Do I need another amp for a sub-woofer?

[derickveliz2]

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You are going to love it! no doubt !

I'm still at work so officially I've been working for more than 26 hours in a row! I took a power nap around 5am, can't wait to get this over and work on my car and spend time with my family, man I only have 4 weeks to get most of upgrade done, Natalia will join us the first week of July!

Cheers!

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

I'm still at work so officially I've been working for more than 26 hours in a row!

That is just WRONG!!! But you gotta do what you gotta do. I hope you are done on time and can go home and get some much deserved rest.

I'm really looking forward to getting/installing the new stuff, then I can finally relax and enjoy all my cd's, mp3's etc, all over again! It will be like all new music!

[Herbicidal]

All my new stuff arrived on Thursday!

I stayed up until 1:30am Fri night/Sat morning to install it all! Man, I was wiped out on Saturday. There was no way the 2nd amp was going to fit under the passenger seat too, so I had to mount it under the driver seat. To do that, I had to cut out the bracket for the jack. I'll put the jack in the rear next to the spare tire. Once the bracket was out, the rest was fairly easy if not time consuming. I still need to solidly mount the subwoofer in the box, so I can lay it down without it falling out. I was able to use 4 gauge wire for power and for ground so that is good. I drilled a new hole in the firewall next to the AC drain and ran the power wire through a gromet, then zipped tied it to various out of the way things in the engine compartment then up to a fuse block, then over to the positive terminal on the battery.

All the connections appear to be 'solid' and now I need to 'tune it'. I'm re-reading Alien Mantis's recommendations and comparing against what the instruction manuals say. Their settings are more conservative, if I'm undestanding them correctly. I am just about done! All the 'heavy lifting' is complete, now it's down to a screwdriver to make the adjustments.

[derickveliz2]

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Awesome! keep us post it!



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[Herbicidal]

I haven't made the time to post up the other pics yet, but here's one of the speaker grill I just ordered to protect the 10" sub from when I put stuff in the trunk. Just a little bling in an otherwise black compartment. Hey, it makes me smile!

[Alien Mantis]

Fun looking "tarantula" grill you got there.

( Now get busy and post some pics of your new gear in the ride! )

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

Fun looking "tarantula" grill you got there.

( Now get busy and post some pics of your new gear in the ride! )

Looks like the Tarantula grill arrives today (just ordered yesterday)! Oh yeah!!! My stuff from Sonic is literally overnighted! I love it!

Here you go Alien Mantis:

Finally I have some more pictures! As I mentioned before, the install went pretty smooth, just time consuming to do a ‘clean’ install. I used an air powered cut off wheel to remove the jack bracket under the driver’s seat and the jack does fit snugly in the spare tire compartment. I had to place a piece of 2x4 under each amp to get a level mounting spot because of a funky space between some horizontal body supports. This made it easier to connect up the wiring. I figure this allows the air to flow partially underneath and will help with the overall cooling of the amp. I’m still experimenting with placement of the subwoofer box in the trunk. Laying it flat with the sub pointing to the rear of the car takes up the most room, but standing it up and rotating it 90 degrees gives me the most space in the trunk and puts the weight closer to being over the rear axle. Anyway, I’m still playing with the positioning for sound and space maximization of the sub.

Without further ado:

Eclipse XA1200 mono channel amp.


Alpine Type R 10" sub.


Alpine Type R 10" sub, top view.


Alpine Type R 10" sub, connectors. I used the jumpers to set it up for 2 ohms.


10" vented sub enclosure from Sonic Electronix.


Alpine Type R 10" sub-in-the-box.


Preparing for surgery. That car jack mounting bracket has to go!


Where the bracket for mounting the car jack was, under the drivers seat. Needed to make room for the other amp.


The blue wire is 4 gauge for power to the subwoofer amp. The black tube is the A/C breather that vents to the outside of the firewall.


4 gauge power wires through the firewall passenger foot well red for the speaker amp, blue for the subwoofer amp.


Eclipse mono channel subwoofer amp on the left, Eclipse 4 channel amp for the speakers on the right.


Alpine Type R 10" sub in a box. I'm still trying different locations and positions so the wiring isn't finalized yet.

[derickveliz2]

Looks nice!

I took out the tubes that vents the rear seats, did you take them out too?

Did you put some Poly Fill inside the sub box?

(o:

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

Looks nice!

I took out the tubes that vents the rear seats, did you take them out too?

Did you put some Poly Fill inside the sub box?

(o:

Thanks!
Not sure what you mean about the "tubes"?
No, what would that do?

