My Head Unit barely has to be turned up to get loud

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

I have a Pioneer AVH-p4000dvd. I have a 2004 with factory bose, if that helps at all

I've tried messing with some settings to get the right sound and I just cant get it right. My head unit goes up to volume 40. These are a few of the ways that i've done.

1. With the Head Units Loudness on, Turned up to volume 9 usually sounded loud enough when I didnt have a sub. But with the bass that I now have after adding a sub and amp the highs/mids arent really loud enough. If i turn the head unit up it distorts the vocals and the bass seems like its getting lower

2. Turned the loudness off. Can turn it up to like volume 18 and the highs/mids are good enough but the bass is distorted because of how loud the head unit is.

3. Turned the loudness off, turned down the gain, turned the volume to 18 where the highs/mids sound good but the bass is weak, then if i turn the head unit up to volume 25 where the bass sounds good, the vocals are distorted again

Grrr. I just cant seem to get this right

can anyone help?

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[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

i have the same hu never do i have that problem upgrade your speakers

 

[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

try to turn on the hpf in the hu

 

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

yeah i have that on already

 

---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:48 PM ----------

 

What settings do you have your head unit on?

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like you need to set the gains on your sub amp to increase the output level to match your highs.

 

[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

set yo gains right... back the gains down all the way, turn the head unit to 3/4 volume or so, THEN slowly turn the gains up on all of the amps until you hear distortion. Now back it down a tad out of audible distortion and you're good to go.

 

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

set yo gains right... back the gains down all the way, turn the head unit to 3/4 volume or so, THEN slowly turn the gains up on all of the amps until you hear distortion. Now back it down a tad out of audible distortion and you're good to go.

stupid question what is the "SLA" feature on my head unit. It can go to +4 or -4

I have it set at 0

 

[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

that makes it louder, but go to ur setings and theres this one thing that say hpf= high passive filter set it to 125hrts and you'll be fine without your door speakers distorting

stupid question what is the "SLA" feature on my head unit. It can go to +4 or -4
I have it set at 0

 

[got-one-eight 10+ year member]

set yo gains right... back the gains down all the way, turn the head unit to 3/4 volume or so, THEN slowly turn the gains up on all of the amps until you hear distortion. Now back it down a tad out of audible distortion and you're good to go.

Set his gains on a factory Bose system? His problem is he has no way to adjust gains on his factory bose amplifiers. I know my headunit has gain control built in so I can adjust this. If your headunit does not have it you are probably out of luck or if you have an aftermarket sub you can do like suggested earlier and just turn up the gains on the sub to try and match the output of your Bose speakers. Good luck!

 

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

that makes it louder, but go to ur setings and theres this one thing that say hpf= high passive filter set it to 125hrts and you'll be fine without your door speakers distorting

Yeah i've got the HPF turned on to 125hz.. I did that when I hooked up the sub. My guess is that its the gain settings on the amp.

Do you have loudness on, on your head unit or do you keep it off. Also what volume do you usually turn it up to?

 

[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

yea mess with the aMP, AND YES I HAVE MY LOUDNESS ON, I DONT GO PASS 21-23 ITS LOUD ENOUGH WITH NO DISTORTION BRO

Yeah i've got the HPF turned on to 125hz.. I did that when I hooked up the sub. My guess is that its the gain settings on the amp. Do you have loudness on, on your head unit or do you keep it off. Also what volume do you usually turn it up to?

 

[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

Most LOCs will have a gain control on them plus it kinda sounds like he has external amps powering the subs atleast... maybe not? I'm not sure why I even commented. Im drunk. carry on

 

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

that makes it louder, but go to ur setings and theres this one thing that say hpf= high passive filter set it to 125hrts and you'll be fine without your door speakers distorting

I also wonder if it has to do with my factory bose amp because I seriously cant turn it over volume 12 at the highest with the loudness on with out it sounding weird. what equalizer settings do you have.. i have mine on custom with the lows and mids set in the middle and the highs all the way up

 

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

Most LOCs will have a gain control on them plus it kinda sounds like he has external amps powering the subs atleast... maybe not? I'm not sure why I even commented. Im drunk. carry on

what is a LOC?

I have the factory built in bose amp powering my door and rear speakers and my 1000.1 hifonics powering my sub

 

[sjedwards1984 10+ year member]

Most LOCs will have a gain control on them plus it kinda sounds like he has external amps powering the subs atleast... maybe not? I'm not sure why I even commented. Im drunk. carry on

what is a LOC?

I have the factory built in bose amp powering my door and rear speakers and my 1000.1 hifonics powering my sub