Do My Dance Bass Boosted
Do My Dance (Drum & Bass Remix), a song by Magic Remixers on Spotify. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services.
Buck PomerantzI've been tinkering with electronics ever since I was a kid - starting with taking apart and putting back together televisions and radios. I always got them back together again and working. I took courses in radio and electronics as a teenager, and became a ham radio operator. I worked in my high school's stage crew, running sound, lights, and a movie projector. After college, I joined a rock 'n roll band as the soundman and learned how to lug around and operate the gear that helps make music sound good and loud.Working in a music store in Austin, Texas, I spent a few years manufacturing, installing, repairing, and operating sound systems. Our customers were recording studios, nightclubs, and touring bands. Eventually I moved back to Charlottesville, Virginia and opened a small demo recording studio.
In 2006, I finally came to my senses and got this job at Crutchfield. They actually pay me to ramble on, rant, and explain the things I love about music, electronics, and getting good sound.Given my background, they put me to work writing about some of the most complex electronic products Crutchfield sells: car amplifiers, digital signal processors, wiring, professional sound mixers, and PA systems.
One of the things I like most about subwoofers is that I can feel the musical emotion directly with my body. The low frequency beat often forces me to dance around, or, at the very least, nod my head along with the rhythm. That's why we all like music in the first place — it moves us.It can take a little time and effort to get the exact bass sound you want from your subs, but the rewards of a well-tuned subwoofer system are overwhelmingly cool and physically satisfying.
Before we get started.If you are looking for information about buying subwoofers, please read our and check out our selection of, then come back here to learn more about setting them up to deliver great sound. First, set your speaker levelKeep in mind, distortion is the enemy — it destroys speakers, subs, and eardrums. Distortion sounds like crackling, flapping, crunching, or hissing that interferes with the distinct sound of a musical instrument. If you power your with an amplifier, it is crucial that the amp's gain is properly set to prevent distortion. Step 1: Remove the distortionWith the amp gain set low, play some music and turn up your receiver's volume until you hear the music distorting; then back off the volume until the music sounds clean again. Note or mark where the receiver's volume is.
This setting is the maximum volume your receiver can go to and still play cleanly.Now, turn the amp's gain up until you hear distortion again; then back off the gain slightly until the distortion goes away. The amp gain is now set, so you can lower the receiver volume to a more comfortable level. Even if your speaker system does not have an amplifier, you still need to find that maximum volume point on your receiver by turning it up to just below distortion level. Now you're ready for some bass Step 2: Flatten the signal, open the low-pass filterTurn your sub amp's gain to its lowest, most counter-clockwise position. Switch its low-pass filter on and set it as high, clockwise, as it will go. If it has a bass boost, turn it off.
If it has a remote level control, set it to its middle position so, later, you have the choice of boosting or cutting the bass on an individual song.Adjust your receiver's bass tone control to its middle, zero, or 'flat' setting, whichever it's called on your stereo. If it has a subwoofer level control, set it, also, to its middle, or 'no gain' setting.
Sometimes receivers have a crossover, low-pass filter, or bass boost on their subwoofer output. Make sure those are all turned off, too.
Start by turning the gain down, and turn off your filters and bass boost.Note: Do not use the low-pass filters, crossovers, or bass boosts on the receiver and the amplifier at the same time. Use one or the other, but not both. The reason is that something called phase distortion generates around each filter or boost's crossover frequency, muddying up the sound. Step 3: Adjust the subwoofer gain and low-pass filterPlay music through your receiver at about one-quarter volume. Turn up the gain of the subwoofer amp until the sound from your subwoofer completely overpowers the other speakers, without distorting. Adjust the low-pass filter downward to eliminate high- and mid-frequency notes.The low-pass filter eliminates the notes you don't want your subwoofer to play. It also acts like a tone control to capture the 'edges' of the kick drum's sound; the attack and release of its boom.
Filter out the cymbals, strings, vocals, and guitars. Leave the bass and the low drums. Step 4: Bass boost and subsonic filterIf you have a bass boost, try carefully turning it up to hear what the bass drum sounds like when you do. Applying just a little bass boost will bring up the kick a lot. Be careful with the bass boost, if you choose to use it — this is where distortion is often introduced into a system. If you hear distortion, lower the sub amp's gain until it goes away.
Use the bass boost to feel the beat in the air your sub moves. Now play with the bass boost.For ported subwoofers, use a subsonic filter on your amplifier to tame any overly loud low notes. This will help decrease the levels of the notes at which the enclosure resonates. Fine-tune all the filters some more to make the bass drum sound tight and dry or loose and reverberant, according to your personal taste. I like reggae and soul, so my bass is plenty loud, but it's a bit drier than most people might like.
