Wondering how to get deeper bass in my 01 suburban

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BigSachsy1
10+ year member

CarAudio.com Recruit
    Whats good Car Audio community?

  First off, I want to thank all of you people out there dedicated enough to help noobs like me, even if its just replying to a random thread on the internet. I haven't been on here in years but I remember when I had questions a decade ago, you guys were extremely helpful, so thank you all for that as well.

 Alright, so to get into it, i have one big question: is it possible to get deeper bass with my current setup?

 I recently had a terrible experience with boss audio equipment. I got a great deal on the equipment (2 15's, a box and a 5000 watt amp for under 100$) so I thought why not? Installed in my 01 suburban.

(A little background: my first car, a 95 jeep Cherokee, had 2 8 inch jl 8w3d6's on a 600 watt pawn shop Sony xplode amp and a sony head unit, installed by car toys because my friend worked the tent sales and had a discount on install. I used to go around THUMPING.)

Fast forward to a few weeks ago with my current setup: had car toys install a kenwood deck(KMM-BT325U) a PH5000D boss amp 5000 watt amp, 2 15 inch boss P156DVC 2500 watt phantom series subs which ended up freezing by the 2nd morning. Dont know what I did, because I was being careful for the most part, I did have them up loud but it wasnt for more than 1 full song. So I was devastated and rushed and got these 2 12 inch jl w0's enclose in a slot ported basswedge box installed, and they hit pretty nice, but I'm looking for a deeper thump than I'm currently getting.

The sound clarity is PHENOMENAL, which I credit to my Quinn acoustics q602 door speakers, but when you have it cranked up to like 28/35 the subs hit really good but the music is almost too loud without the right amount of deeper bass and mid tones, if that makes any sense. The deep bass hits pretty well but I feel like they could be pushing WAY harder, based on past experience with my and other people's systems. 

The amp is about halfway turned up if that's of any help. I also have the aforementioned Quinn acoustics q602 6.5 inch door speakers installed up front and 2 stock ones in the rear door, plus the 2 stock tweeters up front and in the trunk. I have warranties on the deck and the jl subs.

So here are a few baseline questions of which I hope to be expanded upon: do I turn the amp up? Do I get a different amp? Should I get some better tier jl subs? Is it worth the time to call boss audio and see if they will do anything about the seized 15s? I am still under the 30 day mark for the install on the 15s and the 12s and my buddy has some brand new 10w3s that he wants to sell me, so was thinking of returning the w0's and doing the 10 inch w3s instead. I also have 1 8inch w3 laying around. 

 Still trying to be as cost effective as possible but not going to shy away from spending a few extra bucks, as I do not treat myself to much else.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this and I will respond to feedback as quickly as possible

Andrew

 
When looking into the barrel of car audio equipment you pretty much have to pull all the other brands out to find boss at the bottom. I'd start looking for a better replacement. Shouldn't be too hard just stay away from the brands that claim a lot of power for a ridiculous low price like boss planet audio hi phonics etc.

 
    Whats good Car Audio community?

  First off, I want to thank all of you people out there dedicated enough to help noobs like me, even if its just replying to a random thread on the internet. I haven't been on here in years but I remember when I had questions a decade ago, you guys were extremely helpful, so thank you all for that as well.

 Alright, so to get into it, i have one big question: is it possible to get deeper bass with my current setup?

 I recently had a terrible experience with boss audio equipment. I got a great deal on the equipment (2 15's, a box and a 5000 watt amp for under 100$) so I thought why not? Installed in my 01 suburban.

(A little background: my first car, a 95 jeep Cherokee, had 2 8 inch jl 8w3d6's on a 600 watt pawn shop Sony xplode amp and a sony head unit, installed by car toys because my friend worked the tent sales and had a discount on install. I used to go around THUMPING.)

Fast forward to a few weeks ago with my current setup: had car toys install a kenwood deck(KMM-BT325U) a PH5000D boss amp 5000 watt amp, 2 15 inch boss P156DVC 2500 watt phantom series subs which ended up freezing by the 2nd morning. Dont know what I did, because I was being careful for the most part, I did have them up loud but it wasnt for more than 1 full song. So I was devastated and rushed and got these 2 12 inch jl w0's enclose in a slot ported basswedge box installed, and they hit pretty nice, but I'm looking for a deeper thump than I'm currently getting.

The sound clarity is PHENOMENAL, which I credit to my Quinn acoustics q602 door speakers, but when you have it cranked up to like 28/35 the subs hit really good but the music is almost too loud without the right amount of deeper bass and mid tones, if that makes any sense. The deep bass hits pretty well but I feel like they could be pushing WAY harder, based on past experience with my and other people's systems. 

