Subwoofer Amp UPGRADE Advice really needed.

[quackhead 10+ year member]

They are not "SPL SPEAKERS". Not being mean. It's just the truth. I have a 15 that a lot of people here would probably never consider running, and I can just about promise you that I will wail way harder with that $130 bargain-bin sub than you ever will with those. You should take them back and make a more informed decision. You didn't even know that they were dvc, or what ohms they were, for heaven's sake. That alone tells me that you have absolutely no idea what you are doing. I, and most other's here, would actually be willing to help you do this right, even if you don't have clue. You just need to be willing to take good advice.

Ha Ha!...lol..u sig cracks me up ever time i see it..lol

 

[av83 10+ year member]

Ha Ha!...lol..u sig cracks me up ever time i see it..lol

Mr Hankey, or my setup? I would imagine they get an equal amount of laughs in this place, lol....

 

[Danometal 10+ year member]

There isn't really anything wrong with CVRs, as long as the box is designed and implemented properly. Wire them as mentioned above to present a 4 ohm load to the Kenwood amp. Later when you can get a monoblock amp (that's 1 ohm stable), you can re-wire the subs to present a 1 ohm load to the new amp. Then definitely use the Kenwood to power a component set, and your system will be sounding much better than it is now. Peace.

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

Mr Hankey, or my setup? I would imagine they get an equal amount of laughs in this place, lol....

LOL...Mr Hankey. I try to respect how folks spend their $$...lol..you know the saying though, if da box ain't right...none of it matters

 

[av83 10+ year member]

There isn't really anything wrong with CVRs, as long as the box is designed and implemented properly. Wire them as mentioned above to present a 4 ohm load to the Kenwood amp. Later when you can get a monoblock amp (that's 1 ohm stable), you can re-wire the subs to present a 1 ohm load to the new amp. Then definitely use the Kenwood to power a component set, and your system will be sounding much better than it is now. Peace.

You're right, they aren't bad subs. I am only critical of the fact that he went in there and bought them without knowing what they were. If op is dedicated to keeping the subs, your suggestion is excellent.

 

[Danometal 10+ year member]

You're right, they aren't bad subs. I am only critical of the fact that he went in there and bought them without knowing what they were. If op is dedicated to keeping the subs, your suggestion is excellent.

Yes, it was a potential miscalculation, but he got lucky. He so happened to buy a pair of subs that can either work on his current 2 channel bridged @ 4 ohms, or a (to be determined) 1 ohm stable monoblock. If it were me, I would've waited until I could buy the amp and subs at the same time, and got a pair of dual 2 ohm subs, and then run @ 2 ohms. Personal preference.

That said, I shudder at the subtle inference from this thread that he only hooked up a single voice coil on each sub at first, which totally jacks up the subs' T/S parameters, which has negative implications for the frequency response, and, even more serious, the actual power handling of the subs. Even more scary is the thought of accidentally presenting a 1 ohm load to a bridged 2 channel... but I digress.

Now, about those tweeters in the back...

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

You're right, they aren't bad subs. I am only critical of the fact that he went in there and bought them without knowing what they were. If op is dedicated to keeping the subs, your suggestion is excellent.

We all have had that "what the heck was I thinking?" moment... I see it coming for OP. and picture the smile when they do feel a real 1000+ watts hitting them in the gut with a properly designed system.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

All advice has been taken into consideration. In fact I had no idea car-audio was this complicated. It's not complicated for you because you are experienced, I mentioned at the beginning, I'm not. I did research on all the Kicker speakers, L7'S, L5 Solo Barics, Comp Vt, Comp Vr, Comp Vx, basically I chose a level up since I knew my system can bang so hard as it is sometimes it's hard to take. This was not necessarily the situation before I did the Big 3 Upgrade, It hit hard, but not like this. I am going to stop playing the speakers and have some experts wire these correctly to my amp, until I get a new amp. As for the back tweeters, in case you were not aware, they are on the back doors up towards the locks but pointed in such a way they reach the passenger and drivers ear primarily, but the Diamonds D3's 6.5's I have on each of the four door panels also have revolving cyclic tweeters built into the them. You can swivel them at any angle. This is the main reason I decided to go with SPL Kicker CompVR's that I bought. They are not big on sound quality but heavier on bass. Thanks again, I take even the criticisms into consideration. I need those criticisms.

Diamond D3'S

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

Yes, it was a potential miscalculation, but he got lucky. He so happened to buy a pair of subs that can either work on his current 2 channel bridged @ 4 ohms, or a (to be determined) 1 ohm stable monoblock. If it were me, I would've waited until I could buy the amp and subs at the same time, and got a pair of dual 2 ohm subs, and then run @ 2 ohms. Personal preference.
That said, I shudder at the subtle inference from this thread that he only hooked up a single voice coil on each sub at first, which totally jacks up the subs' T/S parameters, which has negative implications for the frequency response, and, even more serious, the actual power handling of the subs. Even more scary is the thought of accidentally presenting a 1 ohm load to a bridged 2 channel... but I digress.

