[Lord Velveeta]

Hey folks, quick questions here...

I am about to add a sub to my '09 escape. It has the basic stock radio with sirius.

I do not want to change the head unit and speakers as I am very satisfied with their performance. I have very sensitive hearing so I am not looking to make the system super loud (heck I barely ever crank the volume past the 1/4 to 1/3 mark). What I do want to do is bring in the lower end a bit as it's... well... inexistant.

To do that, I am thinking of getting the Infinity Basslink self powered sub. It's small, and from everything I've read up on seems to be exactly what I am looking for. A friend has one in his minivan and I was quite impressed with it's performance.

Now my question... am I better off hooking this thing up to the speaker outputs (either with it's own speaker level inputs, or a line level converter), or should I use the line level off the sub connector on the back of the radio? I've heard that the Escape head unit filters out the low end on the speaker outputs to protect the speakers, any truth to this?

Thanks!

Pat

 

[kkreit01]

For cost and "ease of installation", I'd try the speaker level inputs first (you'd need them for the LOC anyway). It's easiest to grab the rears, but best to tap into the front (so the sub fades with the front speakers). I installed a powered sub when I had my Fusion, and the speaker inputs worked fine. If you have noise or abnormal sound, you can always buy (switch to) a LOC. On some powered subs, you won't need a separate remote turn-on if you use speaker inputs (another plus). I'm unsure if the Basslink has this feature?

 

[Lord Velveeta]

Hiho!

Thanks for the advice, I'll probably try with the speaker level tap at first, thats how my friend is set up and it sounds amazing. It's also the simplest way to do it. I guess I can tap the rears in the loom below the front doors?

The Infinity does turn itself on/off via the speaker tap without need to monitor a power lead.

Pat

 

[kkreit01]

For the shortest run, you could tap into the rear speakers by the B-pillar (on each side) -- before they go up into the rear doors. Wherever is fine. I'm unsure if you were referring to the loom under the scuff plate by the front doors? That would wor. On my Fusion, I tapped right behind the stock head unit. But, that's for sure not the easiest on the Escape.

 

[Lord Velveeta]

Well, the job is done...

I installed the Infinity Basslink by tapping the rear door speakers. Ran a 10ga wire from the battery to the back (instructions demand a 12ga wire, I figure 10ga gives me a safe margin without being overkill).

My first impression is HOLY COW! This thing kicks. I was not expecting it to kick this hard for such a small unit. It completely changes the sound of the stock system. I tried it out with one of my Blue Man Group CD's (LOTS of drums) and was definitely pleasantly surprised. It's obviously not an insane "rattle the next 3 cars at a red light" kick arse system, but the sound is clean.

I'll take pics tomorrow, it's a pretty clean install.

Pat