bass boost for an audiophile??

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

i care about little else than SQ when it comes to my car sound system. i recently decided to see how it would sound if i turned the bass boost setting on my JL 500/1 amp all the way down to zero, which i guess is the equivalent of turning the Bass EQ on the amp to off. on the EQ settings on my HU, i have 20 Hz, 31.5 Hz, and 50 Hz, all set to 0, not boosting or cutting anything in the subwoofers frequency range. if i want more output, i use the HU sub output level.

for those of u with SQ setups, what level, if any, of bass boost do u use? should i use at least some just so that the sub sounds somewhat 'lively?'

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[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

The "bass boost" is essentially nothing more than a single band EQ in the bass frequency that can only be boosted, not cut (in most instances).

Whether or not you need any depends on the response of your sub. If the bass boost is centered at 45hz, and you have a null in your response at or close to 45hz...using a db or so of boost isn't a bad thing.

Where most people run into issues is when they think it needs to be set to +12db.

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

I don't use bass boost. I do use the variable Q sub sonic filter that's on my Orion 1200D to lower the F3. I do so by ear.

My policy is to put as much possible effort to get my system to sound how I want before actually adjusting the output signal itself. I do understand that sometimes it is unavoidable, though.

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

the bass eq on the 500/1 is pretty sweet, i can adjust the frequency its centered at, the Q level, and obviously the amount of boost.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

the bassboost killed my 2 coaxials Pioneers 6x8's a couple days ago, i never should have played them that loud when it was cold outside. they all scratchy sounding now and i should have never even messed with that **** bass boost feature, //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[suleman36 10+ year member]

I usually keep my bass boost off on my JL 500/1. Who needs that extra distortion especially if your into SQ mostly. I have the Pioneer 780 and the eq close to flat with the exception to a few higher freq.....

I have a JL 12w6v2 in a 1.5 gross/1.34 net sealed box. I will go to a 1.25cuft net box next to get better SQ and power handling.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

unless you're in a SQ competition, shouldn't the sound quality of your car be subjective, and suited to your tastes?

i'm all for making sure 20-20 is accounted for, with no major dips, holes, drops, or colorations, but a little boost here or there to make things interesting never hurt anyone

if you like it, use it, you're not going to impress or turn off anyone one way or another, unless all your friends are SQ judges

 

[headless 10+ year member]

I use a boost (actually it's a single band parametric eq in my case) @ ~40hz on my sealed jl12w6 v1 because it sounds a bit thin on the lower notes otherwise - this compared to my previous ported 10" kicker CVR 10". That thing hit like a beast on the lows, so it bothered me to lack that with the sealed 12 setup. That said, the 12" w6 sealed has a much wider range that it sounds truly awesome in.

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

unless you're in a SQ competition, shouldn't the sound quality of your car be subjective, and suited to your tastes?
i'm all for making sure 20-20 is accounted for, with no major dips, holes, drops, or colorations, but a little boost here or there to make things interesting never hurt anyone

if you like it, use it, you're not going to impress or turn off anyone one way or another, unless all your friends are SQ judges

obviously i go with what i like when all is said and done, but cant hurt to ask what others do/what others have learned from their trials and tribulations. thanks for your response.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

unless you're in a SQ competition, shouldn't the sound quality of your car be subjective, and suited to your tastes?
i'm all for making sure 20-20 is accounted for, with no major dips, holes, drops, or colorations, but a little boost here or there to make things interesting never hurt anyone

if you like it, use it, you're not going to impress or turn off anyone one way or another, unless all your friends are SQ judges

what is 20-20 like a flat response?, flat response sounds like shit //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/imo.gif.3a57bcc70a4835dc53e86ffae1a0b041.gif i always go to adjust the highs to make it more brighter, either that or my hearing is goin.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

ya, 20hz-20khz

i'm not a fan of flatness, myself, but making sure everything's accounted for is key

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

ohhh ok if he would have put hz after the number i woulda understanded better. sometimes i like it flat like for rap, but rock needs those highs sometimes.