Not Enough Bass

[Brillo1974]

I just installed a Alpine 90 RMS per channel amp and Kicker 150 watt RMS 6X9 speakers in my car running my Ipod straight into the amp and can't seem to get enough bass out of it or with my Samsung Galaxy 3. Anyone have any suggestions on getting more bass? I have the amp set up bridged to get the 90 amps in 2 channel mode otherwise it is 45 watts RMS. When I play the Ipod on my home system it seems to have enough bass and the POS Ipod EQ settings are locked up for some reason. But like I stated the Galaxy phone sounds the same.

[Fern]

Why not just add a sub in the trunk?

[734406pk]

I've got the same issue going on. I'm think that a small sub is the only solution. There are some low profile under-the-seat amplified subs on the market, but i haven't found one thin enough. They are all too tall and won't fit under the seat. One option: mount the under seat sub on top of the spare tire? Bazooka Tube make an amplified 8" for the trunk that should work also. I haven't heard one yet.

[Brillo1974]

I'm not sure what was going on but I have it fixed now and the bass is awesome now for 6X9's as well as the highs. I may run a wire for a 10 inch sub to the trunk while I have everything apart. I did mess with the plugs and amp settings but did that quite a few times with no luck. Like anything you have trouble with if you walk away and come back it usually almost fixes itself.  I did find the EQ on the Ipod did work I just didn't give it time to kick in I guess and the Galaxy phone works too. I now will probably hardly ever turn it on just so I can listen to the engine music instead. 

[Brillo1974]

I've got the same issue going on. I'm think that a small sub is the only solution. There are some low profile under-the-seat amplified subs on the market, but i haven't found one thin enough. They are all too tall and won't fit under the seat. One option: mount the under seat sub on top of the spare tire? Bazooka Tube make an amplified 8" for the trunk that should work also. I haven't heard one yet.

What are you using for a head unit? You will have to have something with adjustment for bass and treble at least or and equalizer.

[soundcontrol]

Maybe your speakers was out of phase? (if you messed with the connections and fixed it). If speaker +/- is not correctly hooked up, one speaker moves the cone out when the other one moves it in, they cancel each other out. And the result is very poor bass responce.

[Brillo1974]

There may have been something a tad loose someplace was all I could figure that I lost the base signal or something, I never switched any connections around. It was a surprise to me that once it wasn't working and then everything came together. Wish I knew what it was for sure so it might help someone else with the same issue. It may just have been a borderline audio jack or something, if it happens again that is where I will be looking first.

[734406pk]

What are you using for a head unit? You will have to have something with adjustment for bass and treble at least or and equalizer.

I was in a hurry to get the dash back in so i had to get what was available at the time. The head unit is a Schosche w/ blue tooth and USB input etc. t has an EQ and pre sets for various music types. Not the best I'M  sure, but i'll upgrade to an Alpine head unit soon.I don't think thats's the issue... I have an Alpine amp between the head unit and the 4 speaker system, nothing crazy but the engine exhaust note just kills the bass completely, or at least it sound that way.

[Brillo1974]

I was in a hurry to get the dash back in so i had to get what was available at the time. The head unit is a Schosche w/ blue tooth and USB input etc. t has an EQ and pre sets for various music types. Not the best I'M  sure, but i'll upgrade to an Alpine head unit soon.I don't think thats's the issue... I have an Alpine amp between the head unit and the 4 speaker system, nothing crazy but the engine exhaust note just kills the bass completely, or at least it sound that way.

It could be a lot of things causing you not to have the bass. What do you have for speakers and what Alpine amp? Does your amp have RCA plugs on the input side for the head unit? If you do and have an Ipod or a phone you could hook it up and bypass your head unit to see if it isn't putting out the base signal. All you need to do that is a cable that has RCA plugs on one end and the 3.5 mm ear phone plug on the other end to plug into your earphone jack on the Ipod or phone. This way you will be running directly into the amp and it will tell you if you if there was an issue with your head unit. Using and Ipod is the best way to tell because it has settings for bass on it and most phones don't. If you do this and still have a problem I would go back and check your speaker connections again.

[734406pk]

It could be a lot of things causing you not to have the bass. What do you have for speakers and what Alpine amp? Does your amp have RCA plugs on the input side for the head unit? If you do and have an Ipod or a phone you could hook it up and bypass your head unit to see if it isn't putting out the base signal. All you need to do that is a cable that has RCA plugs on one end and the 3.5 mm ear phone plug on the other end to plug into your earphone jack on the Ipod or phone. This way you will be running directly into the amp and it will tell you if you if there was an issue with your head unit. Using and Ipod is the best way to tell because it has settings for bass on it and most phones don't. If you do this and still have a problem I would go back and check your speaker connections again.

 I have Pioneer 6x9 triaxial rear and 2-3 1/2" (?) coaxial dash speakers. The Alpine amp is a MRV-F300 w/ RCA inputs connected to the head unit. Great idea using the ipod direct to the amp! Ill try that next. I do have some base, but the lows are weak unless i turn up the volume, then the lows get distorted as if the rear speakers are overdriven, and the volume is too loud. 6x9s shouldn't sound like they are too small for this size vehicle. The base is "ok" with the engine off but room for improvement.

[Brillo1974]

I have Pioneer 6x9 triaxial rear and 2-3 1/2" (?) coaxial dash speakers. The Alpine amp is a MRV-F300 w/ RCA inputs connected to the head unit. Great idea using the ipod direct to the amp! Ill try that next. I do have some base, but the lows are weak unless i turn up the volume, then the lows get distorted as if the rear speakers are overdriven, and the volume is too loud. 6x9s shouldn't sound like they are too small for this size vehicle. The base is "ok" with the engine off but room for improvement.

Give the Ipod a shot before you spend money on the sub because if you don't have base now you won't get it by adding the sub. Mine sounded just like you are explaining before I got it to work right, now the base out of the 6X9's will vibrate the whole interior and overpower the highs if set on the deep base setting. Good luck and let me know if you get it figured out. 

[734406pk]

  Thanks for the ipod idea! Ill do that first and see what happens. The issue could be the head unit or wiring ( i'm using the RCA inputs to the Alpine amp). I don't want to put in a sub if it's not necessary, it would just be a louder version of the same issue. Ill post back results. Time to find a 3,5mm to RCA adapter cord! Thanks for the help!

[734406pk]

Well I don't know why exactly but I now have PLENTY of base now! I connected an Iphone direct to the amp as suggested by Brillo1974 and played around with the amp switch settings while laying in the trunk for the best sound. It worked! The switch settings are completely opposite of what the amp operators manual suggests for this set up (w/o a Sub Woofer). The amp might have a selector switch wired backwards, who knows? Thanks for the help Brillo1974! Saved me $250 on a sub i didn't need! 

[Brillo1974]

Happy to see you got it worked out, nothing like some tunes when you want them. 

[734406pk]

Happy to see you got it worked out, nothing like some tunes when you want them. 

Worked out nicely! Thank You! I can dial up more than enough for my tastes. Next idea is dual center speakers to fill in i think.  I'm wondering if there will be any clearance issues though.