My Single 10 sounds like garbage! Please help!!

[stikystikyricky 10+ year member]

2013 dodge ram, stock head unit.

4 channel amp being run by hi-lo converter. Sounds Great!

Subwoofer however:

Kenwood KFC-XW10 1000W 10" Single 4 Ohm (300watts rms)

Sub Amp:

PLANET audio AC1500.1M (700x1 @ 4ohm)

Box:

Cheap ebay under the rear seat prefab box. Paid $60

Dodge RAM Quad Crew Cab Single 10" Subwoofer Enclosure Sub Box 2002 2014 | eBay

The subwoofer hits, it moves, but just sounds like garbage. You cant feel the bass in the truck. It doesnt even vibrate or shake the mirrors at all. Its like you hear it more than you feel it. Sounds worse than a stock sub.

The input for my amp I tapped off of my rear speakers rather than running rcas. Im starting to think I should try getting Y adapters and split it off of my 4 channel amp. I didnt want to jeopardize my sound quality splitting the signal.

Im also thinking it could be the sub box. I didnt do any extra work sealing or anything. Just mounted the sub in there and called it a day. Im thinking I should try spraying the inside of the sub box with truck rubber bed spray to seal it better.

Any thoughts suggestions?

I played with all the controls. even started with the gain all the way down, turned it up, pretty much all the way up.. the sub hits, just doesnt sound like theres even a 10 in there.

Thanks in advance

Click to read more...

 

[Dmac1991]

My first setup was two Kenwood Xw10s. I too started out with running them sealed. They sound like shit sealed and I honestly got more bass from my door speakers than I did from them. I got a custom ported box built for them (1.5 cubes ported) and they definitely woke up. They are small ported box subs imo as they reach xmax fairly quickly ported.

And I'd also look into getting a better amp. That amp is probably giving you 100 rms if that.

 

[Boominburban 10+ year member]

Sub needs to be ported,as already said, and that amp is only giving you around 300w rms at the most ...

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Doubt the planet amp is doing 700 @ 4 ohms.

Probably sounds bad because it's in a tiny sealed prefab. Honestly, I think your expectations are a little high for what it is.

 

[93_Az_TransAm 10+ year member]

I usto have 2 of the older kenwood 12s like that but with the light greyish cone and in a ported box they did have good bass and that was off a shoty sony explode 2000 amp so id say its your box have CSCStang build you a custom one if your gonna stick qith that sub or talk to him and give him your max dimensions and he can build you one for a good sub and get a new amp but depends if you want to overhaul the entire system or just try and spray freshener on a dog turd lol sorry to be blunt but equip isnt very quality but we have all been there.

Who knows a new box and maybe same amp or a new one and it might be perfect for what you want. Just trial and error

 

[kingjd7 10+ year member]

Your box *****. Trust me. My RE SE 10 didn't sound to hot until I built a new box for it.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

set the gains right, have the sub face different directions, rear, down, side, up ETC... It makes a difference. Your input signal from the head unit is probably extremely weak, you'll need a line output convertor

Even if the sub is only gettin 100 watts out of the amp, it should make some sound. I'm betting because of a weak signal, you arent even seeing more than 10-20 watts to the sub atm.

 

[fly_marlin]

set the gains right, have the sub face different directions, rear, down, side, up ETC... It makes a difference. Your input signal from the head unit is probably extremely weak, you'll need a line output convertor
Even if the sub is only gettin 100 watts out of the amp, it should make some sound. I'm betting because of a weak signal, you arent even seeing more than 10-20 watts to the sub atm.

Yes, think Jeff is right about that. You may be getting a weak signal, but don't think that's the problem. Here's the list of what could be wrong:

1. This rattling you desire is caused my lower frequencies. The lower the note, the more power you need to reproduce it at the same level. This means you have to have a pretty powerful amp to be able to keep up with the power demands.

2. To play this low, subwoofer has to have plenty of excursion. The lower the note, the further the sub has to move to reproduce it at the same level.

3. Regardless of what sub you have, the musicality of your system is dictated by your box. The bigger the box, the lower it will play really. A lot of prefab boxes are tuned higher because that allows for additional output. Ported boxes that can dig low and sound musical are usually tuned lower.