The important thing is to keep adjusting your system until you hear something you like. When you're satisfied with the tone of your system's bass and kick, turn the sub amp's gain all the way down. Blending all the frequenciesNow that each piece of the puzzle is set, it's time to bring all the music into focus. Step 5: Matching the subwoofer level to the receiver volumeTurn up the receiver's volume to its maximum, distortion-free position. Then slowly turn up the subwoofer amp's gain until the bass sounds balanced with the rest of the music. That should do it.Run your remote bass boost or level control up and down a little to hear what it does.
Because of the size of the acoustic space in a car, subwoofers sometimes don't combine their sound constructively with the rest of a system's sound waves. If your bass has plenty of volume but seems to lack punch, you can sometimes help it by reversing your sub's speaker leads. This reverses the subwoofer cone's forward and backward movements, which might put all the sound waves together better than the other way. Whichever way sounds best is the right way. Troubleshooting any problemsIf you hear distortion coming from your subs, turn down the sub amp's gain. If, at this point, you cannot get enough bass out of your subwoofer to keep up with the other speakers without distorting, then you will need to get a bigger subwoofer and amplifier combination, with higher power-handling abilities.Do not lower the gain of your full-range amplifier to try and match your lack of subwoofer volume. This would endanger your full-range speakers (when the amp sends out a clipped signal) without achieving the goal of clean, full sound, which is why you put in a subwoofer to begin with.
More power, especially in the bass, is always better than not having enough.Now you should be able to enjoy the robust fullness and beat of your music with your sub tuned up to match your system's capabilities and your ear's preference. Just remember to be polite, and turn your boom volume down when it might bother other people. Learn more about sound tuningFor more information on how to tune your car sound stystem, see. To learn more about getting the best sound out of your amplifier, take a look at our Amplifiers and articles. Alexis Pinero from Santa Rosa Posted on 3/19/2019Good morning,My system right now is pretty weak right now but any advice would be appreciated.1997 Camry four doorSony MEX Xb100BT head unitKicker 6.5 2ways (doors)Kicker 6x9 3ways (rear)Kicker Solo Baric S1217 Sub (trunk)Dual XPR82D amp bridgedOk, so I know I am way under powered for the sub, so where should I for now set the gain? I have tried step one and two nicely.I can feel the sub then it seems the bass floats away.Plus I have seen different info on said sub, like I may not be matching, Ohms wise.
I've seen 1/4, then 2 Ohms for this sub. (Having to check internet due to paperwork loss).Lastly, I have my H/U set at 80hpf and 80 lpf but plan on calling the amp manufacturer to see how I keep any crossover setting off on the amp. There is literally no off switch on the amp for the crossover. Other then gain, I have each all the way down.
Am I failing at steps three through five by having 80/80?Please help a lowly person with any advice. It would be greatly appreciated. Kaden from N.las Vegas Posted on 8/11/2018Whats Good Buck? Hey Brother, i was looking at the Sound Ord/Pioneer 500watt bass package with the 12' subs. Now im am completely ignorant when it comes to any hooking up systems or what i actually need to sound the way i want it. I have a Nissan Titan king cab and was also looking at one of the jvc decks thats like 6.5 ' screen.
Any way im not looking to enter any contests but i wanna here my music and the guy next to me needs to be very upset also, lol, but really want clean sound all music types and bumping that i can feel, ya know the mirror shaking and stuff but very clean. Will the pkg i described above give me that? Thanks for your time. Manuel from Springfield Posted on 5/12/2018Thank you very much!!! Its to late for me to go mess with my subs right now but i believe that article on tuning will greatly help me but the only thing i dont under stand is how come my 2 qauntum 200rms subs would hit about just as hard has my planet audio 750rms when they went wack.
I dont feel im getting what i should have for bass. Shouldn't each planet audio sub put more than both the quantums could put out together? Are the realy 750 rms or is it just words? I think ill have it figured out i just dont know if they realy have 750 watt rms. My rockford fosgate 4 channel amp is hooked up to my jbl door speakers but the passenger door sounds way louder then the rest. The driver door jbl speaker is sometimes loud and some time cuts out a little. One of the back door jbl speakers dont hardly put no sound.
These are brand new jbl door speakers and i had them all hooked up professionally by the Geek Squad. Did they leave a short or are the wires not fully connected?. Brad from Boston Posted on 4/16/2018My gain knob reads 6.5V to.2V (with H and Normal settings inbetween) when reading in a clockwise direction. Although the numbers are getting smaller, its still going 'small gain' to 'big gain' clockwise, correct? I know its basically a potentiometer, but I want to understand the gain ratio better.Your process is much appreciated.
My amp is rated for a higher RMS power than the speakers so I was worried about setting the gain to ensure I don't blow them. It seems like your method will keep the power below the max threshold by avoiding distortion.Thanks!. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 4/4/2018Igo, I don't recommend setting an amp's gain with a voltmeter because you can't tell if the signal being used is distorted or not. The method will work as long as the maximum signal coming from the receiver is clean and unclipped. That sub's voice coils will need to get wired in series to present the amplifier a 3-ohm load, which it can handle. The amp is capable of putting out 1050 watts RMS at 3 ohms, well within the sub's power rating range. In order to achieve 1050 watts RMS through a 3-ohm load takes 56.1 volts AC.
