2008 WRX Infinity BassLink 200?

[point3]

Hello,

Does anybody have any experience putting Infinity BassLink 200W powered subwoofer in the trunk of 2008 WRX Sedan?

I have stock stereo system installed (w/ tweeters), I'm pretty satisfied with sound quality, but bass output sucks. I'm aware that my wrx is pre-wired for subaru subwoofer, however, I would like to put infinity unit into the trunk.

Does anybody have any idea of how to re-use existing wiring?

Thanks!

[MainFrame]

I don't have first hand experience with the Infinity unit, but it's not really different from anything else.


First off, you're not going to get the greatest sound quality out of the factory HU, period. Your best bet is to go aftermarket. Then you can just use the sub outs on the back of the HU and run RCA cables to your amplifier.


If you're dead set on keeping the factory HU then you will need to install a line level converter. You can do this by tapping into the speaker outputs on the back of your HU. I would go with the rear outs since the speaker is going in your trunk. Then you will need to run a fused power cable(4 gauge should be enough) from your battery, through the grommet in the firewall behind the clutch, then down the drivers side of the car under the door sills, and into the trunk. It would be easy to run your remote wire from your HU in the same place at the same time. Then find a good place to put your ground(closer to the amp the better), drill a hole directly through the body of the car, sand the paint away from around the hole, and screw a bolt into it to secure your ground. Then it's just a matter of running RCA cables from your line level converter to your amp, and adjusting the gain..



Existing wiring isn't going to be sufficient to run an aftermarket sub.

[ralph958]

I had a Basslink in my RX8 . It produces alot of bass . It's quite impressive. It was a hatchback so the bass would be louder.
I hooked mine up to my rear speakers directly to the speaker inputs on the basslink (you don't need to use a preamp line adapter) also the basslink says to hook up all four speakers into it. (you only need two). I even tapped into the accessory socket on my RX8 for the main voltage. (I just tied the remote turn on lead to this also since my socket was switched). It all worked just fine. Lots of bass !! Just be sure that you get the polarity right on the speaker inputs or the basslink will sound like crap. I still have mine if you are interested in it. I'll make you a good deal !!

[point3]

Hello,

Well... I would like to keep the factory head unit. It does everything I want it to do. It plays mp3s, radio reception is pretty good, plus, it is being very responsive to the steering wheel controls. I heard a lot of stuff about these adapters, which I need to use if I switch to after-market HU. I can save a ton of $$$ and a lot of possible headache with that stuff if I just keep the factory HU.


I'm totally against of cutting any wires from any speakers, doesn't matter where they are located, either on the back of the head unit or on the back speakers. Car comes PRE-WIRED for subwoofer. I do realize that after-market sub will draw more power than wiring was designed for, that's why I want to re-use existing signal wiring only. Separate power line (right from the battery) will be ran to power the trunk sub, may be I didn't make myself clear in the initial post.

I guess, at this point, my question is, does anybody have any experience of installing any subs the way I explained the design? Does anybody have any scanned installation/service manuals from the factory sub? Did anybody install any amps using existing wiring for sound while using totally new power line?

[MainFrame]

I never heard of anyone doing it that way, but I don't see why you couldn't. All you will have to do is identify which of the wires going to the factory sub actually carry the sound, and if they're line level or speaker level. Then hook them up, or run them into a line level converter and use RCAs like I described before.


I may be wrong, but I vaguely remember the OEM sub wiring being tapped into the rear speaker outs from the factory.


I would take a look at it for you, but I ripped out the factory sub wiring long ago, lol.



There's no need to worry so much about cutting wires. The car is prewired very poorly. I eventually replaced all of the car's original stereo wiring. Don't forget, they put these things together as cheaply as possible. If they can save $3.50 per car by using crappy wiring that adds up to a lot of extra profit when they've sold 250,000+ units.

[economatic]

I have the Infinity Basslink but I'm running it with a JVC HU using the sub output. Considering it is only about $170 online it is decent but I know there have been some reliability problems with them. I'm on about 6 months with mine and no problems yet.

I did have a different sub hooked up to factory HU (old school 8'' RF in a Kenwood tube enclosure). It had a decent amount of bass for my preferences but the factory HU is awful. If you can get past the fact that the highs and mids from it are ridiculously substandard, when you hook up a sub you learn that the bass it provides is not linear with the volume level. That is, the higher the volume the more bass it loses. It is really annoying because when you drive on the highway and have to turn up the volume, you'll have to turn up the bass as well...when you slow down or stop at a light, all you hear is bass.

As for the wiring of a Basslink, you can just use the speaker level inputs that come with it. In fact, that is ideal as you won't have to run a turn on lead. Since you only need a signal, just get high quality wire taps, e.g. Positaps seem to work well and do minimal damage to the tapping wire, and you'll save yourself any potential headaches. I can't imagine who would ever need to CUT a wire for such a simple installation.