W202 and Subwoofer

[benzonline]

I just had a reputable shop install my 15inch subwoofer with amp tapped into the stock system of my W202 Kompressor sedan.

Did a good job....but being a 15 inch subwoofer its meant for really low frequencies and the rear shelf non bose speakers in my car are somehow set to a special frequency which the sub doesnt match to....meaning in certain songs I play, it sounds like there is no sub...but if there is a low "boom" part it kicks in.

Can this be solved swapping to a 12 inch sub or 2 10 inch?
They pick up more higher bass.

[jnolte]

so basically you are using stock deck with a converter tapped to the rear speakers?

If you get a deck it should solve this, but i am no ICE expert someone else should ring in, i could be wrong

[c280nz]

this is a little confusing?
so does ur stock system have a rca output?
i wouldnt think so, so my guess is that they have put ur rear speaker input into the amp as high level inputs, so it only receives the sound from the rear higher wattage output.
u could try adjusting the crossover "x-over" for low pass on ur amp.
there should be some levels on ur amp, normally high pass filter adjustment, low pass filter adjustment and gain.
try adjusting the low pass filter , as this adjusts the cut in frequency for the bass on the amp.

otherwise u may have to try and get a full range input for ur amp as the factory crossover on your rear parcel tray may be limiting the range the sub can receive.
u may find changing to a 12" sub may not change anything without the above problem being sorted.
U may or maynot already know all what i just said but thats my thoughts on it.
hope this helps ;-)

[Beau M]

10 and 12 inch subs do not play lower bass than a 15. Also, a 15 is no less "accurate" than a smaller sub. These are all myths, which make no sense.

All a bigger sub means is that the cone has to move a shorter distance to move the same ammount of air than a smaller one. That is why we have super long throw 10, 12, and 15 inchers, to move more air.

Your problem to me sounds like the low pass x-over point is set lower than you would like. Perhapse the shop set it so the sub starts to kick in when the stock "subs" start to fall off. But then again, you do not want your sub playing very high frequencies... I like to have it set around 100 hz. If your complaining about lack of output above 100 hz you need better mid-bass, not sub.

[benzonline]

My amp didnt need the high level converter. The high lever line (port looking plug) went right into the amp.

Playing with the settings didnt help. When I set the "X-OVER" on the amp to the other setting, the voices from the songs were actually coming out of the sub with the bass so it was trying to be a full range.

They are tapped into the rear speakers and the remote turn on is coming from the stock deck.

[audiophile]

make sure the polarity is corrrect on the sub, and they didn't accidently invert the phase.:D

[Beau M]

Or, if the polarity is "correct", try wiring it out of phase with the rest of the system.
BTW, what amp are we takling about here.

[benzonline]

Well after playing around with everything my freind suggested we use a high/low converter despite my amp already having a high level input.....whala! The sub hits nicely and doesnt miss a beat.

The system despite being stock sounds incredible now! I didnt know a sub would make such a difference in sound...you can save alot of money in just working around OEM equipment and people are shocked when they dont see a deck with flashing lights doing the job.:D