I know I did a thread yesterday on wiring 2 12" subs...but I thought this one should be in it's own thread instead of carrying on with that topic.
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on maybe the best way to tweak your system to get it to sound to your liking? I was wondering because I went with where the gain on my amp was for my 1 10" Kicker Comp Sub from my old car and just slightly turned the gain up and down and have also been adjusting the Bass and Sub controls on my head unit to try and get it to that great all around sound I use to have...but it's not coming along quickly. It took me 2 years or more to finally hit it right on my old setup but now of course I have 2 12" Punch Subs in a ported box and it's going to need some adjustments. I thought I had it just right when I didn't touch the gain and it sounded pretty good but I wanted more punch so I slightly turned the gain up and now it seems to be too much power at that volume level because it's loud but you don't feel the hitting force or sound of it. When you turn down the volume it sounds so much better and you can hear the hitting in the subs and that's what I want only at a louder volume so you could feel that. So I was thinking maybe I could turn the gain down a bit and compensate by maybe turning up the bass on the head unit a notch or the sub output? I am beginning to wonder if it's because the box is ported and maybe it would sound better to me in a sealed enclosure? One thing I hated about my bandpass box I had once back in 94...You had to have it at a low volume for it to sound good...if you turned it up loud, it lost it's punch. Wasn't too sure about a ported enclosure though and thought I'd give it a try...It sounds good, no doubt but that question about a sealed box still lingers in my mind...
What are some good tips for tuning a system? Start from 0 on the gain on the amp and move it little by little? My PPI amp is so old I don't have a knob I can just turn by me and I can sit it in the seat next to me and adjust it as I go down the road cause of the lack of wire and stuff to extend it up to the seat...So I have to lean over and and adjust the gain with a screw driver every morning to adjust it.
Just wondering if anyone has any good tips
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on maybe the best way to tweak your system to get it to sound to your liking? I was wondering because I went with where the gain on my amp was for my 1 10" Kicker Comp Sub from my old car and just slightly turned the gain up and down and have also been adjusting the Bass and Sub controls on my head unit to try and get it to that great all around sound I use to have...but it's not coming along quickly. It took me 2 years or more to finally hit it right on my old setup but now of course I have 2 12" Punch Subs in a ported box and it's going to need some adjustments. I thought I had it just right when I didn't touch the gain and it sounded pretty good but I wanted more punch so I slightly turned the gain up and now it seems to be too much power at that volume level because it's loud but you don't feel the hitting force or sound of it. When you turn down the volume it sounds so much better and you can hear the hitting in the subs and that's what I want only at a louder volume so you could feel that. So I was thinking maybe I could turn the gain down a bit and compensate by maybe turning up the bass on the head unit a notch or the sub output? I am beginning to wonder if it's because the box is ported and maybe it would sound better to me in a sealed enclosure? One thing I hated about my bandpass box I had once back in 94...You had to have it at a low volume for it to sound good...if you turned it up loud, it lost it's punch. Wasn't too sure about a ported enclosure though and thought I'd give it a try...It sounds good, no doubt but that question about a sealed box still lingers in my mind...
What are some good tips for tuning a system? Start from 0 on the gain on the amp and move it little by little? My PPI amp is so old I don't have a knob I can just turn by me and I can sit it in the seat next to me and adjust it as I go down the road cause of the lack of wire and stuff to extend it up to the seat...So I have to lean over and and adjust the gain with a screw driver every morning to adjust it.
Just wondering if anyone has any good tips
Can't do anything port wise to the box as I purchased it from Crutchfield...I didn't make it...THe best way to show box specs are this:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-8N9uqTuDP2h/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=575pl1212&cc=01&wm=cl
Ride:
2003 Honda Civic Coupe EX
I have a old school PPI Sedona Series 100ix that's pushing 180 watts into a 4ohm load bridged. Crossover frequency is 90Hz. I don't know...I'm trying all I can and it just seems like it's not punching or hitting enough. I'm looking at purchasing a Rockford Fosgate Punch P3002 that puts out 300watts bridged into a 4ohm load. I think that will give me the hit I need. I just thought 180watts would be enough but I guess not...Oh well...
