Interesting SQ observation; I may need some help

[docutech 10+ year member]

The more I get into this whole audio thing the more things I notice when it comes to sound or more importantly sound quality. I own in excess of 400 albums and which most I have ripped to my Ipod at 192VBR. So...sounds good eh? Well I noticed something interesting last night. I was listening to a song by Seal on my home setup (See here ) and this song is one that I often listen to in my car as well but for some reason it sounded VERY different at home. I heard sounds in the song last night that I never heard in my car. Then I tried a different song... Young Geezy's Air Forces... Same thing! The bass line in my car sounds like it is the same frequency throughout the song but in my house it sounded VERY different. There was a very noticeable variation in the bass line. As some of you may know, the bass line is very low to begin with and as I play the song in my car it seems to be a constant wang, at home there was a wang but it was a alternating higher and lower frequency to the bass line. I hope that makes sense...

This brings me to my question: Could this be because my HU and amps are not crossed over properly or is it because the CD's have been ripped and compressed for use on my MP3 player. Can someone shed some light on this for me?

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[Tonyguy 10+ year member]

Sounds like compression is your problem. Try upgrading to 320kbps or even apple lossless. They take up more space but you'll get the sound your looking for.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like you're hearing harmonics...

 

[docutech 10+ year member]

Sounds like you're hearing harmonics...

elaborate please...

 

[xtremebassjunky 10+ year member]

hmmm....

interesting topic...

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

Actually, it sounds like you're hearing much less midbass in your car than you are at home. Increasing the bit rate past 192 will not do jack shit for you; you're losing pretty much NOTHING in the audible spectrum above 192.

The bassline in Air Forces doesn't vary but there is a midbass line that does. Your bass in your car is probably too overpowering and your midbass is probably lacking. Midbass is something that is difficult to get correct in a car but not so much in a home. Try disconnecting your sub in your car and crossing over your front speakers lower and see if you can hear these sounds.

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

I agree, not enough midbass, it's really easy to be incredibly bass heavy in a car cause the waves just vibrate right through the whole thing whereas at home usually your sub is firing downward into the floor or something solid and your speakers are just a few feet from you.

 

[docutech 10+ year member]

Ok, just did a test. I grabbed my Ipod out of my car and listened to the songs on my buddy's Bose noice cancelling headphones and sure enough! I hear all the sounds that I heard at home! So we can eliminate the compression thing.

Now, I have a set of RS 65.2's as my front stage and they are being pushed by the MRV-f545 Alpine amp. I dont know for a fact (will have to double check) but I think the amp is crossed over at 120Hz for the comps. I had them at 80hz but the mids were dancing around too much in the door so I had to cut them down a bit. My comp crossovers are set as well but I have no idea what they are set to. They are hidden in the dash so it will require me to tear things appart to get to them and see what they are set to. The crossover on my HU is set as well //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif Sheesh!

Once I get home tonight I will double check my settings and post. Mabe we can get to the bottom of this...

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

seal for the win

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

looks like you are using a kicker L7

imo, it sounds to me like you have a terrible equalization problem. not like an EQ is going to help much, but think of it this way.

your system in your house more likely has a flatter response, look at the green line.

the system in your car has more of a peak in the bass region see blue line. the peak is overpowering and just bears down on the midbass response of the rest of the system and you cant hear the rest of the music. might wanna try turning your bass down a bit //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

thats what i think it is at least. people dont realize that "sq" means that the bass is suppose to be of equal decible level of the rest of the system.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

IMO req is on the right track. Nobody has asked anything about your sub system. Enclosure size/type/alignment? If you are running a vented system tuned relatively high for output purposes, yeah bass lines are gonna tend to be mono-tone. If you are concentrating on strict SQ, IMO you chose the wrong sub, and perhaps the wrong enclosure.

Also, your comps should run lower than 120hz. That mid should be able to handle 80-100 hz without too much problem (or any).

 

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

yea i pretty much think its mid-bass.

deep bass without enough mid-bass will always sound weird/always feel something missing, they complete each other...

also, at home, it's a big room, no cabin gain nothing...

 

[docutech 10+ year member]

might wanna try turning your bass down a bit //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

On noes!! I never thought I would see that statement!

I totaly understand what you are saying and must admit that the bass is juicy in the Kia but this sound thing isnt only applicable to bass. There are other frequencies involved as well. The EQ on my HU is not set to flat. I do have a "wave" thing going on there...will post settings when I get home.

Great information nevertheless. Could this mean that my subconsious is telling me I need to strive for a SQ setup?

 

[docutech 10+ year member]

IMO req is on the right track. Nobody has asked anything about your sub system. Enclosure size/type/alignment? If you are running a vented system tuned relatively high for output purposes, yeah bass lines are gonna tend to be mono-tone. If you are concentrating on strict SQ, IMO you chose the wrong sub, and perhaps the wrong enclosure.
Also, your comps should run lower than 120hz. That mid should be able to handle 80-100 hz without too much problem (or any).

Yes, after spending a some time on this site I realize that the L7's may not be the sq sub of choice. My enclosure is 2.25 cu. ft. sealed. Thanks for the input!

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

120hz highpass ? Man my little 5 1/4's would sound like subs to you then //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Have you done anything to the doors deadening or sealant wise ? It will help a lot //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif