_How can I improve my car stereo sound quality in my Ford focus. I've been trying to impress some of my friends with how well my stereo system sounds and I need to up the sound quality. So my friends are very nice cars in my Ford focus should compete with it. How can I improve the sound quality without spending that much money on my Ford focus.

I have a huge system in my car running on 2 ohms with 3 woofers and it pounded hard core. It pounded so hard to where people would hear me from blocks and blocks away and I love that. My question is, my system is not hitting the lows it used to. What could be going on with this?

Some say I am going crazy when I tell them to listen for it but ... they just dont know because I listen to all the time and they dont.

WHAT COULD IT BE???

Subwoofer Watt Questions



How many subwoofer watts does my subwoofer need? I have an Audiobahn aw1000q and was wondering how many watts I need out of an amplifier for the sub itself to be loud and still sound good? I can't find anything in forums on this sub or anything. Please Help ME??

Jake C.

Answer:

Thanks for sending your question in to subwooferwatt.com Jake! We love answering questions like this. I get questions like this everyday via email and that's why we all run this site, we love car audio and helping others. But I will GET TO YOUR ANSWER NOW.

This is actually a funny question because one of our writers himself has this Audiobahn subwoofer. The aw1000q class is a great subwoofer. I have heard so much smack talked about Audiobahn that it is crazy. "The subs are made in Japan with cheap materials. Or that the reason they went out of business was because their equipment is crap."

I have handed this question over to him starting here!

Hi Jake, my names Shawn and I myself have been researching the aw1000q for a long time and you are right. The information is barely there. I believe I found maybe around 5 different tutorials on the entire internet that I searched.

That's not a big deal though. Because I have played around with the subs enough to know what they need and don't need. I'm going to come straight out and say these subs have amazed me.. and I have heard a lot of different heavy bass.

I honestly have around 140 RMS going to one of these subs, and it sounds amazing. I would compare it to a RF P3 deep bass of a subwoofer. So really, you can probably put anywhere from 100 to 300 RMS to this subwoofer. I know it calls for 600 RMS but I don't think I would push it that far. These subs are moving very heavy the 100 mark of RMS.

So to answer your subwoofer watts question. Get an audio amplifier that puts out anywhere from 100 RMS to 300 RMS. And don't forget if you have two of the subwoofers, your going to need to get a two channel amplifier, or else it will be split in half with only one channel and you will then have to shoot for like a total of 500 rms or so. I'm somewhat rambling now, so I will finish this up.

If you have any quesitons, don't be afraid to post below in the blog posting section or just send me an email. Thanks for visiting the sites! Hope you enjoyed and this helped.

Subwoofer Rattling

Can I use "Great Stuff" in my trunk to reduce raTTLinG? I'm looking to reduce trunk rattles in my dodge car. It seems dodge trunks are the worst I have dealt with so far. Maybe it's just me or my car.. but yeah.. the trunk rattles so bad! I can imagine that it will only sound better with it insulated.

I heard from a buddy that I can use a product called GREAT STUFF to insulate it. I'm about to go buy a couple cans of it and go to town cause I'm so sick of the rattling. Help is very much appreciated.

Nathan H.

Answer:

Thanks for the great question Nathan. Trunk rattling is one of the most annoying noises I think I may have ever heard. And I'm sure that I am not the only one that would agree with that. On top of that,

Subwoofer Bass Will Be Louder When Properly Insulated As you can see by my great image that I drew up.. that bass insulation helps the subwoofer bass really sound to it's full potential. With bass sound running around all that trunk crap and into metal sections of the trunk, it will tend to vibrate a ton of stuff making it sound like crap.

To FINALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, yes yes yes yes you can use great stuff to seal off that trunk. But know a couple of things before jumping into it**

1. The stuff is messy. This task is usually performed by bass junkies to "bass vehicles" and they really watch what there doing so that the Great Stuff doesn't OOZ out of your panels and into things where you do no not want it.

This stuff has a tendency to do what it wants as soon as it hits air. The reaction makes for a messy equation at times. Maybe wrap up what you don't want to get covered in this stuff.

