[avh]

I just ordered a Rockville SS8P 400w 8" Slim Under-Seat Active Powered Car/Truck Subwoofer Sub. I'm planning on swapping the original speaker and it should fit in the same location. I will be using the trunk cigarette port which provides 15 Amps to power the active speaker. The port should be off when the car is off and prevent battery drain.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B079PRCP9W/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It should arrive in a week, I will keep you posted.

I'm hoping not to cut any wires in case I want to put the original speaker back. Does anyone know the connector type for the original Meridian trunk speaker? It has 4 pins.

 

[avh]

I did turn the music on and tested with and without the trunk speaker. As others have said there was not noticeable difference. You can barely hear some bass if you put your ear on the Meridian plastic box. IMHO is just a driver wrapped in a plastic enclosure that is not receiving enough power. They tried getting more out of it by bringing some of the driver back side air around the right side of the plastic where there is an opening. I left the driver out of the car, not worth installing it back until the new one arrives. You will need 10 mm socket driver with an extension to remove the screws. I will post some pictures in a bit.

 

[avh]

On the car side (female) it shows KUM 18. I might just disconnect the wire from the speaker driver if I don't find anything.

 

[avh]

Apparently the subwoofer will be delivered Sunday by FedEx. I will try stuffing the cables careful inside the female connector for now for testing. I was not expecting that finding a matching connector would be such a hassle in this day and age.

 

[avh]

I will be testing a Rockville SS8P active subwoofer in a few days, the progress is being discussed on this thread.

EV6 speaker upgrade recommendations

Hi all - I just got my EV6 GT line in Snow White Pearl last week and it is AWESOME !!! Love it in almost every way and have had no software issues so far. However the sound system really is a disappointment. I came from a BMW 3 series with upgraded B&O speakers that were great. I've read the...

www.kiaevforums.com

I'm only trying to improve the bass a little bit by retrofitting it on the same location, I'm planning on using the cigarette stile socket in the trunk to power it.

 

[avh]

If anyone is curious, this is what's inside the Meridian subwoofer box. The driver appears to have 2 coils and is passive.

 

[avh]

I received the Rockville SS8P active subwoofer today, and I did a dry test. It fits perfectly in the original subwoofer location with spare room around it. I'm planning on installing a wood board to support it.
I removed the old subwoofer driver and cut the wires close to the speaker. I soldered them to the wires that come with the subwoofer and used heat shrink insulation. I don't think I will be installing the old one back but if I need to I can solder the harness back to the driver. I needed the extra wire to reach the car connector. I will share pictures when I'm done in a few days.
As far as power goes, I'm using the utility cigarette stile socket on the driver side of the trunk that can provide up to 180w. If I ever need to use it, I can just unplug the subwoofer.
The good part is that the Rockville active subwoofer delivers, is not going to rock your neighbors house, but is on par with my factory Bose subwoofer I had on my Mazda 6 Grand Touring. I could see the rearview mirror vibrate a little bit at high volume. So far the only issue seem to be the cigarette plug that came with the 10 Amp fuse. I manage to blew it when I turned the Bass gain more than 50% lucky I have a spare fuse. 50% is enough for me. So far I'm happy with my $99 subwoofer.

 

[avh]

Looking forward to the pictures, regarding the fuse, I am not surprised as the Active Sub has a 15A fuse so would assume it will draw a little over 10 amps and why its blowing the fuse.

You are absolutely correct, the subwoofer fuse is15 A, I should of pay more attention, I ordered one of these that has a beefier cable Amazon.com: Carviya 12V 24V Heavy Duty 16 AWG 15A 20A Male Plug Cigarette Lighter Adapter Power Supply Cord with 1 Meter 3.3 Feet Cable Wire For Car Inverter,Air Pump, Electric Cup : Automotive

 

[avh]

I made some progress yesterday, I cut a 21-1/14 oak board and I've bent the subwoofer brackets 90 degrees to wrap around it. The board is 3/4 inch thick and 7-1/4 inch wide, that is 1/2 narrower that I need, might need to add a 1/2 inch strip on one side. If I push the subwoofer towards the rear of the car there is enough space to access the cables and the adjusting knobs on the unit. Sound quality is very good, comparable with a Bose subwoofer.
Some could argue there are better subwoofers, I wanted something that provides a decent sound, that would fit in the original car cavity for an affordable price.
I'm not sure if Kia can do anything to increase the subwoofer power, it's pretty small at 5 inch diameter to start with. I would be shocked if they don't know about it, anyone with one ear in good working condition can hear there is no bass in this car.

 

[avh]

I ended up buying a wider poplar board from HD and made a custom board that is 8 inch wide and 21-1/4 inch long. I replaced the bolts with longer ones and I installed the board to test fitting. Poplar wood is very light and easy to work with.

