altoncustomtech

Why can't you use the piece of wire that you already have that was going from one side to the other? Should be plenty there to re-purpose it for connecting it in a parallel configuration.

That would be a D2 for sure.... Wire it up parallel and you'll be making waves...

Yes, connect the leads directly to the terminals of the subwoofer itself with no wiring attached. The DMM measures whatever it's connected to so if the voice coils are wired together or it's wired to the amp, or both as in your case it's measuring everything.

I just looked at the last pic. You PAID a shop for that enclosure???!! My sister did a better job cutting out the baffles for the door speakers for her Durango than they did the opening for that sub!!!!! Just noticed the end of the port on the inside of the enclosure doesn't look like it's all the way against the bottom of the enclosure either. That's just sad.

I thought the same thing.

Was the wires from the box to the amp still connected to the amp? If so the resistance measurements don't do us much good. It's wired in series, so it's either a D1 wired to 2 ohms or a D2 and they wired it to 4. Disconnect the wires from the sub, yes all of them, and connect the DMM to each set of terminals and see what it reads. Then we can tell you whether it's really D1 or D2 and if the wiring configuration needs changed how to rewire it.

Happy Birthday and I wish you many more!

Happy Birthday dude!

^^EXACTLY!!^^ What on earth makes you think you need that much crap going on up front? I have a single pair of 6.5" components in the front of my wife's van that have no problems getting loud enough to make her happy (not easy by the way, she's the biggest reason I've been through so many setups in that vehicle). For that matter all I have for the highs in my Jimmy are a pair of 3" full range drivers and they get loud enough to make my ears hurt. You need to rethink what you're doing. A quality installation will trump a quantity installation any day. All this time, effort and money you're trying to throw at this multiple speaker setup can be better spent by going with one good set of speakers up front and ensuring they have the best installation you can possibly give them. It doesn't take a lot of reading to figure out what makes up a decent installation either. Now, your plan of using separate amps for the highs and subs is spot on. The only way you're going to output that will satisfy your craving for output and remain clean while doing it is to put a real amp on the highs as HU's don't deliver crap for power. The JBL MS-62C's are well reviewed but everyone has a personal taste and these may or may not suit yours. You need to go out and listen to as many sets as you can to get a feel for what you like and dislike about each one of them. It will help you a great deal in deciding on a set you like. As for the subs, don't go thinking you need 4,000 watts worth of amp and subs to give you great output. A pair of simpler 12's such as the SSA GCON's (DCON's even, they'll be available again soon) or the Fi X series will yield tons of output in a properly designed enclosure, sound great doing it and not cost you an arm and a leg in subs and an amp but first thing is first you need to do some studying. Go to as many shops and stores as possible and listen to as many sets as you possibly can to get an ear for what pleases you and what doesn't. While you're at it study up on what makes a good installation. Sound deadening will be a priority and the best information available on that is at Sound Deadener Showdown. Not only is there a comprehensive and complete explanation on what and how the different products work the best way to install them is covered and there's even a break down of a simple yet effective way to install speakers in your doors. Do all these things, get some more information under your belt and we can and will continue to help guide you through this process. The main thing to do though is ditch the ideas of all these unnecessary speakers and concentrate on making the best install possible.

to the fourm, and back to the hobby! Fellow hoosier as well!! Where about in the great state of Indiana are you? I would assume that since you mentioned wanting something in the 2kw to 2.5kw power range that you'll be investing in a new amp and sub(s). The ZCON is definitely a killer sub and from what I've read and who I've talked to does a fantastic job of sounding good as well as having monster amounts of output. Keep in mind though that everything any sub can and does do as far as it's performance is completely and totally installation dependent and the biggest part of that is the enclosure. Having the right enclosure will mean everything whether you choose to go with the ZCON, ICON's, or any other brand and model of sub that you've had your eye on. There are several members on here who either currently have an install done in an Impala (or equivalent vehicle) or have done one. They would be the best ones to comment on the enclosure sizes and tuning that would best suit what you're looking for. Either way you're in good hands!

