[Soul_Glo]

I swapped over to a JL10w6v3 from w3.

Since I parted with my under seat subs I've been thinking of setting the sub up to take care of some mid-bass.

The amp is a JL 500/1v2

Here are some settings I tried:

LP 85Hz minimum gain = decent bass but can over power some tracks

LP 100 Hz with 12dB octave and a little more gain = boomy kind of bass which sounds a bit muddy but blends better than being set at 85H with no slope.

Today I tried 120Hz with a 12dB slope and it is probably the best I have got it as the bass sounds like it comes from all speakers and you can only tell where the sub is on the really low notes such as The Dream, Luv Your Girl.

I've been driving around with a screwdriver in my pocket for a week now and keep adjusting it but can't find the best setting.

I have oem under seat woofers

My sub is corner loaded

Any guidance appreciated.

I am able to set gain with a DMM and test tones. Any particular Hz of test tone to try? I used 50Hz for the bass at first.

Thanks


Test Track I am using to test the entire range excluding sub-bass: El Bimbo - Version 88 by Paul Mauriat.

http://mp3joy.net/?query=Paul+Mauria...++Version+88+#



Other Tracks for Tuning:
- Keezo Kane, Keezo's Groove
- Jill Scott, Cross My Mind
- Mad Professor... some dub plates

Update: Someone suggested using the advanced features on the amp by centering at 40Hz, with a 2dB boost and Q of 1.2
I've never liked using these kind of features but they are there for a reason so will try them this evening.

[kaigoss69]

You're going about this the wrong way. You have to utilize the underseat woofers for mid-bass. Subs, especially in small sealed enclosures, do not do very well above 80Hz. Also, you can more easily hear the location of the subwoofer at higher frequencies. Actually, the lower you cut them off, the better it will sound. The key is to amp the underseats and allow them to play as low as possible. Then have the sub take over at that point.

Do this:

1. Reverse the polarity on the subwoofer (+ to - and - to +), this will help to get the sub to integrate better.

2. Cut the underseats off (High-Pass) at 70Hz (assuming you have an amp on them). If you don't have an amp, there is nothing you can do.

3. Low-Pass the sub at 70Hz (also try 65 and 60Hz).

[bmw325i]

Your sub shouldn't play any higher than 55-60hz. Like kaigoss said the under seats do a better job with those frequencies.

[Soul_Glo]

Cool. I will have another go at this.

The parametric EQ boosts the bass way too much even with boost set to 0 dB. I tried to play around with the Q but the bass sounded floppy and actually missed certain notes on songs that usually sound good.

I don't have an amp to the underseats which is why I was trying to make it sound natural all around. I might just throw one on if that is what it takes.

Will try the 24dB slope with 70Hz and see what happens.

This sub blows trumpets with the filter off or on 12dB and 80Hz and gain set to 0... I just don't want ground shaking bass and vibrations.

Cheers you two God fathers of bass.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

3. High-Pass the sub at 70Hz (also try 65 and 60Hz).

Wouldn't this just prevent the subs from playing below 70Hz? Do you mean low-pass? If so, how does that differ from #2 above?

I have a similar setup with my 10w3 in the trunk. I think you'd want to band pass the underseat woofers with a high pass at 70Hz, and a low pass at 200hz or so. My current setup doesn't let me achieve this yet, but I'm working on it.

Any thoughts on the approach from our experts?

[kaigoss69]

Sorry yeah, brain fart, it is the other way around. Underseats are high passed and sub is low passed.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

Wouldn't this just prevent the subs from playing below 70Hz? Do you mean low-pass? If so, how does that differ from #2 above?

I have a similar setup with my 10w3 in the trunk. I think you'd want to band pass the underseat woofers with a high pass at 70Hz, and a low pass at 200hz or so. My current setup doesn't let me achieve this yet, but I'm working on it.

Any thoughts on the approach from our experts?

