Factory sub question..

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craigsez

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2016 sport with alpine wasted $ upgrade 9 speaker w sub....
So i took it out today and stuffed in a lil but maybe to much of that white fluffy stuff,plugged it back in and now it seems a bit to quiet...
Questions is,how do you decide how much is enough and is it possible to re connect the -/+ backwards with those factory plastic factory sockets??

Its not in there stogged tight but i filled most of it in as far as i could push it but not tightly..

Was hopeing to get a lil more bump outta it cause i listen to older hair band 80's rock stuff and its a bit dull still...Now if i spark up some dance/pop/eltronic stuff it bumps better so i know its the download to some degree...
I went to a stereo shop and i got quoted $2600 for door speakers up front and tweets(already got door n tweets)sub/box/amp and dsp installed...To much for now so im tryin to cheap my ways out..Yes i alwso know about the kicker sub upgrade to.

Oh and the screw on the bottom of that sub was kinda loose but i snugged er up pretty good,does that make a diff??
 
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LB3711

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Alpine sub sucks. Actually the entire alpine system sucks its self. It's only 8" in a cheap plastic enclosure. I swapped mine out to a single 12" with 500 watts just to the sub.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
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craigsez

craigsez

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well if i go the bigger sub route ill need a new amp,dsp,sub and box cause of the factory set up..Yes i know the factory sucks but i was hopeing to get a lil more outta it till i figure out my plan...

Adurn,no clue what factory 8" cubic ft rateing is but i have big doubts i got a lb of that stuff in it...I just didnt wanna take it all apart in the dark only to find it it is correctly hooked back up..Hence my questions..My sub basically sounds like a super low volume so thats whats makeing me thing i hooked it up backwards or wondered if that bolt on the bottom does anything but hold the sub in the box.
 

LB3711

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Double check if it's hooked back up correctly. Also put the bolt back in. Otherwise there's an air leak.
 

Etroze86

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Any specific reason why they are quoting you a dsp for a sub install??? That's a pretty advanced tuning tool for a basic install.
 

adurm

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You could fill the oem box with packing peanuts then transfer said peanuts to a cardboard box you have and measure that box. But I would guess you already had too much in there especially if it sounded better before.
 

sawz

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hooking it up backwards from my understanding would only affect the phase of the output putting it 180 degrees out of phase, it should not affect volume.
 
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craigsez

craigsez

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Etroz.....It was for front door speaker,tweets,sub,amp and dsp..dsp was not just for sub..I told them before anything was changed that it had a muddy sound..Clairity just wasnt there even with treble up..To make any decient changed in the upgraded 9 speaker/sub set up you need a dsp..Factory one has cut offs and flattens the sound if im not mistaken..

LB3711....That was my question,im asking so i dont have to take it all apart again and if it was possible even with factory ends on the wire..
The bolts purpose is??? Just to hold in place,allow some sorta movement what..

Not sure why these simple questions (in an area i know nothin much about)are not being really answered..
 

adurm

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I doubt you can plug it in backwards. Snug up the bolt. Take out some poly. Check your head unit bass settings. Turn your phone media up (or whatever your mp3 source). Ensure the pins on the connector are making contact with the plug. You may only have pos or neg getting to the sub, not both. Hope that helps.
 

adrianp89

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I would remove the polyfill. The sub/enclosure was designed together, adding or changing to it is going to more than likely result in a loss of performance.

Take it back out, ensure you have both coils wired properly. You could also check the connector for resistance without taking the woofer out. As said before make sure that bolt is in too. The smallest leak can results is a significant decrease in output.

I wouldn't go so far to say the Alpine system sucks. It is better than 95% of factory systems I have heard, and I do stereos for professionally so I hear quite a bit of them. The source material is the real limitation of the system. The difference between Sirius and iPod is tremendous.
 

Etroze86

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That's a complicated way to get clarity, I wouldn't spring for a dsp unless you plan on fully utilizing it. Clarity can be had with a summoning device instead.
 
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craigsez

craigsez

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Tks guys for your thoughts..Just didnt wanna rip it apart again only to find i have everything correct..Ill crack it open and pull some of that poly and see and dbl chk my connections..
 

baum

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I have to agree with adrianp89 i was in the install world for many years building high end custom setups that competed in the usaci events. to me if tuned correctly the alpine actually sounds pretty good for a factory unit. hell i havent even wanted to change it out yet because im happy with the way it sounds.
 

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I have to agree with adrianp89 i was in the install world for many years building high end custom setups that competed in the usaci events. to me if tuned correctly the alpine actually sounds pretty good for a factory unit. hell i havent even wanted to change it out yet because im happy with the way it sounds.

back in the late 80's, early 90's I used to attend all the SQ events with our team. How long ago were you doing it?
 
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craigsez

craigsez

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I took out all the fill i had stuffed further into the box and just left a lil to nestle the sub into..Swapped out speaker connects cause they are interchangeable and not marked reinstalled and well it might be placibo effect but seems a bit better but also louder..Maybe i did have connections reverced..
 

novelmike

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I have to agree with adrianp89 to me if tuned correctly the alpine actually sounds pretty good for a factory unit. hell i havent even wanted to change it out yet because im happy with the way it sounds.

Yep, same here. I am happy with mine also and do not see the need to replace the stock Alpine speakers. And I'll often turn my radio volume up to the 32 setting. Still sounds nice and clear to me.

I would like more bass though. I did do the Pioneer swap about a year ago. Minimal gains in my opinion. If I knew of an easy "plug and play" type way to get more bass for a few hundred bucks, I'd do it for sure. But all that splicing into another speaker wire, adding amps, and ohms confuse me.
 

baum

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back in the late 80's, early 90's I used to attend all the SQ events with our team. How long ago were you doing it?

early to mid 2000's back when they still had finals in kansas city.
 

BadHabit2Break

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Then I bet I was there too, traveled with Mark Eldridge, Gary Biggs, Rob Rice, etc...and Alma gates in SPL.

She was brought to my office at the time when she was in Houston by a good friend. Great lady and sadly missed.

We talked for a few minutes and she gave me her CD at the time and even signed it for me.

I did SPL back in the late 90's and was just getting into the SQ side. I was running in the two dudes crowd and was thinking of entering in USACi.
 
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