Most meters read AC voltage as an RMS value, but are only accurate around 60 Hz. Jeff from Westminster, OC, Cal Posted on 2/15/2018I just recently had a budget sub system installed in my 2004 Honda Civic 2 door coupe. I choose a Blaupunkt 1500W max 1-Channel Full Range Amplifier which has RMS power of 563W Model #AMP1501. For the sub put a Blaupunkt 10' Single Voice Coil Subwoofer with 600W max power Model #GBW101 which has a RMS power rating of 300W into a Scosche 10' Slot Ported Single Subwoofer Enclosure.so 563W RMS amp going to 300W RMS amp which I believe falls in to the higher end of your power matching guidelines. I have the low pass on the amp set around 80 HZ.
My issue is the amp is barely warm to the touch when pushed hard for a decent period of time, but I am getting an 'electrical heat stress' odor/smell from the air being pushed from the sub port. So I conclude that my amp is not stressed but my sub is.
I would like to push my amp gain a little more but I'm afraid too because of the smell at higher sound pressure levels when I play more sine wavy electronic music. Also scared to push the xmax on the sub to a slap.
The bass quality is unbelievable for such a cheap sub as I have had JL's and a Type R in my past. What do you think? Will I alleviate my fear of burning out or slapping my Blaupunkt sub by switching it out to a sub with higher power handling?. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 12/7/2017Jdog, This article was written to help you tune your subwoofer system - just follow each step. Assuming your 2-channel amp (not mono) is bridged to run your sub, after setting the gain, engage the low-pass crossover. Start with it around 100 Hz and adjust until your sub sounds good. A benefit of buying gear from Crutchfield, is that you could call Tech Support for free help tuning your system.
If you purchased your equipment elsewhere, you can still get expert Crutchfield Tech Support - 90 days-worth for only $30. Click on for details.
Minh Posted on Hi.My subwoofer installed is a MTX Audio Thunder 7500 Sledge Hammer, but I can't seem to find this particular model online? On the box, it says 2 ohms on the bottom and I can't seem to find this subwoofer online at all.Am I missing something here?
2 ohms or 4 ohms?I was thinking to buy the Pioneer GM-D8601 Mono 1600W.4 ohms: 300 watts x 1 chan.2 ohms: 500 watts x1 chan.Whatever ohms the subwoofer is, would it be enough? I'd like to take full advantage of the subwoofer.Regards. Dean from Calgary Posted on 9/11/2017Hi Buck, I have Clarion NZ501 and 2 Clarion 12' 500w RMS ea. In a 2 Ported Bassworx SLRP212 inverted Box tuned (36hz). I have the subs wired @ 2 ohms Total as per your instructions.
They connect to one set of input terminal and I am running a MTX Thunder 1000XD Amp 1,000 watts x 1@2 ohms. I have my subs on top of the box inverted facing down (magnets and wiring on top of the box). It looks awesome and mean! I followed your instructions on setting them up.
They thump hard but I just can't get that low low bass thump that I so desire. I am looking for that heart thumping pounding low low bass sound that I hear and feel from other cars passing by when I'm inside my house. I have tried everything but nothing seems to achieve what I want. I have everything set up right (I think) as per your instructions. Right now I have the gain around 3db and BB off, SS around 38-40, LPF around 55-60. Is there anything you suggest I adjust from the settings I have already? Please help me if you can.THANKS!.
Hunter White from Seattle Posted on 9/3/2017I have my 2 15' 250 watt rms kickers hooked up to a 1200 watt amp (I'd never turn the gain up too far though) and they've done me good for years but after I wired it to my new stereo receiver, I noticed that the HPF on the receiver affects the door speakers AS WELL as the subs. So I can't turn it down too much or it will damage the door speakers and it bottlenecks the low notes of the subs. It's currently at 100hz and if I were to turn it down to, say, 60hz, the music gets louder, distorted at higher volumes, and low notes try to go through door speakers but the subs hit the low notes like I remember before.
It seems like it's acting like an LPF more than and HPF unless I'm misunderstanding. I'm just looking for insight on maybe where I went wrong installing it or if there's an explanation for this behavior?. 2er from Oakland CA Posted on 4/23/2017Just bought my Pioneer BT head unit with Crutchfield. As a audio newby, it was a eye opener as to how how many options are available to refine sound. New to me, except the equalizer. Anyway, went at it on my own to optimize the Kicker KS6.5 system w/ K8 underseat sub. After hours of trying on my own and using your's and other's instructions, got close to working well.
It was after FOLLOWING your instructions and reading the comments was the key. It all takes time and learning, but couldn't be happier with the outcome. Now I understand all the nuances of optimizing my settings. The main thing for one to understand is LPF/ HPF (Crossover/ Cut), and how to drive the speakers as designed and listening closely, with the sound stage in mind. Seemingly complex at first, now I can refine the system at will. The head unit amp is very good (for $129?!), but may venture into adding a amp to drive the speakers to perfection. With the sounds' clarity and feel, I really have a new appreciation for music.
