Problem with music "blending"

[96civ 10+ year member]

For some reference, here are my specs:

Alpine CDA-9827

Audiobahn A8000T

Kicker S12L5

1996 Honda Civic EX coupe with all other speakers stock.

When I set my amp LPF to nearly 100Hz (so I can play the higher bass notes) the sub doesn't seem to carry the low notes that it should also be playing... my question is how can I solve this problem, because if I set the LPF too low, the sub will obviously not play higher bass notes (etc. Wait (whisper song)), but I want the sub to do both. My Subwoofer control is set to the max (+15) and my bass control varies between rock and rap songs at a center frequency of 60Hz. Would I need to upgrade my mid-bass speaker (6 x 9's) and power it to an amp, then adjust the amp to have the 6x9's play the higher bass notes, while my sub plays the low bass notes, or what?

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[Raven 10+ year member]

Keep the bass at +15. Alpine Head Units **** as far as the sub-out goes. "+15" is more realisticly "-0".

Try these, one at a time, and see if any of it changes:

Set the LPF to 80hz. This removes most "direction" from a sub, so sound doesn't come from behind you as much.

Reverse the polarity on your sub. This can "move" the subwoofer by up to 15 feet. If it sounds like bass is coming from the front of your car, it's easy to not even realize you have subwoofers. =)

Lower the gain on your sub amp. If the bass is the same volume as the treble, it gets real easy to blend.

Mostly, just play around with the dials on your amp, one at a time, making mental notes of what they do. You can easily find something that works for you, because there are millions of ways to get the results you want.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

If you need your sub to have a crossover point of 100hz to hit the "higher bass notes" (which is actually midbass), then it's an obvious sign that you need to upgrade your front speakers.

 

[96civ 10+ year member]

OK so for setting the LPF to 80Hz, use a test tone of 80Hz? I wasn't talking about the highs and in trebles... I was talking about the higher bass notes e.g. 100-400Hz (i think that's the maxima of bass?).. take for instance Ying Yang Twins- Wait(Whisper song) when the bass changes frequency from high to low and back to high, if I set the LPF too low, the sub will not handle the notes in the filtered range and will play the same note... but contrastingly if I set it too high, the sub doesn't seem to play the lower notes as low as it does when the LPF is lower... I don't know if that makes sense... but it should.

 

[96civ 10+ year member]

If you need your sub to have a crossover point of 100hz to hit the "higher bass notes" (which is actually midbass), then it's an obvious sign that you need to upgrade your front speakers.

OK I do need to have the crossover point at nearly 100hz to hit the midbass (thanks I couldn't think of the term at the moment) notes, so I'll have to get aftermarket 6x9's, correct? What is a good quality set of 6x9's that I can get that aren't too costly? Also, even though the amp has filtered out the midbass region, the sub will still attempt to play the note, but in the region not filtered.... maybe that's just the song?