The amp is about halfway turned up if that's of any help. I also have the aforementioned Quinn acoustics q602 6.5 inch door speakers installed up front and 2 stock ones in the rear door, plus the 2 stock tweeters up front and in the trunk. I have warranties on the deck and the jl subs.

So here are a few baseline questions of which I hope to be expanded upon: do I turn the amp up? Do I get a different amp? Should I get some better tier jl subs? Is it worth the time to call boss audio and see if they will do anything about the seized 15s? I am still under the 30 day mark for the install on the 15s and the 12s and my buddy has some brand new 10w3s that he wants to sell me, so was thinking of returning the w0's and doing the 10 inch w3s instead. I also have 1 8inch w3 laying around. 

 Still trying to be as cost effective as possible but not going to shy away from spending a few extra bucks, as I do not treat myself to much else.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this and I will respond to feedback as quickly as possible

Andrew
First off for future reference, these brands are where the big dogs shop even on a budget https://droppinhzcaraudio.com/ https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/

2nd, you should disconnect the stock tweeters because you already have tweeters on the coaxials this is what's giving you that overly bright sound signature. You never want to have two different tweeters at different locations in the car due to phase cancellation, its just going to be a mess.  

RMA the boss audio if you can  and when you get it back, you  can sell it to recouperate your cash to get actual gear boss is a complete trash brand. If you can, sell your amp or return it if possible. Return those JL W0 as well. Your buddy with the 10w3 thats another definite no as well. None of those systems are worth anything all literally trash in all honesty yes including the low tier JLs. Those power numbers are fake numbers that the subs and amps sees before they die. The amp does more like 800 actual watts and the subs handle far less, especially clipped power which you did because gain at half doesnt mean you are at half volume, you literally are WAAAAAY past the point of clipping and sending a dirty @ss signal from the amp to the subs and killing them. Gain is not a volume knob, need to learn how to set it properly. 

Now come up with a proper budget and we can start doing a proper system design for you so you dont have to keep going back to car toys and having to pay constant installations and getting sh*t results over and over due to poor gear selection and system design. 

Also measure the amount of space you want to give up in your cargo area in length x width x height in inches and we'll tell you what you can fit and the best bang for buck monsters. 

 
When looking into the barrel of car audio equipment you pretty much have to pull all the other brands out to find boss at the bottom. I'd start looking for a better replacement. Shouldn't be too hard just stay away from the brands that claim a lot of power for a ridiculous low price like boss planet audio hi phonics etc.
Yeah, i figured as much, but for 80 bucks for the 2 15s the 5000 watt amp and the box it was a decent deal, or so i thought. i didnt think they would go on the 2nd day haha, at least half a year or something.

 
First off for future reference, these brands are where the big dogs shop even on a budget https://droppinhzcaraudio.com/ https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/

2nd, you should disconnect the stock tweeters because you already have tweeters on the coaxials this is what's giving you that overly bright sound signature. You never want to have two different tweeters at different locations in the car due to phase cancellation, its just going to be a mess.  

RMA the boss audio if you can  and when you get it back, you  can sell it to recouperate your cash to get actual gear boss is a complete trash brand. If you can, sell your amp or return it if possible. Return those JL W0 as well. Your buddy with the 10w3 thats another definite no as well. None of those systems are worth anything all literally trash in all honesty yes including the low tier JLs. Those power numbers are fake numbers that the subs and amps sees before they die. The amp does more like 800 actual watts and the subs handle far less, especially clipped power which you did because gain at half doesnt mean you are at half volume, you literally are WAAAAAY past the point of clipping and sending a dirty @ss signal from the amp to the subs and killing them. Gain is not a volume knob, need to learn how to set it properly. 

Now come up with a proper budget and we can start doing a proper system design for you so you dont have to keep going back to car toys and having to pay constant installations and getting sh*t results over and over due to poor gear selection and system design. 

Also measure the amount of space you want to give up in your cargo area in length x width x height in inches and we'll tell you what you can fit and the best bang for buck monsters. 
Ok, i will take care of the tweeters asap. the gain has been at half since i got everything back from car toys. i have tried messing with the gain levels from the head unit but it didnt seem to do anything. You arent a fan of JL! why is that? i always thought it was really good gear. On a quick side note, found a great deal on some 6.5 polyglass 165 cvx focal door speakers and i wanted to see if they would match up with my quinn acoustic q602 door speakers. I am going to replace the amp and try to see what boss will do about the blown subs, because i bought them from a friend, but they were still brand new. unfortunately i might just have to eat the cost of the boss gear but it was like 80 bucks total. the install from car toys really cut the pockets deep but if i return the w0's it will be a better deal, thank you for the heads up. The wiring is ran so it should be plug and play once i get the dimensions and budget figured out? i heard some DC audio that was one of the best systems i think ive ever heard, almost got some d1's i think they were, but made an impatient decision with the w'0's. i have 9 more days to return the w0's til the 30 day return policy is up. I will post the dimensions and a budget once i go measure them. thank you for your reply. 

