Mcintosh x-over/EQ

 

Arc audio amp ..powering subwoofer

 

Mcintosh amp powering my Dyns...
Yup...that's the sub mounted to the rear deck.
The sub is only 3 inch deep..i could've made the box even smaller but then it would sound very weird...I got this idea from Dex and engin_ear, and this other member Kodai who hasn't posted in a while...

 

Another shot....

 

I have a few more pics of the rest of my system but I'm too lazy to upload it...
My complete set up is in my signature....a lot of people have the Alpine cva/dva combo so I don't think anybody wants to see that again...

I originally had my sub in an enclosure sitting on the ledge facing the tail of the car...I thought that didn't look too good and I couldn't wait for the IDMAX10 to use for free air so I went with this approach. ( I couldn't find a velodyne which was my #1 choice)
If you need advise on how this setup is done, what's involved, whatever, feel free to ask.....

thx
andrew

 

Was it hard to put that 12 in the 10 hole, or is it under the hole in a sealed in the box?

 

Looks very clean, I bet it sounds amazing. i have heard 12" Atilante before. Those subs are amazing quality!

 

Percy

 

sld, the sub is about 2-3 inches beneath the hole...like you said, it's a 12 inch sub in a sealed enclosure...

thanks for the comps retro and percy,

A little intro, the box has roughly .65 ft^3 of air space ..that is the net volume (i took the volume of the sub itself into consideration as wells) I obtained this volume using WinISD software setting the q to .707...the old installation and new installation used different enclosure but were the same size, I just made the new box so it would fit under the rear deck better but volume remains the same...

Ok, about the sound,
Prior to this installation, my sub was sitting on the ledge firing towards the rear of the car. The bass was a little boomy, and actually played really low. If I play Celine Dion (don't laugh..it's a good recording - it's the album with "All by myself" on track 6....I like to use the beginning of track 2 for bass) It had lots of low end bass, the car is shaking, and it "feels" amazing, however, it's just not "clean"....I always wondered how I can get the sub in the car to sound close to the sub in my house...

After the installation,
The bass is a LOT tighter....it's so tight to the point I don't even know whether it's good or not. I don't have the low rumbling bass as before (I was probably hearing more of the car than the sub back then) and it just doesn't play very deep. It sounded like I built the box too small but like I said before, the volume is the same as before. The upper bass (about 65-90 Hz) is where I'm hearing the most things.

Looks like I need to play around with the parametric EQ more but that thing is so hard to use (compared to a graphic eq)...i don't have access to RTAs and my ears aren't particularly great for tuning (they fatigue easily) so I'd say the sound isn't "great"...unbalanced is what I would call my system now. Might need to take it into the shop to get it tuned..

The dyns are amazing though even though I know my car needs tuning...don't really know what to say but they're just so smooth...especially the high end (tweeters)....

 

What are your settings?

Percy

 

I don't know if you remember it but I actually asked you for your settings a year ago because our system is somewhat similar..same speakers, almost the same amp...(well..you have that monster Mcintosh amp) and the same EQ...mine is only 6 band parametric 2 channels whereas you use the 8 band 4 channel one....I took your setting and tweaked it a bit. My tweeters are a little higher up because I mounted them on the pillar, not the stock location. I will look up my settings and let you know...
BTW ...I'm not sure if this ever happened to your EQ but twice I have found that the my EQ has completely cut off the signal to my 160s...only the tweeter was playing....once I restart the car, everything goes back to normal...very strange...

Can you tell me what settings you have now?...I'm kinda confused what Q I should set the frequencies at...high Q means narrower bandwidth right? I think I had mine at the lowest Q because with the high Q, the sound changed a bit too much..I hope what I said made sense...

 

amlin423,

Settings haven't changed as I still haven't had enough time to completely finish the system! Still have to mod out the C90 some more...

The Mc parametrics can do strange things at times. Just turn off the system and turn back on...that should reset it.

Higher Q is narrow bandwidth. I usually keep all of them at .7 to 1.3, but that's adjusting them with a RTA. Remember that even if you have an RTA, it's only to be used as a baseline and not for final tuning. My suggestion is to use earplugs so that the ears won't fatigue as easily while going for a flat rta. Then when you're ready for the REAL tuning, make sure that the system is at a comfortable level and then change the settings from there. Without the earplugs, you're limited to about 10 to 15 minutes before the ear fatigues and does strange things. Be sure to WRITE down the settings as the Mc controller tends to forget things.

Does your xover make a slight "hissing" noise?

Percy

 

No wonder my system sounds weird now..I KNEW it didn't sound like this a year ago..darn...percy I remember you having a plot of the car's response a while back do you still have that? ...I am a complete amateur in terms of tuning a system and I won't know what a "flat" response sounds like. I lost the email of the settings you gave me before,...i know ..it's cheating..and i feel bad for even asking cuz you must've spent hrs tuning it....but I really need some kind a baseline to start from...

YES! (i think) I actually thought it was a faulty unit...When I first put together the system, my MCC444's gain was on 1/3 and the hissing sound was incredibly loud....( i didn't know if it was the amp or the x-over) ..I turned my gains all the way down and the hiss still existed although not that noticeable anymore...I don't think I hear it anymore because I'm so used to it and plus I have the dreaded alternator whine problem (not that severe...passengers won't notice but I do) so that bugs me more than the hissing...

 

amlin423,

As soon as I find it, I'll give you the settings. I may have thrown away that sheet though...

Hissing noise is normal. I had to mod mine out using different capacitors. You'll need about 20 of them and they're all placed on the output side, closest to the jacks. It might be less for you since there are less outputs. Really cleaned it up!

Alternator whine...how are your power cables and interconnects routed? Are any of them within 1 foot of each other?

Percy

 

I would imagne that they are when they come to an amp

Percy, I wish you had a chance to play around and mod the P9 unit. I really want to replace it with something else.