Under-Seat Subwoofer Issues

[WildBill]

My gut feeling is that everything is normal.
When I've felt my amp it has been quite warm as well.
Still interested to see what you find out though.

 

[Ucinn]

Also, the crossover I think it set really low, so only a good source with the right frequencies will fire them. When they are firing, they work rather well for a stock sub.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I haven't time to read the thread yet. But my experience is that after a while the subs kick in, i.e. break in. I didn't even know that SWs needed a break in period. I don't know if this has been mentioned back there, but properly working SWs don't blare bass at you. They transmit bass throughout the system so that you don't orient on the positioning of the SWs: you don't say, "Oh, the bass is coming from there." So you are not supposed to get bass vibrations from the floor up through your body to tell you that the subs are working.

I wouldn't know how small or big our subs are. This much is true: older recordings, or any that have moderate amounts of bass track will not be augmented bigger by the subs. But when I play something that has a lot of bass, the SWs belt it out. When I first got my car, the dealer put the bass at +10. After a couple of weeks I felt the bass was a bit excessive and reduced it to +4. Right now I have the system set at -2 bass, zero mid tone, and +2 high tone. This is the best compromise for the wide range of music I listen to. The bass is more than enough when there is a lot of bass. My wife still thinks it is too much (but look at our ages; she's 66; we grew up with acid rock, ferpetesakes, but that "skill set" is gone for her, heh!).

 

[Deryl Phillip]

Am I the only one that thinks the sound system is great? I have a gt2 with everything in it and it sounds amazing! But I do agree, with the sound on 25 I can not feel anything under the seat. My left leg is for sure moving from the bass on the low speaker in the door. Maybe the subs are disconnected

 

[Never thought]

Am I the only one that thinks the sound system is great? I have a gt2 with everything in it and it sounds amazing! But I do agree, with the sound on 25 I can not feel anything under the seat. My left leg is for sure moving from the bass on the low speaker in the door. Maybe the subs are disconnected

They aren’t disconnected and yes it is a very good system. The subs sound good once they are broken in. Until then you can’t hear much. Took me about 1k miles

 

[Deryl Phillip]

They aren’t disconnected and yes it is a very good system. The subs sound good once they are broken in. Until then you can’t hear much. Took me about 1k miles

Ahh ok. Well I’m at like 300 miles so I got some time. Thanks!

 

[MerlintheMad]

Subwoofers interface with the rest of the speakers in a strange way. When working properly you don't actually hear more bass issuing from the subs; the increased bass seems to come from the whole system. Yet if you lay that dollar bill on the subs it will vibrate. And yes indeed, subs break in. I didn't even know this until I heard it first on this forum. My subwoofer (Pioneer) in my livingroom really came alive after several months. And the subs in my Stinger similarly awoke after several weeks. I think the Harman Kardon system is the best single feature (after the 3.3TT, of course) of my Stinger, and it was the second priority "must have" that directed me to a GT1.

 

[John2018]

Just purchased my Stinger and i have to say the subs under the seats are pretty disappointing and barely any sound coming from them at all. even placing my hand on the sub with the volume turned to 25 i feel nothing. Touch the speakers in the doors and the whole door vibrates. I wonder if these are true subs. May have to remove a seat and pull the cover off and see whats under there. So needless to say i was a little disappointed with this 720 watt 15 speaker system.

 

[Marc Collins]

Just purchased my Stinger and i have to say the subs under the seats are pretty disappointing and barely any sound coming from them at all. even placing my hand on the sub with the volume turned to 25 i feel nothing. Touch the speakers in the doors and the whole door vibrates. I wonder if these are true subs. May have to remove a seat and pull the cover off and see whats under there. So needless to say i was a little disappointed with this 720 watt 15 speaker system.

My impressions exactly. If you play a high quality source with exceptionally deep bass, it seems as though they might be operating, but as you mentioned, by that time the door drivers are just about vibrating out of their sockets.

And no, subs of this calibre do not need to be broken in. Mine behave exactly as they did when new 6 months ago, which is unlike any other sub I own or have experienced that all push noticeable air when in operation.

 

[Waynerm002]

The subs uses the frame of the of the vehicle to disperse the low frequency sound. It wasn’t designed to thump in the way you expect it.

 

[Marc Collins]

The subs uses the frame of the of the vehicle to disperse the low frequency sound. It wasn’t designed to thump in the way you expect it.

I'm not expecting any thumping, just clean bass.

 

[Bill Lesser]

I might not have the best tuned ear but I’m really happy with the stereo.
I had a former sound engineer set up the EQ and I haven’t touched it since. Sounds so much crisper on Spotify than DAB.
I have attached a photo of my setup for reference/comparison.

