what subwoofer should i buy for my MSP?
- Thread starter hayula
- Start date
hayula said:
(lol) It read ouch, I love it. Well, I will have to look into how to reduce the ouch factor before I try mine. I'll let you know if I find anything out. Thanks for the cost quote. We'll see how much more Hawaii can add onto that. lol.
Hmmm...interesting. The amp shouldn't cook the sub at all. They are matched power-wise, so there's no way you over heated it that way. A little note on setting the amp and HU settings, though:
You should be using the FLAT EQ setting of use the USER setting and adjust it so that the bass boost is off, the loudness is off, and the bass setting should be zero. You adjust the volume of your sub using the NF Level. When they set up the amp and sub together, they need to set the gains: when doing this the NF should be at 11 and the HU volume should be at the loudest setting that you ever use. If it's less than 26, just use 26. Then they can make sure the low pass filter is on on the amp and set the gains so that you get enough clipping w/o distortion. Once everything is set that way, you shouldn't blow the sub.
On a side note, 115 for an 8w3v2 is pretty dang good. They always kill you on the install price, but I think it's a 180$ sub MSRP. Also, with the amp, even if it doesn't cook itself, it'll turn off which means no music. It's not really a matter of the heatsink being big or good enough, it's just thermodynamics: the hot air will move up. If it tries to dissipate heat off the heatsink it'll just come right back onto it.
You should be using the FLAT EQ setting of use the USER setting and adjust it so that the bass boost is off, the loudness is off, and the bass setting should be zero. You adjust the volume of your sub using the NF Level. When they set up the amp and sub together, they need to set the gains: when doing this the NF should be at 11 and the HU volume should be at the loudest setting that you ever use. If it's less than 26, just use 26. Then they can make sure the low pass filter is on on the amp and set the gains so that you get enough clipping w/o distortion. Once everything is set that way, you shouldn't blow the sub.
On a side note, 115 for an 8w3v2 is pretty dang good. They always kill you on the install price, but I think it's a 180$ sub MSRP. Also, with the amp, even if it doesn't cook itself, it'll turn off which means no music. It's not really a matter of the heatsink being big or good enough, it's just thermodynamics: the hot air will move up. If it tries to dissipate heat off the heatsink it'll just come right back onto it.
Very good info. servoeyes. So, does this mean that when running the JL Sub that you can never use the presets (rock, pop, etc.) on the head unit again? Not that it would be a huge loss by any means. They aren't that good, but somewhat convenient with as varied music tastes as I have. Or am I completely misintepreting what you are saying due to my ignorance?
Basically, with any real system, if you're not happy with the "Flat" response, then it's time to change the system. When you change all of those supposed "EQ" values, all you're doing is making the signal clip. It's not that you can't use those settings, but with the power matching being so close, if the gain is turned up too much you'll create a ton of distortion, and have the possibility of blowing the sub. This is what I learned from 1stMP3...I pass it on to you, now! (evil)
yeah good information servoeyes. these guys looked like they knew what they were doing so i didn't ask what they set it to but when the woofer died as i was driving home, i went through the settings and
loudness: off
npf: 0
i had the volume at around 25 and i was admiring the fact that i couldn't really see the driver in the car behind me due to bass shake
let's see what else, oh i started feeling up the amp... it wasn't hot at all just nice and warm
oh and if you think that price on the JL is decent... they carry B+W home speakers for $9,999 a pair. now that's a steal
loudness: off
npf: 0
i had the volume at around 25 and i was admiring the fact that i couldn't really see the driver in the car behind me due to bass shake
let's see what else, oh i started feeling up the amp... it wasn't hot at all just nice and warm
oh and if you think that price on the JL is decent... they carry B+W home speakers for $9,999 a pair. now that's a steal
Last edited:
I promise I shall use the knowledge you have passed on to me for only the forces of good. Y'know, like making my sytem sound gooder. lol. Thanks.
That was pretty much what I thought you were saying, so I must be learning something. I have the feeling the install of the sub and those settings you provided will be all I need. I am generally satisfied with the system at 18-22 volume level. The only thing I ever feel like it is lacking is well tuned base response.
That was pretty much what I thought you were saying, so I must be learning something. I have the feeling the install of the sub and those settings you provided will be all I need. I am generally satisfied with the system at 18-22 volume level. The only thing I ever feel like it is lacking is well tuned base response.
WOW THIS IS WHAT I WAS ABOUT TO POST ABOUT !!!
heh...well, i'm gonna have to find out where i can get the JL 8w3...mmmmmm eight dub three. just need some warranty work done on the enclosure. my sub won't bump. dAMN IT. some people say that it's the wiring...if i leave the system alone for a while and turn on the car, the sub will start bumping then go away again. amp is on of course. but yeah, looks like i'm gonna go with this since i don't wanna have to do a bandpass or enclosure or other s***. yay thanks hayula for making this thread !
heh...well, i'm gonna have to find out where i can get the JL 8w3...mmmmmm eight dub three. just need some warranty work done on the enclosure. my sub won't bump. dAMN IT. some people say that it's the wiring...if i leave the system alone for a while and turn on the car, the sub will start bumping then go away again. amp is on of course. but yeah, looks like i'm gonna go with this since i don't wanna have to do a bandpass or enclosure or other s***. yay thanks hayula for making this thread !
