| wlmdx |
| I REPLACED MY FRONT DOOR SPEAKERS WITH 4 INFINITY 6002S. NO COMPLAIN. I SPENT THE WHOLE SATURDAY MAKING THE ADOPTOR AND INSTALLED THE 10"POLK GNX WITHOUT LOW PASS FILTER. THE RESULT WAS SO DISAPPOINTED. NO BASS AT ALL! THE OEM BOSE WOOFER SOUNDS MUCH BETTER THAN THE POLK GNX. DOES A LOW PASS FILTER REALLY MAKE SUCH BIG A DIFFERENCE??? OR AM I JUST EXPECTED TOO MUCH? |
|
|
| csimo |
The problem is not the Polk sub or a low pass filter, the problem is that you don't have enough power to drive the Polk sub. The little Bose amp just doesn't put out enough power to hardly move the Polk sub at all.
You need more power.
Once you have more power then you will realize that running a 10" speaker at full range is not a good thing and you will want a low pass filter. |
|
|
| zbaker |
| I had the same feeling when I replaced the sub. I'm currently looking at installing an amp. |
|
|
| phins2rt |
zbaker,
Keep us posted as to what you do. I am still on the fence about installing an amp (especially with the RES system). |
|
|
| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by zbaker
I had the same feeling when I replaced the sub. I'm currently looking at installing an amp.
Your experiences have not been shared by all of us. ... anyway, there is no question adding a 'real' amp would make a difference. |
|
|
| wlmdx |
| I AM GOING TO INSTALL A MONO AMP |
|
|
| jnk_tx |
WLMDX,
Did you get the 2 ohm Polk GNX10DVC or the 4 ohm GNX10. If I remember correctly, the Bose amp is designed for 2ohm operation. Therefore, a 4 ohm speaker will be about 3 db quieter all things being equal.
I know you are going to put in an amp but you may want to switch the positive and negative in case it is out of phase. That could also make a difference.
Good Luck,
JNK |
|
|
| wlmdx |
| I HAD THE 4 OHM ONE. CIRCUIT CITY DOESN'T SELL ANY 2 OHM SPEAKS. I GOT A QUOTE FOR $480 WITH ALPINE MONO AMP AND 10" ALPINE SUB IN THE OEM PLACE WITH A LOT OF FOAM. |
|
|
| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by wlmdx
I HAD THE 4 OHM ONE. CIRCUIT CITY DOESN'T SELL ANY 2 OHM SPEAKS. I GOT A QUOTE FOR $480 WITH ALPINE MONO AMP AND 10" ALPINE SUB IN THE OEM PLACE WITH A LOT OF FOAM.
Does not sound too unreasonable. What's the prices of the 2 pieces, do you know?
I might just have a 4 ohm amp added. |
|
|
| MesaBeige |
quote:
Originally posted by wlmdx
I REPLACED MY FRONT DOOR SPEAKERS WITH 4 INFINITY 6002S. NO COMPLAIN. I SPENT THE WHOLE SATURDAY MAKING THE ADOPTOR AND INSTALLED THE 10"POLK GNX WITHOUT LOW PASS FILTER. THE RESULT WAS SO DISAPPOINTED. NO BASS AT ALL! THE OEM BOSE WOOFER SOUNDS MUCH BETTER THAN THE POLK GNX. DOES A LOW PASS FILTER REALLY MAKE SUCH BIG A DIFFERENCE??? OR AM I JUST EXPECTED TOO MUCH?
I agree with all the others. You need more power. I had circuit city install a 150W mono amp to drive my Polk. It is great. They installed it under the front passenger seat. Well worth it.
MB- |
|
|
| wlmdx |
| I JUST CALLED THE INSTALLER. HE ORDERED MTX 4250 MONO AMP AND A 10" KICKER AND ALPINE 10" SUB(TO SEE WHICH ONE WILL FIT). I WILL HAVE IT INSTALLED BY FRIDAY. |
|
|
| Consultant |
quote:
Originally posted by MesaBeige
I agree with all the others. You need more power. I had circuit city install a 150W mono amp to drive my Polk. It is great. They installed it under the front passenger seat. Well worth it.MB-
What did Circuit City charge for the install? They quoted me a very reasonable $75 to install a 5 channel amp and the Polk sub. However, they said the wire was extra. How much is the wire I asked? $200. What! |
|
|
| MesaBeige |
I do not remember exactly but I recall that the amplifier, the wiring, the install ran just over $200.
MB-
quote:
Originally posted by Consultant
What did Circuit City charge for the install? They quoted me a very reasonable $75 to install a 5 channel amp and the Polk sub. However, they said the wire was extra. How much is the wire I asked? $200. What!
