Thanks alot Travis and all for the pics and info, going to be very useful.

unfortunately it's loo late for me , just got it , will probably install next weekend and let you guys know how it goes.

one question though, is there a turning back option , since there will be some drilling, will I still have the option to put back the blown ML woofer.

 

You have to drill 6 new holes. If you look at my second picture, you can see how 2 bolts are pressed right up against the seat wall. I took a grinder to the heads of the bolts so they would sit flush and mounted the nuts on top of the sub. This is a huge pain in the ***, basically I used a flat head to push them through the holes and then put the nut on top. There will be one bolt that is completely inaccessible - the one closest to the front of the car.

I just got finished reinstalling my factory ML sub. It isn't blown, just didn't care for the distortion on some songs. But that said, the factory 4 bolt holes are untouched. I installed dynamat over them so it was a bit of a pain clearing that out of the way. I used a drill bit smaller than the holes and removed the material, then ran the bolts down into it. After that, since I had to cut the factory harness, I had to reattach the wiring to the factory plug. All is working now, interior back in. I'm not sure if it is a placebo, but I left dynamat installed in the sub hole and it seems to be a tiny tiny bit clearer. But probably just my mind playing tricks on me. I was going to sound deaden the seat wall as it is very "tinny", but I didn't. Car is quiet enough for me.

So if you're okay with 6 little holes that are invisible unless you pull the panels off, and the wiring being spliced back together then you shouldn't have to worry about it being reversible. Only other thing I did different was that I "dented" in the piece of metal that was in the way, but I couldn't really care less about that. It's covered on both sides.

 

i just left the pioneer in my car and ill just remove it when i have money for aftermarket subs with enclosure!

 

Wow you guys have been busy. I had a really busy week and am currently flying to New Orleans for work. That is interesting you had the cone hit the metal using a 1/4" spacer. I have not had any issues yet. I got to listen to the sub for a few hours yesterday and i am still on the fence. I definitely do not have the distortion issues I once had, but the suspension on the sub it so tight that it causes it to add a substantial amount of vibration to it mounting point. I only have a couple rattles and after listening it for an extended period of time, the sub does not seem to mesh with the other speakers as well as the ML did. I am sure these subs take time to break in so I hope it gets better. I am leaning towards this upgrade being a bust. I like the Pioneer sub but the factory location is a PITA to mount it in and the results are not worth the effort IMO. If you plan on upgrading I would try look into a enclosed sub. I will not be tackling building an enclosure anytime soon, but plan to test a enclosed sub in the trunk to see how they perform when placed in different locations. I want to use something small so I still have lots of trunk space. The acoustics of cars is very complicated because there is a lot of frequency cancelation going on due to the sound waves bouncing around in the truck and the cab.

 

So that's it? it's a bust...I think it meshes quite well with the ML's acoustics, it's not 100% better like the op said but there's a hell of alot more bass that comes out of this thing...I have to lower the bass to zero for it not to be out of control sounding. I also bought an XTC foam speaker baffle which i cut to use as a padding for mine and installed the pioneer on top of it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/XTC-8-Foam-Speaker-Baffles-VXT80-acoustic-baffle-for-the-8-speaker-1pair-/290614443446?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a9f87db6&vxp=mtr
I am getting rattles and it sounds like they're coming from the rear sun shade area, who's not to say the metal center support running across the sub hole of the deck isn't part culprit; seriously contemplating cutting that piece out but this mod was def worth my time it completely takes the ML system from wek sos to pretty big bass for 69 bucks. Can't go wrong even if it means turning the bass down a bit so it's not overkill.

 

It terms of a bust, it depends on your mechanical ability and audio performance preferences. As stated before I no longer have the sub distorting as the ML did but I have noticed that their are frequency ranges that the ML produced accurately prior to distorting that I feel the Pioneer is not able to produce as well. This could be a function of the tuning that ML performed on the crossover and equalization that was Tailored to the ML's speakers and the IS's cab.

I agree there are some songs that the Pioneer sub crushes the ML's output but in order for its performance to meet my audio standards I need to try some other configurations to see if it can match the ML sub's linear output but provide a little more performance.

As a side note, there was discussion about the amplifier. I have changed my take on the type of amplification being used on the sub. It is likely a class AB amplifier. It is definitely running warmer since I changed the sub (8 ohm ML vs 4 ohm Pioneer) It does have 2 cooling fans so I am optimistic it will not overheat.

 

Yes ^ What he just said is accurate. I wish we could just get the tight bass out of this thing that it produces without the rattles! It def has the potential!!! Just sourcing the vibration point is so difficult...Anyone else experience this issue and have any input? If we can figure this out it'll be the cleanest and most functional bass install mod pound for pound for the money/work involved. Any Audiophiles out there work with this sub upgrade yet??

 

bump bump bump

 

2015 bump.

My ML sub distorts at very low volume. I suspect a burnt coil or torn surround. Anybody selling a good condition ML sub so I can tinker?

Also: how does the rear shelf come out so you can access the sub? I never saw that anywhere for this "LMFAO DIY"

And for those who are not liking the contact with the metal, man up and cut that out lol why would you put it back to stock if it clearly is a subpar system? Either my sub is blown or ML can KMA.

 

haha finally someone responds to this thread! After a while listening and playing many different levels of music over the Pioneer sub I've come to the conclusion the noise we are hearing is not the rear deck rattling or the window but in fact it's the sound of the free air sub woofer bottoming out and spider rattling (which totally Sucks!) wish their was a better quality sub but from my understnading all free air sub woofers will have this issue...They are what they are I guess which is a poor substitution for a speaker in a box ported IMO!

 

Does anyone else's sub cut out randomly? My sub should be stock. I don't see any signs of an aftermarket sub mounted when I pulled the trunk headliner down.

Do I need a new sub?

 

Mine does, but it comes back rattley as ****, so Im pretty sure I blew it -_-

 

Ouch.. thats exactly how mind was before it completely went out. I had my car for about maybe less than 2 months when my sub started acting up. In about a week or so it wouldnt even turn on anymore

Its still off too lol. So im basically sub-less But i hope to soon add an aftermarket system in the near future I gotta get my bass back on after riding around for a full year without it.

 

yeah, mine is pretty much gone, but im looking for a shallow 8 ohm sub that will fit in the stock spot as an alternative to the DIY on this site, with people having rattling issues

 

I forgot I posted on the thread.

So here's actually a pretty killer update. Turns out the Bluetooth receiving device I was using to stream my audio was using an old codec for turning down the bitrate of the audio. The extremely low bitrate caused the subwoofer to distort at nearly any volume, and also the audio quality just sounded overall awful.

So I got a Miccus aptX Bluetooth device. The aptX apparently is nearly unreduced streaming. It is basically only one step away from raw data streaming. The sound clarity is unbelievable. No subwoofer distortion whatsoever.

Maybe double check the audio feed source before you go ripping out your sub. Make sure if you are Bluetooth streaming that it has aptX capabilities, as well as the sending device.

I absolutely do not have a blown subwoofer but the sounds produced prior to the newer Bluetooth device sure made me think it was right until I switched to a CD from a band (and not reduced bitrate like a lot of MP3 cds).

I have the Miccus charging from the cigarette lighter in the center console which triggers it to pair when you turn the key on. The Miccus then has an audio out 3.5mm that I send to a ground loop isolator that then plugs into the 3.5mm input.

The sound quality is very good considering its a 3.5mm.