Subwoofer setup help

[SG2K10]

Hi, I have a dvc2+2 12" alpine type R the 300-1000w rms model, Running off a pioneer 9601 mono amp which does 500w rms at 4ohm, In a Ford falcon FG connected by a high level input adapter.

I am having trouble getting the sub to play loud and clear.

I have connected this sub in box to my other car which has a KX 800 Kicker amp in it which does 400w rms and it plays songs alot clearer and with a huge noticable difference in bass.

The car with the kicker amp only has 2 speakers which run the high level inputs also.

The new Ford falcon has 7 speakers and it's factory head unit has alot more settings. The EQ is set to flat, Bass/Mid/Highs are set to flat, there is an option of where to direct sound, which includes Driver/Front/Centre/Rear, Guessing that just sends more power towards the area you move the pointer to on the touchscreen.

I have played with gain settings even bringing gain all the way to max causes distortion just over 3/4 volume.

I have run out of ideas how to troubleshoot this one. I know I can try 1ohm with this sub and amp, but It has me confused that my other amp at 400w 4ohm can completely outperform one which claims 500w rms. Something cant be right here.

Anyone have any ideas to try?

[Aj11]

if that's the pioneer amp I'm thinking of that's your issue. but does your line out converter have settings to adjust the level?

also i have noticed with some of the cheaper line outs that if your bass Is flat on the hu there's almost no bass from the subs.

with that said please turn your gain Down from 3/4! even if it's not loud your clipping.

also issues that can cause this, is one car allot bigger or smaller then the other? did you switch boxes?

is that pioneer 1ohm stable?(don't know many that are) if it's not and your running at 1ohm that could cause issues.

I'm sure I'm overlooking something, someone else turn now...

[SG2K10]

The amp has only got a bass boost remote which I've left on minimum. It's running at 4ohm, but says it's 1 ohm stable but I wanted to work out the problem before I try 1 ohm.

The line out adapter came with the amp it was just a pair of Rca with speaker cable connectors on the other side, no box thing in between. the amp maybe converts it itself.

Both cars are similar in size.

[truthsayer]

That amp is 1ohm stable, so I'm not sure why you would be running it at 4ohms. Run it at 1ohm.

Next if you have it hooked up by high level instead of low level. And, that amp excepts high level thru the rca's, that's why they provide the rca's (speaker connect style) in the box. There is no way you should have the gain that high.

Next you are deff clipping. If you read the manual, when you have the gain set to high and start to induce distortion, clipping, the amp AUTOMATICLY cuts the signal to minimum, to thus save your sub and amp. The 9601 is a decent amp. You just need to set it up right.

[SG2K10]

The high level is connected, I tried 4 ohm first because it sounded nice running from my other 4 ohm amp in the other car with less power. I was hoping it was a setup error. I was trying a few things and now I have realised I've set the bass and eq way too low. (Eq settings range from -10 to +10 and I currently have them at -6, also my bass mid treble settings are set around -5 as well, noticed the bass knob was a sub booster not a gain control to. So I must be amplifying a very weak signal. I'll try disconnecting the sub after work today and tune the speakers until they sound right. Then connect the sub back and set gain from there.

Hopefully that fixes my mistake.

Thanks for the info, any other dvice would be appreciated.

[SG2K10]

I tried adjusting the bass with gain down, then set gain but it still wont play strong bass until gains turned nearly all the way up, Even still though with it turned all the way up it doesnt sound as good as it did with the other amp. Sounds very underpowered. Cant find a fix for it so far.

[Aj11]

thats not the amp i thought it was. I'm thinking of the older version of that. we could never make that thing loud.

anyway, lets move on to other things.

blown sub could be a issue. maxing out gains kills subs pretty damn quick. loose ground, bad connection at the rc wires.

well can you take that other amp you have and install it real quick in this car? if the sub Comes to life then you know its a amp issue. if it doesn't its a wiring problem.

[SG2K10]

We changed the sub wiring to 1ohm and it sounds much better now, Alot louder than it sounded in the other car. Im guessing because of the factory head unit splitting power between all 5 speakers in balance settings it would send out a weaker sound signal. When rear speaker balance is set instead of centre the bass is alot louder but no highs play through the speakers. So it must of been an input problem to the amp.