This is going to be long, esoteric, and written like a tech product review even though it's not entirely product-centric. Maybe it gives someone else here at least one option to look at if they also have this ridiculous set of criteria to meet:
- Rear shock tower brace installed
- Respectable bass output and extension
- Maximized trunk space
- Center-aligned equipment installation (byproduct of not planning everything at once 20+ years ago)
- Not wanting to drill (more) holes in the trunk
By 2011, I had to do something. I was trying to force the rear Pioneer 6x8" speakers I installed in '99 and then replaced with a newer model a few years later to do something they physically couldn't do well: sub-50 Hz frequencies. Knowing the space limitations with the brace reducing the depth of the trunk by about a foot and the center-aligned amp getting in the way of several different slim enclosures for 10" subs, I tried to find something that could be wedged under the brace.
My solution that year was a sealed 8" Kicker CompVT 09TCVT84 loaded enclosure that I bought around the same time as a JL Audio XD700/5 5-channel amp to replace my 4-channel Directed Electronics 500. The thinner part of the Kicker enclosure slid underneath the brace, with just enough sliding under to not block the spare tire well. It was much better than no sub, but I had to push it pretty hard, and I never thought the bass was truly immersive. It usually got the job done for rock and metal, but was always kind of underwhelming for the rest of my library which includes EDM, hip hop, and pop. It had some punch but lacked extension.
To make things worse, I had the sub pointing upward, which is the worst position to place a sub in a trunk because of wave cancellation. It was significantly louder with the trunk open versus closed. Sure, I could have put the sub in front of the brace and aimed it at the back seat, but that would only fit horizontally and block the amp. I always figured that I would at least need a second 09TCVT84 one day if not something more substantial. Having just one back there was always a temporary solution.
Last week, I decided to check the fitment of the Ford Five Hundred spare tire in the spare tire well just to get it off my garage floor. While I was doing that, I vacuumed the trunk and took another look at the sub situation. Now that I knew the spare tire cover would fit over the Five Hundred spare and I could have a flat trunk floor again, I wanted to see what else I could do about getting a better sub solution.
In the last few years, I've looked at dual 8" and single 10" loaded enclosures from JL Audio, Kicker, Pioneer, and Rockford Fosgate, as well as planned the dimensions for a pair of custom-built sealed enclosures for a couple of shallow 10" subs to flank my amp. While doing some research after confirming the fitment of the Five Hundred spare, I discovered that Alpine had unveiled a pair of ultra-thin S-series loaded subwoofer enclosures, the SS-SB10 and SS-SB12, in January of this year.
What caught my attention with the 10" SS-SB10 was its cabinet height at just 4.5" and that it was downfiring. For reference, the thin end of the Kicker 09TCVT84 is 4.25". Before pulling the trigger, I took one last look at the other options that were available today. All of them were either too tall or had some other problematic compromise. I felt like I had to take a chance on the SS-SB10.
My solution that year was a sealed 8" Kicker CompVT 09TCVT84 loaded enclosure that I bought around the same time as a JL Audio XD700/5 5-channel amp to replace my 4-channel Directed Electronics 500. The thinner part of the Kicker enclosure slid underneath the brace, with just enough sliding under to not block the spare tire well. It was much better than no sub, but I had to push it pretty hard, and I never thought the bass was truly immersive. It usually got the job done for rock and metal, but was always kind of underwhelming for the rest of my library which includes EDM, hip hop, and pop. It had some punch but lacked extension.
To make things worse, I had the sub pointing upward, which is the worst position to place a sub in a trunk because of wave cancellation. It was significantly louder with the trunk open versus closed. Sure, I could have put the sub in front of the brace and aimed it at the back seat, but that would only fit horizontally and block the amp. I always figured that I would at least need a second 09TCVT84 one day if not something more substantial. Having just one back there was always a temporary solution.
Last week, I decided to check the fitment of the Ford Five Hundred spare tire in the spare tire well just to get it off my garage floor. While I was doing that, I vacuumed the trunk and took another look at the sub situation. Now that I knew the spare tire cover would fit over the Five Hundred spare and I could have a flat trunk floor again, I wanted to see what else I could do about getting a better sub solution.
