Having problem with my system

**CMURDAx** · 03-24-2010

heres the problem. I installed a in-dash dvd player about 2 months ago. and for some reason now my sub dont pound worth ****. i have a xo vision x348nt receiver, boss DD3600 3600watt amp, a 12" kicker l7 and a 0g wiring kit. my stock radio hits 10x harder then this thing though. also ive got the everything on my amp turned up along with the radio and the remote bass control, still doesnt make any decent thump till my music is up retartedly loud. any help? im thinking about just trading it for a decent brand name receiver(pioneer, sony, alpine, or jvc). ive had peeople offer me those 4 brands. what would you guys do?

**CTKGP09** · 03-24-2010

get a HU with 5V preouts and that will make your system louder, the DVD player ones have like a 2V one and arent good for performance audio wise

**CMURDAx** · 03-24-2010

mkkk what would be a decent headunit to get for around $135?

**CTKGP09** · 03-24-2010

JVC, pioneer, alpine, or kenwood all good brands and they have really expensive HUs and cheaper ones

**CMURDAx** · 03-24-2010

well im looking on sonicelectronix.com and all those brands of receiver its saying are only like 2 or 2.5volts

**CTKGP09** · 03-24-2010

well you get what you pay for, the higher end pioneer have the 4 or 5 volt preouts because i used to have one and it sounded awesome

**CMURDAx** · 03-24-2010

ok, i think ima just buy the same thing my gf has. shes got the cheapest JVC on there and her system actually pounds better then mine and shes got a 600w sony amp with a junk sub.

**CTKGP09** · 03-24-2010

i had a $100 JVC before and it was the best deck ive ever owner, never had a single problem and it hit pretty good

**chickenfried** · 03-24-2010

i have an eclipse cd5030. love the deck. it has 5v preouts... makes a huge difference!! used to have an alpine 9884, also a great deck(new model is cda105 i beleive) but difference between 2v and 5v is huge. i paid 210 for my deck from sonicelectronics, and like i said i love it. if you could, i would say to up you price range a bit, look into an older model eclipse, maybe one might be cheaper. just my $.02

**I800C0LLECT** · 03-24-2010

Originally Posted by CTKGP09

get a HU with 5V preouts and that will make your system louder, the DVD player ones have like a 2V one and arent good for performance audio wise

I apologize but I have to step in on this...I'll read the rest of the thread afterwards...

The purpose of "matching" your gain with the pre-out is to optimize the amplitude of the signal going into the amplifier. Turning gains too high creates a square sin wave that will blow your amp, speaker, or both.

Do your best to match gains by ear. DMM leveling is NOT preferred unless you're trying to do some kind of SPL setup on burps and tones. Anyways, don't use voltage as a "volume knob". Set it properly and be done.

Also, SPL function is based more in design and efficiency vs. raw power.

**I800C0LLECT** · 03-24-2010

Originally Posted by CMURDAx

ok, i think ima just buy the same thing my gf has. shes got the cheapest JVC on there and her system actually pounds better then mine and shes got a 600w sony amp with a junk sub.

Apparently her setup is better than yours...not because of numbers or figures but because her sound waves aren't canceling as much as yours her box probably matches her speaker well.

Bottom line...amps don't make or break you like people think. Power isn't the object of desire...and if you have your T/S then design appropriately. The best systems in the world are well thought out vs. throwing money at everything.

**CMURDAx** · 03-24-2010

well the one post made absolutely no sense to me. last post, i didnt dump a ton of money. i actually got everything besides the deck brand new for under $400. which would include, a 12" kicker l7 with correct sized box, 2farad cap, 0g wiring kit, and a boss dd3600 amp. ive got someone off craigslist willing to trade me a JVC Arsenal KD-AR800. Ive been told that the arsenal line of JVC is pretty good. based on the specs off crutchfeild would it be worth trading? Just trying to get my system to sound the way it did when i had my stock radio, which was awesome. JVC Arsenal KD-AR800 CD/MP3/WMA receiver at Crutchfield.com

**I800C0LLECT** · 03-25-2010

Originally Posted by CMURDAx

well the one post made absolutely no sense to me.