Now, about those tweeters in the back...

riiight

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

All advice has been taken into consideration. In fact I had no idea car-audio was this complicated. It's not complicated for you because you are experienced, I mentioned at the beginning, I'm not. I did research on all the Kicker speakers, L7'S, L5 Solo Barics, Comp Vt, Comp Vr, Comp Vx, basically I chose a level up since I knew my system can bang so hard as it it I cannot take it. This was not necessarily the situation before I did the Big 3 Upgrade, It hit hard, but not like this. I am going to stop playing the speakers and have some experts wire these correctly to my amp, until I get a new amp. As for the back tweeters, in case you were not aware, they are on the back doors up towards the locks but pointed in such a way they reach the passenger and drivers ear primarily, but the Diamonds D3's 6.5's I have on each of the four door panels also have adjustable cyclic tweeters built into the them. This is the main reason I decided to go with SPL Kicker CompVR's that I bought. They are not big on sound quality but heavier on bass. Thanks again, I take even the criticisms into consideration.

When you are seated,say the drivers side, you are telling me that the tweeter on the driver's side rear door is aimed to the drivers left ear..from behind?

If that sounds good to you, then so be it. What most ppl do is place the tweeters in front, say on the widow pillar. When you close your eyes and listen, you should feel as if you were standing in front of a stage, watching a concert. The rear door speakers usually are for rear fill...all this can get very technical when one starts fine tuning time alignment issues and equalization..I am just giving you a basic heads up.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

When you are seated,say the drivers side, you are telling me that the tweeter on the driver's side rear door is aimed to the drivers left ear..from behind?

Well those tweeters are sort of aimed at the peripheral of the drivers and passengers hearing. Actually those tweeters were built into the car like that when I bought the car, have no idea if they are custom. Doubt it. I understand what you are saying perfectly about having tweeters up front.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

Yes, it was a potential miscalculation, but he got lucky. He so happened to buy a pair of subs that can either work on his current 2 channel bridged @ 4 ohms, or a (to be determined) 1 ohm stable monoblock. If it were me, I would've waited until I could buy the amp and subs at the same time, and got a pair of dual 2 ohm subs, and then run @ 2 ohms. Personal preference.
That said, I shudder at the subtle inference from this thread that he only hooked up a single voice coil on each sub at first, which totally jacks up the subs' T/S parameters, which has negative implications for the frequency response, and, even more serious, the actual power handling of the subs. Even more scary is the thought of accidentally presenting a 1 ohm load to a bridged 2 channel... but I digress.

Now, about those tweeters in the back...

Well if my guy at Gwinnett sound (Gang) tells me I should take them back I will, but I doubt he will. I'm just going to tell him to wire me right to my amps capabilities, until I get a more suitable amp. The standard Kicker Comps I had before in my system were 8 ohms. Can someone direct me to a place where I can learn more about Ohms, I want to be really studious like you guys and know my stuff. I also want to get into speaker anatomy. It's interesting.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

If you're looking at durability or quality, you need to look elsewhere than kicker. If you're trying to save money, you need to look elsewhere than kicker. Not sure what the other 3 pages have said here, I've only looked at the first. And if you really want an improvement in bass, get a properly built ported enclosure. Which will probably mean you need to go down to a pair of 10's, since a pair of 12's needs a lot of room.

Also, if you really want to start learning about car audio, there's no better place than this site to learn the basics from every angle: http://www.bcae1.com

There's no better site for everything in one place, that makes it easier to understand. And if you read all of that, it will eliminate most, if not all, of the basic beginner questions.

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

If you're looking at durability or quality, you need to look elsewhere than kicker. If you're trying to save money, you need to look elsewhere than kicker. Not sure what the other 3 pages have said here, I've only looked at the first. And if you really want an improvement in bass, get a properly built ported enclosure. Which will probably mean you need to go down to a pair of 10's, since a pair of 12's needs a lot of room.Also, if you really want to start learning about car audio, there's no better place than this site to learn the basics from every angle: Basic Car Audio Electronics

There's no better site for everything in one place, that makes it easier to understand. And if you read all of that, it will eliminate most, if not all, of the basic beginner questions.

you should have been around during the early 90's when it was subscribe to Car Audio and Electronics (the parent to this site) and no class D amplification and everything worth having was $1.00 per watt....and...and....

 

[Danometal 10+ year member]

If you're looking at durability or quality, you need to look elsewhere than kicker. If you're trying to save money, you need to look elsewhere than kicker. Not sure what the other 3 pages have said here, I've only looked at the first. And if you really want an improvement in bass, get a properly built ported enclosure. Which will probably mean you need to go down to a pair of 10's, since a pair of 12's needs a lot of room.Also, if you really want to start learning about car audio, there's no better place than this site to learn the basics from every angle: Basic Car Audio Electronics

There's no better site for everything in one place, that makes it easier to understand. And if you read all of that, it will eliminate most, if not all, of the basic beginner questions.

This ^

However, I will contend that Kicker doesn't quite deserve the hate they get. I'm not crazy about the inductance specs on the CVRs (Le of 7+), nor the less than desirable Xmax, but they demonstrably pound hard for the watts used. If they aren't overpowered by much, and the amp isn't driven to clipping, they will take a serious beating and get loud doing it for what they are.

@ Jaguar:

I must concede that CVRs definitely perform better in a properly designed ported box vs. sealed (but please no high tuned, too small boxes. That's one reason they have a negative reputation). Unfortunately, CVRs like big boxes according to WinISD. So, you may indeed be better served to exchange those for the 10 inch versions and build or have built a properly designed and tuned (low please) enclosure.