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-8N9uqTuDP2h/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=575pl1212&cc=01&wm=cl
Ride:
2003 Honda Civic Coupe EX
I have a old school PPI Sedona Series 100ix that's pushing 180 watts into a 4ohm load bridged. Crossover frequency is 90Hz. I don't know...I'm trying all I can and it just seems like it's not punching or hitting enough. I'm looking at purchasing a Rockford Fosgate Punch P3002 that puts out 300watts bridged into a 4ohm load. I think that will give me the hit I need. I just thought 180watts would be enough but I guess not...Oh well...
Wish I could but I don't have a adjustable X over on this PPI...This is one of the older models that have the SIP frequency chip and that's the one that came with the amp and I bought this amp back in 94 so I can't find any other crossover pins to try. If I take that out, the amp doesn't operate in Low Pass mode and then would be Full Range and it sounds terrible like that 
Only thing adjustable on this amp is turning the X over on or off and the gain. Why I think getting another amp with crossover controls and bass control is the way to go...and with the extra added power, it should hit right where I want it. My only concern is my electrical system...The amp in there now is running a 20amp fuse in it and throwing out 180watts with no flicker in the lights or anything which I love but now the Punch amp I'm looking at has a 40amp fuse and punching 325watts (Looking at a different punch amp) and I just don't want any headlights or anything to flicker on it. I heard from a audio specialist at Audio Express that there should be no issues whatsoever (when I asked about the 180watts I would be pushing cause my 94 Toyota Paseo that I use to have, lights would flicker) as Hondas have excellent alternators and they have installed much bigger systems into other cars like mine with no issues at all. Right now no flickering but I guess we'll see after I get the amp
Only thing adjustable on this amp is turning the X over on or off and the gain. Why I think getting another amp with crossover controls and bass control is the way to go...and with the extra added power, it should hit right where I want it. My only concern is my electrical system...The amp in there now is running a 20amp fuse in it and throwing out 180watts with no flicker in the lights or anything which I love but now the Punch amp I'm looking at has a 40amp fuse and punching 325watts (Looking at a different punch amp) and I just don't want any headlights or anything to flicker on it. I heard from a audio specialist at Audio Express that there should be no issues whatsoever (when I asked about the 180watts I would be pushing cause my 94 Toyota Paseo that I use to have, lights would flicker) as Hondas have excellent alternators and they have installed much bigger systems into other cars like mine with no issues at all. Right now no flickering but I guess we'll see after I get the amp The amp was installed by a local audio dealer in my area...I could have done it myself but I did not want to mess anything up elctronically (like near the computer or fuse box) on this new nice car.
Subs are 8ohms that are wired parallel bridged to the amp to produce a 4ohm load.
Box has the subs facing towards the trunk...back of the car. I have found that has produced the most bass feel.
I actually have come a long way this weekend. I made more larger gain adjustments cause I wasn't feeling it before and I have to say...I'm feeling it now LOL It's probably at where I want it right now as a lot of the songs I wanted to listen to sounded pretty damn good this morning. Some though still don't sound quite right. So not sure what I might do now...I might look into getting a sealed enclosure and take the subs out of the ported box and stick them in there for maybe more of a accurate response in the bass. I'm the kind of guy that likes everything to be sounding good and in perfect harmony..not just the bass. I'm trying to decide to either do that or get a new amp with different crossover frequency control and a bass knob to have the system sound good at the volume level I want it at. I might not need another amp but for someone who loves music as much as I do and loves a good system, I want to sound the best it can so maybe another amp might be the way to go.
Do you think a sealed enslosure would sound better for 2 12's though?
Subs are 8ohms that are wired parallel bridged to the amp to produce a 4ohm load.
Box has the subs facing towards the trunk...back of the car. I have found that has produced the most bass feel.
I actually have come a long way this weekend. I made more larger gain adjustments cause I wasn't feeling it before and I have to say...I'm feeling it now LOL
It's probably at where I want it right now as a lot of the songs I wanted to listen to sounded pretty damn good this morning. Some though still don't sound quite right. So not sure what I might do now...I might look into getting a sealed enclosure and take the subs out of the ported box and stick them in there for maybe more of a accurate response in the bass. I'm the kind of guy that likes everything to be sounding good and in perfect harmony..not just the bass. I'm trying to decide to either do that or get a new amp with different crossover frequency control and a bass knob to have the system sound good at the volume level I want it at. I might not need another amp but for someone who loves music as much as I do and loves a good system, I want to sound the best it can so maybe another amp might be the way to go. Do you think a sealed enslosure would sound better for 2 12's though?
one thing you can try is to reverse the polarity of the subs....reverse the negative and positive wires at the amp....it will either sound better or worse...and may blend better with the mids, making the bass 'appear' to be tighter.
if you want to try a sealed box, cover up the port and make sure it is sealed completely.
try facing the box forward and moving the box all the way to the back...good for spl in most rides, if you can fold down the rear seats even better...or take out the rear speakers.
most cars ive made boxes for always sounded better with the port on the side....when facing backwards that is.