I have a low pass set on my head unit and a high pass set on my amp for the underseats. You could use an fmod for one of the filters.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006N...110_SY165_QL70

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

I have a low pass set on my head unit and a high pass set on my amp for the underseats. You could use an fmod for one of the filters.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006N...110_SY165_QL70

I do have something similar, but am limited in my flexibility:

Option A) LP from deck at 125Hz (doesn't go higher than that for the sub channel), HP on amp at 60Hz
(I have a separate amp going 60Hz down)

Option B) HP from deck at 60Hz, LP on amp at 200Hz (more ideal for the under-seats)
Problem with this approach is my 4" mids will also be HP at 60Hz, which overlaps with the under-seat woofers but also means those speakers work much harder than they need to (and risk damaging them if too much bass is delivered to them)

Thoughts? My rear 4" speakers are OEM (base audio), the doors have been upgraded to AudioSystem X-200 (same as 8" under seats). Ideally, I'd like to HP these at around 200Hz.

[Soul_Glo]

Reverse polarity (out phase), 24dB slope and 65Hz has worked a treat for me.

Honestly could not be happier. The bass is smoother and blends in - great SQ.

Before it was all boom boom boom... everything vibrated... and sounded too loud no matter what I did...

Enjoying this... 1/4 gain but sounds fine at any volume. There is always bass and mid-bass there.

Thank you

Never had to faff before when I had the JBL MS8. Stuck it on auti caliberate and everything was all good until it broke

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

I do have something similar, but am limited in my flexibility:

Option A) LP from deck at 125Hz (doesn't go higher than that for the sub channel), HP on amp at 60Hz
(I have a separate amp going 60Hz down)

Option B) HP from deck at 60Hz, LP on amp at 200Hz (more ideal for the under-seats)
Problem with this approach is my 4" mids will also be HP at 60Hz, which overlaps with the under-seat woofers but also means those speakers work much harder than they need to (and risk damaging them if too much bass is delivered to them)

Thoughts? My rear 4" speakers are OEM (base audio), the doors have been upgraded to AudioSystem X-200 (same as 8" under seats). Ideally, I'd like to HP these at around 200Hz.

Can you not set filters for each channel on the headunit?

I would go with option b you could always set another high pass filter at 200hz on the amp for the mids.

[Ali-E90]

My HU has separate filters for Sub channel, and Front/Rear channels together. So I can't separate the crossover for the Mids (Front) and under-seat woofers (rear).

How would I go about high pass filtering the mids at 200Hz? The amp I have only gives me an HP option at 80Hz. Guessing I'd need to source a passive filter or something? Not sure where to get one, how well they'd work etc.

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Can you not set filters for each channel on the headunit?

I would go with option b you could always set another high pass filter at 200hz on the amp for the mids.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

My HU has separate filters for Sub channel, and Front/Rear channels together. So I can't separate the crossover for the Mids (Front) and under-seat woofers (rear).

How would I go about high pass filtering the mids at 200Hz? The amp I have only gives me an HP option at 80Hz. Guessing I'd need to source a passive filter or something? Not sure where to get one, how well they'd work etc.

I thought your amp had adjustable filters. What frequencies does the amp have for low pass filter?

[Ali-E90]

Well, depends on which amp.
The amp for my mid-bass under seat woofers has a customizable crossover.

The 4-channel amp powering my mids only has a HP on front channel, LP on rear channel, both only at 80Hz.

Despite using a 4-ch amp for my mids, looks like I'll have to bridge to front channels only if I want to use the HP on that amp.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

Well, depends on which amp.
The amp for my mid-bass under seat woofers has a customizable crossover.

The 4-channel amp powering my mids only has a HP on front channel, LP on rear channel, both only at 80Hz.

Despite using a 4-ch amp for my mids, looks like I'll have to bridge to front channels only if I want to use the HP on that amp.

I think this is the simplest option.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/371052020996?nav=SEARCH

Also is your 4 channel amp not already bridged? If you have 2 extra channels you might as well put them to use.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

I think this is the simplest option.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/371052020996?nav=SEARCH

Also is your 4 channel amp not already bridged? If you have 2 extra channels you might as well put them to use.

