System doesnt sound as good as it should

[van06TL]

i have an Alpine Type R 12d4 with a Kendwood 9105D amp. I got a ported box that fit the manufacture specifics. a friend of mine has the older version of the alpine type r that is silver instead of black and he also has my old box. his system sounds alot better than mine. he is giving his 450w while im giving mine twice that and u can definitely hear the difference. His sounds alot deeper hits alot harder and sounds just overall better. i changed out the box for a slightly bigger one thinking maybe that was the problem. it improved alittle but it still sounds weak. i checked to make sure its at 2ohms to make sure it is getting the 900 watts @ 2ohms.

i dont know what else to do because i dont know where the problem is. i dont know if different amp would give a better sound or if the type r 12d4 isnt a good as the sub before it. i will revamp the system if i have to i just dont want to spend money changin something out if it doesnt fix anything like i did with the box. if i try a different amp would i get a different sound or should i try a different sub? thank u

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[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

That amp's around 600w rms. That might be part of the problem.

Make absolutely sure you didn't cross a +/- from the amp to the sub.

I crossed my vc wires when I first installed my sub. Sounded like a$s. I was considering the possibility that my $180 sub was just a POS. Then, after double and triple checking I finally found the problem and it like going from no sub to two subs.

 

[van06TL]

Performance Series Class D Monoblock Car Amplifier

RMS Power Rating:

4 ohms: 500 watts x 1 chan.

2 ohms: 900 watts x 1 chan.

1 ohm: 900 watts x 1 chan.

Max power output: 1800 watts x 1 chan.

pulled this from new egg and its the same at a couple other websites. its wired to 2ohms so it should be getting 900w rms and i have checked that, and i also thought about reversed pos and neg so a while back i switched it around to see if that would make a difference and it didnt so i switched it back. unless the websites i have been going to were wrong about the amp. if i have messed up the wiring and wired it up to 8ohms would i even get power or sound?

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

yes your amp does 900@2 idk where that guys getting his info from.

but anywho your wired like this?



and what are your box specs? culprit might be box. also how are your gains set? and your lpf? take pics and upload

 

[van06TL]

yes your amp does 900@2 idk where that guys getting his info from. but anywho your wired like this?



and what are your box specs? culprit might be box. also how are your gains set? and your lpf? take pics and upload

wired like that and check with voltmeter to make sure im at 2ohms.

I thought the box was the problem so i got this one and gave my old one to my friend and his sounds alot better than mine did in that older box.

Box Specs.

Built for one 12" Alpine Type R Subwoofer

Slot Port Tuned @ 32Hz

2.00 ft^3 of airspace

CNC cut(computor guided router)

Thick faceplate for added support

Glued

.

Sealed

Black Carpet (charcoal grey is optional)

Box external dimensions.... Width 29.00" - Depth 13.50" - Height 15.00"

Gold Terminal located on the back of the box

Made with Grade 'A' 0.75" MDF

Built for one 12" Alpine Type R Subwoofer

Slot Port Tuned @ 32Hz

2.00 ft^3 of airspace

CNC cut(computor guided router)

Thick faceplate for added support

Glued

.

Sealed

Black Carpet (charcoal grey is optional)

Box external dimensions.... Width 29.00" - Depth 13.50" - Height 15.00"

Gold Terminal located on the back of the box

Made with Grade 'A' 0.75"

 

[van06TL]

better pic of settings

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

What is your model # head unit

 

[van06TL]

What is your model # head unit

Kenwood DPX500BT

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

is taht bass boost up? lower that all the way if it iss. set isf to 25, and have you tried switching the phase? its on 180 right now try putting it at 0. and also does your HU have a sub control? on my old kenwood in order to get my desired voltage i had to have it all the way up to +15. and did you set gains with dmm?

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

Not sure on the lower kenwoods but what is the subwoofer settings at on the head unit and the crossover? May need to adjust them there

 

[van06TL]

is taht bass boost up? lower that all the way if it iss. set isf to 25, and have you tried switching the phase? its on 180 right now try putting it at 0. and also does your HU have a sub control? on my old kenwood in order to get my desired voltage i had to have it all the way up to +15. and did you set gains with dmm?

sub cntrl on head unit is set to +15 i will turn the phase down but just curious about turning down bass boost. wont that make the sound quieter?

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

sub cntrl on head unit is set to +15 i will turn the phase down but just curious about turning down bass boost. wont that make the sound quieter?

bass boost is nothing but distortion dont ever turn that up, or "loudness" or any of that junk. does your headunit have crossovers as gary said? you might have the subwoofer crossed high so the HU itself is cutting out low frequencies

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

even with a prefab a type r off 900w should be doing something. i have a rf hx2 12 running off 700w and its pretty dang loud. but i have it in a custom ported. hit up CSCStang and get yourself a custom ported box. even alpines specs are a little off and a bigger ox then they recommend might be better.

 

[van06TL]

bass boost is nothing but distortion dont ever turn that up, or "loudness" or any of that junk. does your headunit have crossovers as gary said? you might have the subwoofer crossed high so the HU itself is cutting out low frequencies

turned off bass boost, set isf to 25 and phase to 0 and now all i have is stock speaker bass. what is a crossover? how would i know if the head unit has it? the head unit has a LPF setting and i set that to through.

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

How did you set your gain?