In need of help adjusting Bass

[JLgo]

I tried to link the URL's of the manuals to the unit's I have, but was unable to do so. So here's a second go.

I have a Kenwood KDC-X395 head unit and a JL Audio 250/1 Monoblock Sub Amp, I can't seem to control the bass as well as I would prefer too. I currently have the Subwoofer level on the head unit set to -15 and the bass is actually as loud as I want it to get. I'm trying to figure out what I need to adjust on the amp so that I can get the same loudness from the sub's at +15 so that I can actually have full control over the bass. (Sometimes you want less bass for certain songs yah know?)

I've tried reading the manuals repeatedly but just can't seem to grasp what their trying to tell me. Anyone willing to help me please respond, I can send you links to the manuals of these 2 unit's if you need me too, I just can't post them in this thread as last time I tried, it said denied. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

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[UnderFire 10+ year member]

your amp should have a "Gain" knob, make sure that is all the way at 0db, if it isn't put it there and try it out.

Just checked on my 500/1, it's labeled as "Boost (db)"

 

[JLgo]

I actually mentioned this in my frist attempt to post a thread but failed to include it in the second attempt, I actually have that knob turned all the way to 0. This helped to reduce the volume of my bass to an extent, but it's still so loud that I have to turn the Bass Level on the amp all the way down to -15 just to keep it reasonable.

 

[JLgo]

Let's see if it let's me post the manual to the AMP

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/Slash_amps/250_1_MAN.pdf

Ok perfect, page 2 has a picture of the adjustments on the amp. Anyone able to assist further, please do!

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

Just glanced at the manual and it doesn't appear that you have the bass boost feature the 500/1 has. (mentioned above)

So I would simply turn the input sensitivity all the way down and go up from there.

The procedure to set the input sensitivity is shown on page 7. But that tells you how to set it up to get the full power of the amp without forcing it into distortion.

If you are getting too much power, you won't hurt anything by turning the sensitivity down. You won't get all of the amp's power, but it doesn't sound like you want or need all the power.

 

[brodeisel 10+ year member]

post 10 times on the forum then you can post links

 

[JLgo]

I had a feeling it might have to do with the Input Sens. but when I got to reading the manual it started spouting out things about using a DVOM to measure the Ohms and blah blah blah, I didn't wanna mess with it without someone else more experienced having a look.

As far as not having a bass boost, on the control panel there is a section "Bass Controll" and below that the knob reads "LF Boost", Is that not the same thing as Bass Boost? I'm trying to figure out what I did because today I moved it from +7 down to 0 and it seemed to help a little but not a lot.

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

My mistake. I thought it was an adjustment for your infrasonic filter, but your filter is set at 30Hz and you only have the option of turning it off or on. The adjustment you reference is indeed a bass boost feature.

Turn that down to zero first. Then turn down the sensitivity to a reasonable level.

Think of the LF boost feature as an equalizer with only one band. (about 48Hz)

 

[JLgo]

Very nice, Thanks for the help! I'll make the adjustment tomorrow, I figure a good plan would be to mark where the input level currently is as (so as not to exceed what I know to be the safe limit) Turn the input all the way down, turn the Sub-W Level all the way to +15, and adjust the Bass level to where I would wan't my max to be.

Thanks again for the speedy response. I installed the new head unit a week ago and due to the bass being far higher than I fear my subs can withstand, I have had them turned off.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

To make adjustments /and to have better control of the tuning /sound,at your finger-tips..I recommend a pre-amp eq.You will have more control of the highs/mids/and your subwoofers.I run a Kicker KQ9 in all of my vehicles,and serves my needs/tunings quite nicely.Just a recommendation to you ,and enhances your sound stage.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

ive said it a couple times before but....

sounds like op had a quiet definition of loud.