NO BASS, seeking help

[Jon MS3]

I have an 08.5 ms3 GT. (bose) and i dont get any low end bass from my speakers. i had a 12" Memphis sub installed along time ago, and no matter how much tweaking i did it would only play mid range freqs. it has since been removed. i thought it might be the amp or sub, but when a beastie boys song came on the other day i realized i am getting no bass at all through the speakers. whole parts of the song are just not there. if i turn up the bass on the head unit all i can get is a louder drowning of mid range freqs. its gotten so bad all i can stand to listen to in the car is talk radio.

i have checked the codes on the head unit, and the software is updated. i have searched around for an answer practically since i bought the car over two years ago. is there anything i can do to fix this? anything. thanks

 

[kvndoom]

Dumb obvious question, but I am compelled to ask since it is the first thing to come to mind... is the sub amp set on "Low Pass"?

Anyway, if you don't mind the drive to Newport News, I can make some time to look at it one evening after work. Let me know.

 

[Jon MS3]

yes. when the sub amp was on low pass, it would produce hardly any sound. the sub and amp are now removed. the problem isnt the sub or amp, the speakers themselves just arent getting any low signals. which is why the sub that was wired from the rear speakers wasn't effective. is this just a standard BLOSE problem? and if so what can i replace to finally get a full frequency range. thanks

 

[kvndoom]

Ah! So you still have the piece of s*** bose amp in... that's where it all went to s***. You need to tap either from the bose sub output (not the best idea, but better than nothing) or from the actual inputs from the HU before the bose amp (best option). The stock HU puts out a good signal, but the bose amp destroys it with some retarded processing. No sub-bass goes to the doors, which is why your sub was getting nothing.

 

[Jon MS3]

i've tried wiring it to the rear speakers, pre amp and post amp, as well as the stock sub wires, pre and post amp. everything sounded awful. im not planning on re-installing the subwoofer, i just want a decent freq range from the door speakers and stock sub. so every bose system doesn't put out low end bass to the doors? than is my best option a new speaker amp and door speakers?

 

[meicalnissyen]

i've tried wiring it to the rear speakers, pre amp and post amp, as well as the stock sub wires, pre and post amp. everything sounded awful. im not planning on re-installing the subwoofer, i just want a decent freq range from the door speakers and stock sub. so every bose system doesn't put out low end bass to the doors? than is my best option a new speaker amp and door speakers?

You said you tried tapping pre amp, as in did you use the underseat wirechart and feed your aftermarket sub amp with the linelevel wires from the HU?
is yes, and you still had no bass freqs, then you have an odd prob with the HU and may be able to get warranty coverage. if not, then you need to do that, as kvndoom pointed out

 

[Jon MS3]

yea, i've done that. again though, i dont want to run my sub and amp in my car. i was just using that to point out the lack of a bass signal. you guys have said the bose amp doesnt send any low freqs to the doors. would replacing the stock amp and door speakers solve this problem or not. thanks

 

[kvndoom]

first step would be to ditch the amp... if you're the least bit serious about the sound in your car, that HAS to go. It is by far the weakest link. you want to get a good 5 channel amp that has 2-ohm stable outputs and balanced RCA's. JL XD or Kicker ZX is where I would start my search. If you really don't even want to use the stock sub for what it's worth, then just get a 4 channel (I see JL 300/4's going pretty cheap on craigslist all the time around here). I think even the stock speakers with a flat unraped signal will be like night and day. And you can play with the high-pass to see how deep the door speakers will play and still sound good.

You might find yourself happy with the stock speakers, but if you get a decent amp and still feel you need better sound, then we can recommend some decent components that won't break you.

 

[Jon MS3]

thanks alot kvndoom. i'll start there.

 

[Jon MS3]

thanks for the help on the stereo questions. i looked into amps, and just have a couple questions for you since you seem to be well versed in this kinda thing. firstly, what else will i need to hook up the amp? rca convertors for the inputs? will i need to run a different/better power source for the amp? and with a 5 ch. amp could i use it to run say a single 8" or 10" sub if the factory bose sub isnt cutting it?