2. The removal of this stuff is HECTIC to say the least. Don't count on getting this stuff out and having the after math of it look good. Plan on it just being where it is forever.

That is the advice I can give.. It's not too much or too great, but this great stuff is sort of a new idea in the making. I will be trying it myself in some spots as well. Well guys, adding watts is not the answer to your rattling. Insulation is.

Thanks for sending in the great question and visiting our sites!

Grounding Amplifiers

How do I properly ground my amplifier in my car? I just bought a new amplifier and was wondering if I could use a smaller gauge wire to ground the amplifier than the actual power wire going to the amplifier. I installed it all up to my subwoofer and it bangs like crazy. If this is frowned upon, how does one properly do the ground setup? Help is appreciated. -Clayton S.

Answer:

Thanks for sending in the great question Clayton. An amplifier is a complex electronic component that needs a certain amount of power.

First of all, to get the right amplifier wattage out of your amp, your going to want MATCH THE GAUGES. Meaning you will want them to be the same as each other. Example being, if your amplifier calls for a minimum of four gauge.. you run four gauge to your amp for the positive and the negative.

These need to be the same because of how electricity works. In a home you would not run a certain amount of power to a section of rooms, then have a tiny gauge wire and just hope it works good.

This will put harm on that electrical setup, creating a nightmare of a story.. maybe a house fire, maybe the circuit pops.. who knows. I'll be honest, I am not a scientific nerd when it comes to electrical neurons and such. I just know the basic to car audio and that is about it.. so don't think I'm bragging while saying this.

As for "correctly" running the ground wire for a system, it is actually easier than many think. The key thing to remember is, the MORE contact the better. Getting as many subwoofer watt and wattage out of your amp will happen with a better ground. Too little of ground is bad too. It is probably better on your amplifier and watts to just not have a ground and not use the amp at all.. but I'll get into how to exactly do it now. Figuring out how many subwoofer watts and wattage can be found with methods out there too.

Once you have all the wires ran except the ground black wire, you are where you want to be for this begin.

1. Locate a good section of metal from the frame of the car. When I say frame, that can mean pretty much most of the metal in the trunk of a car. You will know from the way it looks if it is part of the frame at some point.

2. Sand the paint off of do what you have to do to get down to CLEAN metal that is bare. If the metal is half painted, your ground will.. SUCK. Easy as pie to understand.

3. Figure out a way for you to attach that ground wire to that metal. Something along the lines of a bolt and nut or a torque screw of some kind. We need something that is going to hold the wire down for good.

4. Once the wire is attached, you are good to go. Connect other end to amplifier.

I hope this write up helps you a bit man. Sorry if it was somewhat complicated at times.. I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Feel free to email me back any questions or post a blog comment below. Thanks for visiting!

How To: Toggle Switch

How do I run a basic 12V toggle switch to something in my car? I'm looking to run a couple of things off of a basic 12V source and want to be able to the sources off so that they do not drain my battery. Can you help me in going about doing this? I have no idea how 12V toggle switches work?

Sandra O.

Answer:

Thanks for sending in such a good question Sandra. Toggle switches are a huge deal in cars and can really help when it comes to having aux hook ups in a vehicle like extra lights, amplifiers, chargers, whatever it is that needs power from your battery.

This is going to be pretty hard to describe in words.. just because I'm not the best at english but I will do my best. I have decided to get on my paint program on my computer and make a rough picture of what you need to know to hook up a toggle switch.

Your going to want to start with running a wire from the positive terminal of the battery or else tap into some other positive source on the car. But remember that if you tap into something, that it already has enough juice and your not sucking it down and hurting the equipment if it doesnt have enough juice.

Run that wire from the positive to one of the hookups on the switch. Ill relate to the image I drew up right now.. it seems a good time to. Toggle Switch With Light Basic Toggle Switch : No Light The diagrams I drew up are not the best, but they do justice. And remember a lot of toggle switches out there have lights on them and it's actually a pretty cool feature. I always buy mine to light up.. because who doesn't like cool lights in your vehicle right.

When connecting the wire to the switch itself, your most likely going to want to get the right connectors. Different switches call for different connectors so just ask a store employee if you don't understand.

