Bazooka RS8A - Bass from very little space
Written: Apr 07 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent Bass in a compact enclosure
Cons: can not think of any
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| dfordham's Full Review: Bazooka RS8A Car Subwoofer |
Most people will agree that the factory radio and speakers in a car is not that good. The treble is moderately detailed but lacks extension and clarity and the bass is usually muddy. Of course reproducing audiophile quality sound in a car is daunting task. The radio and speakers have to overcome road noise along with the other noises emanating from the car. This is where the Bazooka bass tube comes in.
I drive a 1995 Ford F-150 Lightning (read my review of this truck for more information on it) and the bass from my factory speakers was lacking. I did a lot of research trying to figure out the best way to add good quality bass to my system without breaking my wallet. I looked at buying an amplifier and some 10-in. subs and building or buying a pre-made box for them, but the price was more than I could handle at the time. I also looked at the RS8A Bazooka bass tube because it already had a built in amplifier and the price for it was a little less than buying a separate amp and some 10-in subs. Plus the Bazooka bass tube has a very compact design and for those of you who have a 1995 Ford F-150 standard cab truck, you know that there is not much room behind the seats. So I went to a couple of car audio stores and listened to the Bazooka tubes. I was very impressed with the sound but still curious as to how it would sound in my truck. Needless to say, I bit the bullet and bought an RS8A Bazooka tube and have enjoyed it thoroughly!
Likes:
Compact design: The Bazooka fits nicely behind my driver’s seat and is held in place with supplied tie down straps.
Installation: The installation was extremely easy. All I had to do was run a power cable from my battery, connect the ground wire to the chassis, and run the remote turn on lead and RCA patch cord from my CD player to the Bazooka tube.
Sound: The instructions that came with the Bazooka tube describe how to tune the bass to your liking. The closer the tube is to the wall of the vehicle the tighter the bass, the further away from the wall of the vehicle the looser the bass. As an aspiring Audiophile I like tight clean bass, so I positioned the tube closer to the wall of my truck. The result is very impressive. The bass is not over powering (you will not disturb the people sitting next to you in traffic) yet is just enough to add depth and clarity to the music. The bass is very musical. You can hear definite changes in the notes and tonal qualities of the bass being played.
Versatility: The RS8A is an older design (the RS8A-hp replaces it) that utilizes an 80-watt amplifier driving a 4-ohm 8-in speaker. One of the great things about this design is that if I ever want more bass I can purchase a passive 8-in Bazooka tube and power it with the 80-watt amplifier from the Bazooka tube I have now. This drops the load to the amplifier from 4-ohms to 2-ohms and bumps the wattage rating of the amplifier from 80-watts to 120-watts. Not bad for a modest investment. Also, the RS8A has a built-in low pass crossover that is variable from 60Hz to 120Hz and a built-in volume control knob. This helps blend the bass from the Bazooka tube to the other speakers in the system.
Dislikes:
This is my second RS8A Bazooka tube. The amplifier in my first Bazooka tube shorted internally the second day I had it. That was very depressing, but I was able to get the whole Bazooka tube replaced and I have not had any trouble with my second Bazooka tube.
Also, my truck has a loud exhaust system on it and sometimes the exhaust drowns out the bass from the Bazooka tube. Although this is annoying sometimes, getting a quieter exhaust is not an option if you know what I mean.
All in all, I have really enjoyed the RS8A Bazooka tube. I would recommend it to anyone with a truck who desires to have a little more bass kick. The fit and finish of the tube is very nice and you still have space behind your seat for other things.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dfordham
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 3 members
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