Aftermarket sub - are you adding separate gain control?

[Mojo88]

Recently bought a '19 Longhorn with the Harmon-Kardon 19-speaker system and the 12" screen. I'm gonna replace the stock HK sub with aftermarket 10" in a sealed underseat box along with a dedicated sub amp.

There must be guys doing this already. My question is: are you running some sort of separate gain control to adjust bass on the fly? If so, what type of control and where are you mounting it? Looks like it would be real easy to mount something on/in the center console??

Thanks

 

[Brandon-w]

I'm running mine through a pre amp equalizer. And then my monoblock has a bass knob.

 

[Mojo88]

Damn, you lost me with all those things bud, haha. I know what an equalizer is, but can't imagine how you would need that in a "pre amp" configuration for a subwoofer, unless you're utilizing that equalizer for an entire audio system? My dedicated sub amp has all those adjustments on it already, and I will simply be using the stock subwoofer leads from the HK system, into my amp, then to my new sub

But what is that monoblock you speak of? You got a pic? Thanks

 

[Brandon-w]

I use the pre amp with the loc because I don't like the way it sounds when converted from the factory head unit. Seems like. There's a slight fuzz or static. So loc to preamp equalizer unit and then to sub amp. That's my setup anyways I'm picky...
Monoblock is the type of amp. The factory unit may also be 8 ohm so I'm not sure if that matters with your amp id double check that.

 

[woojyee]

I'm using one that connects to my JL Audio VXI amp. It's mounted under the knob shifter for easy access.

 

[zrock]

Never had use for one of those since a properly adjusted system should not need it.

 

[Mojo88]

Never had use for one of those since a properly adjusted system should not need it.

Interesting comment. In general, I tend to agree, and I normally take the time to adjust sub amp properly...... BUT .... I listen to all kinds of music, with a lot of oldies mixed in. Some music has really loud heavy bass, while in other music (oldies mostly) the bass is almost non-existent. I typically just turn the volume up or down to compensate.

And to be honest, I've never actually utilized any type of gain adjustment in the past, so this will be my first time using some type of on-the-fly bass adjustment. It looks very easy to install a couple of wires and a small knob somewhere in the center console, so why not?

 

[woojyee]

Interesting comment. In general, I tend to agree, and I normally take the time to adjust sub amp properly...... BUT .... I listen to all kinds of music, with a lot of oldies mixed in. Some music has really loud heavy bass, while in other music (oldies mostly) the bass is almost non-existent. I typically just turn the volume up or down to compensate.

And to be honest, I've never actually utilized any type of gain adjustment in the past, so this will be my first time using some type of on-the-fly bass adjustment. It looks very easy to install a couple of wires and a small knob somewhere in the center console, so why not?

This is why I have my bass knob set for max power at 3/4. Using a DD-1, 40hz test tone it's measured to <1% THD (red light on) then add a 10db overlap. That way, when I get into the oldies and classic rock, I have a bit a room to add some bass.

 

[zrock]

Interesting comment. In general, I tend to agree, and I normally take the time to adjust sub amp properly...... BUT .... I listen to all kinds of music, with a lot of oldies mixed in. Some music has really loud heavy bass, while in other music (oldies mostly) the bass is almost non-existent. I typically just turn the volume up or down to compensate.

And to be honest, I've never actually utilized any type of gain adjustment in the past, so this will be my first time using some type of on-the-fly bass adjustment. It looks very easy to install a couple of wires and a small knob somewhere in the center console, so why not?

I never really had that issue but i listen to mostly one type of music and the odd time toss some other stuff in. It has been a while since i have built or even worried about my system im to old for that now...LOL.. When i was heavy into this and still DJ'ing i used to go through and volume level and balance my saved music, I used to spend more time messing with music than anything else. This really helped with the differences between different types of music so i never really seen the spikes. I always thought it might be cool to have one of those knobs since everyone of my installs always had the option but never pulled the trigger.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Never had use for one of those since a properly adjusted system should not need it.

You Must listen to some pretty boring music