PMed this first, but then figured posting here might help others too. thanks!

 

[kvndoom]

There's an adapter that people use to tap the line level signals from the back of the HU. You'll have to skim through the threads to find it (unless someone chimes in), cause I can't remember what it's called. The one I used way back when took a lot of cutting and splicing, and I guess there's something that works out the box which would be better. Pretty sure it's made by PAC. That will give you the RCA jacks to feed the amps, and i think the remote wire as well. There's supposed to be one that does work with bose.

I had originally powered my amp (when I had just one) from the tap that fed the bose amp. I never blew a fuse or had any issues. Now I have a dedicated power wire from the battery because I moved my amps to the hatch. A single amp not putting out more than a few hundred watts total would probably run just fine off that wire, but I wouldn't go higher than that. In the end it's safer to just run some 4-gauge and be done with it. That way if you upgrade later, the wire's already there.

The 3 is such a small car, I know a quality 10" sub would be plenty of bass for it. I have a 12, and it sounds great, but it's really not worth all the extra space it takes up. But I already have the sub, and it's paid for, so I'm not going to spend even more money to downsize it. Some people have sworn that 8's are enough, but I can't say from experience. I personally wouldn't go lower than a 10" but again that's just me.

 

[chief_wiggum]

There's an adapter that people use to tap the line level signals from the back of the HU. You'll have to skim through the threads to find it (unless someone chimes in), cause I can't remember what it's called. The one I used way back when took a lot of cutting and splicing, and I guess there's something that works out the box which would be better. Pretty sure it's made by PAC. That will give you the RCA jacks to feed the amps, and i think the remote wire as well. There's supposed to be one that does work with bose.

PAC AOEM-MAZ2 -- it's plug and play, very easy install.

It will say it does not work with Bose, it did with mine (and others).

 

[steviekfc]

so if i was to install type r gear, speakers tweeters and a 12' sub, with an alpine amp, would the sound be decent? or would i need to replace the head unit aswell? because I really wanted to keep it all looking standard (other than the sub ofcourse)

 

[Kain]

PAC AOEM-MAZ2 -- it's plug and play, very easy install.

It will say it does not work with Bose, it did with mine (and others).

If anyone is interested in a used PAC AOEM-MAZ2, I have one for sale. I'll take $30 shipped to CONUS for it. It allows you to hook up an amp to the factory HU without any splicing or dicing. It's a simple 10 minute install.

 

[Design]

so if i was to install type r gear, speakers tweeters and a 12' sub, with an alpine amp, would the sound be decent? or would i need to replace the head unit aswell? because I really wanted to keep it all looking standard (other than the sub ofcourse)

Yep. Get the PAC AOEM-MAZ2 or tap into the pre-amp wiring under the driver's seat (MS3). Either way you'll get a clean line level signal for your amp.

 

[Jon MS3]

AWESOME, looks like i've got a little project ahead of me, but looking forward to it. thanks to everyone for the help and input.

 

[rdaex]

as a heads up, theres plenty of room under the passenger seat for an amp, and you can sometimes find the stealthbox inserts for an 8 or 10 for where the factory jack goes on the left side of the hatch

 

[Jon MS3]

update: well i pulled the trigger this week on some sound upgrades and might have gone a little over board. started the install this thurs, and just finished piecing the car together this morning. ended up going with a kicker zx7005 amp, to power a 10" kicker cvr sub, polk db components up front, and polk db 5x7s rear. using the pac rca converter, and the factory head unit. but after buying all this, i couldn't help but put it in 2 bulk boxes worth of dynamat extreme. and man i love it! still fine tuning the sound, but its terrific. real crisp with plenty of low end too. and i love the dynamat. no more clunking noise from the shifter, or pebble noises from the wheel wells. i think i just fell in love with this car all over again

 

[kvndoom]

That is AWESOME to hear dude! Another satisfied blose upgrade!

 

[Jon MS3]

Totally satisfied. Thanks for the great help and tips. (drinks) cheers