This setup rocks. Thanks for sharing. Matthew from Nottingham Posted on 1/1/2017Just to check I'm not in the wrong because it sounds great, I tried your way of tuning my sub (great advice btw) but it didn't sound right: notes missing, higher and lower notes getting muddled.I noticed my head unit had a LPF - off/125htz/75htz. So following your advice not to use both filters - HU and amp together I left my amp controlling my sub open/far right as it would go, and used my HU filter at 75htz then followed your steps for speaker protection and bring 'the pieces of the puzzle' together.It sounds spot on although I can hear some voice and higher notes coming through the sub - would this damage the speaker? Should I use the 125hts LPF filter on the head unit to remove the high notes? Is this way of tuning a sub way off the mark?Thanks. Daniel Rounds from Pittsburgh Posted on Hey there I have an 'interference' question.
2010 dodge ram. 2 MTX 10' powered by 1200 watt pioneer mono amp. PAC adapter in back of stock receiver to accomodate RCA. (Subs were bought off Crutchfield almost 10 years ago! Still kickin!) Since I installed in new truck, the tune has definitely 'changed' and I think it might have something to do with stock recievers eq settings which are.basic.
Bass -9 to +9 and same for mids and trebs. The problem is that I am getting muddy sounds and interference with the bass kicks and tones. Nothing huge but irritating to me. Could this be my door speakers making bass they shouldnt? Note: receiver eq affects all speakers including sub. I usually have the base on receiver all the way down mid at +3 and treb at +6.
Paul from Knoxville, Posted on 11/9/2016You talk about setting gain then start adjusting bass boost being sure to adjust gain/boost to find what sounds the best to your tatse, without distortion but you turn to say 'When you're satisfied with the tone of your system's bass and kick, turn the sub amp's gain all the way down' why would we turn gain down when we get everything sounding good. I've always ran some bass boost with the gain, and as long as you turn the gain down as boost up it should be fine? (2006-present, (4000w@1ohm)) But if boost is not all the way up then gain shouldn't need be all the way down as long as there isn't any distortion right??
Explain why you suggest turning gain all the way down please. Jay from Dallas, TX Posted on 10/3/2016Hey buck i currently have a power acoustik gt1-6000.1 d rated at 3000 w rms at 2 ohms and two alpine type r rated at 1000 w rms at 2 ohm, what do you think is the best way to have the gain on the amplifier to get the most power safely? One quarter up half? I currently have it at half gain and it does not distort but im concerned it might blow them or damage them, do you think they can handle more? Thanks in advance for your advice as i only have a little time in the car audio scene. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 8/1/2016David, A web search for 'a memphis street edge 250 watt amp' comes up with the 16-SE1.250 Memphis Street Edge 250-watt mono amplifier, and if you have all your speakers and subs connected to it you should get a lot of distortion.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding exactly what you have and how they're connected. If you bought any of your gear from Crutchfield, you could call Tech Support for free help troubleshooting your system. Their toll-free number would be on your invoice. If you purchased your equipment elsewhere, you can still get expert Crutchfield Tech Support - 90 days-worth for only $30. Click on for details. David SMITH from San antonio Posted on 8/1/2016Hello, I have a question.
I have a memphis street edge 250 watt amp. I have a 12 inch jbl sub aswell. I have my speakers wired to the amp, and the sub is powered by the same amp. I had to use a loc behind the head unit, because it looks nice.
My issue is that, I'm not sure I fully grasped your instructions. I followed them, but I'm still getting distortion in my system. It's most noticeable when I'm listening to a heavy bass song and someone is singing or talking at the same time the bass is hitting. The voice becomes very distorted. Am I missing something? I turned the bass boost off in the head unit. Only thing the head unit is boosting is the treble.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 6/3/2016Rob, Setting an amplifier's gain (input level on your amp) properly is the best way to prevent speakers from blowing. Check out for some guidance there. If you bought your speakers or amp at Crutchfield, you could call Tech Support for free help troubleshooting your system. Their toll-free number is on your invoice.
If you purchased your equipment elsewhere, you can still get expert Crutchfield Tech Support - 90 days-worth for only $30. Click on for details. Chip OBrien from Hackettstown Posted on 5/8/2016I have a 2008 Durango with a Kenwood KDC-BT955HD head unit, Infinity Reference 6.5' speakers, with the fronts being components. I have an uninstalled Alpine MRV 353 5 channel amp (50X4 and 150X1) that I was thinking of having installed (have a 10' Box with MTX BT xtreme and 12' MTX also), but then I saw the Kenwood KSC-SW11 powered under-seat amplifier. I'm not looking for earth shaking bass, so I wonder if this is the better way to go.
