NVX QBUS8v2 (Ships as New Model QBUS8P)

Prefect for pickup truck. Under seat of Nissan Frontier.

For the price, it's a great little powered sub. Well worth the money. In my second vehicle, Nissan Frontier, with replacement speakers and a mini Clarion amp powering the speakers. I have a huge system in my Mustang but don't want or need all that in my truck. This is just a system that sounds much, much better than factory but not crazy. The sub is great for filling in lows. It's not crazy bass but still noticeable and surprisingly loud for what it is. Left me all my storage space in the cab. Good choice for classic rock. Can do hip hop but breaks up a bit with low bass or too high volume. Fills in the bass and complements my system but doesn't overpower i it.

Pros:
1. Price, obviously. I love the Kicker brand but I could but 2.5 if these for one Kicker, Alpine, Focal, etc.
2. Even though it's less expensive than the bigger name brands, the quality is still there. Nice metal casing. Included bass knob. 100 RMS where others are often less.
3. Speaker level inputs and auto sensing turn on made it very easy to hook up to my factory receiver.
4. Fits perfect under the seat and would do well on the back of a cab on smaller pickups.
5. Class D amp runs relatively cool making placement easier.
6. Fully adjustable subsonic filter, crossovers, bass boost, phase. So nice to have the control. Especially the subsonic filter. Most other similar products don't have one or have a fixed subsonic filter that's either too high and cuts out too much bass or too low to be effective.
7. Accepts bare wire power connections. Easier.

Cons (nitpicking really but good things to know)
1. Claims frequency response down to 20 Hz but I don't believe that. I didn't expect it either but just keep in mind it won't go as low as bigger subs. For it's class (small powered sub) it still does well.
2. All wires are on the same side. Kind of a pro and con. Makes installing easier but the power cables so close to the speaker cables can easily introduce noise. Thankfully I have no hum!
3. Only way to mount is included screws and mounting holes. Not ideal as most floorboards aren't flat. I used zip ties in the holes and wrapped them where they didn't interfere with anything.
4. Not a volume champ. It's a "round out the system" type sub and not a thumper. High demands can distort it. If you need boom, this isn't it. I didn't and it's perfect for what I wanted.

In the right system setup and with reasonable expectations, this is a great piece of equipment. I have it on my factory receiver, gain at @6/10, subsonic filter at @30 Hz to keep our bass that it CAN play but just not loudly before breaking up, crossover at 120 Hz, bass boost at half, and bass knob at half. This is perfect as it allows me to still use the knob to turn it up when I want a bit more without distorting. I don't recommend turning the bass boost all the way up. That little 8" does well with a bit of bass boost but too much and sound quality suffers. This is starting to sound negative but I am very happy with the unit! Just keep it in it's comfort zone and it'll do great filling in the missing bass.

DO NOT just turn the sensitivity and bass boost all the way up!!! I did my initial setup and did just that out of curiosity. A ton of noise, distorted bass, and the small sub couldn't handle all that signal and bass boost. Use a light hand on the bass boost!

4.5/5 or 90/100 overall. Almost as good as it gets for the $$$. If it could just play a bit deeper it would be perfect. Still, I doubt there's a better powered sub for the $$$ out there. I'd never bought NVX before (Kicker, Polk, and Rockford only) but just wanted a small system in my truck that didn't break the bank. The reviews convinced me. NVX seems to be the real deal and a decent brand.

By Anonymous on May 18, 2019 Verified purchase

Great Little Sub

This is a nice sub for tight spots. I needed something for under the seat of my Wrangler and this fits great. Has nice power for an 8" sub. Ties in nicely with the music and has nice bump at higher volume. It's not going to shake the vehicle if that's what you're after but it's does a nice job for cleanly adding bass. This was my first NVX product

By Chris on April 9, 2018 Verified purchase

Good speaker

Great little sub to add some bass wont wake the neighbors but definitely sounds good

By Anonymous on September 8, 2019 Verified purchase

Great Value

This sub won't piss off your neighbors. But if you want to fill out the bottom end in a modest power or factory system you shouldn't be disappointed.
I used it on my boat in the pilot house. The sound system used a 20 watt per Chanell car head unit with a pr of small Polk Audio "box" speakers. Made a huge difference.

Great product

Awesome nothing like I expected ! It really surprised me lots of power !!!!

Great value

After getting tired of seeing my Big Bro tossing money out the window trying to find a sub that mixes well with the factory SQ system in his Benz., I brought and installed this one for him while he was out of town. I drove his car for a week he was gone and loved it. once my brother returned home the first thing he notice was the nice clear non muddy bass he was looking for and exactly what was missing from his system. It was simple to install. I mounted in the trunk. He loved it so much he told the Benz Car Club his in about it and they all want one. So thank you NVX for making such a great product

better than the first

I have had a solid experience with the first one/version (Qbus8) for over a year now so it was really nice to be emailed that this new version came out.

The first one is in my RAV4 under the front passenger seat and just thumps so perfectly. I am not a huge bass nut that wants to piss off the neighborhood or anything like that, but I do appreciate solid low-end to really fill the music in. This has done just that. The on/off test I show friends just amazes them.

All of the good stuff about the first version, I was really frustrated that it was out of stock and then not available for so long. Patience is a virtue as they say as I had emailed NVX about it being unavailable and they said they would email me when it came in. I got the email about this new one and I bought it immediately.

Wow. It is awesome. It sounds better, looks better, is smaller and was easier to install. Another thing I *think* I notice is the blue LED is not as obnoxious. Love it. This system is the perfect add-on to your factory stuff. In summary, this new one is in my Scion TC and my original one is in the RAV4. Both rock, but this is definitely an upgrade.

By David C on November 25, 2015 Verified purchase

Awesome product

It might be little but it still hits hard, great value

Not a good product

You get what you paid for. Product didn't add any bass to my ride. Waste of money.

Good performance in a tight package

Amp, woofer and box in one, with a good price. Tight bass on the higher end of the spectrum, equivalent to other 8” woofers. Fits under the seat, but good looking enough to have in a more conspicuous area. Worth to add low end to my application of two-way speakers.