FREE Tricks to Get the Most BOOM From Your Subwoofer and Amp!

Intro: FREE Tricks to Get the Most BOOM From Your Subwoofer and Amp!

Are you disappointed with your sub(s)? Is your amp shorting or overheating frequently? Are you considering installing your own system but you don't want to mess it up? If so, then this instructable is for you!

Hundreds of factors have to be taken into consideration when it comes to car audio to achieve a clear, crisp sound. While throwing a subwoofer and amp in your trunk may give you some bump, but what you really want is a BOOM that will make friends jealous and neighbors annoyed!

STEP 1: The Wiring.

Understandung the wiring in your car audio system is crucial to good, clean bass. Run the positive cable on the opposite side of the car as your speaker and RCA patch cables. If not done correctly you might get severe ground noise (static/fuzz).

If your amp is blowing fuses, shorting frequently, or abnormally overheating it is commonly caused from an improper ground.

Correctly ground the amp! Make sure the ground location is excellent. Preferably directly to the car frame, not a flimsy peice of aluminum. Sand the surface, make good contact, yadda yadda yadda. A simple test is a to use a battery tester or a test light to assure 12.6 volts is running through the cables. But a true test is to use a multi-meter set to Ohms and connect one lead to your ground location and somehow connect the other lead directly to the Negative battery terminal, then subtract the natural resistance from the test leads/multimeter. Idealy the goal would be 0 ohms but that is near impossible, just do not allow more than 1 Ohm.
Also important is the guage of the cable. The chart provided is a useful reference tool. The length of the wire and the desired power of the system is taken into consideration.

STEP 2: The Ohms.

The wiring options for subs are numerous! To begin, first note if your sub is Dual Voice Coil (DVC) or Single Voice Coil (SVC). DVC is reccomended because many more wiring options are avaible, especially with a multiple sub arrangement, but there is nearly no sound quality difference between the two. 

Wire the subs to the lowest Ohms or impedance. When wiring a sub your aim should be to wire it to the lowest Ohms the amp can handle. A typical amp can handle 2-Ohms while the newer, Class-D amps can handle 1-ohm! Do not associate Ohms with sound quality. To put it simply, the lower the Ohms, the higher the power to you sub(s). 

It can be confusing to determine the correct wire layout, luckily Rockford Fosgate has a handy tool that can be found here!

STEP 3: The Box

Achieving correct internal volume in a sub box is important for correct sounding bass. Too little volume is a common occurence that causes

Fill the sub box with pillow stuffing!
             Filling the box with stuffing will fool the box into thinking its larger. I know, it sounds contradictory, how can filling a space with material result to more volume and space?! It works because it slows the air down inside the box as the sound waves travel through the stuffing, in effect tuning it lower. You can find plenty of complex explanations on the web. Although if you pack it in tight or use (lots of) foam the air can't travel through it, and you effectively make the box smaller and tune it higher, boom-boom is what you get not thump-thump.

Reverse/Power mount your subs!
               Simply flip the sub(s) and mount them on the outside of the box. Also flip the phase switch on the amp to 180°. There is much debate to if the reverse mounting subs makes a quality difference. It does free up internal volume in the box, which may help the sub reach lower frequencies. However, it is a fact that mounting the subs this way will give your subs a new look, a sort of "bag on the head" appearance, which can be useful when your cone is cracked or damaged.

STEP 4: The Amp

Tuning the amp is dependant on preference and the setup, so that is up to you to do correctly. But one thing that should not be done is to crank the Gain/volume knob on the amp all the way and assume thats the best method.

• Turn the Gain/volume knob to zero or all the way down.
• Play a song with a middle amount of bass. Not too heavy not too light. 
• Turn the volume on the head unit to 80% of its max volume.
• Increase the Gain/volume until the sub begins to distort.
• Slightly decrease the gain to remove remaining distortion.

Doing this simple procedure will allow you sub to have a wider range of frequencies and volume, instead of just loud. (Now you'll have loud and louder!)

STEP 5: All Together!

I applied these tips to a friends sound system, since I cant afford one of my own :,(  and the difference was astonishing! The initial sound of cheap bass was replaced with a full sounding BOOM! Help a friend or yourself with improving a sound system today!

If this post was helpful please vote for it, and others in the Car Audio Challenge

Thanks!

Comments

[jnice86716]

Need something to blow my buddy system out of the water

[WyattS15]

Why does my radio speakers make a static noise when I hook my second amp up in the RCA Jack like as soon as it makes contact.

[zeldamyb]

I would like to try something different for a change, so. How do I hookup 2x monoblock amplifiers to a single dual cone competition sub?
Is it possible to use 2 separate amps to drive a monster sub?

[AaronH185]

Hi I was just wondering if you could hook up a 4 OHM DVC sub(2000w) with a 2 OHM load and a 4 OHM SVC sub(1300w) with a 4 OHM load to the same Mono D class amplifier I have enuf watts the amp is rated at 1 OHMup to 8 OHM load and (2400w) ??? can some let me know please. (All pioneer to)

[AaronH185]

??

[Jlfcobra]

Why does it sound like a have more base when I have more stuff in my trunk of my car? Car is a 2011 Chevy Impala.

[iceng]

Stuff takes up space and changes the resonance of the speaker cavity..

Your car trunk with stuff moves towards base..

Perhaps if you keep stuffing it could go to high FQ..

Also the materials you put in absorb the higher FQ sounds...

[CrowB2]

How do I choose the correct amp and subs for my 07 Tacoma?

[DanielT286]

If you're disappointed with your subwoofers you should check out some here: http://www.ilovespeakers.com/subwoofers/10-inch-subwoofer-list/

[rntonp]

great instructional! thanks

[ellisgl]

Fiber Glass is better than Poly Fill. Also if you line the walls with neoprene, that might help too.

[bsodergren]

Please for the love of your subs, don't fill your box with fiberglass.

Use Poly fill
http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Mist-Fiberloft-Polyfill-Stuffing/dp/B000GIEULG

[ellisgl]

@bsodergren:
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/resonant.txt
http://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm

[bsodergren]

Fiberglass fill is superior, you don't need to provide proof for that.

over time, fiberglass breaks apart in to dangerous fibers that WILL damage speakers and if you have a ported box, can be put in the air and is hazardous to your health.

Ever been in an attic for a while with regular fiberglass insulation (not blown in)? then you know what i mean.

Poly fiber fill does nearly the exact same thing but is undeniably safer to use than fiberglass.

Here's a couple random links that may or may not substantiate my claim (much like what you posted)
http://home.earthlink.net/~ralphmeister/subbox_arc.htm
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-152152.html

i also score +1 internets for an earthlink.net URL.

[Vrooooooom]

Neoprene???

[ellisgl]

Yeah - The stuff old mouse pads are made of.

[FreakyFan]

Thumbs up if Jakes Facebook sent you here!!!

[william1370]

nice. filled my box wit stuffing and it sounded much better. Thanks

[Ms.Taken]

This is just what I was looking for! Something basic. Although most of your guide common sense.