My system doesn’t sound good. Why?

I wanted to have a front-stage bass, so I've put a sub infront in my 97 Dakota truck. Here is a pic:



All is good, but the sound isn't what I hoped for. I used to have a sub in the trunk of my Prelude, and that was a totally different story. With this setup in the truck, I barely even get my sit to shake. My amp gains are turned all the way up, but it doesn't hit as hard as in Prelude. I have a PG Xenon 600.1 powering a Polk Audio 10 inch sub (which is 500 wrms). Prelude had a PG Xenon 400.1 powering a 10 inch Infinity Kappa Perfect (350 wrms) sub. Is it because of the location of the sub, crappy sub, or something else? My box is 100% sealed, no leaks, and is just 0.1 cubic feet more than needed. A little disappointing after spending so much money and time building all this to get me an average sounding system.

the location of the sub probly has a lot to do with it and the fact that you are tring to get truch shaking bass and chose a single 10 inch woofer for the job plays a big role. looks nice tho. jus asking what is the air space you have there?

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bring back the rotary phone so i dont have to press 1 to proceed in english

Yea, and located there you could use it to hold spare change when you're not playing it.  Nice work on the cosmetics, though.

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Support the12volt.com

yeah its a shame that you arent satisfied, because that is one sick enclosure you built.

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99 Blazer LT.   Yellow Top. Big 3. Infinity Kappa Speakers All Around. Jensen CD/DVD flip out. 2 Infinity Kappa Perfect 12DVQs powered by a Alpine PDX600.1 (in one custom box, building a FG box)

that looks sweet, how did you make that? i would love to be able to make something like that.

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- mike k

josh1979 wrote:

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the location of the sub probly has a lot to do with it and the fact that you are tring to get truch shaking bass and chose a single 10 inch woofer for the job plays a big role. looks nice tho. jus asking what is the air space you have there?

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I'm comparing it to my old car, which also had a single 10 inch sub. It was driven by the same amp, but with less power, and even had its gains turned down, while still shook my car well. This one only makes my cd player skip sometimes, if I turn it up a lot, but that's 'cause it is so close to it.

The air space is 0.76 cubic feet. The recommended space is 0.66 for the MM104 sub.

i bet it has to do with the way the sub is facing. The way the sound waves are reflecting, they are probably cancelling each other out a bit some where along the way.

Build a small sealed wood box for it and then play around with the placement and direction to see if that changes anything.

mfklein24 wrote:

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that looks sweet, how did you make that? i would love to be able to make something like that.

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Thanks to everyone for nice comments. I've built it with fiberglass and body filler. I'm not sure if covering all the steps is in scope of this thread, but in a few words, you layout the bottom part of the box with fiberglass, secure the mounting ring onto it, pull a cloth over the ring and wrap it around the bottom part of the box, fiberglass that, add body filler, texture & paint, and done. That was also my first fiberglass project...and probably my last, lol. Too messy, expensive and time consuming.

I guess it's better to see...





And here is where I've "hidden" my amps...

killer sonata wrote:

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i bet it has to do with the way the sub is facing. The way the sound waves are reflecting, they are probably cancelling each other out a bit some where along the way.

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There is no second source to cancel them out. But it definitely has to do something with the location, because if I sit on the back sit, then I can feel more bass, and you feel less if you sit in the front. Standing beside an opened trunk is also very different from sitting inside the cabin with a closed trunk, and my guess it just the way it is when you're so close to it. The sub itself also seems to be lazy, as it doesn't move in and out as much as the Infinity sub.

luckydevil wrote:

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Build a small sealed wood box for it and then play around with the placement and direction to see if that changes anything.

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That would be a good idea, but is not very practical for me at this moment. I'll be selling this truck very soon anyway, so I just wanted to get some ideas to what could be the cause of average bass.

vbel]T wrote:

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ere is no second source to cancel them out.

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there doesnt have to be a second source. if the sound wave bounces off the roof and then off the back glass and ends up crossing itself at the right angle, it could cancel itself out.

Killer is correct. A single sub in the wrong position in the vehicle can cancel itself out. Moving it around can sometimes make all the difference.

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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.

John | Manteca, CA

Thats a shame it came out so well and your not getting the sound youd like. but you learn from your mistakes.  props on the glass work 

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Alright, I made another attempt to play with amp settings. I set the bass boost on sub amp to about 75% (was at 0% before) and it sounds a whole lot better now. Doesn't hit as hard, but SQ improved considerably. Also added more gain on 2ch speaker amp to adjust for the new sub level, and now the whole thing sounds much, much better. The 100% front-stage setup really came to life now. However, if you're in the rear sit, then everything sounds like complete cr@p. The bass is just too overwhelming and boomy in the back, but gets nicer if you stick your head to the front. Same goes for my speakers. They actually sound like a small sub if you sit in the back (with my sub turned off). Interesting...

By the way, I checked where exactly my sub is pointing, and it is pointing straight at the middle of the cabin ceiling. The 2 speakers point at the rearview mirror. Seems ok to me.

Ignore how it sounds in your back seat.

It is impossible to get a single subwoofer sounding great from all positions in the car.

Selfish? Yes. Focus on you.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

I really don't care about the rear..my stuff and junk don't really care too, since they have no ears. It was just an observation...

perhaps make a gril  of somekind to deflect the sound waves in another direction (make the PG logo or soemthing like that out of plexi glass)  have it like 2" over the subs excrusion limit...see what that might do for ya.

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Tri County KustomZ
certified installer