New to the world of car audio, question about an amp/speakers/subwoofer

dan553

LOL i know how that is haha. Well one of the problems with the crossover for the sub is, its a component sub so it doesnt come with one i dont think. Im just throwing it into a box and putting it on my amp. I dont see anything on my amp thats a dial or anything. All I see are places to connect things like the channels and speaker inputs. I do have the bass controller that came with the amp, but I dont see any settings about crossovers or anything on the amp, just inputs.

By the way, does the RC cable have neg/pos ends or is it different than normal wire?

I hooked in the Kicker RC Cable to the Rear/Sub inputs but I did not know which end went to which. The kicker has blue/green ends and the inputs have a red slot and white slot. I just put the blue in the red and the green in the white. Does it matter or does it just matter when you go back to the amp to make sure the blue is hooking into where you want on the amp etc.

As far as briding a SVC sub goes to 2 channels of an amp. I want to run the 2 channels at 4 OHMs and just give it the two channels power. I see people writing about how they lower it to 2 ohms but my subwoofer does not support that. Is it easy to bridge it?

dan553

actually, scratch that I do see now the crossover part of it. it was hidden in the back. looks like it has a crossover for channels 3/4 and for channels 1/2. Ill leave 1/2 at full range and change 3/4 to what you said. Im still a little sketchy about the bridging thing. Does a subwoofer have to support bridging, for it to be able to do it? or can any subwoofer do it. I also looked at my amps manual and it showed how to bridge but It showed all channels bridged. 1/2 were to 1 subwoofer and 3/4 were to 1 subwoofer. Can I have channel 1/2 to my front speakers reguarly wired and then 3/4 bridged to my subwoofer? Looks like my amp manual is telling me to connect the positive of channel 3 and the negative of channel 4 to the subwoofer. Will it damage the subwoofeR?

KaosTsoc

Yeah it was a great weekend. The stipper was so fine, and well built....Sigh... it was beautiful. In fact her name was beauty, and now I know why..... Uh.. back on topic sorry.....

As far as cables having a designated positive, and negative, there is no such thing. Any cable you put into positive is postive, and any cable you put into negative is negative... So, it is up to which one you want to be what. As for the bridging this, you are right. Wire one cable to the positive of channel 3, and one wire to the negative of channel 4. If you look at the link you posted on your amp. There is a picture showing the channels that the speaker cables connect to. There you will see that they show what is bridged by this l-___________+l or vise versa, and is says bridge in the middle of the line. Will your sub be able to handle it, the short answer is yes. Now what you are talking about wiring the sub down to a 2 or 1 ohm load. That has do with how you wire the actual subwoofer. There is series, and parallal, but for just hooking up one sub you dont need to do this. Just hook up positive from sub to positive on channel 3, then negative from sub to negative on channel 4. Dont' worry you will be fine, and the sub will, and can take it. The whole wiring thing only really comes into play if you are dealing with 2 or more subwoofers that are either SVC, and DVC, Or have one sub that is a DVC (Dual voice Coil). Try not to over think it too much, it only makes it more confussing. With the wiring stuff, go online and look at series, and parallal wiring.

Thanks.

dan553

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

My subwoofer comes tomorrow and hopefully I can finish it up and enjoy the fresh new sound. The only last tiny problem is the box in my trunk. The subwoofer box fits and everything but you said I should definitely screw it down. I can do that, but the problem is, theres only the carpet underneat the box. Under the carpet is just empty space because thats where my spare tire is kept. Think it will be enough just screwed to the carpet?

arun1963

KaosTsoc wrote: »

I have had an EXTREMELY wonderful weekend, and I am still thinking of this girl from the club so, yyyeeeaahhh my mind is kind of all over. LOL.

Right, so someone got lucky last weekend? and he's still swooning on Thursday...hmm:biggrin:

dan553

Also, For the bridging. Does the bridging reduce the ohms of the amp? or affect its output? Reason I ask is because im wondering if bridging channels 3/4 will affect the unbridged channels 1/2 or something.

arun1963

With a component and sub you would have two cross over points. One for your sub and midbass, which you would set either at your hu or your amp and the other for the mb and tweeter which is basically the passive that comes with the components. You don't need an external xover for your sub. What HU are you running?

The amp will run at the impedence of the speaker connected to it. So if you run an SVC sub the amp will see a 4ohm load and if you run a DVC where you have connected the two coils on the sub to 2ohms, the amp will run at 2 ohms. Most amps will put out more power at lower loads. Thats why people run DVC subs. Your amp is two ohm stable. If you run a SVC bridged, your sub will get 160 watts, while with a DVC it will get 400 watts.

dan553

the HU I am using is a Sony CDX-GT340
http://aboutgadgets.net/2010/02/sony-cdxgt340-review/

arun1963

OK your hu does not let you set the sub/mid xover, so you will have to do this at your amp. If you're running the sub off channels 3&4 select LPF for these channels and set the knob ~ 50hz.

