1) Get an active sub (with built in amp) such as one of the Pioneer jobs - strikes me as being the easiest to fit.

Yes, I have done this before and it is pretty easy to do it this way. However, the self-powered subs are usually characterized by the following:

- A barely-adequate amplifier.
- Cheaper driver(s).
- Ported enclosure to improve volume from the above two items.

After my self-powered sub got stolen, I decided to put together one of my own for its replacement. For the same price as I paid for the self-powered sub ($300.00), I was able to put together a prebuilt sealed enclosure, a better driver, and a more powerful amplifier. The assembly of these items was not much more difficult than putting the self-powered unit in place. In fact, the hardest part of the whole procedure (getting the RCA cables to the sub) is the same whether you build your own or not.

This new sealed unit sounds so much better than the self-powered sub because its frequency response is so much flatter. A ported sub, on the other hand, has a frequency "peak" right around the frequency of the port, making it sound boomy instead of smooth.

So if you're serious about the sound, I'd suggest going that route. Crutchfield can hook you up with all the stuff you need: Woofer, enclosure, amp, and all the necessary parts. And they'll make sure all the parts match each other.

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Tony Fabris