High Pass Filter. Same as bass blocker.

 

So do I set the front and rear HPF to 150 or just the front and set the rears to 50-60 ? The rears are 6.5"

 

rear to 50-60 as you have no output below that range with a 6.5. setting at say, 50 just prevents the ultra low frequencies from going to them

if they fronts are JUST 3.5 you would go 150 but if you have a 3.5 with the bose woofer you don't want to do that as they go much lower. you would run a 6db/oct cap aka bass blocker on the 3.5 if you need it and set the HPF around 40hz for the front if you can't turn it off entirely. i'm almost sure there is some way to do so but can't say for sure having never used a jvc deck

 

I did notice that the rears seem to have the bass going to them and not so much to the woofers in the doors.

I pitched the bass blockers with the trash so putting them on the front 3.5's is not an option now.

I will try those adjustments when I get home and see how it sounds.

Do I turn the subwoofer setting off? Or keep it turned on? I'm not sure if the Bose door woofers are actually a subwoofer per the head unit settings.

I knew I should have got the cheaper JVC without all these settings. My old JVC had a "Dynamic" setting that worked great.

 

the door subs will get a full range signal. i would try the HPF at 40-50hz and see what it sounds like to the front. the 3.5s may be alright as long as you aren't jamming on it. i have seen more than a few c5s do the 3.5 upgrade with no additional work or crossover

as for the subwoofer section on the deck. ignore it. that is for pre outs. you're correct in the door subs not being treated like actual subs

setting wise keep the subwoofer off. that should allow you to run a full range signal if you want to. mandatory HPF usually happens on decks when the sub is turned on

 

Adjust the Metra interface wiring harness adapter to get more bass from the Bose woofers.

 

i have never used one of these with an aftermarket deck to stock pods. do they have their own crossovers / level gains?

 

They tap off of the speaker output and convert it to a signal that the Bose processor understands (which only powers the door woofers). There are adjustments for the woofer level. You put a screwdriver in holes to adjust the pots.

 

I set the HPF to the levels you suggested and played around with it a bit.
Things actually sounded the best when I set it to "Through". Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

I then played with the settings on the Metra box. I thought it put sound to each speaker, but after playing with it a bit, I realized it actually puts out 4 different types of sound, listed as Channels 1 - 4.

I guess what I did is not scientific but I got it to sounding ok.

 

Interesting. I don't have the Metra.

What is your over all impression of the current set-up?

 

Well, I would have kept the Bose system if the head unit had USB and bluetooth. I thought it sounded pretty good.

The factory speakers are paper crap.

I am glad I replaced the 4 speakers. I wish I went with a more simple head unit, thats just too many adjustments and settings for a novice with no understanding of those settings.

The Metra box does let you make adjustments. But you have to play around with it alot and I had to play the same song over and over so I had something to compare my adjustments to. What I don't like about the Metra box is that there are no markings or clicks so you can't really make an equal adjustment for each channel.

After all this grief I think I have it sounding pretty good. In hindsight, it may have been worth a few extra bucks to take it to a sound shop and let them deal with everything.

Funny thing is that the Borla exhaust is loud at low rpm's so that pretty much drowns out the stereo anyway.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.

 

that's what you want ! through is off or full range. i knew there had to be a setting for that somewhere

 

Super. Thanks again for the help

 

So after driving on and off for a year the stereo setup still isn't quite right but I have basically ignored it. Yesterday I had some free time and thought I would listen more closely and see if I noticed anything.

Most of my sound was coming from the rear speakers so I adjusted the fader to move more sound to the front speakers. As more sound went to the front speakers, I would lose bass in the front speakers. When I adjusted sound back more to the rear speakers I noticed much less audio but much more bass from the front speakers.

It seems one of my settings must be reversed or something.

To recap my setup, its a C5, replaced all 4 speakers but kept the Bose subwoofer in the front doors. Replaced factory head unit with
JVC KD-X330BTS.

Any suggestions out there?