KaosTsoc

Arun...Yeah great weekend. Can't wait to do it again, or see her again.... Oh yeah..... Thanks for your input as well. Always a pleasure.

Dan,
Where are going to put the box at? Which way is the sub going to be firing?

Thanks.

dan553

The box will be pointing/fireing into the trunk towards the seats and be placed behind my amplifier like this. Is that ok?

dan553

Also another stupid question. How do you connect this type of connection? It has a screw on top or something but Im not sure exactly how to connect the wire here. its the outside of the box for the subwoofer

dan553

AWW MAN how dumb. The subwoofer I bought didnt come with leads to get from the subwoofer to the subwoofer enclosure input. Well, I did a crappy solder job with extra speaker wire to those odd little metal pieces that you always see on the connectors of speakers, the plastic shielded wire part goes over it or w/e. Anyways, I hope its ok, I just put some of the wire through the hole of the metal part and folded it over and then soldered

I know you cant see much but thats the wires soldered onto the + and - terminals on the sub. Is this ok to do? I guess Ill find out if it blows up or not

KaosTsoc

The way your soldered the wire are just fine. I have did mine that way as well. So, you are good. Now just make sure you know which one is positive, and which one is negative. Now hook up those wires to the terminal inside the box. When that is done, just make sure to take note which one is positive, and which one is negative. Now that the inside is done, it is now to the out side where ther gold terminals are. Basically they should unscrew, and there should be a hole in th middle of the post, I think... I can not really tell by your picture, but if that is correct. Put one wire into the postivie, and one in the negative, then hook up the according cables to the positive, and negative terminals of the amp, and done.

As for securing the box to the carboard floor mat, that should be fine, but it would be better if it was connected to some sort of metal surface in the trunk. If this is not possible, then the floor should be fine.

dan553

Well, I ended up making the sub as far back in the trunk as possible, and aimed it opposite of the cabin. I read in a couple articles that that is recommended. Anyways, its all connected and set up and it sounds good. Im almost positive that there are tons of tweaking things that should be done but I just dont know how to do. I like the sound of it all but sometimes its weird because like, I feel like I get a great sound out of my polk speakers, but its the higher frequencies and then for the real low frequencies I get the sub, but it feels like the mid/lower mid part of the music is sometimes lacking. The only options I get on my HU are Sub, Low, Mid, and High control. I usually leave everything at 0 so its equal, but I have been putting the "low" option up a little bit because I feel like it controls the woofers of the front speakers. I just feel like theres a big frequency difference between the lowest part of my components and my sub and I feel like its missing a chunk of frequencies, but hey maybe its just me. Maybe even my subwoofer is just up to high. Do you recommend just keeping all of the Equalizer settings at 0 so they are even?

KaosTsoc

Good to hear all is working.. As for the sound, and frequency loss, with the HU you have it will limit what you can, or can't tune. That is where an external equalizer with at least 7 bands comes into play. You could leave everything at 0 if it sounds good to you. The key part of that is YOU..... Sound is going to be subjective for each person. What sounds amazing to me, may sound muddy or unlcear to you..... So, with what you have, try to play with it until you get the sound that you are looking for. As time goes on, you will might end up trying to get an equalizer that will allow you to inhance the high, mid, and low frequencies. Time alignment, and independent left/right channel equalization will all help with this. However since you are just starting out, play with what you have, and get the basics down first. Again it is YOUR ears, and YOUR system, and YOUR car. So, it has to sound good to you. Dig around the fourm, and look at tuning frequencies that have been suggested over time. Alot of will not make sense at first, but once you do some research, and apply it. It will all come together. If it makes you feel any better, I am still learning the frequency stuff as well. It is a constant battle, and constant learning.

Thanks.

dan553

Thanks man, I couldnt have done it without all of every ones help =D!

I started thinking about the frequency loss thing and I wondered if it is because the speakers are 5.25'' speakers. Because I remember on my old 6x9s they pumped out a lot of good mid/low frequency because they were full range, and big. These woofers even though they are higher quality, arent as big =/. The subwoofer is great but I wonder if maybe I put the low pass too low? I think its around 50 right now but I wonder if my small polk woofers can even get that low.

