[DarkArkAngel]

Hey everyone, I have been looking to improve my experience with car sound systems some more, as I don't understand too much about them.

I already like the sound of the Fusion, but sometimes I wish the sound would be... Richer? Some bassy ranges sound really great in this car and some sound really flat.

I'm kind of wondering what kind of things do you do with a car to make the sound next level, rather than just adding in a sub and rattling the windows.

Thanks!

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

Believe it or not, the Sport doesn't rattle much even with 2kw in the trunk. My rear view mirror is my only rattle.

As for your inquiry, i think your best bet is to use forscan to send a flat signal to the amp which will render the head unit EQ useless, run a sound processor off the factory amp (unless you can tap a digital sound processor off the head unit signal, but I don't know), and hook some aftermarket amps up to the sound processor to run the speakers. That way you can EQ it however you please.

That's how I would go about it if I were after more than just some popped seam welds in my trunk.

 

[Shawn]

Believe it or not, the Sport doesn't rattle much even with 2kw in the trunk. My rear view mirror is my only rattle.

As for your inquiry, i think your best bet is to use forscan to send a flat signal to the amp which will render the head unit EQ useless, run a sound processor off the factory amp (unless you can tap a digital sound processor off the head unit signal, but I don't know), and hook some aftermarket amps up to the sound processor to run the speakers. That way you can EQ it however you please.

That's how I would go about it if I were after more than just some popped seam welds in my trunk.

I saw that mod in Forscan but I wasn't sure exactly what it does. I still have questions. If I have the radio eq flat is it sending a flat signal to the speakers? I have a sub with the signal taken from the factory subs (they have been removed) what would that change if I turned on that mod in forscan?

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

I saw that mod in Forscan but I wasn't sure exactly what it does. I still have questions. If I have the radio eq flat is it sending a flat signal to the speakers? I have a sub with the signal taken from the factory subs (they have been removed) what would that change if I turned on that mod in forscan?

The factory subs get a pretty horrid signal, imo. They are just there for filler bass, really. With the flat eq mod, it sends a flat signal to the factory amp, which has a couple benefits. 1st and foremost, it eliminates the bass drop-off as volume goes up. Second is it eliminates active noise cancelation and engine sounds that would be amplified by an aftermarket amp driven by the door speakers. Third is you can tune the EQ to your liking, rather than how Sony thinks you should like it. What I don't know is if the low pass filter for the factory subs is in the speakers, amp, or head unit signal.

 

[Shawn]

"You can tune the eq to your liking" does that mean adjustments to bass mid treb in the radio do work or do you mean adjusting with an aftermarket amp.

 

[DarkArkAngel]

Believe it or not, the Sport doesn't rattle much even with 2kw in the trunk. My rear view mirror is my only rattle.

As for your inquiry, i think your best bet is to use forscan to send a flat signal to the amp which will render the head unit EQ useless, run a sound processor off the factory amp (unless you can tap a digital sound processor off the head unit signal, but I don't know), and hook some aftermarket amps up to the sound processor to run the speakers. That way you can EQ it however you please.

That's how I would go about it if I were after more than just some popped seam welds in my trunk.

I'm a little new to things? Would you be able to explain some of the terms and instruments?

 

[Skipe]

 

[Skipe]

This is what happens when one of your hobbies is building systems for cars, LOL

 

[WhiteGhost]

This is what happens when you need just a tad more bass. I don't think i need bass in my ford's.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

"You can tune the eq to your liking" does that mean adjustments to bass mid treb in the radio do work or do you mean adjusting with an aftermarket amp.

Aftermarket. The head unit EQ would no longer function, nor would the balance and fade, if I'm not mistaken. The stock setup is more convenient, but a audiophile would be much happier with the ability to tune the signal however they want with an aftermarket EQ.

I'm a little new to things? Would you be able to explain some of the terms and instruments?

The head unit is the part in the dash. That sends the digital sound signal to the factory amp which converts the digital signal to an analog signal and amplifies it to run all the speakers. You cannot replace the head unit with any amount of ease, if at all.

The factory system drops bass (to the subs) as the volume goes up to protect the speakers. I'm not sure if the head unit or amp does this, so I don't know if Forscan can correct it.

An aftermarket sound processor pulls the signal from one or more speakers, and processes it in various ways depending on what processor it is. Mine is a simple 2 channel sound processor that currently ties into one of the stock subs to get the sound signal, so it gets the factory bass signal that doesn't scale well past a certain volume, and only gets low frequency bass. My sound processor is supposed to counter the bass drop-off by increasing bass exponentially as volume goes up, but since it only gets the volume level of the bass signal, it doesn't know the volume keeps going up for the other speakers. My Sub doesn't get much louder past volume 18.

The door speakers get a fuller range signal which would work much better for my aftermarket amp/sub, but those speakers also provide the noise cancelation and "fake" engine sound. If I tied my amp/sub into those, I would have a 2kw subwoofer producing fake engine sounds, and I definitely don't want that. That's why I would need to use Forscan to get a flat signal without noise cancelation. Doing that would allow me to tap the door speakers for my amp/sub so the volume works correctly, but then I would have to go aftermarket for my EQ if needed.

Long story short, I don't think there really is a cheap or easy option if you're looking for anything more than a little bass boost... Thus is the case with most new "premium" sound systems anyway.