Then I attached the speaker to the board using the screws provided with the subwoofer. As I mentioned before I bended the brackets to 90 degrees.

And finally installed the board with the subwoofer mounted on it in the trunk. I used blue Loctite on the bolts. I soldered the cable that came with the unit to the harness I removed from Meridian subwoofer. I used heat shrink insolation.

There is enough space to plug in the cables in the subwoofer and to adjust the bass, filters and volume knobs.
What I like about this subwoofer is that Rockville has the auto-on and auto-off feature, they said in the manual that it should turn on and off automatically when there is no signal on the high level input. I used the cigarettes plug in the trunk that shuts down when the car is turned off.

I've noted that at high volumes the wood board vibrates a bit, the subwoofer brackets are pretty flimsy. I'm considering adding silicone between the board and the active subwoofer to minimize distortions.
So far I'm pretty happy with the results, and the bass is strong enough that I could reduce the bass level in the infotainment system from 10 to 8.

I might add a few more pictures later, I finished the project past midnight and I just realized I don't have a picture with the subwoofer wired.

 

[avh]

You

I was just curious. I think If I went that route I would plug one into the 12v in the back and I believe there is a 12v in the front. if so not sure if you can have both working at the same time but again just a thought exercise, lol.

Each subwoofer would take up to 15 Amps, battery drain could become a problem. People that install large subwoofers sometimes need to add a secondary or upgrade the 12v battery. I'm also not sure how you can wire the input, in parallel or in series for 2 units?

My plan was to order one subwoofer, install it temporarily and test. I really like the sound and for me one subwoofer is enough. I was also looking to buy more premium brands like Pioneer or Boss, and I was disappointed that all other brands would offer a plastic enclosure for more than twice the money, for this size.

I had a lot of fun listening to loseless waw files playing from a USB stick on my way to work and back today. I think I've heard some tunes that I missed before. I feel that the Meridian sound system is pretty good and I prefer the Surround mode. I just cannot explain how the sound engineers that designed it missed the obvious weak bass. I'm glad there is an easy fix.

 

[avh]

These official videos from Rockville might answer some of everyone's questions, they mention them in the manual because Who reads manuals these days? How to Set Up Your Subwoofers, Car Amplifiers, Powered Subwoofers, and TROUBLESHOOTING on Vimeo

 

[avh]

You have to login to watch this video.

I was able to watch them without a login. I don't have an account for Vimeo.

 

[avh]

@avh Can you upload a picture of how you did the wiring maybe?

Also did you order it from prime?

I removed the original speaker driver from the plastic enclosure and cut the wires close to it. The car cable is pretty short and you will need most of the speaker cable. Then I pulled the harness out of the Meridian subwoofer. I soldered the 4 wires to corresponding harness that comes with the Rockville active subwoofer. Then I bought a 15 Amp cigarette plug with a 3 ft wire and I soldered these to the the power input of the subwoofer cable. I used heat shrink insolation. Red wires go to + and the black wires go to -, these are clearly marked on the subwoofer.

Yes I do have Amazon prime and I dropped them a good review. The picture does not show much because all the cables are wrapped together.

 

[avh]

This is what i get when i click the link

View attachment 5976

Laws in UK might require you to create an account to prove your age. Or you could try using a proxy. In US does not require a login.

 

[avh]

@avh Can you upload a picture of how you did the wiring maybe?

Also did you order it from prime?

I used the wiring diagram in the manual that came with the subwoofer. High level input on page 5.

 

[avh]

Normally nothing over 15amps.

The port cap has a label that reads 180W which corresponds to 15 Amps I believe. I was using the subwoofer for a few days at high volume and the fuses are intact. In my case there are 3 fuses: car, cable and amplifier. All 15 Amps.

 

[avh]

I left the cigarette port in case I need it to power anything else like the compressor if I get a flat tire. That short cable exposed does not bother me.

 

[avh]

You are welcome. I turned the infotainment bass down to 7 and the active subwoofer about half way as it came from the factory.
Enjoy your system, I find that I spend more time in my car after upgrading the subwoofer.

 

[avh]

Hi and thanks for the great instructions. I am just a bit worried about the power supply solution, is it safe to power a sub from the 12v socket? Ive read somewhere that its not rated for that type of power but maybe the 10 kicker is not big enough to cause issues?

The trunk socket is rated for 15 Amps. The Rockville 8 inch has a 15 Amps fuse as well. Anything larger than this could blow some fuses.

I did some testing with a 10 Amps fuse installed inside the cable socket and it burned out. No issues so far with 15 Amps fuses. I use a 15 Amps rated cable with a built-in fuse, the amp has a fuse and the car has one. I can say that I'm triple protected