this is probably not the problem, but a possiblity... it could be your wiring. if you'r not delivering 12v with a good solid connection then your amp could be shutting off everytime it tries to drive the sub. i had this problem once. you might check it with a voltmeter. a bad ground could do the same thing.
Subwoofer wiring issues. help
- Thread starter Cruiserhead05
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What guage wiring do you have connecting the amp and sub-woofer?
Hey Brandon,
Russmannx and Spressoman bring up good points - be certain your wiring is good! Higher power rating on the sub does not necessarily mean a more efficient sub. Efficiency is a number less than 1 - the closer the number is to one the more efficient the sub is - ie: less power from the amp is required to drive a speaker at the same volume (dB). Go ahead and bridge the amp going to the sub so you can take advantage of the power available - see if that helps.
Then try different combinations of the gain on the amp and the gain (level adjustments) on the deck. Just go slow, and don't max everything out right away. If I were to guess, I would say that you will get the best results by bridging the amp, turn amp gain up to 3/4 of full, and boost the signal on the deck to desired level - you can do this by turning up your music a little bit louder than you normally listen, use bass adjustments on deck to find desired volume of sub, then turn music to normal listening level and enjoy!
Of course, all of this depends on the quality of your power/signal wiring!
Let me know how it turns out!
Russmannx and Spressoman bring up good points - be certain your wiring is good! Higher power rating on the sub does not necessarily mean a more efficient sub. Efficiency is a number less than 1 - the closer the number is to one the more efficient the sub is - ie: less power from the amp is required to drive a speaker at the same volume (dB). Go ahead and bridge the amp going to the sub so you can take advantage of the power available - see if that helps.
Then try different combinations of the gain on the amp and the gain (level adjustments) on the deck. Just go slow, and don't max everything out right away. If I were to guess, I would say that you will get the best results by bridging the amp, turn amp gain up to 3/4 of full, and boost the signal on the deck to desired level - you can do this by turning up your music a little bit louder than you normally listen, use bass adjustments on deck to find desired volume of sub, then turn music to normal listening level and enjoy!
Of course, all of this depends on the quality of your power/signal wiring!
Let me know how it turns out!
- Thread starter
- #24
ok, my sub level on the deck has a range of 0-15. i was normally running it at 15 and tunred it down to 10. this seemed to take care of the majority of my problem. i just drove about 40 mintures solid with the amp going...sounded very nice and only cut off once when i turned the volume up louder then i normally do. Also, after about 10 minutes of use my amp does get pretty warm on one side....is that alright?
also, there is a "gain" adj on the amp, only a sensitivity...i think its measured in mhz and its tunred down pretty low right now.
lastly, i think this may be causing problems is that im only using 8 gauge power wire right now. maybe 10 gauge would be a good investment.
also, there is a "gain" adj on the amp, only a sensitivity...i think its measured in mhz and its tunred down pretty low right now.
lastly, i think this may be causing problems is that im only using 8 gauge power wire right now. maybe 10 gauge would be a good investment.
Hey Brandon,
What model Kenwood do you have?
Is it possible the knob you see as sensitivity is rated in Hz rather than MHz? If so, then this is the crossover adjustment - it's used to block frequencies that are too high from playing on the sub. The knob allows you to adjust the crossover point to some degree - maybe 50 Hz to 125 Hz or so. The higher the frequency (Hz), the more "muddled" the sub will sound. The correct crossover point is dependant upon many things, but I normally tune it until it sounds good to my ear - a smooth transition between the mid-range speakers and the sub is what to listen for - try not to leave "gaps" in the sound. Unless, of course, you're just looking for lots of bass
Don't switch your power wire - 8ga. is actually bigger than 10ga. The smaller the gauge, the bigger the wire.
I still recommend bridging the amp, as this will produce more power with less load on any single channel.
What model Kenwood do you have?
Is it possible the knob you see as sensitivity is rated in Hz rather than MHz? If so, then this is the crossover adjustment - it's used to block frequencies that are too high from playing on the sub. The knob allows you to adjust the crossover point to some degree - maybe 50 Hz to 125 Hz or so. The higher the frequency (Hz), the more "muddled" the sub will sound. The correct crossover point is dependant upon many things, but I normally tune it until it sounds good to my ear - a smooth transition between the mid-range speakers and the sub is what to listen for - try not to leave "gaps" in the sound. Unless, of course, you're just looking for lots of bass
Don't switch your power wire - 8ga. is actually bigger than 10ga. The smaller the gauge, the bigger the wire.
I still recommend bridging the amp, as this will produce more power with less load on any single channel.
- Thread starter
- #26
Chip, thanks for helping on all this. i was wrong about the sens. knob.....thats what was on my old amp. this amp only has one knob and its is labaled sensitivity but has a 1, 2, or 3....i think. i will double check. also, i typed something wrong previously....currently the amp has 10ga...not 8. so im guessing 8 would be better...laslty, i just bridged the amp tonight.
- Thread starter
- #27
Chip. the only knob on the amp is labeled "inpute sensitivity" and ranges from 1.0, .5, .3....1.0 being the min and a little passed .3 being the max.