The subwoofer does sound really great, for SOME songs. For other songs where it is a fast beat. I hear it get muddy because it is not a clean hit for the beat. Its a hit and then it vibrates for a second so instead of hearing a fast beat you just hear the continous subwoofer. I think you can kinda guess how it sounds, but for other songs its great. Any idea how to fix that?

also http://www.sonicelectronix.com/pictures_new.php?id=17630&picture_id=244153 In that picture where it says "min/max" dial next to the bass boost, is that the bass boost dial, or the gain dial? I have not touched either of them and I wonder if I should have...

The subwoofer I have is a 12'' polk audio one, and this is the box I got http://www.ebay.com/itm/230686505069?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 . Do you think maybe that box is just not good with my subwoofer? Is there any way to make it a more clean strike than muddy?

And also last but not least, my radio on my head unit hasnt worked ever since I took it out and put the other 2 RCA inputs in and disconnected the battery and all that. I heard you have to push reset on the system somewhere before you put it back. Unfortunately I learned that after the fact when it was all put back together, So I figured id leave well enough alone but now the Radio doesnt work anymore. Any suggestions?

KaosTsoc

Ok. Well let's start with the radio. This may sound dumb in all or condescending, but it is not ment that way. If you look at the picture you posted in post 23. There is a hole just to the left of the rca's. Do you have your antenna hooked into that hole? As for the sound in the 5.25, they should handle the 50hz range from what I understand (mac, or arun please chime in here), however you might what to set that a little higher like in the 60hz range. As for the min/max dial you are talking about, that is your gain. The actual switch that is to the left of that is your bass boost. Now, if you going to mess with the gain, you will need to turn it all the way down to min. Turn up your radio to 80% of max volume, so if your hu max is 40 then 30 or so should be 80% I think. Kind of fuzzy on the math.... anyways. With the HU at 80% turn the gain on channels 1/2 toward the max side bit by bit. Since your amp is in the trunk, you will end up turning the gain a little, go to the door speakers, and listen. If you hear audiable distortion (you will know what it is when you hear it, it will should waffled, or about to blow), you will go back to the amp, and turn the gain down just a bit, and your set there. As for the sub, you will do the samething. Once you have this done you will have your amp set to the approximate voltage that your HU is putting out. As for the bass boost I would not mess with it too much, you will end up putting to much of a boomy sound out. Try this, and see what happens, but just be careful when adjusting the gain. You can end up blowing your speakers, and worse yet blowing the amp. Which in both cases you do not want to do, because that would put back to square one. Just remember the gain knob is NOT VOLUME control. If Arun, mac, dskip, or anyone will chime in about the frequency that would help too. Hope this helps.

Thanks

dan553

Thanks. I actually just found out that my subwoofer box is a lot bigger than its supposed to be. My sub is meant for a .88 cu ft box and my box is 1.36 cu ft. I will take it out and try putting in a few 2x4s in some places to make it smaller.

Kazimir

dan553 wrote: »

Thanks. I actually just found out that my subwoofer box is a lot bigger than its supposed to be. My sub is meant for a .88 cu ft box and my box is 1.36 cu ft. I will take it out and try putting in a few 2x4s in some places to make it smaller.

That may be a bit big, however depending on what your looking for, larger than manufactures specs can yield a better sound. Ex: Polk recommends 1.2cu ft for the SR line sealed, but for SQ, a lot run 1.5-1.7cu ft.

pentoncm

We're talking about the Dxi speakers right? I had the db's and they really did not do too well with a HPF of 50Hz. For one, it made it seem like there was a gap in the response, and two it muddied up the midrange detail.

I'd suggest keeping it at 60 or 63Hz.

With regards to setting the gain, the old 80% rule is not the best. My headunit the Excelon X595 goes all the way up without clipping. It outputs 4V at volume 35 and like 2.5V at 34. If I set my HU for 80% I would be sending the amps less 1V potentially requiring the gains on the amps to be turned up.

For the speakers turn the gain all the way down. Now turn up the volume on your headunit until it distorts. Note this number and take it back one or two notches and set your amp gain then. It might not distort at all, My last HU pioneer 6000UB went up to 60/62 without clipping.

dan553

my gear is

Front speakers - Polk Audio DXI 5 1/4'' component
Sub - Polk Audio DXI 124 12'' subwoofer SVC
Amp - Soundstorm SSL f4 800
HU - Aftermarket Sony head unit.

dan553

Alright pals, next questions on my journey (haha when you get tired of them just tell me to stop)

I returned my polk 5 1/4''s to purchase a component setup that is 6 1/2'' and will give me the lower end I am looking for. I am looking at the boston acoustic sr 60 set. They seem pretty thick and like they can deliver some decent bass.

