Car audio guys! Help me tune this…

[EmpirE231]

So my new to me Sandcar has some pretty good hardware installed but I don’t believe it’s tuned / dialed in to its max potential.

Looking for some input / help on dialing this thing in for max performance.

Amp is a JL HD 900/5
Sub is a JL W6 10”

Has 4 total speakers

JL C3-650 in front
JL C2-690tx in rear

No head unit. Just connects through a JL Bluetooth thing that is wired to the amp.

I turned the gain up on the woofer and it sounds decent, but after looking all these parts up they seem pretty high end and I would think it should sound even better. What do I need to do to really dial this thing in?

Pic of current amp setting below. Sorry for the crappy pic but it’s mounted under the dash.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Just a starting point, take a screwdriver and cycle the sensitivity dials back and forth, with power off. Sand and oxidation can do weird stuff. It will also let you know "where they are", in terms of %. Check the High Pass switches, it looks as one is missing the head? See if they are set the same. Do the same thing with the filter settings, cycle them.

I set the fronts and rears midway, then power up with the type of music I usually play...(weird, different cars are different music for me) With screwdriver handy, I start tweaking fronts first, then move to rears. Up the volume, and repeat. Kind of like adjusting a carb. No magic settings, as cars, components and music all differ. With it being a done system, exposed to shock, vibration and some elements, I'd twist all RCA's and check all connections also. Over time, the speaker wires "work harden", and can get brittle at the ends. What starts as maybe a 100 strand connection may be much less, or have resistance.

So my new to me Sandcar has some pretty good hardware installed but I don’t believe it’s tuned / dialed in to its max potential.

Looking for some input / help on dialing this thing in for max performance.

Amp is a JL HD 900/5
Sub is a JL W6 10”

Has 4 total speakers

JL C3-650 in front
JL C2-690tx in rear

No head unit. Just connects through a JL Bluetooth thing that is wired to the amp.

I turned the gain up on the woofer and it sounds decent, but after looking all these parts up they seem pretty high end and I would think it should sound even better. What do I need to do to really dial this thing in?

Pic of current amp setting below. Sorry for the crappy pic but it’s mounted under the dash.


View attachment 1487011

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

I'm betting that the JL thingy is the JL Audio MBT-RX. This only has one set of RCA's and you may be limited on tuning from this device. If you have a head unit lying around, maybe plug that in and play with adjustments and see if the receiver is preventing adjustment.

 

[EmpirE231]

I'm betting that the JL thingy is the JL Audio MBT-RX. This only has one set of RCA's and you may be limited on tuning from this device. If you have a head unit lying around, maybe plug that in and play with adjustments and see if the receiver is preventing adjustment.

Yep that’s what it shows up as on my Bluetooth. Don’t really have the space to get a full headunit installed… just trying to dial in the amp settings. I’d say it sounds like a 7/10 right now trying to get it closer to 9/10

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

Yep that’s what it shows up as on my Bluetooth. Don’t really have the space to get a full headunit installed… just trying to dial in the amp settings. I’d say it sounds like a 7/10 right now trying to get it closer to 9/10

Monkey is probably right about the High Pass Filter switch. Maybe see what a small screwdriver will do. That amp is really really good so you may be able to buy a new switch and replace the broken one.

It would be an added cost, but you could add a DSP and tune to your hearts desire via a laptop.

 

[paradise]

Biggest issue I see right now is that it looks like the subwoofer crossover is actually set to off (the switch on the far left bank) and it should be set to 12db based on the crossover setting. The crossover switch for the middle bank is a mystery as it’s broken but assuming it is set to 12 or 24db/octave you’re good there.

If you don’t have any other tools or experience for testing, here is how I would tune this. Fix the switch on the sub First. Turn down the gain on the sub and rear. Play the type of music you like at one click down from full volume on your phone. Set the gain of the front speakers to the level you want ‘loud’ to be. Adjust the crossover for that channel so you are getting highs and mids but it isn’t breaking up on the low end. Next, start to bring in the gain on the rears until you are getting some support for the fronts. Mark where the front gain is, turn it down and then adjust the rear crossover. Bring the front gain back up.

Last we are going to set the sub gain and crossover. First, start to raise the sub gain until you get the bass response where you want it, then Adjust the crossover to ensure it’s only playing low frequencies and not breaking up on the high end. Your crossover settings should end up slightly higher on the right two channels and slightly lower on the far left channel (on the amp)

 

[Bigbore500r]

So my new to me Sandcar has some pretty good hardware installed but I don’t believe it’s tuned / dialed in to its max potential.

Looking for some input / help on dialing this thing in for max performance.

Amp is a JL HD 900/5
Sub is a JL W6 10”

Has 4 total speakers

JL C3-650 in front
JL C2-690tx in rear

No head unit. Just connects through a JL Bluetooth thing that is wired to the amp.

