• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

New Headunit, Less Bass?

Russosaur

Russosaur

Moderator
I had a audio shop install my new headunit (Kenwood KDC-252U). When I leaving I noticed the lack of bass from the new unit. With the OEM Radio the bass was their at all volumes. With my new head unit Its all highs with not much mid's. Is their a setting I haven't set? Or is this normal? Anyone notice this before?
 


i had the same problem but tuned it right the way i like it based on the volume i have it on, i got the screen ones tho mines called like Pioneer BTP2300 or some****, i did lose bass tho i still needa mess with mine some more but slowly but surely im getting it to were i want mine to be so all u gotta do is tune it right in the settings
 
generally you will lose power going to an aftermarket headunit. at least with these cars. every headunit has a mini amp in it to deliver power to the speakers. the stock headunit it oddly very powerful compared to aftermarket units. after i switched mine out, i lost about half my bass which was depressing because i bought new/better speakers all the way around. solution... buy another head unit with more output or buy an extra amp for your speakers
 
I was just wondering because it did seem that the OEM unit it pretty hard. I have just replaced all my speakers with Pioneers because the surrounds on the stock ones rotted out. I have sub's 2 12" Terminators so I do have the bass I need. I was just curious. I was debating replacing all of my speakers again with kickers and a 4 ch kenwood amp for the extra sound. I would just have to run RCA's from the output of my 1000w Kenwood Monoblock. I',m still messing with settings and stuff, I have my gain set like 3/4 the way up on my amp. Would a line driver I think its called be worth it?
 


that unit has a separate sub control. have you turned it up? Also you cant just jump the rca,s for another amp because the ones going to your mono amp are most likely just sub outputs and no high frequency's. you have to run another set of rca,s from the head unit.
 
sandman7900 said:
that unit has a separate sub control. have you turned it up? Also you cant just jump the rca,s for another amp because the ones going to your mono amp are most likely just sub outputs and no high frequency's. you have to run another set of rca,s from the head unit.
Click to expand...
I know, If I got the 4 ch amp I think I could just set the RCA's as rear on the deck (I only got one RCA outs), then use the output from the 4 Ch to the mono block and use the crossover at about 80Hz or so.
 
also factory head units are notorious for having bass boosters built in (60 hz). When we replace our factory units with aftermarket ones they dont have them hidden in the background so the bass sounds weaker unless you crank up your xover. your unit has about 2.5v rca output. thats good. a line driver would help you to turn the amp gains down but wont realy increase the bass. have you played with the sub output on your head unit yet/
 
I have played with the setting I usually adjust the sub lvl it goes from -15 to 15 so I can adjust it in the car. I plan on using my DMM to set my gains accordingly with a 50hz tone at about 28/35 of my headunit volume Tomarrow because I don't know anybody with an o scope.
 
Can I repeat myself or no?

Because factory decks employ a loudness filter which boost highs and lows at low volume levels to give you the impression there is lots of bass all the time.

Namely it impresses the average consumer.

Find that setting in your deck and turn it on.
 


stock speakers also usally have lower ohms so they drive amps harder but after markets are made usally for 8 ohms loads and stocker are 2-4 ohms
 
headunits make a huge difference. i had a setup in my grand am that hit so hard. sold it and took everything including the wires and put it in my grand prix. everything was the same. only difference was the head unit. and it sounds like crap. like it sounds so bad that i leave the subs turned off because it sounds like my stock speakers are hitting harder. it sounds like it has all highs and no mids or lows. ive adjusted and adjusted and adjusted my app and everything on the headunit and still no luck. if i cant get it figured out soon i'm just gonna take the crap out to free up trunk space and weight cuz its ridiculous.
 
I'm gonna fiddle with the settings more later. I looked and my gain on my amp is set at like 3/4, for 2v pre-outs is this to much?
 
Be careful with turning on loudness/adjusting the EQ with regards to max volume, when you activate loudness (which in reality is to make all frequencies of music audible at a low volume, not to actually make it louder) or raise the EQ, your max volume level, or number, will be lower without clipping.

Good example, on my old kenwood HU, the max unclipped volume was 32 out of 35. When I raised the bass level, while making the bass louder, the HU then clipped out at 29 instead. Clipped preouts = distortion anywhere farther down the line, such as amplifiers, regardless of their own gain setting.

And to anyone curious, gain does not equal volume, it simply matches the amp's sensitivity to the headunit's preout voltage, which is almost always 2v or 4v, 5v on some Alpine HU's I've come across.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top