Subwoofer - Can feel, but not hear low notes.
 

Hi,

I have a MB Quart RWE-352 Reference 15" subwoofer in a sealed enclosure polyfilled to the right specifications and powered by a Rockford 551S amplifier.

I have a problem where, my subwoofer will sound fine on higher bass notes, but when it comes to anything low, I can feel the bass, but I can't hear it at all. Is this a power issue? or an enclosure issue? or maybe something else.

Sorry, I'm new to the audio scene and any help would be awesome. If you need more info let me know.

Thanks

its a sealed thats y. or maybe the enclosure is to small. what your feeling is bass that is lower frequency that your enclosure was designed to produce, or your playing a very low note lol.

check if your sub is in its optimal box, sooo get a manual and check it out. you might have to redesign your box.

if you want low id use a ported box tuned to like 25hz mmmmmm shakey

Research wavelength and how you hear. See if that same sub in the same box has notes that you can hear from much further away......

Yes the sub is in its optimal box. I know if I want low to get a tuned ported box, but on many songs, there's just some notes it doesn't wanna hit.

So, open the doors of the car and hit play. Then walk away from the vehicle and see if you magically hear the bass response that you were not in the car.

Maybe your LPF is set too low, only allowing lower notes to be played.
Or maybe you have a SSF set higher than your LPF
Its hard to say without seeing/knowing more of/about the setup.

Where do you have your LPF set at?
What amp are you using?
We need more info to help you out.

My LPF is set at 80 hz.
My amplifier is Rockford 551S.

OK, last chance and then I am done with you permanently.

Read this and then get off your comfy chair and go outside to your car and test.

Wavelength - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hehe..when I first installed my system I noticed that too. Apparently (as I was told, and later found out myself) it was seemingly "louder" from some distance than it was from the drivers seat. Even at lower levels people would be turning to look from a block away, and yet my ears weren't bleeding from the noise, lol.

Anyway, I have a question of my own. I have my subs in a sealed box, primarily because when I got them I was lazy and didn't want to deal with trying to design a ported box. That said, I DO want one now, because I want more! I already know that a ported box will need to be larger, but space is no issue since I drive a 92 Cadillac. Aside from the generic dimensions, the only other thing I know is that generally a 3" diameter port is recommended, and that whatever the displacement of the port is, it's essentially subtracted from the overall internal volume to produce the net internal volume of the enclosure, meaning I should have to build larger for the port.

What ELSE should I know about ported? What frequency should I be looking for (I've heard that 35 HZ tune is roughly ideal). Given that I'm a bass junkie, my music selection is usually in the Rap/Hip-Hop area. Any help would be great :S

Thanks for that link Sasha.

According to that test file, I'll put all my gear up for sale in the morning :(

Wasn't that fun? I hear from about 25hz to 17.5khz, which is very normal. Usually, lower than 25hz could be felt through the subwoofer, but I doubt someone human could hear it. Sell your gear to a flock of bats lol

I did hearing tests when I was younger, and was told my hearing is very acute (IE. better than normal). I can hear somewhere under 25 Hz, probably 22-24, and slightly higher than 20kHz, though less 21kHz. On top of that my hearing "range" is pretty good too. For example, my room is roughly 40 feet from the nearest T.V that isn't mine, and if mine is off and the other one is on and muted, I can "hear" the humming noise that most TV's make when they're on. It's actually quite annoying sometimes :S

edit lol!
What kind of music do you listen to that it digs into the subsonic range(20hz and lower)

I'm guessing that's for me? I couldn't tell you even if my music was going under the 20 Hz, since the subsonic filter on my amp cuts anything below 20. Besides that, like I said I can only hear like 22 Hz+, which is probably good. I'm sure if I could hear below 20 Hz, I'd be some government test freak by now :P

1- you could be sitting in a cancellation node, 2- your LF hearing is not so good, 3- the car could be eating the note, 4- the sub/box may not be doing that good of a job

one issue is output level, put the car on a termlab or AQ meter at say 120db to 130db and do test tones to plot response (this will address 3 and 4) (if you put it at the head rest you will address 1)

yes the longer the wavelength the farther it should be heard so if you cant hear it in the car it could be 2 (not hearing below 50 Hz isnt that odd)

I MAY have heard something around 12khz (at least thats my story and I'm sticking to it). I've tried a hearing aid, but I hate them. A gust of wind sounds like a freight train going through a tunnel.

Flock of bats is a good idea, maybe the ex COULD use some gear...