Also when figuring out the ground wire, remember to sand down to good clean metal. Too many people forget to sand the paint off the metal of the interior of the car. You will most likely be pretty proud of yourself after this installation. It's a great way to learn some cool things about electronics and make yourself feel a bit smart about a do it yourself matter.

We love to answer our visitor's questions. It helps to take a toll off of our writers and yet bring unique content to our sites. Thanks again and email me any questions you may have, or else just post on the blog platform below. All of us webmasters are involved in that as well.

What Subwoofer Sound Is For Me? It's official that asking yourself "What Subwoofer Should I get?" is on your mind. Anyone moving into the car audio field has asked themselves this at one point, so don't feel out of place. There actually is a good route to take when asking yourself this question. Too many people impulse buy equipment they later regret.

We and our writers have created a step by step process to help people decide which subwoofers and components work best for their environments and desires. Also, check out the "What Amplifier?" step by step guide.

Step By Step Guide On Choosing A Subwoofer:

1. What Sound Do You Desire / Work Best For Your Vehicle?

Your buddy Joe Shmoe has the loudest system you have ever heard. Two days later, you go impulse the same exact system for a couple hundred bucks and the system isn't half as loud. "WTF!" is the usual response we hear.

Rule number one, plan out the system to your vehicle. Air space and air flow are a huge deal. This also goes along with figuring out what enclosure best suits your equipment and vehicle as well. We can't urge this enough, do the numbers before spending the numbers from your bank account. Patience is a virtue.

A great example we like to share, are Steve Meade's Designs. If you don't know who he is, visit your local youtube and do a search on him. His designs are the largest in the world but they are pushing TOP NOTCH levels. Three quarters of his designs go into figuring things out before "just building" it.

Back On Topic Here, Figure out what sound you want:

Subwoofer sizes:

Small = More Crisp, sharp bass notes (8 inches - 10 inches)
Medium = Happy medium, crisp and deep (12 inches - 13 inches)
Large = Deep Deep Bass, sacrifice crisp sound (15 inches+)

2. Do Research. And Then Some More

When dealing with electronic equipment like this, there is no such thing as "too much research." To be frank, this whole site is here to help people "in search" of this type of stuff. Some sites offer small reviews like amazon and such, but the in depth ones are tough to find. Maybe check out mindblowingaudio.com.. might help.

3. Look Into Different Brands

Different brands and different makes of subs create different bass levels. Some brands are better at different levels of makes then others. This is just like any other line of electronics. Cameras, dvd players, you name it. Here again, research is key if your new to this stuff. It could take years and years of hanging around the field to get a good hands on idea of brands.

4. Shop For Prices

Yeah Best Buy and those huge retailer stores are probably close to you and an easy stop and shop.. but these stores are most likely the best price. Most best prices on electronics are found online. We don't want to mention any sites because we try to stick away from helping advertise for other sites. Subwoofer Sound Quality Check
When it comes to subwoofer sound quality, were talking the difference between night and day. There really is no substitute for great subwoofer sound quality. The difference between subs from your local dollar store and subs that are hundreds of dollars worth spent is day and night.

I always get asked the question, "What's the cheapest sub I can find with good quality?" I personally hate the question because you get what you pay for and that's the end of the story. Cheap subs that have speaker size magnets are what wrecks the whole aspect of cheap subs.

I have created a help guide to let people know what there doing before they go out and pay for things they don't need. I myself have wasted so much money and so have others around me. The help guide isn't the only thing to you should base your things off of, but I feel it is very helpful guide.

Subwoofer Sound Quality Help Guide: Buying Subwoofers

1. Research Your Brands

I say this because different brands usually means different sounds. Different sounds are a huge deal when it comes subwoofer sounds. For instance, I've personally heard that people thing audiobahn is more of a air flow bass for vented boxes and some brands like.. Rockford are more a sealed box deep bass sounds. Do research on what you think you may desire and what type of vehicle you may be putting it in and what type of box your going to be pushing bass with.

