Am I crazy or could................

IrishChamp
IrishChamp Posts: 140
edited December 2008 in Car Audio & Electronics
One side of my car sound better or rather different than the other? I noticed that the passenger side of the car sounds a little brighter and crisper, at first I thought maybe the gains or balance were off but balance is fine and I have the speakers wired so the two woofers are the two front channels and the two tweeters are the rear channels so I can't see how the sound difference would come from one side in the tweeter range because the gains could not make one tweeter sound different than the other.
anyone have any advice?
thanks
HU: Clarion DRZ9255 4 Way Active:
HIGH: Polk SR52500 tweets. MID: SR5250 woofers. LOW: SR6500 woofers. SUB: Two Polk MM1240svc's 1010rms sealed in 1.75 cu.ft. AMPS: Arc Audio FD4150, FD2200 & FD1200.1.
Post edited by IrishChamp on
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Comments

  • only126db
    only126db Posts: 157
    edited December 2008
    It could be a difference in the speaker from manufacturing, it could be due to reflections inside the vehicle, it could be due to the angle at which the sound hits your ears, it could be a channel of the amplifier or head unit being weaker than the other, it could be a loose wire not getting full contact to efficiently carry the signal, there are many things it could be...
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  • Thom
    Thom Posts: 723
    edited December 2008
    The passenger side sounds better when sitting in the driver's seat? What if you sit in the passenger's seat?
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  • tk421
    tk421 Posts: 156
    edited December 2008
    lol.. no u'r not crazy.

    most cars aren't symmetrical. most amps aren't symmetrical. most ears aren't identical.

    so u have two different ears, each with their own response curve. an amp that is probably putting out different levels. and a car that is reflecting and absorbing sound in a non-uniform manner.

    this is where your tuning skills come in :-)
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  • tk421
    tk421 Posts: 156
    edited December 2008
    you can use fancy equipment, or you can use your ears.

    use a test cd for sure. play pink noise on each channel. eg - chesky's surround sound setup cd. listen for intensity differences and adjust your gains. trust me.. your ears are damn good at sensing intensity.

    after setting levels properly with wide band pink noise... u can then start adjusting cross overpoints etc and then do some fine tuning via EQ. be careful of using limited band EQs to tune since they are like band-aids and can lead to comb filtering
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  • IrishChamp
    IrishChamp Posts: 140
    edited December 2008
    It sounds better sitting in either seat, putting my head right in the middle of the car etc, I'm pretty sure it actually sounds better and its not just the car, I'm going to redo all wire connections and see if that helps, if that does not help I will switch channels around and see if that changes anything.
    Thom wrote: »
    The passenger side sounds better when sitting in the driver's seat? What if you sit in the passenger's seat?
    HU: Clarion DRZ9255 4 Way Active:
    HIGH: Polk SR52500 tweets. MID: SR5250 woofers. LOW: SR6500 woofers. SUB: Two Polk MM1240svc's 1010rms sealed in 1.75 cu.ft. AMPS: Arc Audio FD4150, FD2200 & FD1200.1.
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  • IrishChamp
    IrishChamp Posts: 140
    edited December 2008
    I'm really wishing I had some tuning ability right now, I have a factory headunit and no EQ or sound processor (yet). I gues I could adjust the gains up one one side either with the crossovers or by rewiring and using the amps gains, also, my Pac Audio device for my headunit has left and right gains, I should check those as well.
    tk421 wrote: »
    lol.. no u'r not crazy.

    most cars aren't symmetrical. most amps aren't symmetrical. most ears aren't identical.

    so u have two different ears, each with their own response curve. an amp that is probably putting out different levels. and a car that is reflecting and absorbing sound in a non-uniform manner.

    this is where your tuning skills come in :-)
    HU: Clarion DRZ9255 4 Way Active:
    HIGH: Polk SR52500 tweets. MID: SR5250 woofers. LOW: SR6500 woofers. SUB: Two Polk MM1240svc's 1010rms sealed in 1.75 cu.ft. AMPS: Arc Audio FD4150, FD2200 & FD1200.1.
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  • IrishChamp
    IrishChamp Posts: 140
    edited December 2008
    I guess I could swap side with the tweeters or both speakers, see if that changes things, I just want to know what it is, I can live with it if I know what it is!!!! :)
    only126db wrote: »
    It could be a difference in the speaker from manufacturing, it could be due to reflections inside the vehicle, it could be due to the angle at which the sound hits your ears, it could be a channel of the amplifier or head unit being weaker than the other, it could be a loose wire not getting full contact to efficiently carry the signal, there are many things it could be...
    HU: Clarion DRZ9255 4 Way Active:
    HIGH: Polk SR52500 tweets. MID: SR5250 woofers. LOW: SR6500 woofers. SUB: Two Polk MM1240svc's 1010rms sealed in 1.75 cu.ft. AMPS: Arc Audio FD4150, FD2200 & FD1200.1.
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  • IrishChamp
    IrishChamp Posts: 140
    edited December 2008
    I can only do some of this as I have a pretty basic setup right now but eventually I will get a nice sound process/EQ and do some real tuning, hopefully I can figure out what it is now and improve it so I can live with it without going crazy! :)
    tk421 wrote: »
    you can use fancy equipment, or you can use your ears.

    use a test cd for sure. play pink noise on each channel. eg - chesky's surround sound setup cd. listen for intensity differences and adjust your gains. trust me.. your ears are damn good at sensing intensity.

    after setting levels properly with wide band pink noise... u can then start adjusting cross overpoints etc and then do some fine tuning via EQ. be careful of using limited band EQs to tune since they are like band-aids and can lead to comb filtering
    HU: Clarion DRZ9255 4 Way Active:
    HIGH: Polk SR52500 tweets. MID: SR5250 woofers. LOW: SR6500 woofers. SUB: Two Polk MM1240svc's 1010rms sealed in 1.75 cu.ft. AMPS: Arc Audio FD4150, FD2200 & FD1200.1.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tk421
    tk421 Posts: 156
    edited December 2008
    IrishChamp wrote: »
    It sounds better sitting in either seat, putting my head right in the middle of the car etc, I'm pretty sure it actually sounds better and its not just the car, I'm going to redo all wire connections and see if that helps, if that does not help I will switch channels around and see if that changes anything.

    ohhh ohhh.... my bad. i now fully understand what u said.

    it's an off-axis problem u have. the speakers on the far side benefit from a better on-axis path to your ears. i will guess that your locations are stock with the speakers mounted on the same plane as the door.

    what speakers are you using? different speakers have different off-axis responses. i venture to say that it is a lot easier to change the speakers rather than to mount them on-axis.

    it take a lot os listening and fiberglass work to get speakers angles properly. ESPECIALLY if they are on the doors. u can sometime compromise on the angles a bit and make the job easier. maybe use mdf rings and angle them. seal with silicone or something. cause glassing is a pain.
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