 
First off for future reference, these brands are where the big dogs shop even on a budget https://droppinhzcaraudio.com/ https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/

Now come up with a proper budget and we can start doing a proper system design for you so you dont have to keep going back to car toys and having to pay constant installations and getting sh*t results over and over due to poor gear selection and system design. 

Also measure the amount of space you want to give up in your cargo area in length x width x height in inches and we'll tell you what you can fit and the best bang for buck monsters. 
I found some 15 inch subs im definitely interested in. I still have a sealed box that i have the 2 busted boss 15s in. 

Also, the 3rd row seating in my suburban has been removed, and when the 15s were in for the short period of time, it seemed like a perfect fit; an equal amount of space on both sides of the box, a nice distance to my trunk door, ect.

 https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/sound-qubed-hds215-15-inch-subwoofer.html 35 lbs

https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/american-bass-xd-1544-15-inch-700w-rms-dvc-4-ohm-subwoofer.html 25 lbs

they both seem like a great deal.

the dimensions of my trunk: 72 inches long (6 ft), 47 inches wide. the top of the back seat is probably like 30-35 inches so height isnt a problem. so lets say anywhere from 16 1/2-20 inch high. the current box i have for 15s measures 36 in wide x 16 5/8 in tall by 16 3/4 in deep.

now i need to find an amp, havent looked on either site in depth about amps yet, that is next up

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I found some 15 inch subs im definitely interested in. I still have a sealed box that i have the 2 busted boss 15s in. 

Also, the 3rd row seating in my suburban has been removed, and when the 15s were in for the short period of time, it seemed like a perfect fit; an equal amount of space on both sides of the box, a nice distance to my trunk door, ect.

 https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/sound-qubed-hds215-15-inch-subwoofer.html 35 lbs

https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/american-bass-xd-1544-15-inch-700w-rms-dvc-4-ohm-subwoofer.html 25 lbs

they both seem like a great deal.

the dimensions of my trunk: 72 inches long (6 ft), 47 inches wide. the top of the back seat is probably like 30-35 inches so height isnt a problem. so lets say anywhere from 16 1/2-20 inch high. the current box i have for 15s measures 36 in wide x 16 5/8 in tall by 16 3/4 in deep.

now i need to find an amp, havent looked on either site in depth about amps yet, that is next up
you'll want to sell that sealed box as well. Sealed wont get you anywhere.  If you have an electric screwgun and a jigsaw or has any friends or relatives that have one, I'd recommend you building your own ported box. We can get designs for you to get actual powerful bass performance for the subs you choose. All you need to do is buy a sheet of wood at home depot and have the guys there cut it up to your cut sheets and then take it home, glue and screw and caulk where ever there's a leak. viola custom ported box that'll be 10x louder than your boss 15s ever could dream of. 

Here's a sample box size and design for two 15s. subs facing up, port in between them facing the rear hatch. 10 inch sonotubes from home depot will be the port so you dont need extra wood cuts. Box is the most important aspect of getting loud and hitting deep notes.  You can build this box under 50-70 bucks in material.

image.png

 
I'd get the american bass xd 15 D4s, they hit deeper than the soundqubeds IMO and  this amp
https://www.amazon.com/Taramp-HD3000-1-Stable-Channel-Amplifier/dp/B00FGULS78

There's a clipping indicator on the amp so you can actually see when you are overdriving the signal so you can keep sh*t safe and know when is your clean power limit aka no more blown subs, the amp is a solid 2250 watts at 1 ohm with a 40hz test tone.  Best part is, its 4 gauge power and ground like your boss amp so you dont have to spend money on new wire and rewire everything.   The rest of the money will go into the box materials, you can use mdf or 11 layered sanded ply both should be 30 bucks for a 4x8 sheet at lowes or home depot that can cut the wood for you at most you'll need one full 4ft x 8ft sheet and a 2ft x 4ft sheet, some drywall screws and the 10 inch diameter sonotubes. Budget should be under 500 and you'll have a pretty crazy system. You can use the box design I have above, that was for some AB XD 15s actually that does pretty well.