I also like the idea of the sub being out of the way. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 4/25/2016Glen, Many people use test tones to set amplifier gain, but using them for tuning a system's sound wouldn't work or tell you anything about the sound except at the exact frequency of each test tone. Maybe you're thinking of multi-frequency pink noise, which many people use along with a real-time analyzer (RTA) to equalize a system's frequency response, but that doesn't measure or prevent distortion. Your ears are the best things for perceiving distortion: it makes smooth voices hoarse, strings hiss, and drums crackle. The ultimate goal is for music to sound its best - that's what we listen to, not tones. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 3/11/2016Brad, The amp's input has no effect on the crossover/filter.
When set to 50 Hz, a low-pass filter attenuates, turns down, all the frequencies above that setting. At 50 Hz, the crossover has turned it down by 3 dB. One octave higher, at 100 Hz, the signal will have been turned down a total of 15 dB. That's low volume, but not entirely off - so it's normal to hear a 100 Hz tone with the low-pass set at 50 Hz. The purpose of the low-pass filter in a subwoofer amp is to remove the higher frequency sounds, and I think that's best done by listening to music rather than test tones. Brad from Hollidaysburg, PA Posted on 3/10/2016I have a question regarding my subwoofer crossover settings.
I recently got a kicker 12cx300.1 mono amp tied to a 10' Rockford fosgate P1S2. I kept my stock head unit and used the kicker KISL to tap into my rear speakers and come out to the RCA input of the amp. The amp input level is set to high. The stock head unit has no subwoofer settings, just a graphic equalizer for sound adjustment. When I play back bass test tones it seems the sub plays regardless of what I set.
For example if I set the crossover as low as it goes at 50hz, and then play a 100hz test tone, I still hear it come out of the sub. It just seems like the amp crossover settings are ignored and its playing everything it can. Is this because of the speaker level input? Can it be better set up?.
Brandon guess from Clarksville Posted on 3/3/2016Thanks the setup is only loud enough for me when I turn the gain and bass boost all the way up so does that mean I should get another amp.cause since im turning my bass boost all the way up that means im distorting the signal rite????? And does using low out put converter robbing me of sound vs. Using a preamp cd player im using my factory cd player I have the l.o.c left and rite channel running from my factory sub also is it okay to run my power wire from the main fuse box post our do I need to run it straight from my battery. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 3/2/2016Brandon, Wired, that amp would be able to send each sub about 350 watts RMS, 700 watts total, which, as you note, is a lot less power than their RMS ratings. But you should be alright as long as that 700 watts RMS output is loud enough for you.
Under-powering by itself causes no harm to a subwoofer - after all, you can turn the volume of a sub down without hurting it. Problems arise when the top clean output doesn't sound loud enough and the source or bass boost gets turned up beyond distortion levels sending clipped signals through the subs possibly damaging them. Steve Stockland from Amery, WI Posted on 2/23/2016Hi Buck. Thanks for the great info.I have a Pioneer HU with 2 sets of Pre-outs; Front and switchable Rear/Sub. The Front is ran to a 4 channel Sony amp using Y-cables.
This powers my Pioneer 6.5's in the doors and 6x9's in the rear deck. Settings on the amp are 'HPF@80Hz or OFF' for 2 of the channels, and 'LPF@80Hz or OFF' for the other 2 channels. Since I want HPF on all 4, i have the amp's settings 'OFF' and use the HU's HPF. The Rear/Sub-out runs to a monoblock amp to power my Sony sub. If I have the HU set to 'Sub' it forces LPF, and I can't turn the LPF off on either the HU or the amp. If the HU is set to 'Rear' then I have HPF on my sub, and therefore no bass. If I turn the LPF all the way up to 200Hz on the HU, will I be able to use the variable LPF on the amp with minimal effect of the phase distortion you mentioned?.
Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 2/18/2016Jordan, That receiver has about nine different controls that adjust the sound of the bass, including subwoofer level, bass boost, bass EQ center frequency and level, and a low-pass filter. You'll need to experiment with each one to hear what effect it has on the sound in order to dial in the best tone. If you bought your gear from Crutchfield, you could call Tech Support for free help tuning your system. Their toll-free number will be found on your invoice.
If you purchased your equipment elsewhere, you can still get expert Crutchfield Tech Support - 90 days-worth for only $30. Click on for details. Jordan Wetz from Denver Posted on 2/18/2016Got a question for Buck. I have my amp tuned correctly I think and have no clipping but my head unit (kDC x895 kenwood) has a bass frequency setting that is stumping me. I have tried every setting and notice that when the frequency is set to 50hz on my head unit the bass is really low volume and doesn't seem to hit hard but when I turn the frequency up to its max of 150hz the bass seems way louder and more responsive but only seems to play more of the mid range bass. What setting should I use here? I want deep and mid bass but can't find the right combination of amp tuning and head unit tweaking.
Any advice or further info needed to give correct advice? My amp is a hifonics brutus 1200w and the subs are 2 rockford fosgate p3 12's if that helps any. Thanks in advance. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 1/8/2016Brian, Start with the sub level set as high as you'll ever want it before setting the amp gain.
