Tuning Sub And headunit

[michaelgordon]

I do have another post but that was more about the install in general.  I got that all sorted and have but a Fli Active Trap 10" sub in the boot but having an issue tuning it.

 

I have it to a point that it seems to blend with the rest of the speakers but its lacking punch, id like to feel it more i can turn the sub level up in the head unit settings and it does punch then but id prefer if possible to do it via gain and bass boost.  Am i doing the right thing?

 

I have a pioneer sph-da120  headunit, pioneer 8704 amp and hertz K & X 165 speakers.  Should i be changing the crossover settings on the headunit?  They are all off.   The pioneer amp is set correctly as it matches the headunit it has its own setting and sounds really good.  I just want to get everything sounding as good. 

[Ben–350Z]

The crossover will make a difference - I forgot to set mine properly at first, and it sounded rubbish. It's because you have different speakers trying to make the same sound, which can sometimes cancel out resulting in less punch than expected.

 

You'll probably have to experiment a bit to find what sounds right for your system, but for mine I have the crossover set at 63Hz, with quite an aggressive slope -12dB I think. (Entire dashboard is in pieces in the garage atm, so can't check). Sounds much better after doing that. I also have a low pass filter on my rear speakers, which is somewhere around 220Hz.

 

Hopefully that gives you some idea where to start. But  like I said, it's mostly experimenting...

[michaelgordon]

Cheers again Ben.  I was having a play with it yesterday.  Had to turn the sub speaker level up on the HU and its about there.  Think with that its a bit too loud so will look to tunr the gain and bass boost down a bit.  Ill have a go at the crossovers today ithink when its washed and cleaned.

[Ben–350Z]

Hey, no problem. How're you getting on - found what sounds right yet?

 

Now I've got my car back together, I've been able to check and my crossovers are actually at 80Hz. But that will depend entirely on the speakers & sub you're using.

 

As for gains, my HU has a sub level, which is the first option on its 'audio' menu - I set that to about half, then used the gain on the amp in the sub to set what seemed reasonable. Then if whatever I'm listening to needs more or less bass, I have an easily accessible way to adjust that.

[michaelgordon]

Yes, i think im happy now, have been gradually turned the gain and boost down so it better matches the speaker volume.  Turned the crossovers off for everything it just didn't sound right.  The sub volume on the HU is set to 8/10 and this is giving a nice thump without being overly loud or drowning out.  Could possibly do with a little more lowering as mids are a little in the background.

 

Had to turn the rear volume to -2 and fronts to +4 It was previously 0s and way too much rear and before the sub they were -3 +5 so a little playing with this as well for right balance and a bit more overall volume.

 

I may start playing with the crossovers not i think ive got it balanced.  Like you said above, took a little experimenting to get there.