I'd like some bass but not all of it....

[Robmarriott]

I'm after a way to get a bit more of a full sound from the stereo in my car really, the head unit is an Alpine DAB unit but I'm pretty sure the speakers are standard.

What I don't want is overwhelming bass.

The front speakers are 16.5cm with a separate tweeter, that's pretty straight forward, the rears are more of a pain, they're 6x4 and sit next to the parcel shelf, the tweeters are in the rear doors.

I can get a box for a 10" sub which sits behind the rear wheel arch but it's not available for other diameters.

So a couple of questions;

If it fit coax speakers where the rear 6x4s are, am I best ignoring the door tweeter or upgrading them too? I don't want it to be too tinny because I've got 6 tweeters.

I've found a potential amp for the sub which is 170w@4ohms or 250w@2ohms, being a complete novice here, what spec subwoofer do I need?

Will a 10" sub work for me or is it going to be too much?

Before anyone says, I've changed the settings and there's no bass at all even set at the max.

[defblade]

I'd ditch the rear speakers completely, they ruin staging and clarity IMO without adding anything other than SPL. Add an amp for the fronts and a 10" sub is lovely for tight bass in normal music. My last set-up was 75w RMS to each of the fronts, and double the total, 300w, to the sub. Previous installs where I've been able to mount the sub facing in from a ski hatch, I've gone for just 200w for the sub.

[David Beer]

Robmarriott said:

I'm after a way to get a bit more of a full sound from the stereo in my car really, the head unit is an Alpine DAB unit but I'm pretty sure the speakers are standard.

What I don't want is overwhelming bass.

The front speakers are 16.5cm with a separate tweeter, that's pretty straight forward, the rears are more of a pain, they're 6x4 and sit next to the parcel shelf, the tweeters are in the rear doors.

I can get a box for a 10" sub which sits behind the rear wheel arch but it's not available for other diameters.

So a couple of questions;

If it fit coax speakers where the rear 6x4s are, am I best ignoring the door tweeter or upgrading them too? I don't want it to be too tinny because I've got 6 tweeters.

I've found a potential amp for the sub which is 170w@4ohms or 250w@2ohms, being a complete novice here, what spec subwoofer do I need?

Will a 10" sub work for me or is it going to be too much?

Before anyone says, I've changed the settings and there's no bass at all even set at the max.

I find it strange that such a unit disappoints, I assume the unit isn’t set to external amp or user parametric and bass as such isn’t a single frequency. Do not wish to question you, only trying to help, see my profile !
Also phasing of the speakers can almost cancel bass .
Of course a sub will provide the bass but with those size speakers i would of expected bass. If they were 4”, then yep.

[gmaz]

Have you considered an underseat sub?

I agree with the comment saying forget the rears, they wont add anything. High frequencies are very directional so the rear tweeters will only benefit rear passengers.

[broncoupe]

speaker size is oddly small
Alpine units can give great results
The car maybe more to blame than the products
What car is it
Assuming when you have tooo much Bass its all about adjustment

Edited by broncoupe on Tuesday 26th November 10:14

[anonymous-user]

No sub will be "too muc"h as you can control the volume / gain . crossover all with either the amp, or your Alpine head unit.

If your Alpine has a phono sub out then use it - send it to an amp and then to the 10" sub.

Then set the cut off frequency either in your Alpine, or if it doesn't have this feature (and it almost certainly will if it has a sub output), then set it on the amp (buy an amp with a crossover / low pass filter built in). St the cut off quite low - well experiment, but the lower end means the sub does the proper low frequency stuff and leaves the mid bass ot the door speakers. This way it shouldn't be boomy and overpowering.

Finally, you can adjust the bass level either on your Alpine, or the sub, via it's gain dial.

The biggest gains will be the result of the amp. You need decent power for a sub (you also need decent power for the rest to get good "control" of the speakers)