removing the bass from my 6 inch speakers

southbayboarder · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Posts: 39 City: Milpitas

Okay so I have two amps one for my 15' polk subwoofer and one for my 4 6 inch speakers. My 6 inch speakers distort when I turn up the stereo because of the bass. Is there something I could use to remove the bass from those speakers?

I went to a local stereo guy and he sold me an equlizer with a crossover built into it. I have hooked everything up to that but it sucks, does not remove the bass like I wanted so I can not turn up the stereo to get the use of the subwoofer. Also the right speakers cut out. I can kick the eq and right speakers comes back on but it will shut off in another 5 minutes or so.

Bruky · Guest

You didn't say what kind of speakers and/or amp you are using, but on the amp, there should be some knobs that you can fine tune the speakers/subs with. They will be labeled "bass" then whatever channel you have them hooked up to. That should solve your distortion problem. Fiddle around with them, and you will figure it out.

Hopefully Xaggerate will get his @$$ in here cuz he is the audio guru on this site. Mr. Green

southbayboarder · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Posts: 39 City: Milpitas

The amp is Kenwood and the speakers are sony. The only knobs one side are input sensitivity and I already have those set pretty low.

FatBoy · Outlaw Joined: 27 Feb 2004 Posts: 143

Base blocker put in line at the speaker, approx $4.00 each, get them at Radio Shack.

salmon_tacos · Posted: Jun 10, 2004 6:35 pm Post subject:

You might want to try these FMOD crossovers between your head unit and the amp for your main speakers. I'm just not sure what frequency you'd want. Maybe 100 or 150Hz?

FMOD Crossovers at Parts Express

Alan C · Soul Rider Joined: 26 Jan 2004 Posts: 329 City: Calgary

is there no bass adjustment on your deck?

southbayboarder · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Posts: 39 City: Milpitas

Alan,
If I adjust the bass down on my deck then how would I get my subwoofer to hit?

Bruky · Guest

THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE THE BASS ADJUSTMENT ON YOUR AMP...

I have never heard/seen an amp that hasn't had some sort of adjustment for the bass on all of your channels.

ttuclint · Addict Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 984 City: Lubbock, TX

the amp for you four 6 inch speakers should have a high pass filter option.

every amp I have ever owned has had a high pass filter/ low pass filter. this means that either the high or low frequencies will be allowed to pas thru the amp to the speakers.

you use the low pass for the subs, high pass for the highs and mids.

Xaggerate · Outlaw Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 135 City: SLO/Poway

There is a high pass filter on your amp that allows you to filter out unwanted frequencies played by your speaker...

FILTER AKA "crossover"

A highpass filter filters out frequencies below the filter...

A lowpass filter filters out frequencies above the filter...

A bandpass filter filters out frequencies above and below a specific range

A bypass filter is simply no filter at all...or "full range"..

Your amp should contain a switch for highpass (HP), lowpass (LP), and bypass (BP)...Switch the setting on the switch to highpass...

Filters are found in various different slopes....6db, 12db, 18db, 24db...

Most likely your amps will have a 12db filter on them (typical)...this means: if you set your highpass filter to a specific frequency...the amp will cut those frequencies below it by 12db every octave...A "steeper" slope (24db+) cuts down frequencies at 24db for every octave...

A 12db highpass filter set anywhere from 60-90 would be acceptable...play around with it...I'd guess somewhere in the 80ish range SHOULD do what you want...

If you still find this unacceptable..check your deck's EQ settings (if there are any)..if there is either a "bass" setting..or a specific frequency setting (say 80hz)...see if you can lower this by any amount...

If either you are still not satisfied with the distortion of the speakers with bass output...either raise the highpass filter to a higher frequency (not necessarily recommended), add a 1/2 DIN EQ to the system that will allow for you to cut bass response down, or get new speakers Smile

Lastly, before you go about making changes, can you describe the environment your speakers are playing in...(e.g. are they enclosed, if so, how big of a space are they enclosed in...)

grady · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 547 City: d-block

i'd just say get a crossover...but it looks like Xaggerate has already handled everything on this thread lol

oshensurfer · Posted: Jun 11, 2004 9:32 am Post subject:

I've seen amps that don't have HPF/LPF or knobs besides gain. I think the solution is to buy another amp if you don't have the control you want or do what is stated above.

Johnny5 · Criminal Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 82

yes youngins welcome to true old school.

There are amps that do not have cross overs, filters and pass throughs on them.

Southbay if that is your situation then what everyone is talking about fixing your system with is a crossover. These really aren't as common as they once were so you may actually have to ask for one in a stereo shop.

because the EQ/X'over didn't fix your problem I imagine what your EQ has for a x'over is only for the sub portion of the sound, which is the norm. And that is allowing your 6 1/2's to play full range including the lowest lows. return that to the shop you bought it from and get a 2 way crossover. If you are unsure how to hook it up then ask the sales dude, or reply back, pm etc...

If cash is a challenge then Salmon Tacos is right with suggesting FMODs. The only problems with them is that they only allow one cutoff frequency (limit of how low you can play) which means you may have to buy several to get the right sound and that they have a very gradual slope, 6dB/Oct, which means you may not get all the midbass you need out of your 6 1/2's because the subbass breaks thru. If you do order FMODs make sure you order them in pairs as you need one for each channel.

Good luck and if you need any help feel free to pm.

southbayboarder · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Posts: 39 City: Milpitas

OKay here is whay I did. I hooked the 6.5 inch speakers directly to the deck. Turned the bass down on the deck as low it would go. Removed the amp that did not have the hpf/lpf knobs on it as well as the eq with the crossover in it. I just used the rca connections to connect my other amp to the deck. It sounds a lot better now. However I am now getting midrange in my subwoofer but it is good enough for now. Heck it is friday and I need to get other things ready for the weekend at the delta.

Thanks everyone for your advice, ideas and explanations. I understand why you stereo guys charge so much now.

Shame on me for thinking I could just hook up some amps and an eq and it would make my stereo better.

soundsetter · Newbie Joined: 06 Mar 2004 Posts: 23 City: newark

hey, southbayboarder. i do alot of boat stereo for friends, it just a hobby for me. been doing it for 15years. i live in the same area as you. (newark). if you can get the boat up this way all take a look at it and get it hook up.

oshensurfer · Posted: Jun 14, 2004 10:20 am Post subject:

southbayboarder,
Chances are, if you have your speaks hooked to your deck, you'll have a heck of a time hearing them while under way. Are these interior or tower speaks? If they are towers then you will probably not hear them at all.

Good luck.