Help with bass in a Saturn

[cpalcott 10+ year member]

I have a 2002 Saturn SL1 and am looking to find out my options for bass. I am an SQ listener, but I also like to feel enveloped in the sound. I am looking for accuracy across the whole frequency range. I listen to everything from metal to country to classical to rap to jazz…you name it, I’ve got it.

Considering the small interior of this car, I would think loudness should not be hard to achieve. I am currently running an IDQ12.D2.V2 in a Q-Logic sealed, type-1, 1.0 cft. enclosure off an Orion 1200D running at 1 ohm. I’ve got it firing to the rear and placed behind the passenger seat, right in the middle between the back seats and the back of the trunk. Amp gains were set with a digital multi-meter using test tones and formulas from this forum.

I am finding that this is just not sounding right on some things. On classic rock and older recordings it sounds great, but with newer recordings that have more intense bass, the sound just falls apart. It’s not really distorting, nor really bottoming out, it just sounds overwhelmed and “farty”.

Any suggestions? What would be the optimal setup for this car? Front fire? Rear fire? Side fire? Down fire? Up fire? How about removing the rear deck speakers and up-firing the sub through the ports, off the back windshield? Is the enclosure the culprit? Would ported work better than sealed? Any experience getting good bass in a Saturn?

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[req 5,000+ posts]

i think you are expecting a little too much out of the idq as far as output SPL is concerned.

maybe if you got a pair of 12's it would make up for it. i have a pair of IDQ 15 d2v2's and they kick some ******* when it comes to rap, and not to mention i only had 600w on the pair. im upgrading to 1500w total for them, a little bit of headroom. maybe if you changed up your box a little, or got another IDQ you would be happier. and my idq15's were in a 2001 SL2.

current(ish) install

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222267

old saturn install (never finished, went into the navy)

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78631

i hope that helps a little.

 

[cpalcott 10+ year member]

Thanks for the reply! So you think dual IDQ12s might get me what I'm looking for? Sealed or ported? One chamber or two? Which direction would you fire them? To the rear? Up through the back deck speaker holes and off the glass?

I tried to check out your Saturn setup but the photo links are dead.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

honestly, two idq's would definatly be better. i knew they didnt have tons of output, so i made up for that in cone area. thats why i have two fifteens. if you get a pair of 12's and then port them (with a minimal loss of sq mind you) im sure you will be happy with the performance. just fire them back toward the trunk and port back or to the side will be perfectly fine. one chamber or two - totally up to you boxmeister not really any effect on anything, but easier to control with two, easier to make with one. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif