How do you go about sealing your doors like Ive heard you talk about? Does it make that much of a difference. Also do those foam speaker cups do the same thing, are they worth getting? Another question I have a rockford T10001bd powering 2 10w3v3 at 2 ohms (700 RMS) I did all the right stuff to set my amps gains correctly but my subs have hardly no output at any volume and then I turn my bass **** all the way to max and they sound great, but I was told that it is bad to run the bass **** all the time. What do I have to tune to get more bass with out maxing out the **** all the time. Also with some bass songs it sounds like the subs are maxing out they just hit, like a thunk, and thats with very little bass **** but other songs sound awsome with the **** all the way up. what is causing this. Too large of a box? To small? any help would be great.

 

Since Brypink hasn't had a chance to respond to your thread yet, I'll help out.

Basically, it's nearly impossible to COMPLETELY seal your doors. What Brypink has done MAINLY is simply deaden the doors and the way he deadened the doors sealed off all openings on the interior side of the door itself... The purpose of this is so that the midbass/woofer placed in the door actually has more "like" an enclosure than infinite baffle or "free-air" Since most speaker companies say that their speakers perform best in an enclosure of such-n-such volume, this is a great way to get better sound from your speakers. The best way is to make kick-panels or pods that are sealed completely and are made with the volume the manufacturer of the speaker recommends.

As far as those foam cups you were referring to, they are simply to prevent dust and moisture from collecting on your speakers backside.... this is actually a great idea, however it colors the sound because they're not totally breatheable as far as I know, so I would skip that purchase.

Deadening the doors and/or sealing them is an excellent idea as it helps reduce resonances/vibrations that hurt sound quality. There are several products on the market for this, but they are all generally WAAAY overpriced. I completely sound-deadened my Chevy Tahoe (yeah, I used to be a chevy guy) with 3 layers of mat. Most people have heard of "Dynamat" but there are others like RAAMmat etc... It's all basically the same stuff. The important thing to note is the mils of thickness as this is really the only thing that matters. I decided that since I needed to use SO much deadner, I needed something way cheaper. I found a product that comes in 100' x 36" rolls that they sell at roofing supply stores. I can't remember the name, but it's like, "Ice and Snow Shield" or something. Basically all you're looking for is a tar-base with an aluminum backing. This stuff is nasty and sticky as hell, but works great for making your car sound just like those cool theater rooms that sound all quiet and stuff...

Anyway, I've probably told you a bunch of stuff you already knew... but I hope it helped...

Don

 

As far as the amp and subs go, I'd say you set the gains on your amp with the sub gain on the HU all the way up... turn the bass control on the HU down and then re-set the gains on the amp... and by the way... it doesn't hurt anything to have the bass control on the HU all the way up, all the time. As long as you aren't overdriving your subs to the point of distortion (of any kind) you should never have a problem.

 

I had the defeat on when I set my gains which takes out any boost levels like that and when I refer to the bass **** I mean the one with the amp. I took my system to the stereo shop where I got the subs and I am good friends with and he came out and listened and asked what was wrong with them. He did all these test and calculating of the box and couldnt figure it out. He brought one of his subs out (same one) in a regular box and it alone blew my two away. After a few more test he says somthing in my box is causing weird frequencies inside the box and is calling JL tech today and he said to stop by after school today after he talkes to jl and we can try a few more things today so ill let you all know. also when he said he sealed the door I though he like used foam sealer to accualy seal the door like a box to gain low end. I allready sould deadened the doors to help with vibes. but i though sealing the door was somthing else. Thanks for the replys and Ill post after I figure it out.

 

what kind of box are you running anyways

 

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95925


Check that out...

 

Sorry it took me so long to respond...I had a family emergency that took all my attention this past week.

Anyway, about "sealing" my doors. What I mean by that is I covered all holes (except the holes for the door panel clips) including the huge weird shaped hole. I covered the huge hole with 1/4" MDF and put deadener on that when I put deadener on my doors skins. You can put Deflex pad inside behind the speaker if you want.

Ideally, you want at least 2 layers on the inside of the outer skin, at least 2 layers on the inside of the inner skin and 2-3 layers on the outside of the inner skin. Seal all the holes you can...bigger ones with at least MDF and the smaller ones with deadener. I don't like the clay thing...I just use skinny strips of deadener...works fine. People put Deflex pad or egg carton foam behind the speaker (I did not).

I deadened my doors when I was waiting for my first pair of components (for this truck) to arrive way back when I got the truck. I was shocked at how it brought the midbass out on those stock speakers. It was a night and day difference.

Your subs...I don't know. If you had a professional tell you he doesn't know whats wrong...I'm not sure I can help you. But, I need to know more about the box...i.e., ft^3 (net), ported or sealed, etc. Also, you have the 2 subs wired to 2ohms? Are you positive? What ohms are your subs? How did you set the gains? Did you use a DMM and figure out your final volts using the formula? Did you double check you wiring? RCAs, ground, etc...? Where did you get the subs from, new or used? All kind of variables can cause your problems.

I would rule out the amp (and maybe the wiring) if the other guy's subs and box worked fine.

 

Allright sorry long time no post. My first box was a ebay box with a 3/4 front board added for the extra depth but the guy called JL and talked about my box and after testing my amp and all that decided it is the box covering too much of the side of the sub limiting the air on the back side. The box cane with double stacked 5/8 MDF from the place to gain some mounting depth and with my added 3/4 it equaled almost 2 inches down of the sub being covered. So I went off brypinks box plans with some tweeks to fit my set up and am in the process of finishing it up and waiting on my seat lift. the subs are new JL 10w3v3 SVC 4ohm wired + to + to amp and - to - to amp so the amp sees 2 ohm gains were set with defeat on and a 55hertz test tone. wires are all 1/0 and rca are twised ran seperat form any power wire. I think I did eveything right also optima yellow top and regounded the whole truck with 1/0 and cleaned away the paint for a secure contact. anyting else let me know and a soon as a get a amp for my fronts I will seal up my doors. I went all out on this system so if you guys can think of anything else to make it better let me know.