Adding a subwoofer is the easiest way to upgrade the performance of your car’s audio system. Whether you have a factory-installed radio and speakers or are building an aftermarket system from scratch, a subwoofer always makes it better. The Rockford Fosgate P300-8P is the perfect all-in-one solution to add great bass to your car or truck without any hassles. Let’s check it out.
Features of the Rockford Fosgate P300-8P Subwoofer System
The P300-8P is a powered subwoofer system with a 300-watt amplifier and a high-output 8-inch driver in an expertly designed vented enclosure. The system measures 17.6 inches wide, stands 11.4 inches tall and is only 5.6 inches deep. The shallow depth of the enclosure makes it ideal for pickup trucks, where it can be installed under or behind the seat. Of course, the system will work great in the back of a sedan or hatchback.
Power connections are handled by a quick-release terminal block that will readily accept 8 AWG power and ground wires along with the remote turn-on input wire. The amp has an adjustable sensitivity control that allows the system to produce full power with signals ranging from 150 millivolts to 6 volts. Your installer can connect the amp to the speaker outputs of a factory or aftermarket radio, and the High/Low switch doubles the input voltage range to 0.3 to 12 volts. With power and signal connections on quick-release connectors, the entire subwoofer system can be removed from the vehicle in seconds if you need extra cargo space.
The amplifier has a low-pass crossover with a -12 dB/octave slope and a Linkwitz-Riley alignment. The filter is adjustable between 50 and 200 Hz to allow the system to blend with the rest of the speakers in the vehicle. There is also a bass boost control that your installer can use to dial in up to 12 dB of boost at 45 Hz. A phase switch inverts the polarity of the signal going to the amplifier to optimize it for various applications and speed up the integration process.
Rockford Fosgate has further simplified the factory-installed sound system integration process by including an Auto Turn-On circuit with three modes. In the REM position, the amplifier in the P300-8P comes to life when 12 volts is present on the remote connection terminal. This would be the most common installation method when using an aftermarket source unit. In the DC Offset position, circuitry in the amplifier monitors the input connections for a DC voltage of around 5 or 6 volts, which is common among radios using BTL amplifier ICs. Finally, the Audio mode monitors the input connections for an AC audio signal to turn the amp on.
Many of us like to adjust the subwoofer volume level based on our mood or the music we are enjoying. The P300-8P includes a remote subwoofer level control that can be mounted in the front of the vehicle. You can turn the bass up or down quickly and easily without entering any radio menus.
P300-8P Design Considerations
Rockford Fosgate engineered a dedicated low-impedance 8-inch driver for the P300-8P. The driver’s dual 1-ohm voice coils extract maximum power from the ultra-efficient amplifier. The sub uses a stamped-steel basket with cooling vents under the spider mounting plateau to enhance linearity and power handling. The cone and dust cap are made of injection-molded polypropylene.
Some might think a single 8-inch driver wouldn’t be enough to produce reasonable amounts of bass in a vehicle. As we’ve discussed, a ported enclosure delivers significantly more low-frequency energy than a sealed enclosure. The red trace in the graph below shows the predicted frequency response of an 8-inch Rockford Fosgate in a vented enclosure with similar dimensions to the P300-8P. The yellow trace is the response of a 10-inch subwoofer in the same-sized sealed enclosure. Where it matters, around 35 Hz, the vented enclosure is 4.4 dB louder than the larger woofer in the sealed design.
Attention to detail is something that separates Rockford Fosgate products from its competitors’. The subwoofer used in the P300-8P will have undergone distortion and linearity testing using their Klippel analyzer to ensure that it sounds great. Further, they test the entire subwoofer assembly on a vibration jig so that the grille, wiring, connections and controls don’t add any unwanted noise when the system plays. We expect you’d find the same foam-wrapped speaker wires that we found inside the P300-12P and P500-12P models. The subwoofer includes a foam gasket and mounts to the enclosure using hex-head bolts that thread into metal inserts. Finally, the amplifier will have a dedicated air chamber inside the enclosure, and the speaker wires will be sealed with silicone.
Speaking of the enclosure, the entire assembly is constructed from CNC-cut Medium-Density Fiberboard. The main body features a carbon-fiber textured vinyl wrap. The end caps have leather-grained vinyl wrapping for a classy look. A heavy-duty mesh grille protects the driver, so you can fold a seat right up against the enclosure without fear of damaging the woofer cone or surround at high volume levels. Even the vent at the top of the left-side panel has an injection-molded trim piece around the edge for a clean look.
It’s unlikely that you can find a powered subwoofer enclosure from other companies for less money that has the attention to detail and performance-enhancing features of the P300-8P. You can find an authorized Rockford Fosgate retailer near you using the Dealer Locator on their website. To learn more about Rockford Fosgate’s car, motorcycle, marine and powersports products, follow them on Facebook or Instagram. Check out their fantastic product and event videos on YouTube.
