Cerwin Vega Mobile CV Active & Passive Spare Tire Application Subwoofers Series (VS12SH)

Perfect replacement in my Vw Atlas

I have a 2019 BMW X6 with a spare tire. The Harmon Kardon audio system needed some bass, but I didn't want to sacrifice any cargo area for a subwoofer box, so I decided to try a spare tire sub. All of the spare tire subs I tried were very similar in size, construction (aluminum casing) and quality, but varied on functionality and sound. I will recap my experience with three different brands to try and help anyone on the fence. Keep in mind that spare tire subwoofers will never match the sound quality of a subwoofer box. You won't win any SPL competitions by any means, but if you are only looking for something to fill that sub-bass region and give your car a little kick, then a spare tire subwoofer should do the trick. The first one I tried was the NVX powered sub, and it was just okay. It claims to be 300W RMS, but I had to turn it way up to hear anything substantial. Although I was pleased with the sub, I wanted something with a bit more power, so I returned that sub. Next I bought a Recoil Audio passive sub along with a Fosgate 500W amp. One thing that stood out with the Recoil sub was that it was designed to be upward firing, whereas all the others I have seen are downward firing. The upward firing seemed to allow a cleaner bass response, but it had a tendancy to rattle the cover over the spare tire area. Although I was happy with that sub, the 500W amp was a bit too much, and I ended up blowing the speaker...my fault. Since I didn't care for the tire cover rattling, I decided to try something else. I did some more research and found the Cerwin Vega spare tire subwoofer. They offered four different models: passive standard, passive shallow, powered standard and powered shallow. Since I already invested in and installed the Fosgate amp, I decided to go with the passive model, and based on the dimensions of the other subs I tried, the shallow version would be a perfect fit. The downward firing Cerwin Vega sounds great, and it can handle the 500W amp. The woofer has an aluminum cone and a bumped pole piece for more excursion, so it hits harder than the other spare tire subs I tried. Time will tell if I made the right choice, but for now I give the edge to the Cerwin Vega. On a side note, Diamond Audio also makes a spare tire sub that rates very highly. But if you do a little research you will find out that Diamond Audio and Cerwin Vega are owned by the same company, and their spare tire subwoofers are pretty much exactly the same. Save some money and go with the Cerwin Vega.

Easy install Hardest part was putting power wire through grommet and taking it through the floor panel to connect amp. Using alpine s2a60m on this sub. Missing a bass remote. Bought it used $225 with shipping not worth the value. I was looking for jbl stadium bass pro hub but those seem to be discontinued. This fits perfect in the trunk of my gr86 But unfortunately it did not work. I will have to return as the sub never gave sound after connecting to my amp.

Got tired of the 12" sub in a giant box. About a year ago I bought my daughter the same thing but with the amp built in and it sounded amazing. So I purchased this used in very good condition since I already had the amp. Product showed up in a beat up box but speaker was fine and all hardware was never opened. Hooked it up and to my surprise is louder than the 15 in my car. More responsive and the sound this thing puts out is awesome. I am very close to purchasing a second just so I can hear what 2 of these together sound like. Definitely worth the price and having room in the back seat of my truck again. I recommend this product

I have a VW Atlas with the HK stereo. This was a direct swap for the excuse they called a sub enclosure. It made a huge difference! Would highly recommend