Same with the bass boost. You can always safely turn the levels down later, but raising them after setting the gain could result in dangerous clipping. Use the low-pass filter on either your receiver or amplifier but not both at the same time. I suggest turning the filter off on your receiver and use the variable low-pass filter of the amp. Follow the steps in the article and start with it at 250 Hz and lower it slowly until you hear the bass sound clear. Keith Etheredge from Columbus, IN Posted on 1/5/2016Thank you Buck! This article, and your other on 4 channel full range amplifiers, just kicked my 2013 RAM 1500's system up several notches of awesome!
I had a question, although I am not likely to change any settings on the system now. I'll ask anyway.In my system I have two kicker 3.5' dash speakers powered by the factory 8.4 inch touchscreen head unit. Along with those, are pairs of kicker 6.5' front doors and 6x9' rear doors, and a JL Audio 10TW1 subwoofer.
All doors and the sub are powered by a JL Audio XD700/5v2 amplifier. My question is. How should we properly blend in the speakers powered by the aftermarket amplifier with those dash speakers driven by the head unit?
Since I have no gain adjustment on the head unit, I basically ignored them and followed your instructions for the other speakers. I'm beyond pleased with the results, but did I just get lucky?Thanks!. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 1/5/2016Eugene, It sounds like you're using a subwoofer originally from another vehicle or a home stereo system, and it has such a high sensitivity that even a little amplification overwhelms it. Try running it off of just one channel of that amp, unbridged, and see if that works better. Maybe your source is distorting and turning down the volume of the sub out of the receiver or line output converter will solve the issue.
Otherwise you should look into getting a subwoofer and amplifier more suited for each other and a car application. Eugene from Beirut Posted on 1/4/2016Hi, I newly installed an 8' Bose 8 Oms subwoofer sealed under passenger seat and bridged it with 2 channels out of 4 channel boss 3000w amp. I am assumming that the amp is very powerful so I am lowering the gain and all to bare minimum and not even one quarter and I'm not getting any clear sound out of the Bose, it distorts and about to blow up in pcs. Anything you could recommend with the investment I have done here without re-investing again with a smaller amp? J Posted on Hey Buck,I have read all of the different 'tuning' articles on here and I am still at a loss. I think I am on the opposite side of the spectrum in that my front stage is being totally over-powered by my subwoofer and I am struggling to bring balance to the force.
I read so many positive reviews on the Polk DB6501 components and how if you put power to them they will really crank out the sound but I have them on a Rockford Fosgate P300x2 and I am not sharing that experience. I have cut the gain and db back on the sub alot is there anything else I can do to get these highs and mids up to scratch with the lows or did I just go overboard with the bass it's a 12' 4ohm dvc being powered by a Kenwood KAC 9106-D.
Clay318 from Columbia Posted on Hi, a few months ago I install a 12 inch Orion XTR subwoofer and I'm using an older kicker amp that is 780 watts if I'm not mistaken. The sub is in an enclosed box that is pretty thin and seems to be made for a jeep, not my suv.
I am getting some rattle and I'm positive that it is not blown. Is the box too small or are my settings not correct. I don't have a LPF option on my amp, I have a sub setting on it that includes dials that have X-Over Freq.(HZ)(50-200), a gain setting from 0-11, a bass boost setting from 0-18. And then two knobs that say Amp next to them with X-Over Freq again with 50-200 and another gain setting with 0-11. On my radio receiver, I have a group in settings called detail set and it has two different settings in that.
Including LPF SUB-W that lets me change it from 85-160HZ, and a SUB-W Phase button that lets me do Normal or REV. Please help me, I don't know what these things mean and where to set it.
Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 12/7/2015James, You should use the high-pass filter on your receiver to clear low bass notes from your full-range speakers, and use the low-pass filter on your powered subwoofer to clear high frequencies away from the bass tones. A good place to start is with both set around 100 Hz, but the printing on most electronic devices is rarely exactly accurate for pointing controls. Follow the steps in this article and you should be able to dial in the tone you're looking for in your system. James Brown from Middleburg Posted on 12/6/2015I recently installed a Kenwood KSC-SW11 powered sub under my seat and a Pioneer DXT-X2769UI head unit. Even though I'm an old dog (58), I've never had or installed a sub and have just a couple of questions. 1) The HU has settings for HPF and LPF, should they be set the same (eg.
Both at 80), or should the HPF be set lower, or set to off? 2) The Kenwood only has volume, frequency and phase for controls.
I'm assuming if I LPF is set to 80 on the HU, then the frequency control knob on the sub should be set at 80 also? Kind of hard to tell exactly where 80 is on the sub's dial that ranges from 50 to 125. Thanks for the help, James. Mark Gray Posted on Hello, good question, hypocritical, a single dvc subwoofer, rated 500 watts RMS at 4 ohms. Now I know you can power each coil with a separate channel or two separate amplifiers if the amplifiers are identical and output/frequency match precisely. But since the sub is rated 500 watts, is that 500 watts per coil?
