Upgrade advice

[TheHen]

Thanks for all the feedback y'all definitely gonna use my old box. I'm more than happy with the SA but im also pretty interested now in those two ssa series. Gonna look into trying one of those out

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for all the feedback y'all definitely gonna use my old box. I'm more than happy with the SA but im also pretty interested now in those two ssa series. Gonna look into trying one of those out

Seriously tho can we see a pic of the sub in your car so we can point out possible positioning and phase issues.

Depending on how its setup you might have a lot of free gains left on the table. Also need a pic your amp settings as well as how you set the gains

 

[BCotrell]

Given that you haven’t invested in any electrical
Upgrade and swapped to a prefabbed enclosure it would be advised to put some doll hairs in both of those categories. It will help the output/continued health of that rp2000.1.

additionally since your current single 12 enclosure inventory is a homemade and a prefab both likely tuned high, a New enclosure may be inevitable. This being the case, perhaps add another sa12 and ensure the new dual 12 enclosure is tuned in the mid 30’s...and certainly not approximated. The rp 2000.1 On two 12’s in an optimized enclosure should be a significAnt increase in boom in your Honda. This also makes sure you don’t take a loss trying to sell your sa

 

[TheHen]

Seriously tho can we see a pic of the sub in your car so we can point out possible positioning and phase issues.

Depending on how its setup you might have a lot of free gains left on the table. Also need a pic your amp settings as well as how you set the gains

For sure I forgot about that I'll post one as soon as I get home I had my original box facing the interior of the car but noticed cancellation so I investigated and saw that directing it toward the license plate 6 inches from the trunk was best I'll post pics later

 

[TheHen]

Given that you haven’t invested in any electrical
Upgrade and swapped to a prefabbed enclosure it would be advised to put some doll hairs in both of those categories. It will help the output/continued health of that rp2000.1.

additionally since your current single 12 enclosure inventory is a homemade and a prefab both likely tuned high, a New enclosure may be inevitable. This being the case, perhaps add another sa12 and ensure the new dual 12 enclosure is tuned in the mid 30’s...and certainly not approximated. The rp 2000.1 On two 12’s in an optimized enclosure should be a significAnt increase in boom in your Honda. This also makes sure you don’t take a loss trying to sell your sa

Would a ho alternator also be inevitable to run the two SA's aside from big 3 and an AGM battery or could I get away with the latter two upgrades and maybe a second battery?

 

[Clifff150 10+ year member]

It really depends on how you listen. I’ve ran 2500 rms on a stock 130 amp alt and yellow top without issues but I didn’t listen full tilt all the time.

 

[BCotrell]

An agm up front is a good idea in my opinion but you could always do regular lead acid up front and an agm in the rear. If it’s my car im investing That money into an alternator over A bunch of new batteries for daily listening

 

[TheHen]

Seriously tho can we see a pic of the sub in your car so we can point out possible positioning and phase issues.

Depending on how its setup you might have a lot of free gains left on the table. Also need a pic your amp settings as well as how you set the gains

Here's my setup I tuned my amp by ear after watching some videos/ reading about tuning. Was gonna set the subsonic filter to a little past halfway so 27 hz? Without the bass boost it's not very and with the bass boost the highest at +12db there's clear distortion. At +6dn

 

[TheHen]

Here's my setup I tuned my amp by ear after watching some videos/ reading about tuning. Was gonna set the subsonic filter to a little past halfway so 27 hz? Without the bass boost it's not very and with the bass boost the highest at +12db there's clear distortion. At +6db as I have it now it's still clear and loud, if I notice distortion I back off a bit with the bass knob

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Here's my setup I tuned my amp by ear after watching some videos/ reading about tuning. Was gonna set the subsonic filter to a little past halfway so 27 hz? Without the bass boost it's not very and with the bass boost the highest at +12db there's clear distortion. At +6dn

no wonder you get no lows. Your subsonic is way too damn high. Thats in the upper 30s range not 27, you are literally cutting out all the bass. Bring that all the way down to the 10 o clock position. No bass boost should be used at all. Low pass put it at the 12 o clock position.

Now onto your head unit, if you have an aftermarket head unit, set low pass filter to 80hz. Volume of the head unit should be 90%, subwoofer level should be maxed. No bass boost at all on the head unit. EQ should be flat on the bass. Now lower your gain on the amp and play your hardest hitting song, raise the gain until it stops getting louder and then back it off slightly.

If you have a stock stereo and line out converter, thats a huge red flag issue as well. Stock stereos have built in high pass filters that cut out all the bass signals to protect shitty stock speakers. When you try to boost this non existent signal all you get is a weak trash signal that doesn't amount to anything.

Signal and tuning is extremely important. They can make a good woofer sound like flea market trash.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

move that box forward closer to the trunk lid more as well. about 6 inches away.

 

[TheHen]

no wonder you get no lows. Your subsonic is way too damn high. Thats in the upper 30s range not 27, you are literally cutting out all the bass. Bring that all the way down to the 10 o clock position. No bass boost should be used at all. Low pass put it at the 12 o clock position.

Now onto your head unit, if you have an aftermarket head unit, set low pass filter to 80hz. Volume of the head unit should be 90%, subwoofer level should be maxed. No bass boost at all on the head unit. EQ should be flat on the bass. Now lower your gain on the amp and play your hardest hitting song, raise the gain until it stops getting louder and then back it off slightly.

If you have a stock stereo and line out converter, thats a huge red flag issue as well. Stock stereos have built in high pass filters that cut out all the bass signals to protect shitty stock speakers. When you try to boost this non existent signal all you get is a weak trash signal that doesn't amount to anything.

Signal and tuning is extremely important. They can make a good woofer sound like flea market trash.

Thanks for the advice I'm gonna try that out later. I do have a stock head unit and line out converter maybe I'll look into switching those out too. In the past when not using bass boost the sound is definitely not as loud but also clearer. Is the bass boost advised against because of the greater possibility of distortion?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the advice I'm gonna try that out later. I do have a stock head unit and line out converter maybe I'll look into switching those out too. In the past when not using bass boost the sound is definitely not as loud but also clearer. Is the bass boost advised against because of the greater possibility of distortion?

It'll damage your equipment and kill your audio gear in the long run. You are adding things to the signal that was not there in the beginning which completely distorts and messes up the signal into a really dirty signal and now you amplify that and its going to your subwoofer.

So out of everything recommended heres the the list of priorities which the first will give you the most night and day difference in your system performance.

1: Get rid of that stock head unit, or bypass it completely with a dayton dsp. Your audio will always be **** no matter what sub or amp or box you get because stock head units signals are complete ****. Yes this is THAT important for bass performance nothing else comes close in your case currently. You can expect to get twice as loud and hit extremely deep notes once you get something with a proper sub out rca either after market head unit or dsp, legit night and day.

2: set your amp's gain, low pass properly along with giving your system a proper tune.

3: upgrade electricals

4: add 2nd sub and build a new box for both but most likely you'll be satisfied with the single sa 12 when its running properly. The way you have it right now, you are at best getting 20% out of that sub yes signal will **** your performance up that bad.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I knew something was fishy lol most people with a single sa 12 on 500 watts can do paper tricks and flex their windshields pretty violently and that sub loves deep notes.

 

[TheHen]

I knew something was fishy lol most people with a single sa 12 on 500 watts can do paper tricks and flex their windshields pretty violently and that sub loves deep notes.

Awesome thanks so much for the help and knowledge man really appreciate it. I had no idea the head unit had that much influence on the sub performance. That would make sense why that jl I heard was actually as bit louder and cleaner on some songs (the guy had an aftermarket head unit). Gonna start looking into a new HU.