Tune Sub and Amp

[jason470]

Hello all,

I am a new member to the forum and am looking for suggestions. I built a box (its damn solid and sealed) for my 12 inch Alpine Type R and JBL 300.1 that I got for christmas and installed it in my SUV without changing any of the settings on the amp or on the headunit. Now I am wanting to properly "tune" the system. If you could help me out and explain to me the optimal settings for the following items or how to tune it by sound that would be great. Also, when installing the system I ran two sets of RCA's and plugged both into the amp and the headunit... One from the headuint out is the non-fading rear output and the other is the front output. Both were plugged into the amplifiers two RCA inputs (One front and one rear) Also teh headunit can shuffel between Non-fading rear output and front output modes.... Not sure if this is the right method...

Features of the headunit Kenwood MP522
Bass level. (I am assuming this is used as a day to day feature to adjust the bass of the system depending on the type of music, neaighborhood driving, etc.)
Middle level. (I have no idea on this feature)
Treble. (I know what treble is and I occasionally adjust it but is there an optimal setting?)
Non-Fading Level. (No idea on this as well, ranges from -15 to 15)
Front/Rear High Pass Filter. (This has something to do with teh frequencies of the sound being sent to the door speakers I think. Range Through/100/125/170 hz)
Non-fading Low Pass Filter. (This I beleive regulates the sound being sent to the subwoofer Range 50/80/120/Through hz)
Volume offset.
Loudness.

Tunable features of the amplifier. JBL BP300.1
Input Level.
LPF Frequency. (Range 32 Hz and 320 Hz)
Bass Boost Control. (Range 0db - +6db)

Car stereo specs: (incase it matters)
Eclipse SE 8363 Speakers (All 4 doors. One is slighlty cracked on the foam baffle around the outside about an inch long. Sidenote... any way to like hot glue the foam back to the frame of the speaker?)
Kenwood MP522 Headunit
Alpine Type R 1221D
JBL BP300.1
Listen to everything from country to rap and in between...

Thanks alot guys and sorry for the length of the post. I would just like to get these sounding as good as possible.

Jason.

[floored4door]

Where are you located? I might be able to go over some shiz with ya. I am in Broomfield. I don't normally have internet on the weekends so I will have to check back on Monday.

[jason470]

I am located in Highlands Ranch... Just let me know.. Thanks a lot.

[Kwando]

Where are you located? I might be able to go over some shiz with ya. I am in Broomfield. I don't normally have internet on the weekends so I will have to check back on Monday.


Do you have tune disc? I use to have a full set of autosound test and tune cd's but i lost them.

[preludeshfan]

Hello all,

I am a new member to the forum and am looking for suggestions. I built a box (its damn solid and sealed) for my 12 inch Alpine Type R and JBL 300.1 that I got for christmas and installed it in my SUV without changing any of the settings on the amp or on the headunit. Now I am wanting to properly "tune" the system. If you could help me out and explain to me the optimal settings for the following items or how to tune it by sound that would be great. Also, when installing the system I ran two sets of RCA's and plugged both into the amp and the headunit... One from the headuint out is the non-fading rear output and the other is the front output. Both were plugged into the amplifiers two RCA inputs (One front and one rear) Also teh headunit can shuffel between Non-fading rear output and front output modes.... Not sure if this is the right method...


Features of the headunit Kenwood MP522
Bass level. (I am assuming this is used as a day to day feature to adjust the bass of the system depending on the type of music, neaighborhood driving, etc.)
Middle level. (I have no idea on this feature)
Treble. (I know what treble is and I occasionally adjust it but is there an optimal setting?)

just set these like any other bass, treble settings its basically a 3 band EQ

Non-Fading Level. (No idea on this as well, ranges from -15 to 15)

This is your subwoofer output leave it at 0 for the time being

Front/Rear High Pass Filter. (This has something to do with teh frequencies of the sound being sent to the door speakers I think. Range Through/100/125/170 hz)

i don't know why there isnt a setting for 80hz but 100 will work fine

Non-fading Low Pass Filter. (This I beleive regulates the sound being sent to the subwoofer Range 50/80/120/Through hz)

set at 80 hz

Volume offset.

leave it alone, its for adjusting the CD volume to match that of the radio when you change between the 2 sources, its a stupid feature nobody ever uses.

Loudness.

i leave it off. it enhances bass and treble frequencies and was originally intended to be used when listening to music at a very low volume level. it has now evolved into a bass and treble booster knob. using it at high volume is a good way to damage speakers.

Tunable features of the amplifier. JBL BP300.1
Input Level.

because your inexperienced ill try to make this simple. adjust it up untill the bass lever matches that of the rest of the system. you can further adjust it at the stereo with the nonfading level i had you set at 0. you can adjust it up or down from the stereo so you dont have to run to the amp each time to turn it up or down to fine tune it.

LPF Frequency. (Range 32 Hz and 320 Hz)

this is an adjustable crossover frequency adjustment, since your stereo already has one turn it all the way to 320 hz

Bass Boost Control. (Range 0db - +6db)

leave this knob alone at 0, if you turn it at all just use a little this is another bass maker knob that will boos bass at 40 hz it is also another way people blow speakers up. anything that makes the bass louder the inexperienced people crank up to full power because they want more bass. the problem is that it is very easy to clip the amplifier and damage the speaker or the amp with this practice. my advise is dont use it at all.

Car stereo specs: (incase it matters)
Eclipse SE 8363 Speakers (All 4 doors. One is slighlty cracked on the foam baffle around the outside about an inch long. Sidenote... any way to like hot glue the foam back to the frame of the speaker?)
Kenwood MP522 Headunit
Alpine Type R 1221D
JBL BP300.1
Listen to everything from country to rap and in between...

as for the speaker, dont worry about it the best thing to use would be some rubber cement over the tear or some clear silicone in a thin smear across the rip.
dont know too much about that particular HU, kenwood makes a decent stereo but i dont care for their displays or the menu they use, they are a little like alpine and a little hard to operate.
i personally dont care for the TYPE R subs at all. i find they are very difficult to make sound good in any type of enclosure. but for your first system i am sure it will sound just great for you.
i am not positive but the JBL amp could be a class D amp. if so as long as you dont abuse it and set it the way i told you to you shouldnt have any problems. class D is a good way to go for subs, it's cheap power and gets the job done.

i listen to the same music as you and personally i hate sealed boxes. you can get much more from a sub if its in the right ported box but untill your ready to move to the next level i am sure you will be fine with yours the way it is. if your ever ready to upgrade a little send me a PM and ill give you my contact info. i am in the springs but it would be worth the drive if you want a good experienced installer who does good work at an affordable price.

Thanks alot guys and sorry for the length of the post. I would just like to get these sounding as good as possible.

Jason.[/QUOTE]

[jason470]

Thanks a lot for all the help. I finish tackling all this tommorow. Its been a huge help! You are the man. If anyone else wants to chime in.. Feel free.

Jason.