Ok I have a few questions that I REALLY hope someone will take the time to help me out with.
First off I have a 95 240sx with the factory-speaker shindig...I just finished installing my complete replacement package ordeal with the following: head unithttp://www.cardomain.com/item/...=noneFront components:http://www.cardomain.com/item/...=none Rear speakershttp://www.cardomain.com/item/...=none4-Channel amp (50 watts rms x4 @ 4 ohms) http://www.cardomain.com/item/ROCP4004
I have decided that I really dont need a sub-woofer. However I would like a little bit more bass out of the system. The only options I can think of are the following:
1) on the front components crossover there is a little switch that I guess is really a high pass a or low pass, it says in the infinity manual that if you put it on the "bass" mode that the woofer will expel more "bass sounds"
The only thing with this is that I not only want a little more bass from the rear to, but I dont want to give up the beautiful mids that these Kappa's are putting out.
2) there is also a high and low pass (crossover type ordeal) on the fosgate amp for both front and rear. So maybe if I put the rear on low pass they will put out lower frequencies and sound a little more "bassy"
3) There is also "frequency response" knobs for the front and rear speakers as well. So i assume I can turn they can make for a little more bass as well.
The only thing I really know about frequency is the lower the Hz number the more "bass" you get right? So what do you guys recommend me try to get a little more bass? Im not sure if I should leave the fronts alone and try to get more bass out of the rears (since the 6002i reference are supposed to be decent for bass, thats why i put them in back) OR if I should try to get some bass out of the fronts (I just dont want to lose my nice mids).
Thanks for reading the long post, any help is much appreciated. I just want to get this system sounding a little better so I can hear all the frequencies more. Its fuggin LOUD right now and I only have the gain (both front and rear) up to about 60-65% (so not even 50 watts really).
Austin
need help adjusting my system
Re: need help adjusting my system (candela)
Allrighty then...
Well here is what you could do for proper sound in that application.
First things first the "gain" is not a power knob nor is it a volume control. The gain is an adjustable output level controller that is intended to match the headunit RCA level voltage to the amp output voltage. Which means that you should be able to turn the headunit volume control almost all the way up and have no audible speaker distortion on normal music material. That being said, you have a few hurdles to jump over as well as some comprimise.
Your options are these...
Run your speakers with high pass crossovers set at a low frequency. This will allow most of the bass to get thru and still allow you to play it loud. You will lose a bit of bass, but the overall output level will be high. The second option you have is to run your system with no high pass crossovers. This will allow you to hear all of the bass that your system is capable of producing. The only problem with this is that you will lose much of your overall output level. You wont be able to turn it up as loud as you could with a high pass crossover.
When it comes to bass boost, boosting 6.5 inch speakers is not a good idea. Bass boost is designed for systems that utilize speakers intended for low frequency reproduction (subwoofer(s)).
This is my recommendation:
Set your head unit bass to -3 and your treble to +2.Disable your high pass crossover.Then get in and play music and see how loud you can play it without distortion. If this is acceptable, then go no further youve got it.
At this point, your doors and rear deck will rattle (sounds like something is blown, but it is not). This is normal. Your speakers are not actually distorting but the mounting surface and surrounding material is resonating. You have 2 options. Sound deadening or using your amp's high pass filter. Using sound deadening will allow you to hear more bass louder without your car resonating. It is a good investment at any point in your system's progression. If you decide not to sound deaden at this point, go and turn on your high pass crossovers and set them to about 80hz. You will notice a loss in bass but your overall sound output level will increase drastically.
So listen with the crossovers on and off. See what you like and come back and tell us what you come up with.
Good Luck Man!
Well here is what you could do for proper sound in that application.
First things first the "gain" is not a power knob nor is it a volume control. The gain is an adjustable output level controller that is intended to match the headunit RCA level voltage to the amp output voltage. Which means that you should be able to turn the headunit volume control almost all the way up and have no audible speaker distortion on normal music material. That being said, you have a few hurdles to jump over as well as some comprimise.
Your options are these...
Run your speakers with high pass crossovers set at a low frequency. This will allow most of the bass to get thru and still allow you to play it loud. You will lose a bit of bass, but the overall output level will be high. The second option you have is to run your system with no high pass crossovers. This will allow you to hear all of the bass that your system is capable of producing. The only problem with this is that you will lose much of your overall output level. You wont be able to turn it up as loud as you could with a high pass crossover.
When it comes to bass boost, boosting 6.5 inch speakers is not a good idea. Bass boost is designed for systems that utilize speakers intended for low frequency reproduction (subwoofer(s)).
This is my recommendation:
Set your head unit bass to -3 and your treble to +2.Disable your high pass crossover.Then get in and play music and see how loud you can play it without distortion. If this is acceptable, then go no further youve got it.
At this point, your doors and rear deck will rattle (sounds like something is blown, but it is not). This is normal. Your speakers are not actually distorting but the mounting surface and surrounding material is resonating. You have 2 options. Sound deadening or using your amp's high pass filter. Using sound deadening will allow you to hear more bass louder without your car resonating. It is a good investment at any point in your system's progression. If you decide not to sound deaden at this point, go and turn on your high pass crossovers and set them to about 80hz. You will notice a loss in bass but your overall sound output level will increase drastically.
So listen with the crossovers on and off. See what you like and come back and tell us what you come up with.
Good Luck Man!
What a cool reply...
Ok well Ill tell you what I just did. I checked out the amp and i saw it had a LP, AP and HP. So I put both front and rear on all pass. I put the rear frequency sorta lower and the front frequency around the middle.
I turned the gain down a bit on both F/R and now the speakers seem to put ou ta little less overall volume. I cranked it all the way and really had almost zero distortion. The deck bass is at 0, mid is at 3 and high is at 5 (i love highs). HTe "loud" on the deck makes a huge difference in volume, Im not sure exhaust what the 3 levels are (low, mid, high) of "loud" on my deck but each makes it louder just in a different way. I turned it off so maybe that has something to do with the decrease in volume cause it was at "high" setting before.
The bass right now sounds ok to me, Im not looking for a lot at all. And at about 40/50 volume on the deck i can hear everythign with the windows down and the exhaust roaring. Im not sure if I should leave it like this or maybe turn the gain up a little more on the amp to where I hear a little distortion then just slowly lower it until its gone. That way I think that I could use a lower volume adjustment on the deck to acheive the same amount of volume . Is that correct or am I thinking about it wrong?
Thanks so much for the post, any other help is appreciated!
Ok well Ill tell you what I just did. I checked out the amp and i saw it had a LP, AP and HP. So I put both front and rear on all pass. I put the rear frequency sorta lower and the front frequency around the middle.
I turned the gain down a bit on both F/R and now the speakers seem to put ou ta little less overall volume. I cranked it all the way and really had almost zero distortion. The deck bass is at 0, mid is at 3 and high is at 5 (i love highs). HTe "loud" on the deck makes a huge difference in volume, Im not sure exhaust what the 3 levels are (low, mid, high) of "loud" on my deck but each makes it louder just in a different way. I turned it off so maybe that has something to do with the decrease in volume cause it was at "high" setting before.
The bass right now sounds ok to me, Im not looking for a lot at all. And at about 40/50 volume on the deck i can hear everythign with the windows down and the exhaust roaring. Im not sure if I should leave it like this or maybe turn the gain up a little more on the amp to where I hear a little distortion then just slowly lower it until its gone. That way I think that I could use a lower volume adjustment on the deck to acheive the same amount of volume . Is that correct or am I thinking about it wrong?
Thanks so much for the post, any other help is appreciated!