Thanks

 

The purpose of the Metra or LMC57 module is to provide a line level signal to the Bose processor for the woofers.

My first guess is that it is drawing its signal from the rear speakers. If so, the fix is to do some rewiring so that it draws from the fronts. The factory HU had a dedicated feed for this.

Secondly, if your HU has an built in crossover you may have the front speaker bass blocked in the settings.

Just in case, did you keep all of your wiring diagrams? I have the pin-out for the factory wiring in my factory service manual if you need any information about the factory harness.

 

I played with the settings and seems like I cannot turn off the crossover. My only crossover options are 2 way or 3 way and with 3 way it sounds like something is missing, no bass at all. For all my HPF settings I went with "through" instead of setting a frequency. Those were my only choices. I didn't keep any of my diagrams.

I'm thinking about what others said they have done...just get rid of the bose subwoofers. The rear speakers are JBL Stage 602's and the front speakers are Polk DB 351's. I'm sure the sound would be great and settings less confusing if I did this. I remember reading somewhere here that if I went that route I would have to rewire the speakers to the HU and ditch the Metra device.

What are your thoughts on going that route?

Thanks again

 

I went with component speakers, an amp and JL sub. I got sick of trying to make this system work like it should. Now I am happy with the system.

To be fair, the only reasons I went with the Polk speakers is that they have the marine certification for the high humidity in my aria and the price. They look like they will last. There are better sounding paper cone speakers out there for not much more money like some of the options from Hertz. I did a budget build using Rockford Fosgate prime class D amps. My exhaust is a little loud any way so why go high end in my case. The JL 10" woofer is in a stealth box.

I guess it depends on your budget and goals. I also did a substantial amount of sound deadening which is probably one of the best audio improvements you can make to these cars.

 

Sorry that I'm just reading this. You should NOT ever run that X-over in 3 way mode. This is designed for a 3 speaker component set (woofer 6.5", mid 3.5", & tweeter). The reason it sounds like something is missing is because an entire speaker and freq range IS missing. A X-over is a simple thing. It ensures only the proper freq range goes to the appropriate speaker. I would need to see a picture of the X-over being used to make wiring recommendations. Also, I HATE using factory wiring. It's poor quality, way too small, and integrated with the factory wiring harness which makes it difficult to isolate or trace.

Your HPF (High pass filter) should run no lower than the lowest freq the speaker can handle. It's usually listed in the freq range on the box. Typically, a component runs from 50/55 Hz to 20 KHz. I like to set my HPF at that bottom range number (or maybe 10Hz higher with a sharp roll-off. These are also WOOFER settings. Your tweeter should NEVER see 50 Hz. You'll kill them quick. Tweeters run 3 KHz and up. PERIOD! You have a slight +/- of about 100 Hz with the tweets, but much more than that, you risk hurting them. A separate tweeter should NEVER be run without a X-over of some kind.

It's tough to tell why you're experiencing such difficulty with your setup since I wasn't around for the install, nor could I tell based on the previous posts how the install was accomplished. However, if it's been a year, and nothing is hurt...I'm guessing you didn't mess the electrical/mechanical part up. Instead it does sound like a HU/X-over settings issue.

As others have said, the factory Bose stuff is GARBAGE. Replace them as soon as feasible.

Quick question...can you explain (paraphrase) how everything is wired (including at the back of the HU)? That may help isolate issues.

 

^Thanks for chiming in.
I have a lot going on right now and was just trying to help.

 

After re-reading...

Your "front" speakers should be the bose subwoofers in the door. Then the "through" setting on the X-over will work much better. The Metra adaptor seems only for a 4 speaker setup. This is causing a problem because you have a 6 speaker system. A component set (2-way) with an external X-over would fix your problems.

Also, you may have shot yourself in the foot ditching the bass blockers on the 3.5's. They shouldn't be played much below 800 Hz. Can they go lower? Sure. But why drive them that far? You have 2 bigger woofers ready to do that for you. No sense in adding a 104MM turbo to a lawn mower right?