Stressing

[mbacis 10+ year member]

Ok, since this concerns my whole system I thought I'd post it in here. I'm have trouble putting together a decent system in my '99 Saturn Sl1. To start I would like to point out that I am not a hard core audiophile so take that into consideration before bashing what I have or recommending $400 components and a 12" sub. And, for a frame of reference, I also have a 2004 Saturn Vue with complete stock system (components in front) and I think it sounds excellent, with the exception of the upper end of the volume spectrum where there is distortion. So...SPL not so good, but SQ very good until it's really loud.

What I have now: Aiwa deck powering rear deck speakers, Infinity Kappa 6.75" driven by front two channels of Profile CL640, ID8 in a sealed box (~.3cuft) powered by rear channels of Profile CL640.

My issues are that first off, I am not hearing the bass guitar significantly. I can get the sub and speakers to respond to a kick drum, but the guitar is lacking greatly. Frequency wise, where do these instruments fall? I've also noticed that at low to mid volumes I get almost no low end, but if I adjust (gain) to where I do get sufficient bass then I overpower the sub at high volumes. I'm a little dissapointed in the bass from the Infinitys as well.

I find myself saying that I am expecting too much from two 6.5" and one 8", but then I remember that my stock system in the Vue rocks. I understand that it uses components, but they are still stock components with no sub.

What should I do? Again, I'm no audiophile so I have no desire to break the bank and I don't have any desire to take up my whole trunk with a big box or get into building kick panels. I've already spent days wiring the car, building the box, deadening the doors, and making adjustments. I've also already annoyed my wife to no end spending money and fussing over this. I'm really frustrated and this whole DIY car audio stuff is turning me off. Please tell me there's hope.

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[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

Sealed is your problem.

SQ ported to 28hz //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

hmm well my 10" sealed pounds.... its a kicker 10" comp (not CVR) my thought first of all is that your High pass filter might be too high while your low pass is too low.... this could make you miss the guitar.

the amp seems plenty to push everything. so i would put the high pass at ~80 to 120 and match up the low pass too. (IE. put them both to 120hz)

let us know if that helps at all.

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

also are those DVC? if so what do you have them wired too?

check this place http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/wiringwizard.asp

 

[mbacis 10+ year member]

Yeah, I played with my crossovers. Unfortunately the Profile amp has lame little screws that are only labeled at the bottom and top ends so it's really hard to tell where you are. I noticed too that when playing tones I can adjust the high pass to cut out a 50hz tone completely but by doing so I cut the output at 100hz by almost half. The slope on my crossovers is apparently not steep at all.

As for wiring of the sub, it is a dual 2ohm wired in series to 4ohm. The sub is rated at 150W RMS and when I adjust the gain to an output voltage of ~26V at 50hz (175W) then I can get some decent bass at really high volumes but barely any output at low or moderate levels.

 

[Berry47 10+ year member]

Not to bash what you have, but infinity speakers are incredibally weak when it comes to midbass. (My wifes car has the 6005cs comp set.)

In most cases if you use a ported box you will loose sound quality.

My wifes car uses re 8's ported and the reference comps.

THERE IS NO MIDBASS WHATSOEVER

The re 8's sound great but are left exposed on midbass because of the lack of reinforcement from the comps. In my car my 12 and comps have wonderful front staging and amazing sound quality.

I would suggest getting an external crossover, get a ported box (if you don't mind using a little sound quality), or get better front speakers. I suggest the cdt cl series or resonent engineering 6.5 inch comp sets.

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

ported SQ, you will have all the quality of a sealed.

Koda 8, would have that extra umph of bass and midrange.

Some Koda 6's would be also benificial (sp)

 

[ShakinSupra 10+ year member]

I think you need some better midbass, my 6.5" Infinity Kappa components are pretty weak in the midbass area.

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

well seems your getting some opinions i guess i would think its the crossover on the amp then. you can find an external crossover pretty cheap and maybe up the lowpass to 120 or so. maybe that will help the infintys.... good luck!!

 

[mbacis 10+ year member]

Yeah, I think I'll look into replacing the Infinitys. In the meantime I reset my crossovers at ~100 and readjusted my sub gains with the HU at a volume of 20 (out of 32). Originally I set all my gains with it at 25, but I rarely ever go above 20 because the fronts get too loud. It worked to some extent, I'm getting better bass at lower volumes, but I think I'll still look into components for the front.

Is Image Dynamics the only one that makes a 2ohm component set? If I go with a 4ohm set I will only be sending them 75W. Does anyone have experience with the CDT CL61A. Berry47 recommends them, would I see drastic improvement over the Infinitys? The Zeb has them for $149, that sounds like a pretty good deal.