This is why people like me exist!! As long as questions are asked we can help. To understand gain, you should understand circles. Graphing a signal equates to a "sine" wave...like in Math. If you're acceptable amplitude(height of graphed sin wave) is between say .5V and 8V...then the "ceiling" for acceptable signals is 8V. Anything higher than that is cut off....and instead of being a wave...you have boxes...or square waves. If you read more about speakers and signals you'll realize that a square wave equates to playing a tone to some extent. That is NOT good. That's as much as I'll say about that...

If you're "output" from the HU is 4V...then gueestimate where that is on your gain and leave it. Don't touch it. Leave it alone or blow something up.

last post, i didnt dump a ton of money.

I'm not saying you did...but typically people presume that money equates to some standard/status. Sorry if it came out wrong.

i actually got everything besides the deck brand new for under $400. which would include, a 12" kicker l7 with correct sized box, 2farad cap, 0g wiring kit, and a boss dd3600 amp. ive got someone off craigslist willing to trade me a JVC Arsenal KD-AR800. Ive been told that the arsenal line of JVC is pretty good. based on the specs off crutchfeild would it be worth trading? Just trying to get my system to sound the way it did when i had my stock radio, which was awesome. JVC Arsenal KD-AR800 CD/MP3/WMA receiver at Crutchfield.com

Before you take another step....change the polarity to your subwoofer. Meaning, change your pos. and neg. wires on the speaker terminals. See if that helps

However, the Arsenal line is pretty decent from what I gather. I'll have to go read up on that...

**1LoudGrandPrix** · 03-25-2010

Originally Posted by CMURDAx

well the one post made absolutely no sense to me. last post, i didnt dump a ton of money. i actually got everything besides the deck brand new for under $400. which would include, a 12" kicker l7 with correct sized box, 2farad cap, 0g wiring kit, and a boss dd3600 amp. ive got someone off craigslist willing to trade me a JVC Arsenal KD-AR800. Ive been told that the arsenal line of JVC is pretty good. based on the specs off crutchfeild would it be worth trading? Just trying to get my system to sound the way it did when i had my stock radio, which was awesome. JVC Arsenal KD-AR800 CD/MP3/WMA receiver at Crutchfield.com

sell the cap make sure as stated up there that everything is wired correctly

**I800C0LLECT** · 03-26-2010

Something else that might be of interest....

Grand Prixs Of North America • View topic - "When does a $50 sub sound like a $600 sub?"

**2000GTGP** · 03-26-2010

just have to throw this out just incase...

Is there a loudness feature on your receiver? if so when its off your sub will barely hit at all. If you have it turn it on you will be surprised what a difference it makes.

**CTKGP09** · 03-27-2010

^^^see i never used the loud feature and all my bass frequencies were always at zero. i think thats how you get the best sounding bass, let the sub do the work and dont let the deck distort the music

**2000GTGP** · 03-27-2010

im complete opposite. i have mine bass boosted high as hell. anyhow i have sony deck, if loud feature is off i have pretty much 0 bass from my sub. so that goes on plus others. lets see what i have..

Loudness On
Sub +10
Low +4
Aux +18
Bass Boost on Amp +6
Gains ~ 75%

^^^ that gives you some serious bass.

**1LoudGrandPrix** · 03-27-2010

Originally Posted by 2000GTGP

im complete opposite. i have mine bass boosted high as hell. anyhow i have sony deck, if loud feature is off i have pretty much 0 bass from my sub. so that goes on plus others. lets see what i have..

Loudness On
Sub +10
Low +4
Aux +18
Bass Boost on Amp +6
Gains ~ 75%

^^^ that gives you some serious bass.

i hit 142 doing this:
Low +0
Mid +0
High +0
fade: +5 to the rear
sub +0
aux +0

Amp:
lpf: 100hz
subsonic 24hz
bass boost 0db
gain .6v
phase 0

then again i've always been a fan of clean bass

**2000GTGP** · 03-27-2010

i got clean and loud bass. i dont have a meter to measure the exact db though. im only running 500w rms though so i know it wont be near the db your putting out.