how can I make the bass in my car sound better?

Question

I have two 12 inch pioneer 306's subs 400 watts rms each hooked up to a kenwood kac-9102d amp running at 2 ohms putting out 850 watts rms.The subs are in a custom made ported box.The subs pound but they sound like crap..my uncle have one 12 inch rockford p2 sub its not loud like my subs but the quality is way better.how do I get better quality?I even had the stereo installed professionally.....do i need to buy better quality subs?

Answer 1

One of the things that you potentially are facing is one of the side effects from using a ported box. Though louder and "boomier", ported/vented enclosure loose the accuracy of the bass response. Grant it, some can sound really good and some dont. Typically, as things go in car audio, you loose the preciseness and tightness of the bass response.... less "kick" and more "boom". For some tastes in music, this is ideal. For others, it is less. I've played with both and have enjoyed both and both designs has its advantages.

Your brand of sub is fine: Pioneer has a solid reputation for building a good sub that can emit good sound quality. Sure, there are better ones out there but there's nothing wrong with what you have as long as either of the subs is not blown. In regard to the box, you say it is a "custom made ported box"... do you happen to know what size it is? how big the port its? was it custom made for this specific application or was it custom made in that it wasnt a prefabricated box on the sales room floor. Also, what kind of vehicle is this going in and where are the subs located?

As for the amp, that also should suffice for what you are trying to accomplish. Like the subs, there are better amps out there then kenwood but kenwood is a long-time-standing brand and is more or less pretty decent.

If you took the vehicle to me, the first thing I'd check would be woofers to make sure they werent blown. I'd also look at the settings on the amp: the low pass filter (I'd keep it around 60 to 75 Hz) bass boost (dont over do it as it may not be needed or may add to the problem) and gain. I'd look at the head unit then, to make sure that the bass setting on the radio isnt really high. I usually dont put mine radio's bass adjustment any higher than +1 and I let my bass amp and subs do the rest from there. If all checks out with the radio, I'd look at the quality of cables, RCA's, etc. Poor quality or slightly damaged cables can cause a lot of problems. I'd also check out any processing on the bass between the radio and amp (i.e. an Epicenter, or any other bass enhancement device). If all this checks out okay, I would look to see if the box had poly fill in it. This is a small supplement to a system but often recommended by most manufactures. Use about 10% polyfill to 25% (though I once read in a 1995 issue of Auto Sound and Security that you should use 8oz of polyfill per cubic foot).

Finally, if none of this works or if all areas are fine, I'd finally consider the possibility that these woofers would just do better in a sealed box. Yes, that's right: a company can put specs for a vented enclosure down but the speaker will sound like dog crap in the ported box. I've seen it happen so many times. As I sit here and type this even, I cant remember ever porting a Pioneer sub... all the Pioneer's I've seen or done were sealed. that's not to say it wouldnt work, just that I havent seen it.

Good luck and feel free to message me if you have more questions. I am interested to hear how this turns out.

~G~

PS: i just read someone's response: A box with plexiglass in front of it... no, that wont be the ticket. A bandpass box has it's place but are realistically not worth the effort. I speak from too much experience on this matter. Dont waste your time with such crap.

Answer 2

Pioneer are subs for being loud, but not sounding good. if i were you, i'd get 1 Boston Acoustic g5. one should be just as loud as your 2 pioneers, and sound wayyyyyy better then a p2. get a 12" and call it good. also get a new amp. the one you have is too powerful. i'd get the kenwood excelon 2 channel amp, and run it at 2 ohms with both out puts going to the sub. that way you'll get about 500 watts rms. here is a link to the woofer and the amp.

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2546

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=4258

Good luck

Answer 3

it could be a lot of things. you may not have the settings on the radio tuned right. you might need an EQ. there are a lot of factors that go into making a stereo sound good or bump. people dont realize that. that amp you have may not be right for those subs. and just because you had the radio professionally installed doesnt mean anything. we install all of our own stuff, and win sound competitions. or you may have blown voice coil or somehting in your subs.

Answer 4

Try to move your box inside your car and listen to it, experiment with it, and if it is located in the trunk putting it at the back of the back seats is more preferred. If you open the trunk and if the bass gets weaker then that's good, it means that you're getting good feedback when it is enclosed.

Answer 5

I know it's another $ sign in your eyes but instaling a 7 or 11 band equalizer (even though your stereo probbly has one built into it) will slove your problem.

Answer 6

You need a good amp good speaker and a box with Plexiglas on the front of it to hear that really good bass.

Answer 7

if you want accurate bass, you take those subs out of the box and do a free-air installation.