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

i heard the CDT are pretty good. my little 5.25" type r comp set rings my ears at only 40RMS...... but i would definately go with the 6.5" set if i had another chance. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[astrallink 10+ year member]

Is Image Dynamics the only one that makes a 2ohm component set? If I go with a 4ohm set I will only be sending them 75W. Does anyone have experience with the CDT CL61A. Berry47 recommends them, would I see drastic improvement over the Infinitys? The Zeb has them for $149, that sounds like a pretty good deal.

You said you have a 2ohm DVC wired to 4ohm load. You could just get a 4ohm SVC, which is available for pretty much any sub.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

You said you have a 2ohm DVC wired to 4ohm load. You could just get a 4ohm SVC, which is available for pretty much any sub.

He was asking about components, not the sub.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Is Image Dynamics the only one that makes a 2ohm component set? If I go with a 4ohm set I will only be sending them 75W. Does anyone have experience with the CDT CL61A. Berry47 recommends them, would I see drastic improvement over the Infinitys? The Zeb has them for $149, that sounds like a pretty good deal.

George and Werd on here were both pretty unimpressed with their CL-61A's //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif CDT is hyped up big time around here, don't get caught up in it, go ahead and investigate other options.....there are many other components that are just as good or better that you should also consider.

Image Dynamics has 2ohm components, Soundstream and Orion do also I believe. But I think you are under-estimating how loud 75w will make a set of components //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

What's your budget?? If you want to stick around $150, you should give the RE comps a look. Also the Peerless Definition comp set. If you want to go a little higher, let us know and we can recommend you some more stuff to look into.

 

[mbacis 10+ year member]

Thanks everyone. I've been reading up on the CDT comps and I've found more than a few people that are not totally satisfied. At the same time I realize that everybody has different tastes so I think I'll try and find a local store so I can listen to them.

On the other hand, maybe I should return my ID8 and pick up an IDQ10. The volume requirements are .25-.5 cuft so I could probably use my existing box with some modification. It won't help me with my midbass, but my subbass should get a nice pick-me-up. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I bet I could swap them without my wife even knowing. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[astrallink 10+ year member]

He was asking about components, not the sub.

Woops, missed that. Yea 2ohm comps are a little harder to come by than 4ohm subs..... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

yes dont get caught up in the hype of those Cl's, they are worth every penny of the $40-60 they go for around here-most people like them because they're cheap and the majority of them have them in an SPL set up

Mbasis- alot of the time the lil' things can change your staging drastically- you'd be surprised how some hard rubber speaker baffles can improve your mids on those Kappas

You'll definitly enjoy the response of the 10" better, but it sounds like you are missing a way to better fine tune, something another HU or an external crossover/Eq can give you more flexibility

 

[mbacis 10+ year member]

As far as upgrading to the 10", right now I have my 8" in a ~0.34cuft (accounting for speaker displacement) truck-style box. If I make a big cut-out in the front of the box and add another MDF board I can mount the 10" out a little further and it will be in a volume of ~0.37cuft. The IDQs recommend 0.3-0.6 for volume with recommended RMS at 250W. As I understand it the smaller the box the more power handling they have.........so will I get sufficient output in 0.37cuft at 225W? I'd hate to build a whole new box.

Where can I get hard rubber baffles for my Kappas? And how do you run the wires? I'm using foam baffles now and they compress to allow the wires to pass by. I had to cut out the bottom of my foam baffles though because they vibrated and played their own little tune. I'd need dimensions because my windows pass behind the speaker when down too.

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

As far as upgrading to the 10", right now I have my 8" in a ~0.34cuft (accounting for speaker displacement) truck-style box. If I make a big cut-out in the front of the box and add another MDF board I can mount the 10" out a little further and it will be in a volume of ~0.37cuft. The IDQs recommend 0.3-0.6 for volume with recommended RMS at 250W. As I understand it the smaller the box the more power handling they have.........so will I get sufficient output in 0.37cuft at 225W? I'd hate to build a whole new box.
Where can I get hard rubber baffles for my Kappas? And how do you run the wires? I'm using foam baffles now and they compress to allow the wires to pass by. I had to cut out the bottom of my foam baffles though because they vibrated and played their own little tune. I'd need dimensions because my windows pass behind the speaker when down too.

The IDQ's are very efficient, that kind of power would be sufficient-

And as for the baffles, Stinger makes good ones, I'm actually waiting for my dealer to put in his Stinger order, when I go to add the baffle I have to touch up a few parts on my door i didn't get to dampen-