|
|
|
| wlmdx |
| FINALLY I HAD MY MTX 251D MONO AMP AND KICKER 10"CVR WITH A BOX(YES, YOU REALLY NEED A BOX IF YOU WANT TIGHT,DEEP BASS) INSTALLED FOR $450 IN A LOCAL SHOP. MY INSTALLER SPENT 5 HRS TRIED TO INSTALL THE SUB IN THE OEM PLACE. DON'T GET HIM WRONG. HE JUST WANTED TO TRY OUT DIFFERENT WOOFERS TO SEE IF WOULD SOUND BETTER IN THE OEM PLACE. THE WHOLE PANEL VIBRATED LIKE CRAZY NO MATTER HOW MUCH DYNAMAT AND POLY FILLS HE PUT IN. I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT WAS SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE WITH THE SAME WOOFER MOUNTED IN A BOX. NOW I AM SATISFIED. THE SIZE OF THE BOX IS ABOUT 13X8 INCH AND I CAN STILL USE MY 3RD ROW SEAT.:D |
|
|
| jnk_tx |
| Glad your satisfied. The acoustics of sheet metal were never meant for really good bass. |
|
|
| ron@se |
| Yes the problem is a combination of not enough power, and DEFINITELY not a good enclosure/air space combo. The factory sub sits in sheet metal and the whole rear quarter panel more or less acts as the enclosure. The best way to have a sub sound good in the factory location would be to fiberglass the inside of the opening to make a good, sealed space, make a spacer ring, and then install a subwoofer there, powered by an external amp, not the factory amp. |
|
|
| R Stevens |
For those planning a good quality aftermarket sub installation and maintain the factory sub location, please don't be discouraged by mlmdx's experience. My Boston Pro 10.5 sub is in a custom fiberglass enclosure, completly sealed and joining the outer and inner sheetmetal into one solid unit. There are absolutely no rattles nor resonance of any kind coming from the sheet metal or other parts. The sub is being driven by a 500 watt Alpine MRD-500 mono amp so there is lot of power.
Any good qualified installer should be able to get a similiar result. |
|
|
| wlmdx |
| my installer quoted me $400+ for the fiberglass enclosure itself. |
|
|
| pacpal1 |
| In the event anyone is looking to shortcut the fiberglass enclosure project (very expensive to have done, very messy and time consuming to do yourself), you might consider this...like RStevens, I'm also using a Boston Acoustics 10.5LF (4ohm)...mine is powered by two 100 watt per channel outputs from an a/d/s/ P4100 amp (i.e., I'm bridging two channels and, according to the owners manual, this should be producing approximately 350 watts into one channel). I AM NOT USING A FIBERGLASS ENCLOSURE. FYI, I AM VERY PICKY ABOUT THE SOUND AND OFTEN FIND MYSELF TURNING DOWN THE SUB VOLUME (I installed an in dash equalizer that has a seperate subwoofer volume control)...I'M VERY PLEASED WITH THE LOW FREQUENCY RESPONSE...READ BELOW FOR DETAILS ON MY UNIQUE?/UNORTHODOX APPROACH. The Boston Acoustics 10.5LF manual recommends a 0.5 square foot enclosure...I'd guess the stock MDX subwoofer cavity comprises significantly more than than (has anyone actually measured it, or precisely estimated the volume?) First, I applied liberal amounts of Dynamat to coat the inside of the subwoofer cavity and to plug the few holes that exist in the MDX's factory sub enclosure (it's not truly a sealed enclosure, there's a few unused bolt holes as well as a cigarette package sized hole about halfway between the rear door and the subwoofer mount hole). I then stuffed the entire subwoofer cavity with approximately $17 of fiberfill (see your local fabric supply store...it's approximately two grocery bags in terms of volume when you purchase it...I compressed it much tighter when I stuffed it into my MDX's subwoofer cavity)...stuff it way in there, REAL TIGHT, all over the place, way into all the corners...when I was finished, there was very little room left for the subwoofer to fit after I was done stuffing the fiberfill into the stock subwoofer cavity. I've seen purists advise that filling or overfilling a subwoofer box with fiberfill will make the subwoofer think/perform as if it's in a larger enclosure...my experience is almost the opposite...maybe because I stuffed it in there so tightly...any comments on this unorthodox methodology? |
|
|
| Mushman |
Greetings,
I used the 4 ohm GNX and was not happy at all with the bass quality. I sold that and went with the 2 ohm version. It is hard to find, but worth the effort. I just did not want to install amps, at least not yet, and the 2 ohm version did make a huge difference int he bass. It is not pounding, but it is much better than stock. |
|
|
| Consultant |
quote:
Originally posted by pacpal1
.....I then stuffed the entire subwoofer cavity with approximately $17 of fiberfill (see your local fabric supply store...it's approximately two grocery bags in terms of volume when you purchase it...I compressed it much tighter when I stuffed it into my MDX's subwoofer cavity)...stuff it way in there, REAL TIGHT, all over the place, way into all the corners...when I was finished, there was very little room left for the subwoofer to fit after I was done stuffing the fiberfill into the stock subwoofer cavity. I've seen purists advise that filling or overfilling a subwoofer box with fiberfill will make the subwoofer think/perform as if it's in a larger enclosure...my experience is almost the opposite...maybe because I stuffed it in there so tightly...any comments on this unorthodox methodology?
I'm also interested in trying this as I can't justify the cost of a custom enclosure for a leased car. Did you do any testing with and without the fill? The Polk GNX is designed as a free standing. My concern is with flammable fiber stuffed in the panel. If it covers any electronics or bulbs, it will act as an insulator overheating the component. Further, some vehicles have designed airflow thru the panels. I don't know if the MDX is one of them. |
|
|
| pacpal1 |
Interesting point about the fire safety...any knowledgable readers care to comment? I assumed that the fiberfill would be fire resistant since it's made to fill pillows and comforters. I disassembled the whole panel at one time and don't remember seeing anything that could be such a source of heat generation that it would pose a fire hazard.
In response to your question regarding whether I'd done a comparison before and after, YES, I had been listening to the system for approximately 4 months prior to filling the cavity with fiberfill. |
|
|
|
