tuning my system...........NEED HELP!!!

[racerx520]

like it says, i need help tuning my system....

THE SET UP:
-Alpine CDA 9857 (i think...it was the first one with the Ipod hook up that didnt plug in the front)
-2 Kenwood 9x6 speakers in the rear with "Tri-Tweeters"
-2 Kenwood 4x6? (stock size in the dash)
-1000x2 Watt Profile Californian Amp
-2 10" Alpine Type R Subwoofers

THE SETTINGS:Head Unit
-Bass Engine
*Bass Level (-7 to +7)
*Q - Level (.50 to 1.25)
*Frequency (60 to 120 Hz)
-Treble
*Treble Level (-7 to +7)
*Frequency (7.5 to 15 Hz)
Amp
*Gain
*Subsonic (20 to 50 Hz)
*Bass Boost (9 to 12 dB)
*Low Pass Filter (50 to 250 Hz) <-- it may only be for the amp crossover that i dont have

THE MUSIC:
The music i generally listen to is everything from AC/DC to Young Buck (for those of you who listen to rap)....i like a pretty decent amount of bass but i keep trying to set the system up and keep seeming to mess it up more and more.....hopefully someone here can help me out, i dont understand the Subsonic frequency and stuff on the amp, and i dont understand the Q Level either, i can understand the Frequency but i dont know what level to set it at........please help

thanks a bunch
-brian

[Slo86Bird]

my system was easy. i got an alpine headunit and 2 kicker 12's. the front speakers are sony and the rears are roadmaster. my subs are the only thing on the amp. alls i did was set it to the rear 3, sub+15, bass+3, treble-2 and it sounds perfect. i mainly listen to rap tho. i am going to get some jl w3s when i get a chance. my kickers arent cuttin it. they hit hard but not hard enough, they only make my doors rattle. i need more then that haha

[racerx520]

haha true, yeah i had mine on BBE 3 (cuz it was the loudest setting...all the others arent loud at all) bass -4 or -5, treble +7 and forward 2 cuz it was sounding like it was all from the back and i didnt like that too much lol

[Slo86Bird]

u figure it out?

[Tru2Chevy]

Racer, where are your subs in the car? Are they on top of the gas tank, or do you have them down in the well firing up at the rear window?

I'm no expert when it comes to stereo help (wait for qwikz28 to get here, he knows his stuff), but it sounds like you were heading further in the wrong direction with the setup above.

The best thing you could prolly do for your system is look for a nice 4 channel amp and hook that up to your 4x6s and 6x9s. They are easily gonna get drowned out buy a pair of 10s in an F-body.

My Jeep has only a single JL 10" in the hatch, and it's quite overpowering if I start cranking the bass up.

Anyway, for starters, I would put the headunit back to factory settings and work from there. Does that headunit have a separate sub level control, or is it just hooked up to the rear pre-outs?

- Justin

[racerx520]

first off: yes, i do have my amp in the well firing up at the window, but i took a music class thingy in highschool where they explained that you can put subwoofers wherever because the frequency of bass travels the farthest of any music sound and my 6x9's actually do pretty well against the subs, they ahve 3 tweeters per speaker......

secondly: yes i did figure out the problem from some help of the owners manual and someone from TGO (thirdgen.org)....i checked the back of the head unit and there were 3 RCA plugs.....Front speakers, Rear speakers, and Subwoofer.....for some reason (being the genius i am) i plugged the RCA cables into the Rear speakers section and made it sound like crap....so now thati have it plugged in the right area i just need to tune it a little butright now it seems like theres so much power coming out of the amp and distorting the sound but i'll have to work on that a bit on thursday, i'll have some time to screw around with it between my classes at my local community college

[Tru2Chevy]

I agree that the well is the best place for a pair or subs.

Is there a bass level dial on the amp? If so, make sure that isn't turned all the way up, as that could distort your sound at higher volumes. Other than that, it sounds like you are on the right track now, so good luck with the rest of your tuning.

- Justin

[racerx520]

thank you and yeah, i think i need to adjust the gain and such....the only thing thats confusing me is the bass and treble engines on the head unit.....like where to set the Q or the Frequency...is that stuff just gonna be trial and error or is there like a sweet spot for mostly all systems?

[qwikz28]

its all trial and error. the gains are the hardest thing to set. find a friend that knows how to do it.

if i were you, i would set your high pass filter at ~80hz and your low pass filter about ~100. play around with the rest and find what you like.

ps- the best kind of music to tune to is a clean store bought CD of a girl singing.

[racerx520]

hmm...i dont think i have any music of girl singers....acutally my gf does have a flyleaf cd.....but i'll try it out and see how it goes.....thanks for the advice everyone!

[V]

no offense, but ditch that amp, a real amp will make it sound better right there