# why does my subs sound weak



## sproket13

ok. so about 2 months ago i noticed the quality of my sub (image dynamics ID MAX v2 4 ohms) had really gone down in sound quality and loudness. so i checked my connections, and low and behold, somehow my RCA cables got smashed and broke (they were stinger) so i went to wal-mart, and bought some cheap scosche RCA cables. plugged em in. sounded fine...

oh yeah, my amp is a Arc audio 900.1d..

well, in the past month i have noticed my sub sounds like its straining to be loud. its not as loud or punchy as it used to be either. it just sounds ****ty to me. its still loud. but i know it sounded WAY better before. it almost seems like the low low bass (guessing 50hz below) sounds really quiet. muffled almost.

one day, i remember driving, and hearing a POP sound come from my sub. i wasnt listening to it loud or anything. the bass kept coming. but i definately herd something. it was turned down so i didnt really notice the sound quality. now i cant even really remember if thats when it started to sound bad.


so i thought something in the amp had gone bad. so i bought a Arc KS1000.1 and a IDMAX 12 V3 4ohm. figured i would redo it all, just upgrade because i was so pleased with how it sounded before. so i plug everything in, and it still sounds about the same! its driving me nuts. 1000 watts should be hurting my face. its hitting. but not nearly as hard as it used to running ~700 watts with an older sub! (until it sounded crappy) 


so basically. i think its the RCA cables. but they are fine. a little long at 25 feet (or 20..cant remember) i checked them out, both have resistance on the ground and signal. and googleing to find out if rca quality REALLY matters. i have determined not enough for my problem. 


does anyone have any ideas what it could be? my stereo sounded amazing for 1.5 years. now i cant get it to sound the same even with new equipment. my ground is very good, on bare metal. i just dont get it!! 


can ANYONE help me!!


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## 60ndown

your going deaf.


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## BoostedNihilist

Check - 

the ground for the sub amp
the ground for the battery
the battery


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## sproket13

everything is electrically sound. i can monitor it with my pioneer cd player...ill double check the grounds tho. its driving me crazy!!! i want my face peeling bass back


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## LauZaIM

Did someone screw with the SLA levels on the Headunit?
Did someone screw with the low end of the equalizer on the Headunit?
Did you used to have loudness on and now its off?
Did the pop come from your ears?


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## capnxtreme

Where are you controlling your crossovers? A bad crossover setting could definitely do it.


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## 96dak

sproket13 said:


> everything is electrically sound. i can monitor it with my pioneer cd player...ill double check the grounds tho. its driving me crazy!!! i want my face peeling bass back


thats funny. i dont know of a single cd player that can tell you whether or not you have a bad ground to the amp.

im gonna guess that your deck has a volt meter as part of the display as my 800prs does. in that case if you have a bad chassis ground from the battery, it might be a good enough connection to support the 4-5 amps that the deck is gonna draw, therefore displaying 13.8V (just an example). but when your amp wants to pull 60amps it chokes itself. same thing if you have a bad or loose ground to the amp. it may be able to support the current demands of the amp a low volumes but chokes it when it wants more.


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## sproket13

humm. i checked out my battery, and the ground had some corrosion. my friend thinks it helped. but im still not sure. i need my remote gain so i can actually push the sub. right now i have it so its loud, but its not 100% i dont feel.

my EQ is set with the head unit. its 16 band. and i have it set up to where i liked it. the loud is on. all thats elementary. the head unit is what i figured would have been wrong. but its not. maybe im just expecting too much out of the 1 sub. i figured it would be much louder with 1000 watts. maybe i should use both my IDMAX's off this amp. hummmm. 


thanks for your help guys, i guess the speaker is how it is. the difference in sound of the v2 and v3....i almost prefer the looseness of the v2. the v3 seems like the surround of the woofer is much tighter than v2.


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## Horsemanwill

what size box is the sub in? is the box a well designed box? if your using the deck for the xover controls how is it set? you may think it's all elementary but it all adds together. with new subs especially iD there is usually a break in period. i've seen plenty of posts where ppl say they expect more right out of the box. but after the break in they are more then satisfied. it doesn't hurt to double check your power and ground wires. you said the rca's got pinched maybe one of the other wires did. also make sure your ground your using is good. also i wouldn't recommend using 2 different subs in the same enclosure. you could isolate them in seperate chambers but even then i wouldn't recommend it.


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## demon2091tb

sproket13 said:


> my EQ is set with the head unit. its 16 band. and i have it set up to where i liked it. the loud is on. all thats elementary. the head unit is what i figured would have been wrong. but its not. maybe im just expecting too much out of the 1 sub. i figured it would be much louder with 1000 watts. maybe i should use both my IDMAX's off this amp. hummmm.


Mabey turn LOUD off on your Head unit, as i'd figure loud would inflate majority of stuff over 40-50hz which is at that point and above which you precieve to be loud....ie overinflated compared to sub 40-50hzhz info., which will make your car aniemic if its lacking, ie sorta like bass boost centered at a freq.

