Now I will move the factory sub above the hidden cargo floor and aim it all over the place.
Similar to the sub firing up under the floor but now sitting on top as if mounted in a baffle to directly fire into the cabin:
Attachment 11390
Interesting, the peak at 80Hz is reduced significantly. However, there is a significant dip created at 100Hz.
Attachment 11394
Mimicking a floor mounted sub pointed backwards:
Attachment 11391
This orientation yields a slight boost at 80Hz over the up-firing orientation. Also, the dip at 100Hz still exists but is less pronounced:
Attachment 11404
Mimicking a right side firing subwoofer that would be mounted in the left side panel:
Attachment 11392
Results are very similar to the rear firing sub orientation. Slightly less boost at 80Hz and dip at 100Hz:
Attachment 11405
Mimicking a left side mounted sub firing right. Cable lengths prevented me from moving all the way over to the right:
Attachment 11393
Results are within 1dB of right firing sub orientation. This is within measurement to measurement error:
Attachment 11403
There are a few commonalities no matter how the sub is oriented:
Attachment 11406
1.) The sub adds no low frequency extension beyond what the front doors provide.
2.) Orienting the sub differently does not add any low frequency extension.
3.) No matter how the sub is oriented there is always a suck out at 60Hz.
4.) Boost at 80Hz and dip at 100Hz varies with sub orientation
5.) Installing the subwoofer under the cargo hatch floor adds bass boost. As a matter of fact mounting under the cargo floor eliminates the dip at 100Hz.
6.) Folding the rear seats down and opening up the hatch to the front cabin harms bass response.
For sure Bose is altering vehicle frequency response through equalization. Whether or not they did a good job at this is not the point. The purpose for this exercise was to see how different subwoofer orientations impact frequency response of a known system whether it be perfect or not. It is very apparent that sub position does impact lower frequency response to varying degrees.
I also suspect that Bose is allowing the frequency range of the front woofers to overlap the subwoofer to a large extent. This may be the reason behind the peaks and valley's seen in response as the sub is moved to different positions or is mounted under the cargo floor.
Next up I will place an aftermarket sub and amplifier in the vehicle to see if I can improve bass response further.
Ge0