At 09:40 AM 7/2/99 -0700, you wrote:
>I really loved your page on the Esprit sound system. But I can't sit and
>wait any longer to find out how the heck you put a bass tube in there. 

i didnt know anyone had read it.  :)   had i known, i'd have written more long ago.  


>
>I was also wondering why you didn't try to put a larger diameter speaker in
>the rear instead of the 6'' MB Quarts. It's been a while since I've had
>that part of the car visible so I'm guessing there isn't enough depth in
>there.

the pockets that the rear speakers sat inside were not going to hold anything 
too much bigger.   both in diameter and in depth.   mostly depth.  i found 
that there were a good number of 6.5"s that sounded really good, and i'm pretty 
pleased with the quarts.  

>
>So, the real question is... did the bass tube project get finished? How did
>you do it? Where the hell did you put a tube? Are you happy with it. And
>when will you give the details so that the less ambitious may benefit from
>your labor?

ok.  the tube did get finished, and i couldnt be happier with the set up.   
the sound is pretty good.  i've built some nice enclosures in other cars, so 
when you compare it to a car that has room to work with, you might wish it had 
more, but for the esprit, i think its a good set up.

the tube mounting place i got from a fellow lister, but i forget who.  he had 
a V8 esprit.  you mount the tube infront of the passenger seat.  imagine your 
a passenger, and it would be lengthwise below your knees.   shorter people rest 
their legs on it, taller people dont even touch it.   either way, it doesnt get 
in anyones way at all.   it takes up space that would otherwise be unused under 
the passengers legs.  i used some straps to securly fasten it to the 'adjust' 
bar under the seat.  i then found some cream colored vinyl to cover it with so 
it matches.  its close enough to pass for now, but i always keep an eye out for 
a closer match.  if i find some, i'll buy it, but for now, it looks factory enough 
to fool people.  [on the 93 and earlier, your owners-handbook-pocket might be by 
the footwell, and wont let the tube fit.  i dont know if anyone has tried removing 
that pocket.   on the 94 that pocket is between the seats]

i'm running the tube off a alpine flex2 amp.  its 50x2.  the flex2 amps have 
low power draw, and yet pack a good punch.  i mounted that on the inside of 
the rear licence plate panel, inside the luggage area.   it fit perfectly.   
i cant find the words to describe exactly where it fit, so i'll have to take 
some photos.   

the EQ i mounted in the trunk as dash space was nil.  :)  i used "liquid nails" 
to mount an 8in X 8in by 3/4" thick plywood under the area above the rear passenger 
tire well.  to this, i screwed in a mounting brakcet and mounted the eq.  again, a 
picture will work best here.

i have 2 pair of RCA's running back to the rear of the car.  one pair goes in to 
the eq, and then to the amp.   2 channels in to the eq, and 4 out to the amp.  the 
eq has a fader which i leave in the same position.  once i have it set where i like 
it, i dont have much of a need to fade front to rear.   the second set of RCAs goes 
right to the alpine sub amp.  what this does is let me control the subwoofer level 
from the cockpit by using the fader on the radio.    it works perfect with out 
buying/mouting a sub level switch up front and/or running more RCA's than necessary.

in the tube, the bazooka sub is ok, but i upgraded to an MTX 6.5" sub in the bazooka 
enclosure.  i like it a lot better.

hope some of this helps.

-rick

>
>In need of sound,

arent we all.   you can never have too much.   :)