New Head Unit Giving Me Sloppy Bass?

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

I just recently had a Alpine CDE-HD149BT installed to replace my older Kenwood KDC-MP338 unit and everything turned out good. I definitely got Better sound quality on all the door speakers. The only problem is that my 12 inch sub which is a kicker comp inside a ported box now sounds boomy and sloppy which it didn't before when I had the kenwood head unit. I went through all the settings on the alpine head unit. My Low pass filter no matter where you set it at doesn't correct the problem, any slope setting, Bass level/gain i set it at, nothing works. Just loud Boomy Bass. With the kenwood head unit, I had more thump and tighter bass. I've been using this Universal Parametric Remote Bass Level Controller GS Audio BC-101 (bc101) Universal Parametric Remote Bass Level

So maybe, a cable/wire was switched in back of the unit/bass remote causing this kind of Bass? This Bass remote always worked good with my Kenwood head unit. What can be the problem?

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[93_Az_TransAm 10+ year member]

Might need to re set your gains as im sure the alpine has higher pre amp voltage than the kenwood but im not completely sure.

Or the mixed up the rca's

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

output Signal is way to strong compared to the old unit. You need to turn down the gains.

 

[Bass Addict 10+ year member]

and possibly lower the lp on the amp a tad to see if that helps

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

I have already turned down the gain on the amps and I still get the same Bass response. The only difference is that I have to turn the Bass knob a little more while still getting that sloppy bass sound. I also messed with the LPF plenty of times going to 50 hertz, 70 hertz, 80, 100, below 50, And All in between. Same result.

The alpine head unit also has a Boost of Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Mines is set to none. No difference. Maybe some hidden setting on the unit that i'm not aware of? hmm.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

take out the remote bass knob completely, just looked at the link, thats very likely your problem.

 

[fly_marlin]

I have already turned down the gain on the amps and I still get the same Bass response. The only difference is that I have to turn the Bass knob a little more while still getting that sloppy bass sound. I also messed with the LPF plenty of times going to 50 hertz, 70 hertz, 80, 100, below 50, And All in between. Same result.
The alpine head unit also has a Boost of Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Mines is set to none. No difference. Maybe some hidden setting on the unit that i'm not aware of? hmm.

Are you using the LPF on the amp also or just the HU? You'll need to look at the manual, particularly at the subwoofer level control and then "loud" feature. I'm not sure how Alpine does it, but on my pioneer sub level is from -6 to 6 and at -6 there's very little bass. Make sure the gain on your amp is set to 4V. If you're using the x-over on the HU, turn LPF on the amp to max. Once that's done, then mess with adjusting the sub level control, etc.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

From what I know about Alpine HU's, the sub Level should be at +15 and then set gains from there. It definitely sounds like the gains are set too high.

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

I have my gains set low on the amp. They are turned about a quarter up at moment. I even had the gain just about completely turned down on the amp, all that does is having to turn my bass knob more to the right to hear the finally hear the bass. And when I do finally hear the bass,(With The Gain Pretty Much All The Way Turned Down). Its the same Sloppy Bass Sound. My sub on the head unit is always on +15 since I always had it that way with the head unit I had before with no problems. Still, i turned down the sub level on the head unit too see any difference and,, nothing..

I have turned the LPF to the max on my Amp and made adjustments with the sub level, and nothing still.

Jeff, I know you said to take out the Bass Knob completely, So you think with this alpine head unit, it misconfigures with one another? Since the Alpine head unit has all the advance Equalization and settings while the kenwood head unit I had, had a very basic eq and very little settings which would be why it worked out with that particular unit?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

I have my gains set low on the amp. They are turned about a quarter up at moment. I even had the gain just about completely turned down on the amp, all that does is having to turn my bass knob more to the right to hear the finally hear the bass. And when I do finally hear the bass,(With The Gain Pretty Much All The Way Turned Down). Its the same Sloppy Bass Sound. My sub on the head unit is always on +15 since I always had it that way with the head unit I had before with no problems. Still, i turned down the sub level on the head unit too see any difference and,, nothing..I have turned the LPF to the max on my Amp and made adjustments with the sub level, and nothing still.

Jeff, I know you said to take out the Bass Knob completely, So you think with this alpine head unit, it misconfigures with one another? Since the Alpine head unit has all the advance Equalization and settings while the kenwood head unit I had, had a very basic eq and very little settings which would be why it worked out with that particular unit?

What amp are you using? Where did you set your subsonic filter at? and what is your box tuned to? is it prefab?

 

[Bass Addict 10+ year member]

take out the remote bass knob completely, just looked at the link, thats very likely your problem.

this
and if that doesnt fix it,then backing the sub level down to desired sound should...and dont turn the lpf on the amp to max.keep it at 75-85

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I have my gains set low on the amp. They are turned about a quarter up at moment. I even had the gain just about completely turned down on the amp, all that does is having to turn my bass knob more to the right to hear the finally hear the bass. And when I do finally hear the bass,(With The Gain Pretty Much All The Way Turned Down). Its the same Sloppy Bass Sound. My sub on the head unit is always on +15 since I always had it that way with the head unit I had before with no problems. Still, i turned down the sub level on the head unit too see any difference and,, nothing..I have turned the LPF to the max on my Amp and made adjustments with the sub level, and nothing still.

Jeff, I know you said to take out the Bass Knob completely, So you think with this alpine head unit, it misconfigures with one another? Since the Alpine head unit has all the advance Equalization and settings while the kenwood head unit I had, had a very basic eq and very little settings which would be why it worked out with that particular unit?

Its not a gain control knob, it only boost a certain frequency which can easily clip and distort the bass signal. Take it out before you damage your gear. Its the same as using bass boost on your amp. Your kenwood had a very weak output signal compared to the alpine thats why the bass boost knob didnt conflict as much. Take it off and set the gains at 5 to 10db sub level. The signal strength of the sub controls is very strong

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

+1 to the above, the only thing that was changed was the HU. Bass knobs are useless if you have subw control on your headunit, not to mention yours is a bass boost. I have like 5 bass knobs laying around because they're useless imo.

When you modify the signal coming into the amps you must also modify what the amp is expecting to see. Your bass will be much tighter with the gains set properly, how do I know? I was in your shoes once, I made a mistake and it was sloppy as ****. Don't be afraid to double check your work, and change things that you think may be 100% correct.

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

Ok. I see. The reason why i added this Bass knob is because I like the option of having to lower the Bass all the way when I want to. I read a lot of reviews on these knobs and a lot of people buy them for this reason of more control of the Bass.

So I what is my next best move if I remove this Control Knob I currently have as well as still having that same option I just mentioned above?

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

Your headunit should have a subwoofer level control, check the manual or the EQ. There should be a quick menu somewhere you can access.

Set your gains with that subwoofer setting in your headunit on max, then use it as you would use your bass knob.