Or does the manufacturer rating assume both coils are energized together so the combined coils see an input of 500 watts RMS regardless of impedance? So, again hypothetically, using two amps for the one 500w rms DVC Sub, would I use two amps rated at 500w rms each or 250w rms each? This question has bugged me for a long time.Thank you Regards please email me as well as post your response. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on Jeetu, I recommend you set the low-pass filter of your amplifier to clear high- and mid-range sounds from your subwoofer according to how this article says, not according to the specifications published by subwoofer manufacturers. In other words, you should tune a system using your ears, not with your eyes looking at numbers. Different subs have different frequency responses and sound different and the only way you can tell which is better is to listen and find out which sounds better to you. And the only way to tell if your system is distorting is to hear it.
Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on Nishaan, I assume you're using that 4-channel amp to drive your front soundstage with two channels and your sub with the other two channels bridged together. The amp has separate gain controls for the front and rear channels, so there should be no problem setting the gains. Set the gain for the full-range speakers first, with the EQ settings set to flat. Add your tone settings and reset the gain to compensate. Then work on the subwoofer channel's gain and tone settings.
You can set amp gains using a multimeter and test tones, if you know how to use a meter and can figure the target voltages, but tuning by ear and with music often ensures a cleaner, more distortion-free setup than can be accomplished by reading numbers off a meter. Nishaan from Johannesburg Posted on Hello, i have been hunting high and low online for ways to tune my system and stumbled accross your website.I have a series of questions:firstly my system comprises of, Digital Designs C5C amplifier, Digital Design 512 subwoofer in a spec enclosure that I built, and Focal PS165v splits for front stage. I do not have any sound matting done at this stage nor do I have a high output alternator for better voltage. Randy from Missouri City Posted on 9/9/2015Thanks for the reply. Ok so I am understanding that when I adjust my gain on the amp I should turn my (headunit) SW setting all the way up to 15 so I won't clip on different songs? (I mainly listen to Electronic Dance Music if this helps at all).
I had the bass boost on my old sub, but decided to remove it this time around. Also on the headunit I have my bass frequency setting set to 50hz. It doesn't go any lower than 50hz btw. I usually use a 50hz tone, but I will use a 60hz tone and run my gain up to 39.XX volts.
Now on the bass control adjusting this (0-8) it won't bring the voltage up at all on the sub and cause it to clip?. Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 9/9/2015Randy, You have a lot of different controls for your bass, The subwoofer control on your receiver lets you adjust the volume of your subwoofer for each song you play.
If you think you may turn the bass up all the way sometimes, go ahead and set up your gain-setting with this set to full volume. The bass control is a tone control, a boost/cut at 100 Hz.
Your amplifier also has a bass tone control, the wired remote bass boost (0-18 dB at 50 Hz). Set one or the other of these to whatever tone sounds best to you. Then, if you set the amp gain using a 60 Hz 0 dB test tone and a volt meter, a 40-volts AC RMS reading would result in a full 800-watt output into 2 ohms. Randy from Missouri City Posted on 9/8/2015Hello Buck, I am sure my questions are pretty simple and I am just over looking them. I just purchased a Alpine Type R SWR-10D4 and want to wire it into a 2ohm (I know how to do this). Now my amp is a Pioneer GM-D9601 and it is rated at 800w RMS @ 2ohm load. So on my headunit (Kenwood DDX-719) I have both a subwoofer and bass setting.
I have been reading around and some say to set the SW setting to max (0-15) and leave the bass setting on 0. Which do I do here? Now with the DMM I would want to turn the gain up to a bit under 40 volts since the SWR-10D4 can handle 1000w RMS peak. Sam from Rockport Posted on 8/24/2015I have no idea what you were saying in the article. The sentences and definitions used don't fit the names of the adjustments so its no good for me. I have 2 10 in subs (probox) under my back seat in my Dodge ram.
Pioneer with GPS and 7' screen and a 1000 watt amp for the subs and 8oo watt amp for my 6x9s in all 4 doors. I have 2 2' tweeters in my dash. It freekin kicks but I want more sound from my doors to match my dash sound. I spent too much already but my right dash speaker comes on sometimes and don't know what's up with it. I had it replaced once but I guess it wasn't the speaker.
Buck Pomerantz from Crutchfield Posted on 7/21/2015Rick, The section you quote from concerns how to react to a situation where the bass is inadequate. Turning down an amp's gain indeed reduces the chance that the amp will clip the signal, but it increases the chances that a person trying for louder bass will clip the signal coming from the receiver by turning up the volume, and that could be dangerous for speakers and subs. The solution for when full-range speakers are overpowering a sub is not to turn the speakers down but to get a more powerful amp for the sub. Awinash Ragothaman from Durham, NC Posted on 6/10/2015Part 2:The Best Buy professional there did a great job and was kind enough to let me play around with the amp's settings. He even had it installed on the back of the seat where I could reach the settings easily. I played around with the amp's settings and was able to somewhat reach a setting that I could've grown into liking.