I know you may not want to spend extra money, but based on what you're saying, you need more power, more excursion, and a ****** box.

 

[stikystikyricky 10+ year member]

Thanks for the replies.

As mentioned the amp is only pushing probably a true 300 rms, well that's all I really need for my single 300 rms 10" sub.

And as far as my expectations being too high, my plans aren't to wake up the neighborhood, I just want my bass to hit like I have a 10" sub in there. I've had a single jl 10w0 hooked up to a rampage pos 300 watt amp and it hit 100 times harder than this set up.

I think my first thoughts are as Jeffdachef mentioned to change my signal. I'll start with splitting the rcas at my 4 channel.

As far as ported goes, I just don't think I have the space for a ported box. I would like to keep my sub in just that one compartment as I need the other for storage.

I've never owned an under the seat sub box before, always in the trunk. Maybe it just sounds different, I don't know.

I hear the boom boom boom a lot more than I feel it, that's for sure.

Thanks for the input guys. I'll keep you posted.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Yes, think Jeff is right about that. You may be getting a weak signal, but don't think that's the problem. Here's the list of what could be wrong:
1. This rattling you desire is caused my lower frequencies. The lower the note, the more power you need to reproduce it at the same level. This means you have to have a pretty powerful amp to be able to keep up with the power demands.

2. To play this low, subwoofer has to have plenty of excursion. The lower the note, the further the sub has to move to reproduce it at the same level.

3. Regardless of what sub you have, the musicality of your system is dictated by your box. The bigger the box, the lower it will play really. A lot of prefab boxes are tuned higher because that allows for additional output. Ported boxes that can dig low and sound musical are usually tuned lower.

I know you may not want to spend extra money, but based on what you're saying, you need more power, more excursion, and a ****** box.

If you are using the stock head unit it cuts off the low frequencies to protect the door speakers. If you don't have a way to restore them you won't get them. Your sub is not even seeing under 60hz

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Amazon.com: PAC SNI-35 Variable LOC Line Out Converter: Car Electronics

This works fine with my buddies 2010 corolla.

Also how was the jl setup? Box specs, direction, signal etc..

 

[fly_marlin]

Amazon.com: PAC SNI-35 Variable LOC Line Out Converter: Car Electronics
This works fine with my buddies 2010 corolla.

Also how was the jl setup? Box specs, direction, signal etc..

Yeah, I'm curious about that also.

I took a closer look at your setup. There's no way that amp is giving you 300W into 4 ohms. It has a 25A fuse. Let's say it's max draw is 20A. 20x14.4=288. It's a class A/B amp, so let's give that 70% efficiency, that gets you about 200W and that's into 1 ohm. At 4ohms, it'll give you no more than 70W. Your sub has 5.3mm of excursion. To get true 300W into 4ohms, you need a solid 1200W amp. As you can see, it can get expensive, that's why a lot of people run everything at 1ohm or below. Additionally, the sub has 82db efficiency, which means it takes more power to get it going. Plus, it's in a sealed box, which further loses output. If you're also losing signal strength, that just adds to the overall effect.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, I'm curious about that also.
I took a closer look at your setup. There's no way that amp is giving you 300W into 4 ohms. It has a 25A fuse. Let's say it's max draw is 20A. 20x14.4=288. It's a class A/B amp, so let's give that 70% efficiency, that gets you about 200W and that's into 1 ohm. At 4ohms, it'll give you no more than 70W. Your sub has 5.3mm of excursion. To get true 300W into 4ohms, you need a solid 1200W amp. As you can see, it can get expensive, that's why a lot of people run everything at 1ohm or below. Additionally, the sub has 82db efficiency, which means it takes more power to get it going. Plus, it's in a sealed box, which further loses output. If you're also losing signal strength, that just adds to the overall effect.

Let me know if you have any questions.

A 1200w amp? Are you sure?

 

[WhiteYota]

Did you try stuffing the box?

 

[fly_marlin]

A 1200w amp? Are you sure?

1200W into 1ohm, yeah. That amp would then do 300W into 4ohms.