2. Find The Right Box For Your Vehicle And Sub

Don't just go and buy the sealed boxes because they are cheap and that's what was all used ten years ago. Vented boxes and pushing air is the new science to the car audio world. I would say it's almost safe to say that vented boxes and pushing more air and letting the subs breath are most of the time double the loudness. With some research you can find what type of box is best for your subs pushing sound power of decibels.

Figure out what box and sub will be loudest for your vehicle. NOT your cousin Joe's vehicle but your vehicle that the system will be going into. With research you will find that sealed boxes might be better in an air tight trunk that cant breath. Or an SUV will have much louder sounds with vented or bandpass. It's really up to you and your research to figure this out.

3. Don't Impulse Buy

People laugh at me when I say this one, but I truly see it everyday. "I heard my buddies system that is loud as heck, so I went out and bought all the same exact equipment and IT DOESN'T SOUND THE SAME." Relate back to number two on the list of figuring out what setup is best for your vehicle. Your buddies vehicle has different cubic feet and air flow than your vehicle.

4. Buy Online

Sorry Best Buy, but your prices are not even close to what I can get for online. Heck, even crutchfield and such have better deals than the retail stores that sell car audio. Don't get me wrong, Walmart sells a heck of a deal on the dual subs, but I hope your looking at better products than those. (No offense to be given).

When purchasing online though, beware of a couple of things. For example, the "no returns" usually tends to scare me a bit. Also, if the items are mailed from anywhere but the country your from, set aside a lot of shipping time to receive the actual item. Ebay buying is around the same matters but you can also research "how to find reputable sellers." Different Subwoofer Sounds?
The different subwoofer sounds out there are what makes each subwoofer different. A smart buyer would research different brands and different makes of components before buying, but that is just my opinion. I have been in the car audio field for quite some time and that's why I've decided to create this site to help guide people.

When buying subs, there are some very important factors to really take in to account. I have made a help list to help you go by when just buying a subwoofer and not an enclosure or anything. It is real basic and not too in depth.

1. Magnet Size

I go by the actual magnet size. Take a look at the size and try and figure out what is actually magnet and not plastic that is fooling the eye. A lot of brands do that. They will have a plastic piece that goes over the magnet to make it seem larger. I saw a set of Rockford P1s the other day and the actual plastic piece comes right off.

2. Magnet Weight

Along with magnet size comes magnet weight. Just because the magnets are huge doesn't mean that they are heavy duty. Huge subs like the Power series of rockford and stuff have deep magnets that weigh a lot. Yes I am aware that other brands have heavier subs than rockford. It was an example and only that.

3. Rubber Quality

When I say rubber I mean the rubber surrounding the inner cone. This rubber is what takes the excursion of the magnets and if its cheap material and small, the sub will have little excursion and most likely not be a real low bass. And as we all know, the lower the bass is the louder it usually is.

Don't get me wrong, this is not the nasa version of picking out a subwoofer but it is a guide to help. We are well aware of more in depth tactics to find good subwoofers for bass but we wanted to give a basic help guide that was real user friendly. Thanks for visiting the site, and don't be afraid to comment. "I Want No Subwoofer Sound"

Top 5 Reasons People Hate Bass
So your looking for no subwoofer sound huh? Don't get me wrong, I respect your choice but I am a believer that there are people who wreck it for others. The ever so famous situation of grandma driving down the road to get groceries and 50 cent rolls up next to her shacking the pavement. Grandma gets so freaked out that she may need some new panties.

What most people don't know is that a true tuned stereo has more bass than what you think. The feeling that makes you feel like your actually in the movie is bass mainly.

1. Punk Kids Wrecking Bass

As I said above in my example, people hate punk kids driving with high levels of bass. I'll even admit as a car audio enthusiast that having a punk kid roll up with loud bass is very annoying in it's own way.

I've learned what seems to get me annoyed is the fact that if the person is driving a beater of beater but bumping their bass.. than that's annoying. If your gonna take the time to have people look at your car, then you better have a damn nice car at least.

2. "It's Too Loud!"

Some people just can't handle the loudness and feel of bass even though its a low not a high volume. This is a pretty basic idea and understandable to me. Like for instance, I couldn't imagine an elderly person enjoying the loud levels of bass..