We definitely need more information in order to help you out but I can speak from personal experience that these subs can perform, so there's definitely an issue with your installation no matter how much you don't want to hear that. It sounds to me like the enclosure is way off. 1.25cuft isn't just a little outside the minimum requirements it's quite alot. The other problem is most likely your tuning is off. Those things coupled together equals fail on the performance of the sub and if you keep running it to it's mechanical limits the failure of the sub itself. The number one thing to do right NOW is determine the tuning of the enclosure. Get some test tones, start in the area of 50hz and turn it up enough to get the sub moving a bit. Start going down through the frequencies until you notice the sub moving the LEAST amount and that will be your tuning frequency, let us know what that is. Your amp has an unadjustable subsonic filter which is NOT ported enclosure friendly and adds to the problems you're having. With an enclosure size of 1.25cuft I would HIGHLY suggest plugging the port and running it sealed until which time you can either build a better ported enclosure or do something more fitting along the lines of a sealed enclosure. What HU are you using? What is all the specifications on the enclosure? Where did the enclosure come from? You very well may need to get yourself an SSF to put in front of the amp to protect the sub if you keep a ported enclosure. Answer all these questions and we'll be much more informed to help you out with the issue. You've bought a very nice subwoofer that has a long standing reputation for it's quality.

I forgot to finish. I've been on here learning, soaking up as much as I could, experimenting here and there to apply some of what I've learned and it's been up to and until just here recently that I felt I have gotten enough knowledge and trained myself and my ears good enough to be able to try an active setup. Almost five years in the making after first reading about all the good it can do to attempting it and I'm going with about as simple a 2 way active setup that can be done using a pair of full range drivers and dedicated midbass drivers. The setup simplifies everything by having one driver to literally do 98.4% of the standard audible spectrum. 1.2% of the remaining sound is being done by the midbasses and the remaining .4% the subwoofer. Complications from improper aiming/installation, destructive interference, and the other problems that plague car audio installations are much much lower in comparison to a 2 way setup with a tweeter and mid and minuscule in comparison to a 3 way setup. I'm not even close to diving into either of those and especially not the 3 way. Not that it doesn't intrigue me to the point of imagining how I would go about it and what drivers I would use. I do that all the time but how I would do it and what drivers I would chose to use have changed drastically in the last couple of years let alone anything I was thinking about when I joined. There is so much more to an "install" than just slapping some appealing drivers into the easiest locations in which they fit. Sure from a business standpoint at the shop it's not practical to pretty much engineer every setup that every customer comes in wanting, especially considering that most people want it done fast and done CHEAP. However, for yourself why not put in the time, learn and excel at what makes the difference between something tossed in and something definitively designed, installed and setup correctly.

I get that, I really do. However, without a better understanding of and at least some ability to determine the difference between response issues caused by the drivers themselves or installation problems going active, especially in the manner you're attempting, will not lead to satisfactory results. You have to crawl before you can walk and you have to walk before you can run. Believe me I KNOW you feel you already know stuff and have the experience to dive into this but the truth is you don't and every time you ask the questions you're asking and answer the information you're giving us it proves this more and more. I joined this forum in May of 2009 THINKING I knew a lot about audio and I couldn't have been more wrong. Granted I knew more than anyone else I was acquainted with and definitely enough that I could tell what the shops in my area were doing was wrong but SO many of the things I KNEW were "right" were in fact so incorrect it made my head spin at first. I had been building enclosures for years, installed numerous systems (even a few fairly large ones) for myself and friends and even made some decent money on the side doing it, but looking back there were many things that really weren't right. Even more of those things that I did I simply just got lucky that it worked out so well. So sure, a couple of capacitors and a couple of coils and resistors in a plastic case are technically a passive crossover BUT if ANY R&D was done that set of electrical components was designed and specifically meant for the speakers it came with and WILL NOT work PROPERLY with any other speakers. The sad fact is that the majority of the time component speakers and their passive crossovers are just a bunch of options some chinese build house gave the company to chose from for the line.

In 99% of vehicles with a separate tweeter and mid there is NO passive crossover past one simple, cheap -6dB non-polarized electrolytic capacitor that is often times glued to the magnet of the tweeter and soldered to the leads/wires. First of all an electrolytic capacitor does not a complete passive crossover make and second once you remove the factory tweeter that little piece of crap along with it's 20 cent craptastic tweeter is gone and no longer part of any equation.

In theory yes but there's more to it than that. Passive crossovers are (or SHOULD be) designed around a particular driver and it's impedance curve which changes with frequency. As I mentioned in the last post "NO ONE SPEAKER IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS ANOTHER" and what that means in the world of passive crossovers is that Driver B's impedance curve (among other things) cannot and will not the be same as Driver A and the passive crossover that is designed specifically for Driver A will not work and behave the same for Driver B which can and will lead to bad results in response.

The only thing that really makes it different is the fact that Sony tower has passive crossovers where typical car installs do not. However, just because it's what you guys are doing "all the time at work" does not make it right either. Is there any thought put into exactly what's being replaced? How it's being replaced? or Why it's being replaced? This kind of stuff is the biggest reason why I do not and will not seek out installation work or advice from 99% of the shops I've been in. Speakers aren't just speakers. No one is exactly the same as another and just swapping one for another does not lead to good results the majority of the time. Sure people get lucky on occasion and what they hear when they do it suits their listening preferences better (the most likely case with your tweeters) but that still doesn't make it the right way to do it.

to the forum!