To clarify, this is how my amps are currently setup:
1) Sony 4 channel, front HP and rear LP at 80Hz available (not being used)
- Front channels driving door speakers (4" mids + tweeters)
- Rear channels driving rear deck speakers (4" OEM from base audio)

2) RF Punch 2 channel, variable crossover available
- drives 8" under-seat woofers

3) RF Punch 2 channel, variable crossover available
- bridged to drive 10 JLw3v3

BMW325i, if I do end up bridging all the mids into the front channel of my Sony amp (so I can use the 80Hz HP filter), how would you suggest I use the rear channel? Based on my current setup, I think they would just go unused...

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

To clarify, this is how my amps are currently setup:
1) Sony 4 channel, front HP and rear LP at 80Hz available (not being used)
- Front channels driving door speakers (4" mids + tweeters)
- Rear channels driving rear deck speakers (4" OEM from base audio)

2) RF Punch 2 channel, variable crossover available
- drives 8" under-seat woofers

3) RF Punch 2 channel, variable crossover available
- bridged to drive 10 JLw3v3

BMW325i, if I do end up bridging all the mids into the front channel of my Sony amp (so I can use the 80Hz HP filter), how would you suggest I use the rear channel? Based on my current setup, I think they would just go unused...

I didn't know you were powering the rear speakers with the same amp. I wouldn't bother setting the filter if its at 80hz.

You said you are using the rear signal for the underseats. I would use rear signal for the rear speakers that way you can set a 200hz high pass on the head unit. Split the sub channel and low pass the under seats at 200hz using the filter on the amp. Low pass the sub at 60hz. The underseats and sub would play the same frequencies since you wouldn't have a high pass filter on the underseats, but it won't really make a difference as long as they are in phase. You could use an fmod for the underseats to fix that if you wanted.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006N...110_SY165_QL70

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

I didn't know you were powering the rear speakers with the same amp. I wouldn't bother setting the filter if its at 80hz.

You said you are using the rear signal for the underseats. I would use rear signal for the rear speakers that way you can set a 200hz high pass on the head unit. Split the sub channel and low pass the under seats at 200hz using the filter on the amp. Low pass the sub at 60hz. The underseats and sub would play the same frequencies since you wouldn't have a high pass filter on the underseats, but it won't really make a difference as long as they are in phase. You could use an fmod for the underseats to fix that if you wanted.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006N...110_SY165_QL70

In principle, that is my current setup (the Option B I had listed above is a setup I'm likely moving to in the future).
The problem is my HU crossover doesn't go higher than 125Hz. So using an HP on the mids at 125 Hz is fine, but using a LP for the underseats at 125Hz isn't high enough, as the range from 125-200Hz doesn't really play well from the 4" mids.

I was hoping to move to option B so that I could get my under-seats to play up to 200Hz.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

In principle, that is my current setup (the Option B I had listed above is a setup I'm likely moving to in the future).
The problem is my HU crossover doesn't go higher than 125Hz. So using an HP on the mids at 125 Hz is fine, but using a LP for the underseats at 125Hz isn't high enough, as the range from 125-200Hz doesn't really play well from the 4" mids.

I was hoping to move to option B so that I could get my under-seats to play up to 200Hz.

I thought the 125hz was only for the sub channel. I don't see why it wouldn't let you set a high pass filter at a higher frequency. I would replace the 4 channel amp.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

I thought the 125hz was only for the sub channel. I don't see why it wouldn't let you set a high pass filter at a higher frequency. I would replace the 4 channel amp.

The HU has the same crossover options for HP & LP: 50, 63, 80, 100, 125Hz.

The long-term plan is to upgrade to a better 4-ch amp for my mids (with greater x-over flexibility), but in the meantime, just trying to make do with equipment I already own.
So far, the only thing I've purchased is the Audio System 3-way kit for my doors/seats. Amps, HU, are all donor items from my previous car. Just trying to make do with what I got.

Thanks for all the input though... I think I can achieve what I want with a couple of those passive inline filters. I've never seen passive filters applied to low-level signal before, I like it this way so that they are compatible no matter what the speaker resistance is at (i.e. when bridging speakers together).