JBL Basspro Hub - 11" powered subwoofer system, Black

I installed this sub in my brand new Lexus Rx and it is amazing. The installer did a nice job hiding all the wires and such this looks almost like factory install.

Very impressive sound from a single sub!This sub has a great sound, and can reproduce a large range of lows. I was impressed with how low it could go. Love the controller. We hooked it up to speaker outputs initially, and there was too much engine noise. Added a high level to low level converter, and used shielded RCAs for input, and that did the job. Sounds fantastic now.

First off, this isn't going to rival a decent 10" ported box and amp, or rattle your clothes and bones like a couple of 12s. It is going to give you ample low end that will shake your mirrors, and give you a bit of that bass you feel with excellent rolling low end.I wanted an easy install, out of sight sub solution to add much needed low end in my old Outback without losing cargo space--this ticked all of those boxes perfectly. This is solid on hip-hop/rap tracks, outstanding for rock, and balanced for other tracks such as folk, classical, etc.Clean and tight attack when properly "tuned"/balanced, and thunderous when you want it to be. The remote is a bit large but fantastic controls, especially if you gamble with the sonic variances of certain music platforms that aren't leveled.Included tie down will likely need cut down, but that is an easy adjustment. I couldn't be happier. It won't shake your bones to dust, and I didn't want that. This sub is fantastic for what it is. Fit perfect into my 15" full size spare. Ran true 10 AWG wiring and 30A fuse off battery (don't buy a cheapo kit). Runs flawlessly.Update: I see a lot of nice dynamat or similar sound deadening installs. I eliminated all trunk space rattle with a foam puzzlemat square under my spare with a whole cut in center for tie down pass through. Not as elegant, but super cheap, easy, and effective. Some VERY minimal rattle outside in the rear of the roof.

I installed this in a 2023 Mazda CX5 six-speaker non-Bose. Everything was relatively straight forward... power cable run through the grommet in the CX5 firewall, ground cable to one of the 2nd row seat bolts. I struggled through several YouTube videos to get signal to the Basspro... 2023 CX5s do not have a harness that is compatible with the PAC line-out converter, so I had to posi-tap the rear speakers at the B-pillar in order to get signal. Even these were a bit of a wishing-well toss as I had conflicting information about what color wires to tap, but somehow I guessed correctly on the first try. Remote-turn-on via an Add-a-fuse on the Power Window 7.5 amp fuse slot. There was a learning curve to removing the trim panels for the CX5, but if you take your time, google EVERYTHING and read EVERYTHING about it from every source you can find, you won't have too much trouble.Now to the performance of the Basspro Hub. It comes with this great little wired remote control... I have mine going under the rear seat and across the rear passenger transmission hump before tucking under the trim of the center console and coming out in the small storage well underneath the CX5 climate control knobs... this remote is great to play with but I found such widely varying performance in the CX5 that I began to have my doubts if it would every sound good. For me... a bass guitar note should be the same volume level whether it is a low note or a high note... I don't want one note to be a loud boom and the others to be quiet. The Basspro Hub was very frustrating initially. Tapping into the rear speakers (only option I had) via Kicker KISLOC line-out converter left me with a setup where A) the CX5 factory head-unit's bass-level adjustment effected not only the door speakers but also the sub, and B) the front/rear fade adjustment also effected the sub. So I had to coordinate factory head-unit settings with the Basspro Hub remote control settings to get everything right. Here's where I landed: CX5 head unit: Bass all the way up, treble half way up, front/rear/left/right balance dead in the center. Basspro Hub remote: Gain and Bass Boost knobs at 9:00, Crossover at 1:30, Phase button pushed IN.With these settings, combined with the head-unit settings I described, the Basspro Hub sounds perfectly integrated with the door speakers. Top notch!

I did not take pics as my cargo area is full of work stuff. Let me preface this review by saying the extra $ spent on the JBL appears to have been worth it. Car: 2014 Ford Edge Sport - Full Size Spare tire with Sony 10 Speaker Sync System and factory Sub Woofer. I could not get a clear picture of what would be needed to install this unit in the car so I paid a local installer. Couple of items: 1) you have to turn the spare tire over 2) the existing bolt to secure the factor spare tire will not work with this unit - it’s too short 3) the JBL unit would have required that you remove the factory bolt from under the car which entails dropping the dual exhaust to do so with all the said, it does not FIT out of the box - The JBL does FIT inside the spare tire. Because of the way the cargo floor is designed, it causes the cargo floor to RISE in the center. For a quick fix, I purchased a pool noodle and cut it to raise the entire floor about 1/2-3/4” and purchased a hex nut to extend the factory bolt to stabilize the tire and JBL unit in cargo area. Couple of great benefits: 1) the JBL until can pull the signal directly off the Factory Subwoofer signal without having any 3rd party DSP converters and 2) it should be a straight forward install for the DIY/Hobby/Enthusiast. After all the challenges figuring out how to make this work the Subwoofer is stealthy, convenient and really fills out the lows for this factory system. I keep most of the dials turned down to avoid distortion and the bass setting in SYNC is turned 1 notch below 1/2 way. Does more than I expected. I am very pleased with the purchase but wished it fit flush in the spare to avoid all the additional hassle. I’m glad I added the unit to my Daily Driver.