 

[AV8R]

As stated before subs take time to wear in. Use 320kps files as they sound fuller and eq well. Mine is very clear.

 

[Ucinn]

I haven't time to read the thread yet. But my experience is that after a while the subs kick in, i.e. break in. I didn't even know that SWs needed a break in period. I don't know if this has been mentioned back there, but properly working SWs don't blare bass at you. They transmit bass throughout the system so that you don't orient on the positioning of the SWs: you don't say, "Oh, the bass is coming from there." So you are not supposed to get bass vibrations from the floor up through your body to tell you that the subs are working.

I wouldn't know how small or big our subs are. This much is true: older recordings, or any that have moderate amounts of bass track will not be augmented bigger by the subs. But when I play something that has a lot of bass, the SWs belt it out. When I first got my car, the dealer put the bass at +10. After a couple of weeks I felt the bass was a bit excessive and reduced it to +4. Right now I have the system set at -2 bass, zero mid tone, and +2 high tone. This is the best compromise for the wide range of music I listen to. The bass is more than enough when there is a lot of bass. My wife still thinks it is too much (but look at our ages; she's 66; we grew up with acid rock, ferpetesakes, but that "skill set" is gone for her, heh!).

I've only had my new car for a couple weeks, and my bass went from +10 down to +2 already...probably will be moving it lower soon..definitely does have a break in period.

 

[Marc Collins]

I've only had my new car for a couple weeks, and my bass went from +10 down to +2 already...probably will be moving it lower soon..definitely does have a break in period.

Mine hasn't changed one iota. Don't need to endlessly debate sub break-in here, but it is a "debate" for a reason. It doesn't matter anyway--the issue is whether the performance of the subs is as expected or commensurate with the rest of the system. I would say no. The treble and mid-range is too bright; the bass is muddy and thump until you go super deep when the subs finally kick in. They are OK, but seem missing in action most of the time.

I only use FLAC music files, on a USB stick, so the highest quality and not wireless. This is all I have ever used in a car for the past 10 years. I have zero MP3s anywhere in my.music library.

 

[Doel]

I have 1200 miles on my car and I've also noticed a change in the bass. Before I could hear very little unless there was heavy bass, now I hear a decent amount in almost every song. Bass heavy tracks have a ridiculous amount for a stock system.

 

[John2018]

Has anyone looked at these subs with the cover off to see what's going on? I'm coming from a mustang with a shaker 500 and that sound system was the most impressive factory unit I've ever owned. Those 8" subs had very good bass.
Don't get me wrong this kia system is decent, it just seems to under perform.

 

[brancky3]

What we need is an affordable hide-a-sub solution (JL Stealthbox). Importsharks price is a joke for theirs and it's not even JL branded as they try to trick you to believe.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Just purchased my Stinger and i have to say the subs under the seats are pretty disappointing and barely any sound coming from them at all. even placing my hand on the sub with the volume turned to 25 i feel nothing. Touch the speakers in the doors and the whole door vibrates. I wonder if these are true subs. May have to remove a seat and pull the cover off and see whats under there. So needless to say i was a little disappointed with this 720 watt 15 speaker system.

Did you read any of this thread before leaping in? Because everything you bring up has already been thoroughly thrashed out.

Get a crisp dollar bill; play a YouTube bass test track video and lay the bill on the sub. It'll prove they are working. The door vibrates because the speakers are mounted in the liner. The subs are using the whole floor. They don't vibrate or "push air" the same way. But sound will definitely move the bill. My favorite setting (even after breaking in) is Bass +8, Mid +4, Treble +1. And I have Clari-Fi OFF (because I don't listen to compressed files, only USB).

 

[Marc Collins]

Did you read any of this thread before leaping in? Because everything you bring up has already been thoroughly thrashed out.

Get a crisp dollar bill; play a YouTube bass test track video and lay the bill on the sub. It'll prove they are working. The door vibrates because the speakers are mounted in the liner. The subs are using the whole floor. They don't vibrate or "push air" the same way. But sound will definitely move the bill. My favorite setting (even after breaking in) is Bass +8, Mid +4, Treble +1. And I have Clari-Fi OFF (because I don't listen to compressed files, only USB).

USB doesn't determine if files are compressed--the file format does. Within compressed formats (like MP3), there is a big range of better to worse. YouTube is compressed. Any good quality audio system should function optimally with all tone controls at neutral. Of course the most exotic high quality audio systems don't even have tone controls for that reason. I'm not against the controls, but there is no way bass should need to be set at 8 when subs are present unless you like the ridiculous shake the whole car for passersby benefit like some hooligans seem to. I know that's not you. Maybe raise treble if you have typical seniors hearing loss, but the HK system in the Stinger is so bright it hurts your ears if you set treble to zero and have normal hearing.