no bass
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 977
Likes: 1
From: wash. dc
no bass
ok folks, i have a 180w aiwa cd player in my 71. i just installed two 6x9 speakers in boxes that i made in the rear compartment. the prob is i can't seem to get any bass out of em. i switched the connections to see if maybe the pos/neg terminals were backwards and the sound didn't improve at all. i feel i should get an improvement even without installing an amp. the speakers are audiobahns with 40oz magnets, able to handle 200 watts. what am i missing...
Pro
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 581
Likes: 0
From: Southeast WI
I've got a similar dilemma, but I've learned to live with it. I've got two top quality 6x9" JBL speakers mounted in free-standing speaker boxes on the rear deck, and I'm driving them with a sizeable Alpine power amp. My bass sound quality is not very punchy or powerful.
I'm not an acoustical engineer, but I believe that good bass response requires a large cavity of air to work against. I'll bet if I used the same 6x9" speakers mounted on the rear deck of a regular passenger sedan they would sound much better because of all the air behind them in the trunk.
Just a theory.
I'm not an acoustical engineer, but I believe that good bass response requires a large cavity of air to work against. I'll bet if I used the same 6x9" speakers mounted on the rear deck of a regular passenger sedan they would sound much better because of all the air behind them in the trunk.
Just a theory.
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 4,312
Likes: 70
From: Clearwater FL
is your cd player 4 channel? If it is and you only have 1 channel going to each of the 6x9's, they are only getting 45 watts each and thats not going to make any kind of bass.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 990
Likes: 0
From: North Texas
Did you check all of the radio settings? Some times they have built in filters.
How big is the enclosure?
You can make the speaker "think" the enclosure is larger by adding fiberglass insulation.
You should be able to get some bass.
How big is the enclosure?
You can make the speaker "think" the enclosure is larger by adding fiberglass insulation.
You should be able to get some bass.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 11,891
Likes: 3
From: Kansas City, MO ...I'd like to go fishing and catch a fishstick. That'd be convenient. - Mitch Hedberg
Your 180 watt head unit is actually 4x45w at peak power.
You can damage a speaker much easier by under powering it than over powering it.
You can damage a speaker much easier by under powering it than over powering it.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 977
Likes: 1
From: wash. dc
yes it is a 4 channel player and i do have the boxes stuffed with fiberglass... still sounds like a tin can though....hope i don't have run new wiring all the way to the stereo again... i used the same wires that were hooked to the old speakers...are you saying ak that with 45 watts i won't get any better sound unless i use an amp
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Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 11,891
Likes: 3
From: Kansas City, MO ...I'd like to go fishing and catch a fishstick. That'd be convenient. - Mitch Hedberg
Have you tried the boxes without any fill in them? What do you mean by "fiberglass". If you are going to put anything in there, it should be polyfill.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
From: MO
Originally Posted by Ak. Mal
Your 180 watt head unit is actually 4x45w at peak power.
You can damage a speaker much easier by under powering it than over powering it.
You can damage a speaker much easier by under powering it than over powering it.
that head unit amp is putting out 45w peak on a good day in a laboratory. Get a separate 50-100 amp for the 6x9's and run only the front speakers off the CD players built in amp. All your speakers will sound better and you'll have much improved bass. Also, check the phase on all your speakers "+" to "+" and "-" to "-" connections.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,655
Likes: 19
The amount of bass you get will be a function of speaker design and enclosure size.
If they're both in the same box, check to make sure they're not out of phase.
Check to see that you're wired correctly, directly to the large speaker terminals. The smaller (in 2 ways) will have a high pass filter between the amp and it.
Check to make sure your amp doesn't have a crossover, or it's not wired correctly for one.
Gary
If they're both in the same box, check to make sure they're not out of phase.
Check to see that you're wired correctly, directly to the large speaker terminals. The smaller (in 2 ways) will have a high pass filter between the amp and it.
Check to make sure your amp doesn't have a crossover, or it's not wired correctly for one.
Gary
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,469
Likes: 6
From: 68 427 4.11s Roadster
The 2 things that create good bass without getting too boring are power and frequency.
Either/ and.
Either get an amp just for those speakers ( or one that does all of your speakers)
Or/and, get passive or electronic crossover to limit the frequencies to the speakers. A speaker that has to do all the work of 20 htz to 20khz isn't going to do any of them well. High freqs don't need much power while lows take enormous power.
Most amps today have the crossovers in them so I think this is the cheapest and best route. If you get the crossovers first You will probably still need the amp but who knows but you. Its a subjective thing.
200 watt speakers mean they need an enormous amount of power to get them working, think of it like rolling mass. This should be a spec on the speakers. If its like 90 watts theres your answer.
How efficient are they is what it comes down to.
Either/ and.
Either get an amp just for those speakers ( or one that does all of your speakers)
Or/and, get passive or electronic crossover to limit the frequencies to the speakers. A speaker that has to do all the work of 20 htz to 20khz isn't going to do any of them well. High freqs don't need much power while lows take enormous power.
Most amps today have the crossovers in them so I think this is the cheapest and best route. If you get the crossovers first You will probably still need the amp but who knows but you. Its a subjective thing.
200 watt speakers mean they need an enormous amount of power to get them working, think of it like rolling mass. This should be a spec on the speakers. If its like 90 watts theres your answer.
How efficient are they is what it comes down to.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,883
Likes: 11
From: North Easton Mass
Depends on what you mean by "any bass". If you are looking for bass that will rattle the teeth of the guy in the car in front of you at a stoplight then you don't have nearly enough power or cone area. If you want to listen to a symphony and hear balanced sound then you may not have good enough speakers or not enough enclosure. Most new car manufacturers work with audio system designers and manufactures to tune a system for a specific model of car. Bose was one of the earliest that I can think of, with the labyrinth port system built into the C4 Corvette. Someone could probably come up with something similar for a C3 it they wanted to spend the time designing a folded port system for a given bass driver. I may tackle something like that someday, but it's so far down the list of things to do that it won't happen for years.
I play bass in a variety of band configurations and I appreciate that people want to hear the bass, but in a Corvette you should turn off the stereo and listen to the engine! That's all the music you need.
Rick B.
I play bass in a variety of band configurations and I appreciate that people want to hear the bass, but in a Corvette you should turn off the stereo and listen to the engine! That's all the music you need.
Rick B.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 10,037
Likes: 668
From: FL
Originally Posted by Blair Winch Project
I play bass in a variety of band configurations and I appreciate that people want to hear the bass, but in a Corvette you should turn off the stereo and listen to the engine! That's all the music you need.
I tell people that I have two 4" speakers, one under each door.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,469
Likes: 6
From: 68 427 4.11s Roadster
Eventually I want to get a recording of my car.
Then I can sit in a parking lot going 70 on the highway.
Need a good stereo and good bass for that
There is the slight problem of sound ordinances so can't do it in intersections with cops around.
IE burnouts.
Then I can sit in a parking lot going 70 on the highway.
Need a good stereo and good bass for that
There is the slight problem of sound ordinances so can't do it in intersections with cops around.
IE burnouts.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 34,264
Likes: 0
From: Pacific Northwest
For best results don't put an infinite baffle driver into a small enclosure. I have a set of Pioneer 6x9's in one car getting 60 watts each from an amp and they have great bass. They are mounted in the rear deck.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 11,840
Likes: 0
From: Galloway NJ
with just head unit power, your speakers are probably seeing 15-20 watts RMS, you won't get any kind of bass with that...
I'd put an 8" sub in the passanger side storage compartment and get nice 200-400 watt amp
I'd put an 8" sub in the passanger side storage compartment and get nice 200-400 watt amp