 

[Shawn]

Great info Bot_Rocket. To try and answer your original question... you could add bass shakers. It would be the cheapest and easiest solution, but I think the best thing you could do to achieve the overall best outcome, at a reasonable price, would be to add a subwoofer.
If you just add bass shakers, you could buy an inexpensive amplifier, take your signal directly from the factory subs, and install the shakers under the seats. Might cost $200-$300.
I'm sure I qualify as an "audio file" (with a budget) compared to most in this forum and I went with a subwoofer. I went with an 800 watt Kicker amp, took the signal from the factory subs, removed the factory subs entirely, and used 2 12" dayton audio RS-HO 4ohm dual voice coil subs each in a 0.5 cubic foot sealed box in the trunk. One 12" would more than satisfy most people. That would maybe cost $500 if you went with one of those subs and a decent 400-600 watt amp. Hope that helps.

 

[DarkArkAngel]

Thank you guys for the detailed write ups!

What other things besides base can or should be improved in this car? Is this a good sounding car from the factory?

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

I have a single 2200w 12" sub in a 1.75ft³ sealed box that I'm probably not even pushing to a quarter of it's potential and it's louder than most of my passengers can tolerate for long. I highly recommend Skar and/or Audiopipe if you want to bump on a budget. I have a Skar amp and Audiopipe sub. I researched the hell out of them and they offer exceptional value. I feel like I could break my back window and/or pop some spot welds if I cranked it. I got it all for around $500 including the NVX sound processor and 2ga power/ground cables.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

Thank you guys for the detailed write ups!

What other things besides base can or should be improved in this car? Is this a good sounding car from the factory?

I think it sounds fine, but I'm no audiophile. If I could get a full, flat signal with no bass drop-off without messing with everything else to run my aftermarket sub, I would be happy.

 

[Skipe]

I had a pair of Kicker VR 10"s in my 13, after buying the Sport I knew I wanted to do something, but not quite as big. Ended up being pretty close, LOL. What I,ve got built for it is a Kicker VX single 10" in a Scar 1.5 ported box. I went with a set of Precision Power amps, one for the sub, a four channel for the doors and a two channel for the 6 x 9's Should be in and going soon as it warms up enough I can work outside, though I might put the door speakers in it this weekend, but I still have a lot to do. Run the o gauge and remote, then I have two leads to and from the center console that go to the back, one for the convertor, and the other from the 4 channel to connector 264. That's what makes this all work so well, that and having plugs from some donner cars I collected at work

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

then I have two leads to and from the center console that go to the back, one for the convertor, and the other from the 4 channel to connector 264. That's what makes this all work so well, that and having plugs from some donner cars I collected at work

I'm interested in your setup. Can you explain it a little bit more? I'm just gonna grab my shotty and blast you in the face with questions. Here we go:
What is the convertor? Is that the DS18 sound processor/crossover dealiemabobber in your pic?
What is connector 264 and why does it need to be connected to the 4 channel?
Is it safe to assume you're running a flat signal from the head unit?
Plugs for what?
What are the three switches in the little box for?
How is your sub fastened down? Is it held down by gravity, and the little latches just keep it from sliding?
Most of all, how much does that mofo weight?

Also, 0 gauge ought to be fun getting through the firewall. Lol. I imagine you're more proficient than I am, though. I wanted to set my car on fire by the time I was done, and I only ran 2 gauge.

 

[Skipe]

LMAO Ok, first off. O gauge is easy, been there, done that. I ran it in my 2013 for that system. Second, yeah its not light. I can't say what it weighs, but it's heavy, and I built it as lite as I could. The convertor is just that, takes the high speaker outputs and turns them into RCA out puts. I have a four channel in 5 out though, four channels for the doors ( mids n highs ) and the fifth is for subs, or sub in my case. Connector 264 is a plug over on the passenger side just behind the shifter where all the wires for the the door speakers are. What you have is eight wires and a shield ( bare copper ) two for each door, I have plugs from some of the cars we had at work for parts, I take the plugs that match the ones in the car, one set goes to the convertor (signal output ) , goes to the trunk. Under the deck you see is where all the wiring is, and the convertor. the other one goes from the four channel amp for the doors back to the front and into the plug that feeds all the doors. Reason I,m doing this to keep my RCA,s as short as posable. The cables going back n forth are 9 wire with a shield, ninth is a remote, I just cut them off at the ends since I have the remote running on the drivers side with the power cable. You buy a 50 foot roll of it for less than 40 bucks, 18 gauge, which is more than enough to run doors. I got some picks of what's going on under it, Ill have to post here in a bit. The processor will let me tune all the channels independently from one another, SO I,ll have one set for the front door, the rears, the 6x9's in the deck, and the sub. Oh and the three switches are for the amps, each one is a remote, plus a volt meter, and a 12 volt outlet just because. I can turn each amp on n off independently from each other that way if I need to trouble shoot something ( sometimes you dont want bass blasting in your ears when your chasing an issue with a door or a 6x9. I think I covered it all, LOL. Any more questions fire away, I,ll do my best.

 

[Skipe]

 

[maydk65]

That looks like it weighs 100lbs.

 

[Skipe]

I,d say around there give or take ten pounds. I can weigh it later, kind curious as to how much it weighs