Do i need a DSP

[Jerry Smith]

Howdy yall, I took my car into local car audio place and they told me I couldn't hook up my jl audio 5 channel amp to power door speakers and 10in type R alpine sub. They said they could but it would sound horrible wo buying a DSP. I had it hooked up and sounded just fine in my acura. Idk alot about car audio. Any feedback back would be greatly appreciated.

Click to read more...

 

[ttt123]

Howdy yall, I took my car into local car audio place and they told me I couldn't hook up my jl audio 5 channel amp to power door speakers and 10in type R alpine sub. They said they could but it would sound horrible wo buying a DSP. I had it hooked up and sounded just fine in my acura. Idk alot about car audio. Any feedback back would be greatly appreciated.

Doesn't DSP just help with tuning? I line out converter into your amp I thought would be all you need and just tune it in yourself.

I am far from a modern sound guy anymore, I built systems 30 years ago and it was all soooo different then and this new stuff is over my head but that sounds fishy.

 

[2RZ-FE 10+ year member]

Are the speakers and head unit stock?

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

Howdy yall, I took my car into local car audio place and they told me I couldn't hook up my jl audio 5 channel amp to power door speakers and 10in type R alpine sub. They said they could but it would sound horrible wo buying a DSP. I had it hooked up and sounded just fine in my acura. Idk alot about car audio. Any feedback back would be greatly appreciated.

If it sounds good to you then don't worry about a dsp

A dsp let's you tune individual speakers and time alignment but it's also a first step into the rabbit hole

 

[Old_Slapper]

What Spokey9 said.

A DSP helps to fine tune a system. Most of the time, a simple 5-band EQ is all that is needed.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

A DSP can also get rid of all the factory EQ and crossover points. This is a must(IMO) when you swap out speakers and amps while keeping the OEM head unit.

 

[Deiimos]

A DSP can be great, but some may be totally happy with the basic x-overs in the JL amp driving a set of components or coaxials and not require going much further than that and of course whatever bass / treble the head unit offers. This is one of those things you would have to hear it first to know if it sounds good enough for what you listen to. What's horrible sounding to some, may be totally perfect for someone else and vice versa.

You could have a system that reproduces from 1hz to 40khz totally flat, no distortion, reproduces sound just like the recording, and you'll have people say it sounds too bland or something, so it can be tough saying if you "need" a DSP. Like my Sony head unit has 7 band EQ and it's generally more than enough for how I listen to music in my car.