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for a sealed box, the best location ive found is to make two seperate boxes set all the way in the back and facing towards each other, about 16" apart...great for SQ...blends in really good with mids.
for sealed spl...sub way in back facing forward.
box/port orientation is very important, you'll find that some of the weirdest locations will sound best....not much for looks though.
good luck!
if you want to try a sealed box, cover up the port and make sure it is sealed completely.
try facing the box forward and moving the box all the way to the back...good for spl in most rides, if you can fold down the rear seats even better...or take out the rear speakers.
most cars ive made boxes for always sounded better with the port on the side....when facing backwards that is.
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for a sealed box, the best location ive found is to make two seperate boxes set all the way in the back and facing towards each other, about 16" apart...great for SQ...blends in really good with mids.
for sealed spl...sub way in back facing forward.
box/port orientation is very important, you'll find that some of the weirdest locations will sound best....not much for looks though.
good luck!
Thanks for the tips Well, I downloaded a pdf of my headunit's instruction manual a while back so I could look at it at work and checked it today and noticed something in the audio options...I always new it had crossovers in it and new that HPF (High Pass Filter- Didn't know it was called this) was for the highs crossover for my front speakers and HPR was for (Rear High Pass Filter-Didn't know it was actually called a filter here either) the crossovers in my rear speakers but I always thought LPF stood for Low Pass Front but this is actually called the Low Pass Filter and it controls the frequencies in my subs. I felt like a idiot Anyways, my amp has the SIP in it and it's running at 90hz (Standard in the PPI Sedonas at the time when you bought the amp) so I messed around with the available frequency crossover ranges: 60/80/120/Through. I always left it at through before because when I would change it it was usually pretty low volume and didn't make any difference. It made a difference on this setup, and it sounds damn good now!! I think it sounds best around 60 or 80hz on the crossover. Don't know what my frequency truly is now being as the amp is at 90hz and I have the radio turned to 60 or 80..?? When that bass hits from the bass guitar and drums..I couldn't even see the road!! I was so surprised at how much of a difference it made, and it was not just loud but clean...as clean as when I had my 10 setup. I don't think I'm going to get a sealed box now...It sounds damn nice in the ported I also don't think I need another amp either...Even though I'm grinding at the teeth to get a new one so who knows 
It's all coming into play now for me and I sure am enjoying my sound system and new car a lot more now
Well, I downloaded a pdf of my headunit's instruction manual a while back so I could look at it at work and checked it today and noticed something in the audio options...I always new it had crossovers in it and new that HPF (High Pass Filter- Didn't know it was called this) was for the highs crossover for my front speakers and HPR was for (Rear High Pass Filter-Didn't know it was actually called a filter here either) the crossovers in my rear speakers but I always thought LPF stood for Low Pass Front but this is actually called the Low Pass Filter and it controls the frequencies in my subs. I felt like a idiot Anyways, my amp has the SIP in it and it's running at 90hz (Standard in the PPI Sedonas at the time when you bought the amp) so I messed around with the available frequency crossover ranges: 60/80/120/Through. I always left it at through before because when I would change it it was usually pretty low volume and didn't make any difference. It made a difference on this setup, and it sounds damn good now!! I think it sounds best around 60 or 80hz on the crossover. Don't know what my frequency truly is now being as the amp is at 90hz and I have the radio turned to 60 or 80..?? When that bass hits from the bass guitar and drums..I couldn't even see the road!! I was so surprised at how much of a difference it made, and it was not just loud but clean...as clean as when I had my 10 setup. I don't think I'm going to get a sealed box now...It sounds damn nice in the ported I also don't think I need another amp either...Even though I'm grinding at the teeth to get a new one so who knows It's all coming into play now for me and I sure am enjoying my sound system and new car a lot more now - Status
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