3. Waste Of Money

This equipment to run high sounds like this is never cheap. Even your cheapest system is most likely going to cost a couple hundred dollars. There is usually no way around spending money on electronic equipment. Its the same as computers, or tvs, and such like that.

4. "I Can't Even Hear The Words Of The Music"

With most systems that are super loud, you can't hear the words. Most of your local teenage drivers that have systems only put the subwoofers in and not music highs to even out the sound. A true tuned system will not be like this though. The difference between the top runners and those just craving bass for cheap.

5. Not All Music Sounds Good With Bass

I can't argue this one.. Garth Brooks should never be played on a set of L7s and that's for sure. I would say in my opinion there is a slim majority of music that even does sound good with bass. But once you find that music, you are in for some joy! Subwoofer Sound System Help Guide
When choosing a subwoofer sound system there can be a lot of confusion on what to go with, how much to spend and the other thousand questions you may have. Below we have made a basic help guide to guide people through the fact of looking for some more bass into their lives.

And just so you know right now, this is a car audio bass help guide. If your in search of more bass to the interior of your home, this may not be the right guide for you.

When buying a subwoofer sound system, your going to want to look for a couple of things in subwoofers. I created a small help guide when it comes to buying subs.

1. Look At Magnet Size

In the back of the subwoofer/s, there is a magnet. I hate to say it, but this is number one for a reason. The magnets are what creates the bass to begin with, and if they are not big at all or they are crappy quality.. your going to get crappy bass.

2. Magnet Quality

Next after magnet size, comes magnet quality. A lot of companies trick you and put a plastic neatly designed piece over the actual magnets to make the magnets seem better, but they are just psyching you out with the plastic. Magnest quality matters!

3. Rubber Size and Material

If the rubber on the outside of the inner cone is small, that basically means the sub company knows that the sub will not have a large excursion rate.. making the sub not move that much.. basically meaning the sub is not going to be that loud.

If the rubber is thin and too hard, then when the sub does have excursion the rubber will break. Different climates from weather really play a roll on the rubber as well too.

Subwoofer Custom What enclosure do you think would work best for me? Hey guys, I just got my subs and amplifier and I'm wondering what enclosure would be best for me. I have two Rockford P2 12 inch subs and a kenwood thousand watt amp. Not sure what else you need to know..
-Mike


Answer:

Nice choice going with the P2 subwoofers Mike! These are truly a great sub for the money. The magnets are really well designed to where they would fool most people into thinking that the system is much more expensive than it really is. We love RF products and stand behind them any day of the week.

There are a couple ways to go about answering your question/s. For one, sometimes the choice of enclosure really determines what type of bass you are really craving from the system yourself. For example:

Sealed boxes give a more crisp sound and make the bass louder inside of your vehicle. People that don't want problems with the law enforcement or just don't want other people hearing the bass, sometimes go with a sealed enclosure. Sealed boxes have been around for ages and that's sometimes the only choice people THINK they have.

Vented boxes are said to of been or be twice as loud as sealed boxes. I'm not sure if I completely believe that it's technically double the loudness, but I do agree that when in the right situation they are A LOT louder than sealed enclosures. Vented boxes need to be tuned and built to the perfect dimensions for your subwoofer though. Most people do not know this and they just buy ANY vented box. There are recommended sub specs that come with your subwoofer with your purchase. Check the manual. You can also check out Crutchfield's Subwoofer Custom Enclosure Guide for more information too.

There are other styles of boxes but those are the two that I think will be the most likely for you and your setup. If you want my straight opinion, I would def go with the vented box with the P2 12's. I have personally heard them in a sealed box versus a vented and it's a world of difference for loudness. That is, if your going for loudness.

Thanks for the great question Mike!



Where can I find a custom box for my truck? I have a truck with a small area in the back but it is really the only room I have for a system. I want a huge system but I do not have room for it. What can I do?

Answer:

Thanks for the great question emailed to us. There are a couple of options you can go about this situation. There are tons of small vehicles that are packed with huge components. At times, smaller spaces are preferred to have the vehicle almost work as a box like situation.. but that is a bit complex to get into right now.

