FastRX8

******Problem has been fixed. Hopefully this thread can help someone else too******

I’ll try to keep this short, but detailed.
I have the Bose System and I’ve never installed a sub/amp before.

Amp – JL Audio 500/1
Subs – 2 - JL Audio 10W1v2 (recommended .625cu.ft./each in a sealed box)
Box - Q-Logic 10" Dual-Chamber Sealed Subwoofer Enclosure from Best Buy (.65 cu.ft. per side) I know it’s not the exact size recommended.

Subs are rear facing. I added about 3 inches of poly-fil to both sides of the enclosure.
Power is running direct from the battery. Remote turn-on power is connected to the 12V accessory plug.
Basically, I’m not getting that much more bass. These subs should be pounding my chest if installed correctly.

- Pre-amp attempt -
I tapped in before the amp as described by G8rboy in this tread.
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...6&page=1&pp=15
Basically, used wire taps, connected to RCA plugs. RCA plugs go direct to the amp.
I used the amp settings recommended by JL Audio for a system with two 10W3v2’s.
W3’s handle twice the power of W1’s, so I started with this setting, and the volume way down around 9. No bass.
I started turning up the volume, went to 25, still not much more bass than the stock system puts out. I even tried turning up the bass boost. I slowly turned it all the way up. Still not much bass.
Here’s a link to the settings I used. I tried both of these.
http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/pdfs/SYS_12.pdf
http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/pdfs/SYS_5.pdf

- Speaker-level attempt -
Tapped the speaker line in the rear after the amp. Used a line out converter.
Connected this to the amp. With the same settings, I get more bass, but not much more.

Thanks for any help anyone can give me.
- Cesar -

P.S. Here’s some reference sites.
Amp
Overview – http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/5001.html
Manual - http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/pdfs/500_1_MAN.pdf
Subs
Overview – http://www.jlaudio.com/press/W1v205.html
Manual - http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/pdfs/10W1v2_MAN.pdf
Box - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1072287759617

forbidden

Disconnect one sub and see what the results are.

Tigerfootball

i had the same problem but when i connected mine directly to the rear speaker wires (like right before they are connected to the white plug into the speaker) everything worked great. but it seems like you already tried that. maybe the line-out converter is messed up?

Homie O'Patrick

I haven't had an aftermarket system in a long time, but when I put my subs in the first time, I had the polarity backwards on one sub and the speakers cancelled each other out. I know its obvious, but its worth checking again.

FastRX8

Forbidden -
I did what you said, and the sub sounds amazing. If I disconnect one (either side same results) the sound is incredible.
This is the bass I expected.

Now, what does that mean?
How do I fix it so that both work?

Thanks.

- Cesar -

P.S. Thanks to the others that responded as well.

mitchfried

The JL 500.1 is unique in that it puts out the same power at 2, 3, or 4 ohms. Most amps lose power (and speaker volume) at higher resistance. Make sure the TOTAL resistance for both speakers together is no more than 4 ohms. Do you have the 4 or 8 ohm versions of those subs? If you are giving the amp 8 ohms total, you will have a problem, and it may go into a reduced power mode to protect itself from the heat. Here's a wiring guide to help you with multiple subs: http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...rs_wiring.html

forbidden

As I thought, you had one speaker wired out of phase. This will not hurt any speaker. All it does is make the two speakers work against each other (out of phase) which results in a loss of bass response as compared to two speakers working together (in phase) which results in a increase in bass response.

FastRX8

Thanks mitchfried.

I looked at the wiring diagram, and although I had them connected correctly, it made me think of trying something else.

When I disconnected one sub, like Forbidden recommended, the sound was awesome. So I tried moving the output connections on the amp, and the problem was fixed.

This may have been a stupid mistake on my part, but I don't recall reading anything in the amp manual that specified how this should be done. They made it sound more like a suggestion in the manual, and it's something I overlooked.
Here's the quote from the manual pg. 10.

"Connecting two speakers, each to one set
of positive and negative terminals, will result in a
parallel speaker connection. If only connecting one
pair of speaker wires, it is not necessary to use both
sets of connections"

Again, probably because this is my first time doing this, I made a rookie mistake.

Thanks to the people that responded quickly, I was able to fix it.

Here's a rough drawing of the fix, in case there are any other rookies out there.

- Cesar -

mitchfried

The connections on the JL are a little tricky. Glad it worked out. When I had my aftermarket radio installed, the installer had one front channel on my JL 300.4 on High Voltage input (correct for tapping into stock radio, but not for aftermarket), and one on low voltage. I played Ray Charles "Hit the Road Jack" and you could hear Ray on the left channel, but not the chicks telling him to hit the road on the right channel. So even the pros screw up!!

Kodak

Im trying to find out if i should push 2 1200 watt autoteck amps to my 2 10in jl w3s im just trying to make it sound the best max potential

Kodak

Or should i just use 1200 watts instead of 2400 Watts

Andrew5190

iTrader: (1)

Hello, 2005. We missed you!

I'm sure people here COULD help you, but you could've probably had a response already on /r/CarAV: https://www.reddit.com/r/CarAV/