Hmmmm... Subwoofer/Amp/Headunit Problem??

[travicles 10+ year member]

Okay, it is hard for me to pinpoint the problem here. I have a Clarion cz500 HU with 3 pairs of preouts..all supposedly 4 volt..anyways I have speakers hooked up that sound great.. now my sub lacks output.. at first I thought it was lack of power or box size but idk its weird.. sub rca's are plugged into the subwoofer RCA's on the HU.. problem is my AMP (MB QUART ONX4.125) has a 4/3/2 mode.. at first I had it in 4 channel mode but then i switched to 2 channel and the output is much more.. Doesn't make sense at all.. maybe the HU sub preouts are not 4 volt... maybe the amp is messed up.. weird thing is that the highpass filter is 60 hz so idk how its louder... AHH this is so confusing..

Basically, a possible solution may be plugging the sub into a regular preout on the HU (not sub out) and I could buy a highpass filter like this.. Harrison Lab F-Mod FMOD 30hz Subsonic Rumble Filter XOs | eBay .. the problem is now I have no lowpass.. I am so clueless..

Or maybe I could try just turning up the gain on the sub channel.. this post is so confusing I just hope someone maybe had this issue before.. Thanks!

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[BigSix 10+ year member]

sub is suppose to be lowpass not high pass

 

[Jason Brubaker 10+ year member]

You should have it in 3 channel mode with the rear two channels bridged to the sub. Best bet for your setup. Front RCA's to channels 1 & 2. Sub RCA's to channels 3 & 4.

 

[AJM511 10+ year member]

I have the same exact head unit and the preouts seem to be good on mine. Do you have the speaker wires in the right place for bridged mode? Double check that because I've seen alot of people make that mistake.

 

[BigSix 10+ year member]

You should have it in 3 channel mode with the rear two channels bridged to the sub. Best bet for your setup. Front RCA's to channels 1 & 2. Sub RCA's to channels 3 & 4.

agree...but he said it is highpassed at 60 hz

 

[travicles 10+ year member]

Yeah, i think its the amp settings now.. in the amp manual, it says that lowpass turns high pass on too, but in another part it says it just turns LP on..so I'm not totally sure what it does now..

the thing is that.. IF I put it on the speaker RCA's which are highpassed at 60 why is it louder?!? (my amps lowest highpass is 60 which is why I need to buy those filters off ebay i think)

 

[travicles 10+ year member]

If I use 4 chan. mode, then they are not highpassed at all, but still quieter

if i put in 2 chan. mode, they are hp'ed at 60 but louder?

 

[Jason Brubaker 10+ year member]

agree...but he said it is highpassed at 60 hz

Overlooked that thanx

 

[travicles 10+ year member]

I have the same exact head unit and the preouts seem to be good on mine. Do you have the speaker wires in the right place for bridged mode? Double check that because I've seen alot of people make that mistake.

they are wired correctly, this problem does not relate to incorrect wiring.. how do you like the headunit though lol

 

[AJM511 10+ year member]

Do you have your gain too low? leave it on 3 channel, and turn the low pass filter on for the bridged sub channel. The problem with the ebay item is that it's a subsonic filter, not a low pass filter. It just blocks frequencys under 30 hz from being played on the sub.

 

[BigSix 10+ year member]

If I use 4 chan. mode, then they are not highpassed at all, but still quieter[/QU
can you run your amp in full range mode and use the crossover settings on the radio?

 

[AJM511 10+ year member]

they are wired correctly, this problem does not relate to incorrect wiring.. how do you like the headunit though lol

It's a good HU for 90 bucks! haha. the ipod controls could be a little faster, and more intuitive. For example, if you select an artist, it makes you choose an album form that artist, instead of an "All song" option. But I usually use my playlists anyway, so i'm not complaining lol.

 

[travicles 10+ year member]

Do you have your gain too low? leave it on 3 channel, and turn the low pass filter on for the bridged sub channel. The problem with the ebay item is that it's a subsonic filter, not a low pass filter. It just blocks frequencys under 30 hz from being played on the sub.

3 channel is quieter than using 2 chan too..and don't i need some sort of subsonic filter for the sub since my amp's lowest highpass is at 60

you know I have to be screwing up somewhere i just don't understand whats going on

 

[travicles 10+ year member]

If I use 4 chan. mode, then they are not highpassed at all, but still quieter[/QU
can you run your amp in full range mode and use the crossover settings on the radio?

radio doesn't really have crossover except lowpass but then i still need a highpass

It's a good HU for 90 bucks! haha. the ipod controls could be a little faster, and more intuitive. For example, if you select an artist, it makes you choose an album form that artist, instead of an "All song" option. But I usually use my playlists anyway, so i'm not complaining lol.

yeah another thing that would be nice is a 24 bit DAC but i think it sounds fine haha

 

[BigSix 10+ year member]

k by looking at the amp.........since your using channels 3 and 4 for sub duty put the switch on Lp.....and put the freq dial (that says 30 hz to 250hz) in about the 11 o clock position .....try that......