Noob question: Is my setup underpowering my subs?
 

Setup:
RF 325.1 mono
2x Hertz ES 250 in a generic sealed box.
JVC KD-SX750
4GA wiring

I know RF underrates their amp output, i don't have my birthsheet on me now but it's higher than 325W RMS. The settings on my HU are bass +4 and BBE is at level 2(if that's significant) and my gain is set at about halfway.

The subs are loud enough but sound shitty at higher volumes, like i can't hear when the bass hits, just a constant humming. Even with the rap music(eww) I tuned my amp with, it just blends together and doesn't even sound loud anymore. Am i doing anything wrong? My friend said get a capacitor, should I?

to me it sounds like you may have your gain set a little too high. Try turning it down on your amp, and you may be a bit happier. As for those subs, I've owned a pair, and was very pleased with them. I probably wouldn't put a whole lot more powerto them than what you're feeding them though.

A cap is definitely not the solution to this one, as mentioned above, try turning down your gains and all that stuff on the deck then see if they sound better, then raise levels slowly until you're as happy as your going to get with the quality Vs. Quantity thing.......could be the box too, check manufacturers specs compared to what the box really is and see how much difference there is....a bag of poly fill in a box thats too small can turn from sounding like ass to bliss (smells bad when you blow them up however)

I agree with the others, turn down the bass on your deck and amp gain.

I turned my gain down a notch and set the bass for +3 on the deck, and wow, that made a huge difference, bass seems to "seperate" in a way now, thanks!

Once the snow melts this weekend I'll measure the box and look at the sub specs. What is best to use on the interior of the box? I've seen thick white cloth stuff that looks like it came from a craft store at my local car audio store. Is there a writeup on how to figure out how much to use?

One more question, will doing the "big 3" help my car not drop in rpms so much?

Thanks again :)

big three will help almost any system....and you can get poly fill at walmart, its pillow stuffing, but make sure you need it before you go making your box think its bigger than it really is, if needed it can make a huge difference.

Ok the box is separated into 2 different boxes on the inside(so like 2 little boxes but it appears as 1 from the outside).
External Dimensions: 26.5"x11.5"x12.5"

I'm confused though, my manual shows a graph for a sealed box and these figures under it:
Vcc: 20 Lit
Fc: 43 Hz
F-3: 38 Hz ...I have no idea what these number mean. Any help?

Fc - the resonant frequency of the driver when mounted to an enclosure.

F3 - the frequency that the response is down (from the reference level) by 3 dB

Vcc, maybe Volume in cubic centimeters (liters)

I'm kinda just roughing it here but from what I'm gathering they like 1.2 cubes per driver which would mean your box is a little small and a prime candidate for for a bunch of poly fill, cant hurt to try it, its cheap, and you can just pull it out if you don't like the results

your box is roughly 1.6 cubic feet assuming its 3/4 inch MDF

Sounds good, i'll pick some up this weekend and post the results. Thanks for all the help :).

you need about 1.5 pounds of polyfill by the way...about a pound per cubic foot makes your box virtually 1.25 times bigger. I use it and it works!...lol...sounds like a commercial.