Subwoofer Not Sounding Like It Use To

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

I have an Alpine CDA-9886 deck with a Eclipse EA3422 4 channel amp powering my 4 Infinity Kappa component speakers then I have a MTX X500D amp powering my 12" JL W3 sub. I have been messing around with changing stuff in my system and finally I have found sound quality that I love! Recently probably after winter time, my sub started sounding muffled and not clear like it did before. My gain is set a little above half on the amp and im not quite sure what all the other adjustments on the amp are at (adjustments face ground on back of my box). I am familliar with Pioneer decks but recently decided to go over to Alpine this time. Under bass in the settings it says +5 then Q3 and 60hz. Then the bass level is at 15. Based on the song I am listening to, I adjust the bass level and the first number which is on a scale of -7 to +7. I have been trying to adjust the settings but am not quite sure what to put them on, what would be the best settings for someone who listens to rap and likes deep bass, not the high bass sounds. I just want my sub to sound the best possible. Also what does that setting Q3 mean?

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[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

pics of the install? describe the enclosure for the JL W3

instead of "bass level at 15" you mean the sub level is at 15. sub level is just attenuation of the signal to the sub amp. 15 is no attenuation.

your bass setting would give you muddy response.

on the amp, set the LPF for 80Hz. set the gain based on this thread:

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=65167&page=1#Post65167

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

some of those MTX amps were rated at 12v and not the usual 14v..I have seen birthsheets on those 500ds doing like 750, and if thats the case perhaps you are overpowering that sub? The w3s are 300rms right?

 

[50 black guys 10+ year member]

300wrms correct. on the v3. im not sure about older models. Do you like your Alpine deck? what model alpine(s) did you have?

 

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

Here are some pictures. I hope they help! I also forgot to put in my first post that when i first bought the sub, it was quiet so our local car audio shop (sound world) had me put positive on the amp to negative on the sub and negative on the amp to positive on the sub. Im not sure why but I kept it like that for the two years i have had this sub.

 

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

300wrms correct. on the v3. im not sure about older models. Do you like your Alpine deck? what model alpine(s) did you have?

My JL sub is a 12w3v3-4 which i'm pretty sure is 500 watts rms. I like the Alpine deck but my Pioneers seemed to be easier to use. Its an Alpine CDA-9886

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

My JL sub is a 12w3v3-4 which i'm pretty sure is 500 watts rms.

i think the new w3s are 500rms...and your mtx amp is newer also, i dont think its the ones that were rated at 12

 

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

Both the sub and amp are a little under two years old.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

it's hard to tell in this pic

but it looks like the MTX amp ground wire is under the mounting foot? is this the case? your wires for the MTX amp are too short, they shouldn't be coming out at that angle. if the amp ground wire is pinched, or if the insulation is compromised, that could cause additional resistance and a reduction in output.

as for the Alpine settings - the Q# corresponds to the width of the eq adjustment filter. i.e. is it a wide or narrow boost. refer to the owner's manual.

tell us what the amp settings are at now.

 

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

Okay so I dont have any wires under the amps, there is just a lindent on the amp that i made a sight corner around. The MTX settings are as follows...gain=a little below .4....LPF=80Hz....Subsonic=25Hz....The switch on the amp is to the L mono setting. My Eclipse amp settings are...gain=.5 for front and rear....mode=4channel....HPF=60Hz. If you need more pictures of anything just ask and I will run out and take them.

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

So it sounded fine before and now it doesn't?

First I would check all the wires and connections(especially the power wire under the hood) to make sure nothing's corroded, I'm going to assume that your RCA cables are fine. Get a multimeter and measure the impedance of your sub without wires connected to the amp and see if it's still at the correct value, I've blew a Kicker L7 sub before but not completely, the coils were at 8 and 10 ohms each so it sounded really weird.

Sound World in Appleton or Wausau?

 

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

So it sounded fine before and now it doesn't?
First I would check all the wires and connections(especially the power wire under the hood) to make sure nothing's corroded, I'm going to assume that your RCA cables are fine. Get a multimeter and measure the impedance of your sub without wires connected to the amp and see if it's still at the correct value, I've blew a Kicker L7 sub before but not completely, the coils were at 8 and 10 ohms each so it sounded really weird.

Sound World in Appleton or Wausau?

I bought most of my stuff at sound world in wausau. Its not so much that my sub sounds bad, but it just doesnt sound like it did last summer. Im wondering if its just the change to the alpine deck i did this winter. I guess what i am getting at is i just want to know how to correctly tune everything

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

changing the HU will change the sound. i'll need to look more carefully at the settings in the CDA-9886

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Sound Tuning
* Subwoofer Level Adjustment: -15dB to 0dB (1dB steps)

* Bass Center Frequency: 60/80/100/200Hz (Selectable)

* Bass Band Width Adjustment (Q): 4 choices (1 =narrow, 4 =wide)

* Bass Level Control Range: +/- 7dB at 100Hz

* Treble Center Frequency: 10k/12.5k/15k/17.5kHz (Selectable)

* Treble Level Control Range: +/- 7dB at 10kHz

These are the basic settings in your head unit.

Under bass in the settings it says +5 then Q3 and 60hz. Then the bass level is at 15. Based on the song I am listening to, I adjust the bass level and the first number which is on a scale of -7 to +7. I have been trying to adjust the settings but am not quite sure what to put them on, what would be the best settings for someone who listens to rap and likes deep bass, not the high bass sounds.

You have a high bass boost setting. What volume level do you typically listen to (out of 35)?

The Alpine has a 4V preout while the Pioneer you had was probably 2V preouts. Your gain settings are quite low considering the high output level.

set your gains lower (higher number) so you can operate in the 24-30 volume range.

also, the pioneer probably had a loudness or other boost that you don't have with the alpine. Alpine has their MX media eXpander feature instead of loudness now.

 

[malibuboats91 10+ year member]

I typically listen to it at about 20 to 25 volume. So should I turn the gain up? How do I know what to put it up too? I just put it up to whatever its at now because that's what it sounded decent on but I want it tuned correctly now that I have the time.