What kinda HU do you have that requires LOUD to be on, and what kind of xover?? Mabey i'm old fashioned but i'd check your HU settings to make sure those are right if everything seems electrically sound. Check your RCA's, check the amps, check your xovers, and your EQ.....check your phase, might have accidentally flipped something never realized it.

Hell it might just be the recording engineers way of saying your just not going to get any low end on this cd, alot of newer cd's are like that.........Try some old cd's that used to give you your umpgh, if everythings sound.....its the cd, some just reak, others are amazingly done and are VERY dynamic, others are highly compressed and just sound like ass.....Check cd's that you know do well, and have a good idea of the content.


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## WRX/Z28

Maybe your enclosure has sprung a leak? It seems most other variables are being eliminated.


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## capnxtreme

It may be elementary, but that doesn't mean it's not worth checking. Crossovers are more important than "EQ." "Elementary" problems are more crippling than any other kind. Never hurts to be thorough.


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## fredridge

take some time and do a process of elimination all at the same time...set a side several hours.

1. run new temp rca's outside the car. any change?
2. run new temporary power and ground outside car directly to battery. Any change
3. get a friend with a solid system and amp to park next to yours and run his amp to your sub. How does it sound? if it sounds good, build a temp box for your car and see if it make a difference until you get the right airspace
4. vice versa - run your amp to his sub? 
5. find someone with a similar head unit and swap it.

take notes each time and by the time you have done all this you have pretty much checked everything and if you don't find a solution there are a couple logical conclusions

1. you are going deaf. 
2. You are turning into a bass head
3. your car has gremlins and you should be sure not to feed it after midnight.


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## Oliver

Reverse the wires [ put the positive wire on the negative terminal and put the negative on the positve terminal ].

Does it sound better or worse ?


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## WRX/Z28

a$$hole said:


> Reverse the wires [ put the positive wire on the negative terminal and put the negative on the positve terminal ].
> 
> Does it sound better or worse ?


Let's clarify this! He means the speaker wires!


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## Oliver

WRX/Z28 said:


> Let's clarify this! He means the speaker wires!


Thank you !!


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## 3.5max6spd

sproket13 said:


> thanks for your help guys, i guess the speaker is how it is. the difference in sound of the v2 and v3....i almost prefer the looseness of the v2. the v3 seems like the surround of the woofer is much tighter than v2.


How long did you have the V2? Did you buy it used or new? Having used several ID subs i personally noticed a slight change in sound after some period of break in. Could be the V2 surround was indeed more 'weathered' or looser?

Also the amplifier change can also be playing with you. The 900.1 was a class d, low freq dedicated beast. The KS1000.1 is a class a/b cxl/xxk 2500 variant i believe, was a full range amplifier....Arc likes to rate their class a/bs at 1khz power too, not full badwidth. Could be a scenario where you are just not
getting the same low freq amplifier power, at same levels as with the 900.1...See where you are at after some more break in and more careful gain/level settings.


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## Hillbilly SQ

my idmax got anemic when the box it was in sprung a leak. make sure you physically take the box out and check all around it. that "pop" you heard could have been the box itself separating somewhere. even if the box seemed fine when you swapped subs there still could have been a problem somewhere. CHECK THE BOX!


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## WRX/Z28

Hillbilly SQ said:


> my idmax got anemic when the box it was in sprung a leak. make sure you physically take the box out and check all around it. that "pop" you heard could have been the box itself separating somewhere. even if the box seemed fine when you swapped subs there still could have been a problem somewhere. CHECK THE BOX!


That's what I said! lol


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## Hillbilly SQ

WRX/Z28 said:


> That's what I said! lol


sometimes things need to be written several times for the stubborn. op don't take offense...i'm stubborn as a damn mule


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## Horsemanwill

didn't i mention the box first?


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## Oliver

Check your box !!!!!


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## sproket13

well. actually. i have KNOWN my box was a problem. so i bought a new one. and i cant verify it sounds better. but i do think i was getting blow by. so i put my new v3 in a new box w/ no polyfil 1.3 cu/ft and yah...it sounds good. the old box has had the sub removed a couple times so the holes are worn out. and the screws will grip it, but they seem like 1/4 of the screws free spin after tightening. i guess i could fill them with wood glue then reinstall the sub....

my V2 i bought used. and it sounded so loud. the V3 seems not as loud. but again, i dont have a remote gain yet so i cant push it for each song...its just in a "safe zone" on the gain


the head unit X over right now is set at 100hz with a 18 db drop...i think. i may have changed it to 80. 


now that im running 2 subs. im getting the power i want. its stupid loud. and i think that the problem is im a bass head. and after almost 2 yeasr with my V2. i got realllll used to how it hit. the new sub sounds good. but running both sounds best!


i dont think it could do any harm running a V2 and a V3 in different boxes bridged to the same amp. (just need to watch the heat @ 1 ohm)



guys i really appreciate all your help. every thing got me closer to figuring it out. and i think its just the new sub couldnt handle the old box. it leaked i suppose. but im not sure if thats enough to make it sound crappy.



i think the old 900.1 has something wrong with it. which id love to find out somehow. and i think with the new amp its got a different sound. ANND not being able to push the new sub made me think it wasnt as good


if i listen to pink floyd - welcome to the machine...its insane 


thanks again


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## jrwalte

I'd definitely turn the LOUD option off on your HU, as mentioned previously. Someone with a dedicated sub shouldn't use that option (it's really for people without a sub to help boost the lower range on full-range speakers). It makes your sub sound more muddy. Turn it off and turn your gain up. You'll get a cleaner bass. You're also better off using your EQ to increase/decrease the 20/32/50/80/120hz to your liking instead of using a LOUD option that increases them all.