 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok, i will take care of the tweeters asap. the gain has been at half since i got everything back from car toys. i have tried messing with the gain levels from the head unit but it didnt seem to do anything. You arent a fan of JL! why is that? i always thought it was really good gear. On a quick side note, found a great deal on some 6.5 polyglass 165 cvx focal door speakers and i wanted to see if they would match up with my quinn acoustic q602 door speakers. I am going to replace the amp and try to see what boss will do about the blown subs, because i bought them from a friend, but they were still brand new. unfortunately i might just have to eat the cost of the boss gear but it was like 80 bucks total. the install from car toys really cut the pockets deep but if i return the w0's it will be a better deal, thank you for the heads up. The wiring is ran so it should be plug and play once i get the dimensions and budget figured out? i heard some DC audio that was one of the best systems i think ive ever heard, almost got some d1's i think they were, but made an impatient decision with the w'0's. i have 9 more days to return the w0's til the 30 day return policy is up. I will post the dimensions and a budget once i go measure them. thank you for your reply. 
For now, leave it as is. lets just fix the bass part of your setup first and you can worry about the mids and highs later when you realize your new bass setup literally drowns everything out lol. Those focals will be drowned out as well so you'll most likely need some specialized drivers to keep up with all the bass you'll have. Dont worry they arent expensive. JL w6 and W7 are decent but stupidly overpriced. The rest are pretty crappy. 

 
For now, leave it as is. lets just fix the bass part of your setup first and you can worry about the mids and highs later when you realize your new bass setup literally drowns everything out lol. Those focals will be drowned out as well so you'll most likely need some specialized drivers to keep up with all the bass you'll have. Dont worry they arent expensive. JL w6 and W7 are decent but stupidly overpriced. The rest are pretty crappy. 
right when u sent ur reply with the american bass suggestion i was literally typing to ask you about them.

for the sake of saving money, what do you feel about these and a lower wattage amp? im not looking to win any comps lol. the sealed box might save my eardrums a little longer,(probably not) although i live about a 30 second drive from home depot and have all the tools to make the box. i didnt know the forms for foundations were called that. also im not trying to be oppositional when i keep suggesting the sealed box, ect,  just trying to save money and use what i have, i know the cheap route isnt best but it is what it is, like i said im not looking to break any db records lol. anyhow, here are the subs:

https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/american-bass-dx-15-inch-250w-rms-svc-4-ohm-subwoofer.html

https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/american-bass-xo-1544-15-inch-400w-rms-dvc-4-ohm-subwoofer.html

 
For now, leave it as is. lets just fix the bass part of your setup first and you can worry about the mids and highs later when you realize your new bass setup literally drowns everything out lol. Those focals will be drowned out as well so you'll most likely need some specialized drivers to keep up with all the bass you'll have. Dont worry they arent expensive. JL w6 and W7 are decent but stupidly overpriced. The rest are pretty crappy. 
also, am i gonna need to worry about new batt or alt? if so, i could settle for 1 15 beefed up on a good amp, and would be well below my budget, where i want to be

 
Op... quit trying to cheap out by using the sealed box you got.

The enclosure is one of the most important aspect of the system if not the most important 

Id throw that sealed in the backyard and burn it if it was me.

 
right when u sent ur reply with the american bass suggestion i was literally typing to ask you about them.

for the sake of saving money, what do you feel about these and a lower wattage amp? im not looking to win any comps lol. the sealed box might save my eardrums a little longer,(probably not) although i live about a 30 second drive from home depot and have all the tools to make the box. i didnt know the forms for foundations were called that. also im not trying to be oppositional when i keep suggesting the sealed box, ect,  just trying to save money and use what i have, i know the cheap route isnt best but it is what it is, like i said im not looking to break any db records lol. anyhow, here are the subs:

https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/american-bass-dx-15-inch-250w-rms-svc-4-ohm-subwoofer.html

https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/american-bass-xo-1544-15-inch-400w-rms-dvc-4-ohm-subwoofer.html
Thing is, these subs arent made to perform well in a sealed box. You determine the type of enclosure a sub needs based on the elctromechanical parameters aka TS specs that is listed.  Not all subs thrive in sealed and not all thrive in ported.  A perfect box is the balance between matching with the sub's parameters along with matching with your amplifier power output along with your vehicle acoustics/cabin gain. Theres literally no sense in half @ssing a setup.  If you are strapped on cash, you can just use the boss amp now and buy the big boy amp later.  

We have all been through the cheap route and all that leads to is disappointment and empty pockets. By the time you go through all this cheap sh*t, you already lost out on so much money trying to replace and re-upgrade everything that you actually spent way more than you would have spent if you bought proper stuff the first time. 

 
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BigSachsy1

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