Last night, after again wondering why that 10" sub sounded so weak, I decided to do some testing. I first listened to a song with some low bass for reference. I then disconnected the sub in the trunk, to see get an idea of how much bass the sub actually contributed. (I owned a 300C previous to this, and the Boston system WITHOUT the sub actually sounded better IMO.) Not to my surprise, the Kicker system produced MORE low end response through the 6x9's in the door than with the sub playing.
Having a background in mobile electronics, I knew that this was due to something very simple...sound cancellation. The subwoofer was playing 180 degrees out of phase with the 6x9's in the door, so they were actually working AGAINST each other, and effectively cancelling out the low end frequencies.
To remedy this, I simply removed the sub from the enclosure and swapped the positive and negative connections at the sub. Luckily, on this sub, the two terminals are the same size. This made a HUGE difference. I can now hear and feel the bass, without opening up the back seats.
The question is, was this sub simply hooked up wrong from the factory on my car, or are the kicker systems designed in such a way that the sub, due to its location, operate out of phase with the rest of the system. You other guys with car audio background know that some aftermarket sub amps actually have a switch to change the phase from 0 to 180 degrees for this exact reason.
Anyway, the point is my sub sounds WAY better, and I can now say that I am happy with the Kicker system. Bye the way, I also removed the center channel to correct the front stage/imaging problem.
Very interesting! Is there any difference between the two connectors to tell which one is the correct configuration? I.e., difference in colors of the wires, etc.?
Very interesting! Is there any difference between the two connectors to tell which one is the correct configuration? I.e., difference in colors of the wires, etc.?
Yes, they are both black, but one wire has a red tag on it, and this was attached to the positive terminal.
Last night, after again wondering why that 10" sub sounded so weak, I decided to do some testing. I first listened to a song with some low bass for reference. I then disconnected the sub in the trunk, to see get an idea of how much bass the sub actually contributed. (I owned a 300C previous to this, and the Boston system WITHOUT the sub actually sounded better IMO.) Not to my surprise, the Kicker system produced MORE low end response through the 6x9's in the door than with the sub playing.
Having a background in mobile electronics, I knew that this was due to something very simple...sound cancellation. The subwoofer was playing 180 degrees out of phase with the 6x9's in the door, so they were actually working AGAINST each other, and effectively cancelling out the low end frequencies.
To remedy this, I simply removed the sub from the enclosure and swapped the positive and negative connections at the sub. Luckily, on this sub, the two terminals are the same size. This made a HUGE difference. I can now hear and feel the bass, without opening up the back seats.
The question is, was this sub simply hooked up wrong from the factory on my car, or are the kicker systems designed in such a way that the sub, due to its location, operate out of phase with the rest of the system. You other guys with car audio background know that some aftermarket sub amps actually have a switch to change the phase from 0 to 180 degrees for this exact reason.
Anyway, the point is my sub sounds WAY better, and I can now say that I am happy with the Kicker system. Bye the way, I also removed the center channel to correct the front stage/imaging problem.
Interesting find. What did your bass sound like before you switched the wires? Did it sound non-existent at really low bass frequencies?
I too disconnected my center dash speaker a long time ago. It sounds a lot better with it not connected.
The red attached to teh Positive terminal was the wrong configuration or the post fix configuration? Thanks in advance.
Normally red is associated with the positive terminal, which is the way my sub was hooked up, so it appears that from a wiring standpoint is was installed properly. It is possible that the amp is wired out of phase, I am not sure. All I can say for sure, is that by making this change and running the sub the opposite way it came to me made a huge improvement.
Interesting find. What did your bass sound like before you switched the wires? Did it sound non-existent at really low bass frequencies?
I too disconnected my center dash speaker a long time ago. It sounds a lot better with it not connected.
Yes, the base was pretty much non-existant, especially at the higher volumes. I have only had the car three weeks, and it took some time to start really bothering me. Now I can feel and hear the sub. I may have just gotten a reversed wire somewhere in the system, but on reading many of the posts here, it seams that other were unhappy with the kicker sub, so I thought I would share..have you been happy with yours?
our Kicker set up has impressed many since purchase. Great imaging and sound from front seats only. Sub has deep response (I'm not into it) that my wife says is great on her music.
One of the better sounding factory setups I've heard.
__________________
Steve
06 300C SRT8
Only mod is new Toyo Proxes 4
245/45 front 275/40 rear
12.89 @110.9 (uncorrected) @ 700 miles brand new
I finally have my software! Happy Diablo owner.
My Favorite "old car"... 73 Super Duty 455 Trans Am - 13.08 @109 mph when brand new! Just try and find one now!
I too disconnected my center dash speaker a long time ago. It sounds a lot better with it not connected.
How and where did you disconnect the center dash speaker? Was it easy?
I get what I consider to be poor imaging with the system if I sit in the driver's or passenger's seat. Much better if I lean over into the middle over the center console. Perhaps the center dash speaker is the problem.
I wonder if anyone has taken a sound meter and measured the full range of frequencies from the driver's seat. It would be interesting to get a graph of the sound coming from the system. Perhaps this may allow us to "tweak & tune" it for a more pleasing sound. (of course, a pleasing sound is subjective)
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