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

Thanks!
Not sure what you mean about the "tubes"?
No, what would that do?

My car came with some ducts that take hot/cold air under the seats towards the rear seats. Maybe yours came without that feature, I took them off.

Every sub-woofer box requires some kind of buffing material, most common used is Polly Fill, it's all about acoustics (in some cases a MUST) check with your woofers specs/instructions.


D.

[Alien Mantis]

Nice photos!

Good job. I mounted my sub amp exactly like you mounted yours.
I used a small piece of 2x2 to level my amp. The floor under the seat is uneven.
Looks like we ran our wires the same way.
I have had no problems with my setup. The amp has plenty of space around it to breath.

You don't need any polyfil in that subwoofer box. The box is already at the max size for that subwoofer. Those boxes are nice. No need to do anything to them. They are ready to go. You typically use polyfil in a sealed enclosure that is smaller, to trick the woofer into thinking it is in a larger box.
Correct size ported boxes, and larger sealed boxes do not need polyfil.

I'm sure you already know this, but if you fold down one side of your 60/40 rear seat, your bass will sound much better.
I have a hatchback Yaris, so this is not an issue for me.

Here is a couple of pics of my setup:

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Alien Mantis

You don't need any polyfil in that subwoofer box. The box is already at the max size for that subwoofer. Those boxes are nice. No need to do anything to them. They are ready to go. You typically use polyfil in a sealed enclosure that is smaller, to trick the woofer into thinking it is in a larger box.
Correct size ported boxes, and larger sealed boxes do not need polyfil.
:

It's a learning process, thanks Alien, for sharing the proper information, I learn some thing new every day!

I see you have a Pioneer amp. which one is it?

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[derickveliz2]

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CONGRATULATIONS, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!!

[Herbicidal]

Thank you! Wow! I love it!

I can hardly wait for you to install your new stuff too!

[Alien Mantis]

I was waiting for the reaction once you got it all up and running.
I was beginning to wonder if you were even happy with it or not!

You gotsta baseline your amps right after the install.
Just so you know they are working, and you have a starting point for the tuning.

The "tuning" is different for every vehicle, type of music, and the listeners personal taste.

The factory head unit is very limited on tuning options.
You basically have: bass, treble, fade, and balance.
Totally inadequate as far as I am concerned.

Aftermarket head units will give you built in crossovers, subwoofer control, and a parametric EQ. ( usually 3-band, some HU's have more )

You can use the crossovers in the amps, for now.
Aftermarket HU's have subwoofer controls that allow you to set the level, and crossover point. This is good, because you don't want to be using the GAIN control on your amp as a "volume knob".
You set the amp gains to match your RCA output of your source, and then you leave them alone.
"Level control" needs to be done in the HU. Factory HU's don't usually have this capability.
( you can only boost or cut bass or treble at whatever preset freq points the unit has from the factory. )

So.... moral of the story is: a decent aftermarket HU will give you better tuning options, along with things like USB input and BluTooth.

The built-in crossovers on the amps will give you a good starting point.
At least you can test the new system out and hear it's potential.
From what you said, it sounds like you are happy with your new system, so it's all about "fine tuning" it from here.

That little Alpine Type-R can put out some BASS.
On your sub amp, try crossover points at both 100hz, and 80hz. See which one you like better.
And if it has a subsonic filter, try it between 20hz-30hz.
See if it makes any noticeable difference. ( as in: cleans up / tightens up the bottom end a bit )
That ported enclosure can play LOW. I notice my bass is sometimes a little loose, depending on the source recording. My amp does not have a subsonic filter. But I think your Eclipse amp has one.

I am glad to know your install was a success.
Enjoy your new system!

[Herbicidal]

Thanks so much for your directions, suggestions and product recommendations! I'm very happy with this setup (for now ). I know the stock HU is quite limiting and is now my weakest link. All the sound deadening certainly paid off as well. I had the music thumping and got out and walked around my car and not a thing was vibrating! All was nice and solid. I'll refer back this to thread often (to try your other tips and tricks) as my understanding continues to grow about how everything works together. It takes a little time for my older brain (well, I'm not really THAT old!) to assimilate all this new knowledge.

Thanks again!

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

I had the music thumping and got out and walked around my car and not a thing was vibrating! All was nice and solid.

Hi Herb, how much music did you hear. This is something very important for me, I don't want the car next door to know how good the music sounds in my car.


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[centrysis]

You'll want more, so, use the stock HU for awhile. When you get restless and need more, you can start shopping around for an after market one. Then that will keep you satisfied even longer. It goes on and on and on.....