1. Subs blow becuase of distortion, a poorly constructed box (leaks), WAY to much power, and distortion.
- The box itself should be ok, but it may not have been sealed on the mounting surface, although it should have been.
- Which W3 did you get, it has to be the 8W3v2D2. NO OTHER W3 WILL WORK CORRECTLY. If they gave you a 8W3v2D4 then thats why it blew and be thankful the amp is ok.
- The sub also needs to be wired with its coils in seires.
- Distorion is a result of alot of BS boosting circuits like servo mentioned or the gain being set to high on the amp per the voltage of the RCA signal it gets. If the amp causes the sub to distort before the rest of the speakers then the gain needs to be lowered.
- The kenwood is no where near to much power for the 8W3. It blew from being the wrong sub, being wired wrong, or from the gain being too high.
2.The amp needs to be flipped back over to ensure its longevity. Those heat sinks are designed to cool the amp when it is mounted upright or flat. With it upside down the amps heat sinks disipate heat downward, which of coarse then comes right back up to the amp.
3.
- The box itself should be ok, but it may not have been sealed on the mounting surface, although it should have been.
- Which W3 did you get, it has to be the 8W3v2D2. NO OTHER W3 WILL WORK CORRECTLY. If they gave you a 8W3v2D4 then thats why it blew and be thankful the amp is ok.
- The sub also needs to be wired with its coils in seires.
- Distorion is a result of alot of BS boosting circuits like servo mentioned or the gain being set to high on the amp per the voltage of the RCA signal it gets. If the amp causes the sub to distort before the rest of the speakers then the gain needs to be lowered.
- The kenwood is no where near to much power for the 8W3. It blew from being the wrong sub, being wired wrong, or from the gain being too high.
2.The amp needs to be flipped back over to ensure its longevity. Those heat sinks are designed to cool the amp when it is mounted upright or flat. With it upside down the amps heat sinks disipate heat downward, which of coarse then comes right back up to the amp.
3.
hm....i found the 8w04 at www.tweeter.com . is this sub any good or should i stick w/ the 8w3v2d2 ?
also saw a kicker compvr sub...any comments ?
also saw a kicker compvr sub...any comments ?
1ST its the dual coil 2ohm. he told me it was being wired to bring the impedance up to 4ohm (so it would be 125w rms as you suggested) so i take it they indeed wired it in serial.
as far as distortion goes there was absolutely no distortion.. just nice tight bass. it's odd i don't know, would a malfunctioning AMP somehow allow a big spike into the driver and fry it instantly? it just went silent no distortion, no click no smoke nothing
as far as distortion goes there was absolutely no distortion.. just nice tight bass. it's odd i don't know, would a malfunctioning AMP somehow allow a big spike into the driver and fry it instantly? it just went silent no distortion, no click no smoke nothing
Are you certain it's the sub and not the amp? going entirely silent sounds verymuch like an amp shutting off for whatever reason perhaps with the shuffling around, something's grounded out? I'd troubleshoot a bit before calling it dead? Do you have a multimeter or lest light or any confidence to test it yourself? Shouldn't be that difficult... Check for power at the terminal, then at the remote turn on then check the ground wire. If those all check out okay, check the fuses in the amp. If everything checks out okay, then it migthbe trickier... If something's not right, let us know and I'm sure we can help work it out.
Oh, and BTW, not to be a smartass, ut just a terminology check to avoid possible confusion. It's series not serial.
Oh, and BTW, not to be a smartass, ut just a terminology check to avoid possible confusion. It's series not serial.
Last edited:
jflo said:
I suggest teh W3 becuase it has a higher power handling to take on the kenwood when running at 4 ohms, however the Wo will work aswell. THe W3 will give you a bit more spl.
COmp Vrs are nice subs too, they are more oriented to SPL then SQ like JL.
hayula said:1ST its the dual coil 2ohm. he told me it was being wired to bring the impedance up to 4ohm (so it would be 125w rms as you suggested) so i take it they indeed wired it in serial.
as far as distortion goes there was absolutely no distortion.. just nice tight bass. it's odd i don't know, would a malfunctioning AMP somehow allow a big spike into the driver and fry it instantly? it just went silent no distortion, no click no smoke nothing
If the amp motorboats, then it will be sending pure distortion and clipped signals. Also in a trunk, a clipping sub is not easily heard until its really getting an ass reaming.
Poseur said:
CHecking a blown sub with a multimeter will either show something insanely low or some value insanely high. The one time I came across a sub that waqs reading ~30 ohms, I knew it wasn't blown, I just had to resolder the tinsle leads and then it was fine.
I was talking about checking the amp. But that's quite interesting about the 30ohm reading on a sub. I dunno I might be going the too-simple route here, ut alot of times that's teh culprit. Granted he DID take it to a professional installer who we'd all assume should've checked it all out, but You can never tell...
series..thanks for correcting. there was absolutely no sound/noices coming out of the speaker. I pulled down the rear seat and was listening very intently for any sign of life. i touched the amp and it was mildy warm and the little red light was on (on the W). i think im gonna show and to see what mazda service says. watch them try to blame the JL sub. lol..