Also, both your subs have the same VC ohm resistance, right? If not, you shouldn't be wiring them to the same amp.


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## smgreen20

You've become complacent w/your sound. At first it sounds loud, but after time your ears get used to that sound and at some point you just notice it doesn't seem to sopund like it once did.


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## sproket13

both subs are 4 ohm. im going to turn loud off as mentioned. now that i think about it i have complete control, why am i even using that! lol. thanks guys alot. both subs in the trunk is exactly what i wanted. i cant even listen to it at half volume! hahaha. now i need to order my bass controller so i dont have to use the headunit to turn down the gain...


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## jrwalte

sproket13 said:


> both subs are 4 ohm. im going to turn loud off as mentioned. now that i think about it i have complete control, why am i even using that!  lol. thanks guys alot. both subs in the trunk is exactly what i wanted. i cant even listen to it at half volume! hahaha. now i need to order my bass controller so i dont have to use the headunit to turn down the gain...


That's what the two custom EQ settings on the 800PRS are for  And if you leave the audio options screen at the EQ selection option you can quickly hit left or right on the nav button instead of having to keep hitting EQ to get through all the EQ options.


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## ogahyellow

sproket13 said:


> both subs are 4 ohm. im going to turn loud off as mentioned. now that i think about it i have complete control, why am i even using that! lol. thanks guys alot. both subs in the trunk is exactly what i wanted. i cant even listen to it at half volume! hahaha. now i need to order my bass controller so i dont have to use the headunit to turn down the gain...


Most of those bass controllers are just a boost around 40-50hz. The $45 JVC in my dad's car has subwoofer level control. The 800prs must have it somewhere, no?


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## jrwalte

ogahyellow said:


> Most of those bass controllers are just a boost around 40-50hz. The $45 JVC in my dad's car has subwoofer level control. The 800prs must have it somewhere, no?


Yeah. It's the EQ with a ~ 20, 30, 50 and 80 selector 

OP,
My Memphis amp doesn't even come with a bass booster - and it doesn't need one. Unless the remote is for GAIN, as ogah said, it really isn't worth it. It's like the loud option we were just talking about


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## sproket13

its for gain. its def. worth it to instantly mute my subs at the twist of a knob! my head unit is a pioneer stated. the 880prs

im still not sure if LOUD distorts tho. i turned it off on the way to work. and everything sounded dull. to the point where i dont even think the custom EQ could help. lol. i wonder exactly what LOUD does. does it really distort the subs? everything else sounds fine. my highs/mids are stock. but they are fairly loud...till now. ill be upgrading soon



so. anyone know if loud does suck. or should i not fuss with it.


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## BEAVER

loud boosts the lowest and highest frequencies. i prefer not to boost anything and only cut out only the peaks, personally.


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## Letch

This happened to my subs as well. I took a look at them, and saw that my enclosure had moved back a little bit, causing a wire to come unplugged. Check your amp to make sure all the wires are plugged in correctly. It was as simple as that for me


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## 89grand

This problem was over two years ago *(6-19-2008)*. I'm sure he's fixed it and moved on by now. At least I sure hope so.:laugh:


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## xuzax

Just so you know. 100 watts will never make a big difference. to double the sound you have to have 10x the watts


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## adrenalinejunkie

xuzax said:


> Just so you know. 100 watts will never make a big difference. to double the sound you have to have 10x the watts



Umm... Not sure if you noticed, but this is an old thread...


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## Lars Ulriched

xuzax said:


> Just so you know. 100 watts will never make a big difference. to double the sound you have to have 10x the watts


I keep on seeing this...


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## DarmoZ

Dude i had the same issue!

My Sub is active (amp built in) the Power and RCA go into at the same side. One day the shield of one the RCA cables going into to the Sub accidentally touched the Power input to the sub. This must of sent a surge or something into my HU because as soon it happend (music was playing at the time) there was a LOUD POP and the music on the whole system stopped for a few seconds and then came back in.

Ever since that happened the Sub hasn't sounded right like it used to. It's exactly like you have described it, seems as though it's not 100%, not hitting as hard as it used to. Anyway I did some research and it seems that when the RCA shield contacted the 12v power source it sent a surge into the HU ground and damaged it.

I'm going to change the HU and the RCA cables to the Sub and see if i can get the sound back to how it was.


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## Drop11

Great. I'm answering questions from 08.


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