rgathright's Full Review: Pyramid PW677 Car Subwoofer
You have to look at the following variables when shopping for a replacement factory subwoofer: power rating, frequency response, mounting depth and durability. The Pyrmamid PW677X 6.5" subwoofer meet most of these conditions and made listening to music in my Jeep an enjoyable experience again. I was able to mount the speaker with plenty of clearance, redrill the mounting screws and silicone seal the speaker in less than 10 minutes. If you are in the market for a speaker of this size read on and consider getting one today!
What's in the box? The speaker comes wrapped in protective plastic and resting on a protective cardboard frame in the box. Underneath you will find warranty information, instruction manual and a template for building a custom enclosure if you so choose. The speaker itself has a silver plastic cone surrounded by a thick rubber material to give it enough strength to handle the lowest pulsing notes.
Frequency Response My only place to test this speaker was the factory enclosure which restricts the sound output by pointing at the drivers leg. None the less, I had a hard time vocals through the speaker. For example,listening to the Wallflowers song One Headlight you can only hear the drums and some guitar through the speaker. However, the deep bass found on the Metallica CD: Load can be heard throughout and is a joy to crank up.
Disabled Bass? Yes, I am accusing Pyramid of poor speaker cradle construction! The frame can be seen in the picture of the speaker. A distinct pattern will appear as a mini-ellipse shape. To fill in this cutout, you get a cut section from the solid metal section of the frame. This implies the frame alone could supply enough metal to fill in these cutouts! Basic music theory tells us that the fewest restrictions on air generate the most sound. For example, whistle with your hand in front of your face. Then pull your hand away, the sound will travel further. A rather simplistic explanation, but it leads me to the conclusion that the Pyramid PW677X has disabled their speaker to the point that its bass capabilities are reduced by 50% (the sum of the area that could still be cutout from the frame). I am not a speaker engineer, but I encourage you to look at the design of other speakers on the market and make your own conclusions from this discussion.
How to replace a Jeep TJ factory subwoofer First, get yourself a set of star drive sockets. You will need these to remove the center console and subwoofer box. Remove the coffeeholder mats front and rear of the console. Use the proper size star drive to remove the bolts found underneath. The console is now only attached to your Jeep TJ by the electrical cable tail. Carefully lift the whole unit upwards and find the bundle of wires, a plug will be holding them in place. Use the thin blade of a 3" knife to lift the plastic plug lock as you unplug. Now take the center console to a work area and disassemble. You will find two metal locking washer clips acting as bolts, pry these off since they are not necessary. Once you have the factory woofer unit removed, unbolt the woofer and strip the wires of one channel of its audio feed. I was not brave enough to test if the speaker could be run in parallel, so you would be best to just tape the other leads with electrical tape. Insert the stripped wires in the silver plated terminal of the speaker. Next lay the speaker in the plastic woofer cabinet and align the mounting holes with the old ones. Attentively, use a 4 mm bit to drill the new, lower, screw holes. Get some silicone sealant and seal the entire circumference of the mounting hole. Place speaker back inside and use factory screws to secure in place. Reassemble center console and place back in Jeep. Wait 24 hours for the silicone to cure and enjoy.
Specifications 6 1/2" Injection-Molded P.P. Cone SPL (Sound Pressure Level) 86 Made in China 55hz - 6Khz frequency response 1 unit per box Impedance 4 ohm
Summary Improving the factory speakers in my Jeep has been a rewarding and low cost experience. I can now hear my music. If you need a 6.5" subwoofer this Pyramid product should leave you very satisfied.
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