Default Dance Bass Boosted Download
But it still wasn't the way I wanted it: tight, repsonsive, precise and balanced. I noticed a lag between my subwoofer and the actuall song, the bass was still boomy, I could feel the bass but not hear it and lots more issues.It was then that I stumbled upon this guide. I followed it verbose and I must say, I am very VERY pleased with the outcome.
I was able to get the exact same sound quality that I had dreamed of for years. I am now able to have audiophile quality sound in my car every single day.
Noob Dance Bass Boosted
Heck, it even sounds better than my home theater. Thank you very much Crutchfield and Buck Pomerantz. Your contribution is very much appreciated.
Awinash Ragothaman from Durham, NC Posted on 6/10/2015Part1:First a little insight: With all the little money I could muster, and splitting the cost of the car into monthly payments, I bought a 2005 Nissan Maxima (with aftermarket Premier radio and OEM Bose speakers) in May 2014. Music is my heart and soul and I wanted to invest in a good subwoofer and mono amp for the setup. I saved for months and bought an Alpine MRX-M55 amplifier and a Rockford Fosgate P2-1X12 loaded enclosure and had them installed at Best Buy.
I was told to not play around with the gain setting as that would void the installation warranty. It was installed in a tight space and I would've had to physically remove the amp to actually get to the settings and I didn't bother doing it. I tinkered around with whatever settings I could find in the head unit but it just didn't sound right. There was this artificial boom and I had to keep changing settings for every song I heard.
I initially thought it was the RF enclosure (it was ported) and bought a sealed enclosure hoping to get a bit more precision. But that didn't help either.Well, the Nissan died on me in May 2015, but I had saved up enough to get myself a brand new Hyundai Sonata Sport (touchscreen radio without Nav). I removed the Alpine and RF from the Maxima and had it reinstalled at a Best Buy in another state I moved to. Posted on 5/20/2015'Note: Do not use the low-pass filters, crossovers, or bass boosts on the receiver and the amplifier at the same time - use one or the other, but not both.' Great advice!
This just confirms my suspicion of why the left channels of both of my BRAND NEW subwoofer amplifiers would stop playing after less than 30 seconds of being powered on. Once I disabled the bass boost and low-pass filters on the amplifiers, everything appeared to work just fine. However, I still felt that I was being short-changed because my amplifiers would only work if didn't use certain features. But just as the above article mentions, I was attempting to use the low-pass filters on both the amplifiers and the head unit.
I've never been so happy to know that the issue was user error. Thank you for the confirmation.
Hey everybody. I have finally succeeded in setting up my audio system, but my speakers aren't pounding.even at max volume and Bass Boosted songs from Youtube, I am barely getting anything. So here's my setup:Receiver: Sony STR-K900Speakers: 2x Technics SB-A26'sI assume I have the settings correct on the receiver itself. I have the Bass cranked as high as it will go.
(+6) The receiver is set for L + R and that's it, only 2 speakers. Any audio tech's out there, please for the love of god, save all this equipment from total annihilation.I am literally about to obliterate all of it with my sledgehammer. Thanks in advance! If the feed into the receiver if from a PC (assuming since this is tom's) then try bypassing the PC and connecting a few other devices e.g.
Portable mp3 player, cd player, etc.If you get the same problem (bass light) then the issue is with the receiver/speaker setup. In this case recheck the receiver/speaker setup - making sure factory default settings are restored, if applicable.If on the other hand, it's only the PC that results in a bass light sound then load the sound application that comes with your motherboard/pc installation. Check all settings here and restore default settings if possible. Make sure that the correct speaker set up is selected in the software to match your speaker set up. Recheck the output jack connections you have used - don't connect to a non existent speaker (as per your setup).
Sounds like your surround sound receiver is set up for a subwoofer (which you don't have) so it takes away all the bass from the front left/right speaker outputs and sends it to the nonexistent sub. Go into the speaker set up menu and set the front speakers to large and sub, center, and surrounds to none.Unfortunately, (as far as I know), I have done this. Basically it's set for L + R and that's it according to the picture it is giving me on the receiver itself. I will go and see if I am doing it correctly and will update if something changes!Update 1: I have no idea how to disable the sub woofer LOL.Update 2: There is no option for me to disable the subwoofer. On the front display however, it is giving me the L+R and SW icons all lit up, but I don't have a subwoofer hooked up at all. Selecting the receiver to operate in stereo will disable the center and rears but won't turn off the subwoofer since if you had one you would probably want it working in stereo and surround modes. The receiver doesn't auto detect if there is a sub connected unless it has an auto set up mode that uses a microphone that came with the receiver.You can set the receiver up from the amp set up button on the remote.
Couldn't find the owners manual but here is a link to the service manual.Set the fronts to large, center sub and rears to none.