Thread: How Hard To Hit

hrmmm...hit "harder"? That involves a couple of things.

#1 a song that "hits" the right frequencies.
#2 decibels. Power doesn't equate to decibels either.

Rattling happens at every frequency, but not everything rattles at every frequency.

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If you want something to "hit" I'd check out DD or SSA speakers. Even the 8" DD is more than what most need. It's great when you don't want to lose a lot of space.

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In addition...everytime you double the power to your speaker, i.e. 300watts to 600watts, you're theoretically increasing output by 3db. You can pick those up elsewhere...deadening, enclosure design, etc.

There's lots of things to look at. I think in one of those links there's some calculators to help figure out power efficiencies so you get the most from your speakers with what you have. The ultimate goal is efficiency within every variable that you choose to tackle. You can use WinISD...plug in your speaker parameters and it will help design a box using optimum air space. Every speaker is designed differently.

I purchased a 12" speaker designed to be most efficient in a .5 cubic foot space so that I wouldn't lose trunk space. So choose a speaker based on purpose and then match that with an amplifier. That should be the ordering process

I wouldn't worry about your head unit too much. When trying to go loud you need good clean sound with a low noise floor. Most H/U's aren't that bad now days and you're not competing so I doubt you'll reach sound levels where SQ is critical.

Biggest thing to remember is watch out for your gains on the amp and make sure they're matched right with the H/U voltage.

Originally Posted by offroadfury6

well check this out...1 kicker l7 is 750rms, rite now i have a kicker 1000 on 2 L7's....soo i've got like 500w on each sub...if I upgraded to kicker 1500w amp and got 750 to each sub and by them being rated 750 each, do you think thats too risky to match the RMS's ?? Kicker is a great brand and no doubt lives to the name but I still don't wanna come near to blowing them...

matching the rms on a kicker sub won't come close to blowing them..if you go over peak power, not rms, then you really gotta worry. My kicker L5 has been with me for i think 2 years pushing 1200 watts, which is it's peak power..it has 600 rms, for most of the time..sometimes it was 1000 watts..you don't have to worry about blowing a kicker unless you overload them.

Personally, I'd go listen to the DD's first I'm just not a fan of Kicker. I do like some of the original solobarics and older amps but going mainstream hurt them a lot.

But my goals are different. I'm all about SQ.

Btw, if you are pushing a full 2500 watts after your upgrade look to see if your lights are dimming. If you actually push that many watts you're pulling a whole lot of amps from your system. I think you're gonna be borrowing from your battery.

Ohm's Law Calculators

DD and SSA make products designed for SPL competitions. There's a lot of SSA guys using sundown audio amps. The owner of Sundown, along with the company are in NC somewhere. Maybe near Asheville?

If the lights are already dimming then you may need a bigger battery or a better alternator; your choice. Don't start using caps. A capacitor is designed to help with ripple/stabilization and other problems associated with long electrical runs. On motherboards for CPU overclocking, caps are a major part of voltage stabilization.

I think upgrading speakers would be a good idea instead of introducing the conundrum of adding more power from a source that's already lacking. Kicker's just don't do it. Go demo some DD

DB Electrical Starter-Alternator > firebird alternator, pontiac alternator, grand am alternator

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Here ya go...they're essentially stock alternators that are rewound (in most cases). You'll have to do a "big 3" upgrade since there's more output. It's upgrading the wires from the alternator to the battery, engine, and ground. Once that is accomplished your light issue will be fixed.

Originally Posted by offroadfury6

with the setup now, the lights dim alittle...i'm still doing some researching onto what path I should go with...I'm not sooo much SQ, I just like the Bass...DD does seem like a great sub though...

Actually, if you want "harder" then the goal is to be louder too. In that instance SQ does come into the equation. You don't want a sloppy sound to ruin the the thump. This is how it works...

Good Recording + Clean HU /Good SQ Output + Low Distortion on Amp + Well Made Speaker Designed for volume = Hard hitting bass.

I'm certain you have most everything under control up to the speaker aspect. You definitely have power and I'm sure the signals are clean enough for your goals. So either the Kicker speakers(I personally don't like them, sorry ) aren't installed properly with poor mounting, bad box design, and bad location or they just aren't up to your task.

Before deciding to spend money I think you should look into poor installation first. First, go through and figure out if you're able to provide enough power to the current setup. Then use those links I provided earlier to see if your power runs are long enough for the output necessary. After that, tackle the enclosure. Go to Kicker and see if you can figure out optimum air space for your speaker. Then measure out that box to see if the volume is incorrect. If that's good then be sure to look at the box and if it's sealed properly. Last, try moving your box around the vehicle(if possible) and listen to it. If your box is ported then what frequency is it tuned for? In addition, try low passing your sub to 120hz and see if that makes you happy? Don't play with gains if you don't understand that yet.

I'm working on my current build but still have stock speakers. I've only installed a new HU and people think I've added a subwoofer. All the speakers are still stock too. I just "tuned" a little and the sound is a world of difference. A good set of component speakers can have a high pass of 60hz or so. 250hz to ~60hz is considered "mid-bass", from a 6.5" speaker in my case. Typical 3-way systems have the tweet running from around 20,000hz to ~3001hz. The mid range is ~3000-250, mid-bass ~249-60 and subwoofer gets ~59-20hz. Parts are 10% and install is 90%.

You don't have to spend more money on parts just yet. Play with what you have to see if you can make it work. Deadening will also help in this endeavor.