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Stealthbox Amp Idea

arsenal55

arsenal55

DSGTI MK5
Location
Chicago's North Side
Hey guys,

forgive my ignorance on car audio in advance. I've decided to budget some money towards improving the sound system. After weighing some options, I've decided to try this. Keep in mind, I'm not looking for unbeatable sound, just a good improvement over what I have:

-Running the stock HU and stock speakers with the BASS at the lowest setting
-Installing a shallow depth subwoofer (I'm liking the Alpine SWS-1023D)
-Mated to Niki's custom-made box
-Powered by some sort of amp

I've "tested" the sound of the stock system without any bass, and even at the highest volume, I am perfectly fine with both the loudness and the clarity of the treble and mid-range. My question to the gurus is: would this be a feasible setup? I will have an "expert" friend who is already providing me with all the wires and a sub install kit (and any other accessories needed) help with the install, but is there something big that I am missing? Any crucial components? Any chance it won't work well/work at all?

Thanks!
 
C

CoccoBill

Ready to race!
Location
Yurop
Well, in my opinion the problem would be the sound stage, which is as or even more important than the actual sound quality of the speakers, at least for me. Subwoofers are meant just for that, sub bass frequencies, that is 60Hz and under. What people typically associate as "bass" is the kick of the drum, but those sounds are midbass, somewhere around 80 all the way up to 500Hz. A proper subwoofer is not supposed to kick, just humm. Human ear is very bad at localizing low frequencies, so having a subwoofer way back behind you won't "sound" like it's there, the low bass just blends in with the other speakers. However, if you try to play higher frequencies with the sub, the direction the sound comes from becomes very noticeable, the band runs away from your dashboard to somewhere below your back seats and it all sounds like a big mess.[/rant]

My suggestion would be to use an active LOC, get a 3 or 4 channel amp to run both the stock speakers and the sub, leave the bass/treble/loudness and other gimmicks on the headunit at 0/off, set the lowpass filter for the subwoofer at 60Hz and highpass filter for the front speakers at 60Hz on the amp. Cutting all frequencies below 60Hz from the stock speakers should already ease their burden considerably. Start from there and experiment with different filter settings. With cheap components the result will always be some kind of a compromise, but with playing around with the settings you should be able to find something you're happy with. If not, welcome to the club of endless tuning and upgrades.
 
Sagerabbit

Sagerabbit

Ready to race!
Location
Burnaby, BC
Car(s)
2007 Rabbit
CoccoBill said:
Well, in my opinion the problem would be the sound stage, which is as or even more important than the actual sound quality of the speakers, at least for me. Subwoofers are meant just for that, sub bass frequencies, that is 60Hz and under. What people typically associate as "bass" is the kick of the drum, but those sounds are midbass, somewhere around 80 all the way up to 500Hz. A proper subwoofer is not supposed to kick, just humm. Human ear is very bad at localizing low frequencies, so having a subwoofer way back behind you won't "sound" like it's there, the low bass just blends in with the other speakers. However, if you try to play higher frequencies with the sub, the direction the sound comes from becomes very noticeable, the band runs away from your dashboard to somewhere below your back seats and it all sounds like a big mess.[/rant]

My suggestion would be to use an active LOC, get a 3 or 4 channel amp to run both the stock speakers and the sub, leave the bass/treble/loudness and other gimmicks on the headunit at 0/off, set the lowpass filter for the subwoofer at 60Hz and highpass filter for the front speakers at 60Hz on the amp. Cutting all frequencies below 60Hz from the stock speakers should already ease their burden considerably. Start from there and experiment with different filter settings. With cheap components the result will always be some kind of a compromise, but with playing around with the settings you should be able to find something you're happy with. If not, welcome to the club of endless tuning and upgrades.
Click to expand...

I've got Nik's stealth box and I've been constantly tuning the crossover in the amp and bass level on the HU to find that sweet spot where the music still sounds good at lower levels and doesn't tax the whole system at higher volume. I've got it pretty good right now but the treble is wayyy down (-6) and the bass is -2 or -3. I've got a 4ch amp, LOC, stock HU and Nik's box. I'd like to get some dynamat or the like in the front door skins.
 
arsenal55

arsenal55

DSGTI MK5
Location
Chicago's North Side
Sagerabbit said:
I've got Nik's stealth box and I've been constantly tuning the crossover in the amp and bass level on the HU to find that sweet spot where the music still sounds good at lower levels and doesn't tax the whole system at higher volume. I've got it pretty good right now but the treble is wayyy down (-6) and the bass is -2 or -3. I've got a 4ch amp, LOC, stock HU and Nik's box. I'd like to get some dynamat or the like in the front door skins.
Click to expand...

Do you only have a subwoofer? I decided to "try" this project, basing it on a tight budget. All I have the money for is a box, amp, and shallow mount
sub.

nope, that sounds about right. There are a lot of DIYs on here on how to do it all

Oh and by the way, its Nik
Click to expand...

Sorry Nik. By the way do you have boxes available if I decide to do this? Will they fit an Alpine SWS-1023D?
 
N

nikbrewer

Go Kart Champion
Location
edmond, ok
floor moutn will only do 3.125" deep, side mounts i have done all the way up to 6.5" ( with a custom front)

I personally believe you can cross a sub as high at 100 hrx, but i aim for about 80
 
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