In the last few years, I've looked at dual 8" and single 10" loaded enclosures from JL Audio, Kicker, Pioneer, and Rockford Fosgate, as well as planned the dimensions for a pair of custom-built sealed enclosures for a couple of shallow 10" subs to flank my amp. While doing some research after confirming the fitment of the Five Hundred spare, I discovered that Alpine had unveiled a pair of ultra-thin S-series loaded subwoofer enclosures, the SS-SB10 and SS-SB12, in January of this year.
What caught my attention with the 10" SS-SB10 was its cabinet height at just 4.5" and that it was downfiring. For reference, the thin end of the Kicker 09TCVT84 is 4.25". Before pulling the trigger, I took one last look at the other options that were available today. All of them were either too tall or had some other problematic compromise. I felt like I had to take a chance on the SS-SB10.
Price
The SS-SB10 has been going for $450 since its debut in January, except for last week when Alpine retailers everywhere had it on sale for $360. Crutchfield showed that the sale was ending in the next day, which I assumed was a sales ploy, but they actually did raise it back up to $450 on Monday. It went back up to $450 everywhere by Tuesday except at Abt, which is also one of the better appliance and electronics retailers I've bought from in recent years. They still had it at $360 through this past Thursday, so I bought it, received it Saturday, and installed it. As I start writing this on Sunday, the price at Abt finally went back up to $450 as well.
In the last few years, I've decided that if I find something that I want for this car and it ticks all my checkboxes, I don't care too much about the cost anymore if I want it enough. That's how I justify spending a bit more on the SS-SB10 when its biggest selling point is really the size, because it's otherwise pricey for a 10" loaded enclosure using a shallow depth sub in Alpine's mid-tier S-series line. It hit all the criteria I listed at the top though, and I was able to get it on sale. Since it's not bespoke or rare/discontinued, I still wanted to avoid buying it at full retail price.
Fitment
Fitment of this thing was always going to be tight, but this was a total shot in the dark. The dimensions of the enclosure are 18.5"W x 4.5"H x 12.5"D. I had approximately 4.375-4.5" of clearance under the brace. The carpet and the padding/sound damping material underneath made the exact measurement imprecise. The worst case scenario was that I would need to fully remove the brace and shim it to gain the clearance I needed.
I first tried sliding the sub in straight under, which didn't work. I needed about another 1/16-1/8" of clearance. I was convinced that I would need to loosen the brace, slide the sub underneath, and re-tighten the brace. Then I tried sliding it in from the right side where the Kicker used to be. That was a pleasant surprise because not only did it clear, it didn't touch the bar. The padding under the carpet doesn't reach the edge of the trunk. I could now slide it in from the side and then push it towards the middle, where it would compress the padding and be securely wedged underneath the brace.
Performance
I was content with the output at first. It was definitely louder and deeper than my old Kicker, which I mentioned here. However, I also installed new Alpine R-S68 speakers in the doors at the same time, so I had a lot of re-tuning to do on the amp.
After tuning and even before I've received and installed new RCAs to feed the sub a signal from my Pioneer Premier DEH-P800PRS head unit's subwoofer pre-outs rather than the amp's speaker-level signal, it turns out this Alpine has a lot more output and headroom than the Kicker in their respective trunk positions. Anyway, once I gain additional tuning control for the SS-SB10 at the head unit, I should be set for good.
I decided not to use the good old "Bass I Love You" by Bassotronics or "Bass...Can U Hear Me?" by Beat Dominator as test tracks like I've done for subs inside the house. I tuned against "Narco" by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet since that was a better point of reference against the system in my Lexus GS 400. That wasn't hard to match since the JL Audio XD700/5's dedicated sub channel supplies the SS-SB10 with 300W at 2-ohm compared to the 150W at 4-ohm to a 10" Kicker CompC on the bridged rear channels of the Kenwood Excelon X302-4 amp in that car.
I've gone from content to very pleased after some basic tuning and I haven't even had a chance to bring the head unit's EQ into the mix yet. The Thunderbird finally has the unequivocal best-sounding stereo in my garage. Out of all my options for a new sub, this Alpine might not be the best performer for the money, but for its minimal height and downfiring position, it was in a class of its own. It also finally let me use the brace as a feature of the subwoofer rather than an obstacle to it.
I think this also constitutes the very first Alpine SS-SB10 review on the Internet, so there's that too.
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