Well I finally got my sub installed yesterday, and after a small problem (Pioneer HU and noise ended up wrapping the RCA's) everything is now working fine..........sort of. The thing is, it's just not working as well as I would have expected..... I set my gains using a multimeter and 60Hz -3db test tone for the sub, and a 1000Hz tone for the Kappas. So far I have played various music on the way to work this morning and the bass is OK, but on some songs (faster low beat) it sounds awful.....for example:

Nas - Hip Hop is Dead - Sounds OK
Jay Z - Kingdom Come - Sounds bad (Tracks 2 and 3).
Gorillaz - Demon Dayz - Best so far (Tried most songs)
Roots Manuva - Brand New Second Hand - Sounds decent, but rattles every damn panel in the truck
Radio (Pop) - Sounds pretty reasonable.

My system is:

Pioneer 6800MP
Infinity Kappa's (front)
eD 11KV.2 (dual 2 ohm wired to 4 ohm)
Aura RPM 4200
No rear fill.

I built a sealed box, and it's approx 0.5cf (probably a little less) which is the size eD recommend on their website. I used wood glue, screws and caulk to put the box together. So I am pretty sure it's sealed, this leads me onto my 1st question though........ when I put my hand beside the sub, I feel air moving, at the moment (not easy to reach back under the seat when sitting in the drivers seat) I can't tell if this is coming from around the speaker (leaking from the box) or not. If it is leaking from the box, what's the best way to prevent this air leak? and if this is leaking when I seal it up will it give me an improvement in my sound?

Onto some more questions..........
When I change stations (or pretty much anything else) on the HU I hear a small popping sound and the sub moves, if I reach beneath the box it moves out (probably to as far as it will move out) is this normal? is there any risk to my sub? what can I do to minimize this?

I am using the HPF and LPF on my HU, when I turn on the HPF it sounds like it cuts off my sub? I checked the RCA's and have them around the correct way, I used the HU to turn the sub off and on and can tell its connected to the correct RCA's, so why when I switch on my HPF does it feel like I lose a huge chunk of bass? (I had planned to cross the Kappa's at 80Hz and the sub at 80Hz but at the moment have full range to the Kappa's)

My amplifier is rated at 4 x 50RMS, the front channels go to the Kappa's (2 ohm load 75RMS) and the rears are bridged to the sub pushing 150RMS at 4 ohms. Is 150RMS enough for the sub I have? could the cause of a lot of the problems I am experiencing be not enough power to the sub?

The Xmax for my sub is 15.1mm, from the top (or bottom) of the box to the floor of the truck I have about 25mm. Is that enough clearance? I am worried about the sub hitting the floor (will take a look under there at some point)

Sorry this post is so long, I feel kind of disappointed this morning. I realize this is only a budget system (and I would say I am a novice at this, especially tuning the system and problem solving), but had hoped for something better than what I am experiencing. The Kappa's sound good, and I am more impressed with them now than I first was, but the sub just does not sound right (and I feel its something in the install)

Any tips or tricks on what I can do to improve things over all? I don't want huge loud bass, It's a daily driver and I just want some good SQ.

Thanks for reading (and hopefully replying)

 

your problem is the pineer HU.... they are junk.

 

You could be right!! My previous Alpine (7893R) back in the UK was a thousand times better than this Pioneer. Wish I could have brought the Alpine with me or that Alpine still made decks worth buying.

Ok, so short of replacing the HU any other suggestions? :-p

 

Doubt it



Could be, but unless its leaking like a **** it shouldnt be THAT bad. If you have the sub held in with just screw, you have to cinch them down TIGHT for it not to leak around the sub. Pretty much almost to the point of stripping the wood. Hafta be carefull that you dont though...
Of course, maybe it is leaking like a ****


Your POSITIVE you have ALL the RCA's correct. HU's sub outputs to the rear channels, HU's front preouts to the front inputs...
Your losing all the bass from your speakers when you turn their HP on, so that might be the decrease in bass you are seeing. Is the crossover on the rear channels for the sub set on LP around 80ish Hz?

In short, no.

All you can do is look and see. Depending on how tall your surround is and what not, it could hit, or maybe not. Just gotta look.

 

Sounds to me like you have some ground problems on the amp or headunit and probably some bad RCA cables.

HPF cuts off the lows and allows High Frequencies to Pass hence the acronym HPF- High Pass Filter. Turn on the HPF and set it to 80 and then set the LPF to 80 as well on the sub. Make certain that the rear speakers are set off. Also do you have the amps built in crossovers turned off or Full Range or Pass? Also are you certain your using the sub RCAs and not the rear RCAs. I know this headunit has 3 sets of outputs.

Why do you have a 2 ohm load on the front speakers? They should be 4 ohms. The 150w RMS should be enough power for that sub,

It should be fine


Give the sub some time to break in maybe a week or so. I'm thinking you just don't have something connected right along with some really cheap RCA cables. You would be amazed what noise enters the system over bad cables.

I was also looking at that amp. I've never heard of Aura even mentioned anywhere before. I seen they were selling for like $99 so you might have got what you paid for there. That bargin amp might be the source of all your problems.

 

Thanks for the replies, just to answer some things.......

I am 99.99% sure I have the RCA's correct, when I first put everything back into the truck I was not sure, so pulled the HU again to be certain. The amps crossovers are set to full/off. This morning I listened to some Leftfield - Rhythm and Stealth and things were sounding pretty good (maybe the sub does need to break in a little) so the main thing I am worried about is the pop when changing stations etc.

The 2 ohm load to the front speakers is because the Kappa's are 2 ohm speakers. The Aura amp was recommended to me by a few people on caraudio.com........ for a budget amp it was a recommended choice. I am sort of planning to replace it in a few months though with something more powerful.

One evening this week I plan to ground my HU directly to the battery, find a better ground for my amp (most likely will go through the floor and to the frame) and also pull the sub and check the gasket is not leaking anywhere. I am also going to check the RCA's again.

Will post back a reply in a few days when I have gone through these steps, with hopefully good news