I turned the gain up on the woofer and it sounds decent, but after looking all these parts up they seem pretty high end and I would think it should sound even better. What do I need to do to really dial this thing in?

Pic of current amp setting below. Sorry for the crappy pic but it’s mounted under the dash.


View attachment 1487011

Your gonna want a head unit to feed quality signal to the amp, and alot of the adjustability you need is built into the head unit.
Kenwood Excellon series are really good for the money, in my opinion.

But if this is a sandcar . . . rip that shit out and just run music thru your in-car intercom, get some alpha-bass headsets and call it a day!

 

[EmpirE231]

Biggest issue I see right now is that it looks like the subwoofer crossover is actually set to off (the switch on the far left bank) and it should be set to 12db based on the crossover setting. The crossover switch for the middle bank is a mystery as it’s broken but assuming it is set to 12 or 24db/octave you’re good there.

If you don’t have any other tools or experience for testing, here is how I would tune this. Fix the switch on the sub First. Turn down the gain on the sub and rear. Play the type of music you like at one click down from full volume on your phone. Set the gain of the front speakers to the level you want ‘loud’ to be. Adjust the crossover for that channel so you are getting highs and mids but it isn’t breaking up on the low end. Next, start to bring in the gain on the rears until you are getting some support for the fronts. Mark where the front gain is, turn it down and then adjust the rear crossover. Bring the front gain back up.

Last we are going to set the sub gain and crossover. First, start to raise the sub gain until you get the bass response where you want it, then Adjust the crossover to ensure it’s only playing low frequencies and not breaking up on the high end. Your crossover settings should end up slightly higher on the right two channels and slightly lower on the far left channel (on the amp)

Thanks sounds like some
Solid info. When you say crossovers are you referring to settings on the amp? The front speakers are the only ones with actual crossovers but I don’t thing they have any adjustability.

 

[EmpirE231]

Your gonna want a head unit to feed quality signal to the amp, and alot of the adjustability you need is built into the head unit.
Kenwood Excellon series are really good for the money, in my opinion.

But if this is a sandcar . . . rip that shit out and just run music thru your in-car intercom, get some alpha-bass headsets and call it a day!

Car has PCI intercom and headsets. Actually will be upgrading to the PCI trax system and new headsets before the next season.

Stereo will 99% of the time be used for when we’re outside of the car for a scenic beverage break so ideally trying to make it sounds good for outside of the car, not while seated / driving.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Biggest issue I see right now is that it looks like the subwoofer crossover is actually set to off (the switch on the far left bank) and it should be set to 12db based on the crossover setting. The crossover switch for the middle bank is a mystery as it’s broken but assuming it is set to 12 or 24db/octave you’re good there.

If you don’t have any other tools or experience for testing, here is how I would tune this. Fix the switch on the sub First. Turn down the gain on the sub and rear. Play the type of music you like at one click down from full volume on your phone. Set the gain of the front speakers to the level you want ‘loud’ to be. Adjust the crossover for that channel so you are getting highs and mids but it isn’t breaking up on the low end. Next, start to bring in the gain on the rears until you are getting some support for the fronts. Mark where the front gain is, turn it down and then adjust the rear crossover. Bring the front gain back up.

Last we are going to set the sub gain and crossover. First, start to raise the sub gain until you get the bass response where you want it, then Adjust the crossover to ensure it’s only playing low frequencies and not breaking up on the high end. Your crossover settings should end up slightly higher on the right two channels and slightly lower on the far left channel (on the amp)

Exactly.
And the freq the mids are currently at seem to be pretty low as set now.

 

[Cole Trickle]

Thanks sounds like some
Solid info. When you say crossovers are you referring to settings on the amp? The front speakers are the only ones with actual crossovers but I don’t thing they have any adjustability.

yeah crossover on the amp .

 

[paradise]

Thanks sounds like some
Solid info. When you say crossovers are you referring to settings on the amp? The front speakers are the only ones with actual crossovers but I don’t thing they have any adjustability.

yeah crossover on the amp .

yep, like CT said the ”Filter Frequency” knob on the amp. The crossover on the speaker itself is just to passively split the audio between the woofer and tweeter.

 

[69hondo]

@EmpirE231 thats enough tease
Lets see it!!

 

[JJ McClure]

It’s a 5 channel JL amp. Yore short a subwoofer

 

[oldman]

It’s a 5 channel JL amp. Yore short a subwoofer

He does list a 10" sub and 4 speakers.

 

[JJ McClure]

Oops. Rum

 

[rrrr]

That's some impressive wiring work.

 

[EmpirE231]

That's some impressive wiring work.

Entire car is professionally wired very nice mil-spec etc. now whoever wired up this amp on the other hand

 

[AzMandella]

Download the manual from JL's web page .Go to page 17 and follow the 9 step procedure . Trying to set gain by ear is stupid . You will never get it right . The best way is to use an occiliscope adjust the gain until it starts to produce square waves using sign waves downloaded on your phone .