the driver's side first, and I do apologize) and it should be available soon after the first of the year. The Driver's side should follow soon after. Pricing is expected to be in the $500.00 range, although final pricing won't be set until the first production models are available.
I hope I've answered some of your questions, and I thank you for your interest in Stealthbox.
Sincerely,
Don Vertrees

 

How is the stealthbox secured in the MINI? Is it easy to remove if you need to get behind it, say to get at the taillights?

 

>>How is the stealthbox secured in the MINI? Is it easy to remove if you need to get behind it, say to get at the taillights?
It is fastened to the footman loops (that the jack is hooked to) and is easy to remove by folding the seat down which gives access to the fastners. Even the battery is accessible in my installation within about two minutes.

 

Very cool setup

 

Don Vertrees, can you fill me in on the driver model, Qtc, and in-car F3? I'm assuming an acoustic-suspension enclosure. Is the stealthbox constructed of JL's usual fiberglass w/MDF baffle? According to the one pic posted above, I'm not at all impressed with the fit, or "stealth" of the enclosure. Did you guys run out of ideas?

If you're at CES, good luck wowing the crowds; I won't make it this year, going to the NAIAS instead.

Just for your entertainment, I attended UM and majored in Audio Engineering while it was still Acoustics-based. I tried to intern at JL, but was rudely brushed off. No hard feelings, but no respect earned either

 

Greetings Ryephile,
Sorry for your apparently bad experience with JL Audio. Having worked for JL now for about 7 years, I can tell you the people there are very well intentioned. I hope what you saw as rudeness was actually more hurriedness, or misinterpretation.
Our method for designing Steathbox enclosures includes a lot more "seat of the pants" testing and very little actual measurements such as in-car F3. Typically our enclosures go through two or three revisions in order to tune the enclosure for it's intented application. The Mini Stealthbox houses a single 10W3 D2 woofer in a sealed enclosure measuring aproximately .59 cu. ft. As I'm sure you'll notice this is particularly small for the 10W3 according to parameters, but was needed in order to tune the enclosure to the Mini interior. The material used is purely fiberglass as is the case with all our Stealthbox enclosures except the BMW 3-series, which is rotomolded thermoplastic. Our old Camaro enclosure was the only one that used a MDF baffle, and that has now been changed in order to accommodate higher production volumes.
I hope your experience with our engineering department won't keep you from corresponding with me further about our enclosures. I would be very interested in talking to you further about your ideas in regard to in-car enclosure tuning. If you like, you can reach me at dvertrees@jlaudio.com.
Sincerely,
Don Vertrees

 

The JL website says the MINI box uses a 10W3v2-d2. I believe that is a dual 2ohm sub. The final impedance is listed as 3ohms. I don't know much about subs and ohms ( or life in general :smile: ) so that is confusing me. How is that thing wired? And how would I connect my amp? My amp will put out 2X100 @ 4ohms, 2X150 @ 2ohms or, when I bridge my amp for mono it will put out 1X300 @ 4ohms.

 

Sorry, the JL Audio website is in error. The 10W3 woofer is available in dual 2, 4, and 6 ohm configurations. The version used in the Mini Stealthbox is the dual 2 ohm. With the amplifier you discribed, you could wire the subwoofer in the bridged mode which would give you a 4ohm bridged load...which would produce a max. of 300 watts...which is exactly the conservative power rating of the woofer. I think you'd be very pleased with the performance achieved with this set-up.
Thanks,
DAVertrees

 

How much does the Stealthbox go for?

 

I believe the list price is $500 USD.

 

what would be a good cheap amp to power the stealthbox?