Tuned in for the rebuild brother! Let me know if you would like some help or ideas with the upper end of the music spectrum. I'm always available to bounce ideas off of and such.

I have a small collection of guitars, just don't know if I want my wife touching them.... $180 isn't too bad, maybe I'll get one for her to learn on. I thought the price was great, especially after reading the reviews. 134 reviews, nothing lower than three stars (only a handful of those) and 104 of them are full 5 star reviews. I found that fairly impressive and the regular price is $280, 35% off right now. Considering you already play, if you go that route and get it for her I'd love to hear your take on the software.

Alright, this might be a complete and total fail, it could be pure awesomeness but either way I've spent just a few dollars to see if I can do it or not. Growing up I had a blast watching my dad play his guitars. I always found it amazing how such awesome music could be played with such apparent ease. Of course anyone who's ever played any instrument knows that EASY isn't in the equation. While it comes easier to some than to others I don't think even the most natural of musicians could claim easy but I digress. My dad tried several times to show me some basics and in the classic kid fashion it was too hard, too much work and I couldn't stay interested in doing it. As I got older I tried to bring up learning with him on a few occasions for which he was more than willing but life just wouldn't allow the opportunity to happen. Then a few years ago life threw the ultimate curve ball and he's no longer here for me to ever have that opportunity at all. To add insult to injury his guitars were stolen shortly after the house became ours (mine, my brother's and my sister's). So, we move on to 2011 and the release of the original Rocksmith. It gets my attention but not enough make any sort of move on the purchase of the software or a guitar on which to play it. It holds my attention enough though to read up on it from time to time, read up on reviews and actual experiences with it. Finally here in the beginning of 2014 a alignment of planets of sorts finds me with an inside track on a sale on a highly reviewed and liked Squire Affinity Series Telecaster Special electric guitar (in butterscotch blonde no less) and a sale going on at Gamestop of the Rocksmith 2014 edition of the game ($50!). I'm up and running on both for under $250. I've only logged about 3 hours on it so far. I went from knowing basically nothing about playing (I can't remember anything about what little dad had tried to teach me except how to play the first part of the riff for "Smoke On The Water" which could be taught to any five year old) to being able to handle fret shifts (albeit only on the low E for now), playing some basic chords, and playing some neat sustains. Sure, basic shit I know but I figure it's not any less as far along as I would be paying a regular instructor to teach me plus I can move at my own pace. For anyone who's never seen the software I would suggest at least taking a look at it. The number of things it does, can do, and how versatile it can be is pretty amazing in my book. If you have seen it before, or better yet if you've used it before I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Like I said, it could very well be a exercise in futility but I'm hoping it's not. If nothing else I will still have a decent guitar on which to learn from an actual instructor should I feel the need.

Anything with a pickup works. Electrics, bass, and acoustics with pickups in them. If it plugs in it works. Drew, follow that link I posted about my guitar. I picked it up brand new from Guitar Center for $180.

Yeah, he's right. It can teach you bass as well, though I've not played with it so I have no information as to how it does it or any limitations it may have. I do know that it has the ability to do it even if you don't have a bass guitar. Somehow it can simulate the bass stuff on a regular six string electric. I've had a lot of fun with it so far, my fingertips are numb, lol.

Thanks brother!! So am I... Now if only work would cooperate, lol....

I'd love to know more about the enclosure design myself. Just from the measurements on the port it seems a little skimpy on port area. Couple with that the fact you can't be positive what the enclosure is tuned to I'm wondering if the enclosure is anywhere near what you asked for. Do me a favor. Drop in a set of test tones. Set it to 50hz and turn it up enough to see the sub moving a fair bit and start going down through the tones to the supposed 29hz tuning. At 29hz the sub should barely even be moving. If it looks like it's barely moving at any other frequency THAT is what it is tuned to, not 29hz or whatever you requested from the shop. Couple that with settings on the amp that may not be quite right and you've got the issues you're having right now. Reference THIS post as to setting the SSF for your application as well. I have the same sub on the same amp in my Jimmy in a passive radiator type enclosure setup which is all setup more for SQ than SPL and it gets plenty loud and shakes plenty of stuff in the truck. It's definitely not so quiet that a person could say "I forgot we had the sub in here." Hell it flat scared the crap out of one of the guys who I demoed it for. You very well could just have the bass bug and need more but that sub and amp combination should be giving prodigious amounts of bass to you.

Happy Birthday Sean!!