My questions are, when I took out my component system today, there was a lot of moisture on the magnet. Where the front of my speaker is, it is lined with dynamat, but the back has a LOT of moisture. Not exactly 1-2'' of water sitting but enough for where you slide your finger down it, it gets very wet. So the question is, is this normal, and if it is, can non-marine speakers (such as Bostons), survive in that type of environment?

2nd question. I noticed that (and I am PRETTY sure I started hearing this when I lined my drivers side door with dynamat), when my head unit is turned on, I hear a higher pitched noise that just stays constant. When I push in the throttle, it seems to get higher pitched, like eventually my car might take off or something. When the music is louder you cant hear it, but if you are listening to music on a lower setting you definitely notice it. Any ideas on what it might be? My theory was that maybe when I forgot to setup the antenna in my hu correctly after reassembling it, its the radio trying to pick up bad pitches or something but this happens even when the tuner radio is not on. Any ideas?

dan553

Alright ill check that out. thanks a lot man

dan553

well, none of the wire seems to be exposed. Its relatively new, heavy shielded wire too. I wonder if maybe because it is just laying on a metal piece connected to the alternator that it is transferring? Maybe I'll try just shifting the placement around a bit and see if it goes away. Unfortunately I cant put it all back together until I get my new 6 1/2''s in. Im so excited! Every one kept telling me that the polk audio mm6501s were the way to go, and I wanted to get them so bad. They were my first choice to begin with. My accord's fits 6 1/2''s in the front but unfortunately the mounting depth available is only 2'', while these take I think 2 7/16. I have a small bracket that best buy put on a long time ago to raise them out a bit, but I think it is just not enough because crutchfields calculator, as well as their customer service said it wouldnt go in. So ima try out the boston acoustics sr60 and see how they go.

dan553

Is this my antenna wire?

KaosTsoc

Yes that is antenna line. Plug that in, and you should get radio. As for Alternator whine, here are some things that you can do to help with that. One like DSkip put, check under the hood to make sure no wires are exposed, and or touching the alternator. Once this is done, and checked off. Go inside, and trace your rca cables, and your power wire from battery to amp. If these wire are crossing each other make sure they are at a 90 degree angle, and put some wire flum around the rca cable, and tape off the ends. Now if the power wire, and rca cables are running right along each other. You will either need to run your power cable in a different place, or put wire flum around the rca cables all the way from front to back. Flum is expensive though, so the cheeper way is to rerun the power cable to another side, where there are no rca, or speakers wires that are close to it. Once this is checked off, go to the trunk, and make sure that the speaker, and rca cables are on one side, and the power, ground, and rem wires are on the other side. If not then rerun accordingly so that they are seperate from each other. If you need to flum any of these, do so. Also while you are back in the trunk, trace your ground wire, and make sure that this is grounded correclty, and is actually touching metal. What you are looking for is an area where it looks like the paint was ground down to metal. If this is good, then that should take care of noise. If not, then the only other thing I can think of, is that the voltage coming from the HU is not strong enough to drown out the noise. I almost forgot.... the reason you want the cables sepereated is, so that the power cable does not interfer with the signal from the the rca's. As power is being transfered from battery to amp, it is more or less pulsing the whole time, and this "field" around the power cable can (if other cables are close) bleed into other cables. Also running the cables at 90 degrees cross will help mitigate the noise interfereance. Hope this helps. Keep us posted on your result.


Thanks

dan553

Well, I have everything set and the whole system is done (for now). I appreciate every ones help. Sounds good. I returned the 5.25 polk dxis for a pair of 6.5 Kenwood Excelon KFC-X1730P. When I talked to some one at crutchfield they told me that they would deliver the bass kick I want. Well, I do get a bit more bass but I am not really sure if the sound quality is any better. Those polks sounded amazing, even for the smaller size of them. Hopefully once these get broken in and I mess with the angeling of the tweeters and eq it will sound great. I also had a lot of trouble fitting these into the doors. They say they fit with a bracket but unfortunately it doesnt. The 1 on the right door is just attached to the metal panel while the left one is on a bracket. Somehow the holes do not match each other its weird. Either way, they do sound good, just not sure if they are AS good as the dxis i had. I would have gone with more polks but unfortunately the polk 6.5s dont fit my door so I had to choose another brand. Hopefully they'll work out.

emy

There is series, and parallal, but for just hooking up one sub woofer you dont need to do this. Just hook up positive from sub to positive on channel 3, then negative from sub to negative on channel 4. Dont' worry you will be fine, and the sub will, and can take it.