This is just where you or a professional builds the box just a smaller size to fit your environment. A lot of people do not like this route because most times than not, the subwoofers call for a specific amount of cubic space in the box to sound "to their best."

Option 2 is to buy specific "shallow mount" subwoofers for these smaller enclosures you had built or bought. A lot of people think these subs don't sound as good as regular subs but I dare them to tell me that after hearing a pair of p3's or some other good brands. It's all about how you spend your money.

Option 3 is the best option for you, in my opinion. Now listen closely cause this may be hard to understand in just a quick read. "Transform" your bed into a subwoofer enclosure. Places custom build boxes that are one big box, but they go from inside of the truck to the inside of the box. This is somewhat hard to explain in words..

Pretend that you are sitting in the driver's seat of a small pickup with no extended cab. The subwoofers would literally be right behind the seats, but the entire box would be a tiny bit in the cab of the truck and the rest would be in the bed of the truck. Most people get hard tops to go over the bed if this happens. Good luck!



Fiberglass Custom Box Question?? I know the whole process of mixing the fiberglass and applying it and such, but my question is how much of the small tube do I mix with the actual resin? I thought I mixed enough and I had a huge mess because the resign didn't harden. Now I'm sanding wet resign.. PLEASE HELP!

Jossee M.

Answer:

Thanks for the question Jossee. It's cool to get somewhat of a different question. We have a tendency to only get strict wiring and amplifier and subwoofer questions. I love the change up of an enclosure question. Too many forget how important an enclosure can be to a car stereo system.

Fiberglassing is an art and takes practice to get it right. I always tell people to test on things other than your final project that you want to turn out great. But in your case, it is already too late. A little advice on the wet resign, hit up your local car wash where you can do it yourself and spray the living hell out of the resign. After that you can spray some anti greaser on it to try and wipe away as much as you can.

If you try to sand wet resign away just as pure wet resign.. you will go through tons upon tons of sandpaper. Do not take this approach.

When mixing the resign with the hardener mixer, too much is better than not enough. When I was younger and doing this type of stuff I use to always buy an extra thing of hardener. I made the mistake you just did once and it was a nightmare to clean up.

I learned that too much is 1 billion times better than not enough hardener.

It will take lots of practice and trial and error to figure out what it will take for the brand of resign you buy to mix happily with the hardener. It's tough to just give you an exact number of measurement.. but you will figure it out with trial and error. Some say that too much will give you a weaker bond.. but I don't believe in that.

Also do not forget that your subwoofers may need custom fit holes in the box and that the size of the holes are different depending on the subwoofers.

Do I have to separate subs inside fiberglass enclosure? I'm building a custom fiberglass box for my car and the box is going to contain different size subwoofers. One set will contain two Audiobahn 10 inch subs and the other set will be two 15s or 18s. I'm looking to really get all of the lows and highs of all the bass in the world!

Do I have to separate the "sub boxes / spaces" inside the box? Will the pressure pushing on the 10s wreck them? I have no idea what to do here. Please help????

Sammy J.

Answer:

Great question Sammy. I'm feeling a bit sick today so don't think I'm crabby if I'm to the point and getting to the best answer of your question. Thanks for visiting the sites and emailing me this question. We appreciate it.

The best answer for splitting up the boxes of the sub is YES. The pressure differences will be very different and teh bigger subs would or could most likely tear apart those 10s. Thats why with some very big subwoofers they use thicker wood for the sound levels to bounce off of. And that thinner cone on that smaller sub will get destroyed.

A word of advice, I have seen people try this "mixing subs" and not been happy with the turn out. You think it would catch more beats because that is the math of it, but truly it sort of comes out as just a blah sound of nothing but extreme bass. If your looking to mix match the highs and the lows.. maybe shoot for 6 or 8 inch subs and split them up. Maybe put the 8 inch woofers up in the front of your vehicle.

We do love all ideas though and never judge what our guests do because that is what makes the automotive field such a cool field to display your ideas and artistic abilities through. Maybe your design will be ground breaking and I will sit here looking like a fool. ( Has happened). Do what you love and feel is best.

Have fun and crank the bass! Thanks again for visiting.