Optimal settings

[Idec Sdawkminn]

First of all, what should the crossovers be set to? I have my front and rear speakers hooked to the internal amp and my sub hooked to my external one. Fronts are Infinity 4 x 6 Kappas. The rears are Pioneer, but I don't remember the type or size. The sub is a 12" JL Audio. The amp is an MX Audio. I have a Panasonic CQ-C9901U head unit and the slope of the crossovers isn't changeable. They appear to be at 45 degree angles. I have them set for:

LPF: 160

HPF: 90

I set them that way because from 80 to 160 Hz, they are low, so I wanted some overlap. Should they be different?

I turned the gain on the sub all the way down, set all bass/treble settings to 0, and set my SW-Level to 0. I set the volume to be 80 dB at 1 kHz. 80 dB is counted as 0 dB in this chart. I have an '84 Camaro. My current frequency response without EQ'ing is:

With windows up:

20 Hz: -4 dB

25 Hz: -3 dB

31.5 Hz: -1 dB

40 Hz: +3 dB

50 Hz: +8 dB

63 Hz: +7 dB

80 Hz: -7 dB

100 Hz: -8 dB

125 Hz: -13 dB

160 Hz: -6 dB

200 Hz: -9 dB

250 Hz: -7 dB

315 Hz: -3 dB

400 Hz: -9 dB

500 Hz: -3 dB

630 Hz: -6 dB

800 Hz: +3 dB

1 kHz: 0 dB

1.25 kHz: -5 dB

1.6 kHz: -3 dB

2 kHz: -1 dB

2.5 kHz: -1 dB

3.15 kHz: -6 dB

4 kHz: -12 dB

5 kHz: -2 dB

6.3 kHz: -10 dB

8 kHz: -7 dB

10 kHz: -12 dB

12.5 kHz: -12 dB

16 kHz: -22 dB

20 kHz: -24 dB

With windows down:

20 Hz: Too low to not mistake for outside noise

25 Hz: Too low to not mistake for outside noise

31.5 Hz: 0 dB

40 Hz: +9 dB

50 Hz: +11 dB

63 Hz: +8 dB

80 Hz: -4 dB

100 Hz: -9 dB

125 Hz: -15 dB

160 Hz: -3 dB

200 Hz: -20 dB

250 Hz: -3 dB

315 Hz: -1 dB

400 Hz: -8 dB

500 Hz: -5 dB

630 Hz: -7 dB

800 Hz: +2 dB

1 kHz: 0 dB

1.25 kHz: -4 dB

1.6 kHz: -1 dB

2 kHz: -1 dB

2.5 kHz: -4 dB

3.15 kHz: -3 dB

4 kHz: -2 dB

5 kHz: -7 dB

6.3 kHz: -6 dB

8 kHz: -10 dB

10 kHz: -16 dB

12.5 kHz: -12 dB

16 kHz: -22 dB

20 kHz: -24 dB

I have a 9-band paramatric equalizer that covers 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Each band can be changed to equal several frequencies in it's range. The adjustment limits are -12 dB to +12 dB. I'm making a separate preset for windows up and down.

What modifications would you suggest I make according to this data? The biggest priority for me is that it sounds as close to how it did in the recording studio as possible.

Thanks in advance.

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[thch 10+ year member]

try moving the mic to a few places and seeing if the results are the same.

its neat to notice the windows opening being similar to a port -- notes in a small band are boosted. note lower then that, not so much.

what testing method are you using? test tones or test noise?

try reversing the polarity of the subwoofers.

can you comment on the sound and what you preceive as lacking?

 

[Idec Sdawkminn]

I tried using an RTA that I rented but it was really hard to use. Also, adjusting the EQ to make it flat made it sound horrible. There was no bass at all and everything hissed. I then got a Radio Shack SPL meter and I'm using the Rives Audio Test CD 2 and it seems much easier and better.

At flat EQ it sounds pretty good. I don't perceive anything as lacking with how it is. However, I can make lots of changes to it and although I can notice a difference in sound, I can't tell which ones sounds better. I can make the guitar, for example, sound several different ways, but I want it to sound the way it's supposed to and the same with everything else.