Unhappy with my system... Need to sort some stuff out

mspiegle · Post by **mspiegle** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 5:47 pm

Alright... so let me preface this by how I ended up in the situation i'm in....

I began building my new system which consists of CDT ES-620s up front powered by an Audison LRx 2.150. I liked the sound I got from this setup until I began pushing the limit. I started having some serious issues with the sound and I wasn't sure if it was my install (poor speaker enclosures) or the amp not being able to handle what I wanted to do with it. Issues included some funky sound in the 400-500hz range, lack of lower frequencies (80hz to 150hz), and poor clarity at "max" volumes (I set the whole thing up via DMM and confirmed by ear).

I was thinking that the funky 400-500hz sound and lack of low end was due to the way I tried to adapt the speakers into the existing 5.25" kickpanels (the speaker isn't sealed very well). In order to try and troubleshoot the problem, I built a 0.3cu.ft sealed enclosure for one of the woofers to see how it would sound in a more controlled environment. I noticed that it sounded quite a bit different and I got my low-end back. It was hard to tell if the enclosure did much for the 400-500 funk, but at least some of it was still there.

In order to continue troubleshooting, I decided to pull out an old SoundStream Reference 604 I had in a closet because I know it should be able to handle 3x the power output. I hooked it up and sure as hell, those speakers really started producing some volume, but the sound was dramatically different. My music seemed to have far more high-freq output, but at the same time - it didn't seem very clear to me. The amp is VERY old and the internals show it (doesn't look healthy), but i'm not sure how much this is affecting the quality of sound output.

So now I'm unsure of what to do next... I think my problem is a combination of amp AND speaker enclosure and I will need to solve both before I am happy. I think I can solve the amp problem with the zapco 750.2 i've always wanted, but I know it will be a useless amp until I get proper enclosures.

Does anyone have any ideas/opinions on my situation? Do I seem to be on the right track?

Also, due to the lack of space in my car, I have 2 options for an enclosure. I can either make an irregular sized enclosure of the proper size, or make a more symmetrical enclosure with smaller volume. Does having an irregular enclosure affect sound greatly?

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:09 pm

Ok...

Ive heard a few rumors abound about the Audison line you got. Ive heard they are not very good amps (power wise), but thats just hear-say.

Your best bet is to keep the front wave from ever meetign the rear wave. SO make sure the baffle you have your speaker on is sealed properly. Some deflect pads can aslo help:
http://www.secondskinaudio.com/cgi-bin/ ... ?p=ps&pg=5

Also that sound stream amp, you can always mail it to me :)

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:45 am

An irregular enclosure is still going to provide the air they need... 0.03cu. ft. is not nearly enough... Give em some more room to breath and you should be much happier with the results

mspiegle · Post by **mspiegle** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:36 am

[quote="cargodz"]An irregular enclosure is still going to provide the air they need... 0.03cu. ft. is not nearly enough... Give em some more room to breath and you should be much happier with the results ]

Awesome, exactly what I was looking for.

Except, I somehow don't think 0.03 cuft is enough to even fit the magnet :)

I went with 0.3 because that's what the spec sheet suggested. Unfortunately, due to the lack of room I have to work with, even 0.3 is pushing it

mspiegle · Post by **mspiegle** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:37 am

Ryan from Ohio wrote:Ok...
Ive heard a few rumors abound about the Audison line you got. Ive heard they are not very good amps (power wise), but thats just hear-say.
Your best bet is to keep the front wave from ever meetign the rear wave. SO make sure the baffle you have your speaker on is sealed properly. Some deflect pads can aslo help:
http://www.secondskinaudio.com/cgi-bin/ ... ?p=ps&pg=5
Also that sound stream amp, you can always mail it to me :)

Hehe. I really need to find someone to just refurbish this amp..... but it might be beyond help. I'll take some pictures of the insides when I get a chance. It looks like its been blown up and rebuilt a few times.

JeremyC · Post by **JeremyC** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:45 am

Why not try cutting (drilling) a hole in the back of the box, and screwing it down tight to the floor. It alows a little bit of air flow, and makes the speaker think its in a bigger enclosure.

mspiegle · Post by **mspiegle** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:11 am

JeremyC wrote:Why not try cutting (drilling) a hole in the back of the box, and screwing it down tight to the floor. It alows a little bit of air flow, and makes the speaker think its in a bigger enclosure.

Are you referring to my stock kickpanels? Its a really crappy setup, you can't really do much with it. I'll see if I can get some pics of this too

JeremyC · Post by **JeremyC** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:22 pm

I thought you were running aftermarket (or some you made yourself) I didn't know you were playing with the stock location.