Hello, folks.
I have installed my audio system about a year ago,
and everytime I listen to other car's radio it seems like my S is missing some midrange.

Here's what I have:

Alpine 9857
JL components(forgot the model number.. It was one of the most popular ones.)
small JL 2 channel amp for the front speakers
some junk woofer & amp I had lying around



I initially set the midrange to "normal" on the x-over and then switched it to "Low" thinking it meant for lower frequency(=more bass??).

And even after playing with the settings, I still don't get enough midrange bass.
Is it the tuning that's bad or did I set it to the wrong setting?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Dan

Pics for reference

 

Anyone?


Dan

 

The problem is that the JL components don't really cover the low midrange all that well. You can look into a different component set that has a lower freq response range, or look into adding a separate set of midrange woofers

You tried adjusting your amp for a lower crossover freq on the woofers? Ditto for the HU settings?

Other than that, you can attempt to adjust your subwoofer settings, but fair warning that the subwoofer isn't designed for those frequencies...

 

Thanks for the tip.
Honestly I'm not an audio expert, I just know electronics and how to install these components.
I tried messing w/ the head units and whatever settings I use, I wasn't able to get a satisfying midrange.

I have a question regarding the setting on the cross over though.
Like I state on the original post, there were 3 settings for the midrange.
"high", "normal", and "low".
Which setting should I set to, in a situation like this?
I'm currently set at "low".
Thanks for all the help.

Dan

 

Have you checked JL's website for a manual? It might be published there and should have that info for you.

It's possible that it's a setting for attenuation. Low meaning it cuts a few db out of the midrange, and high meaning it cuts a few db out of the highs. Try switching it to High and see what happens. Nothing to lose, right? lol

Might try the amplifier, should be a crossover freq dial. Set it to a lower freq and see if that helps - caution that this could cause distortion or clipping with the woofers, so turn the gain down a bit when you do this.

 

Thanks!
I'd give those a try over the weekend.

Dan

 

That High/Mid/Low for JL controls the midrange presence. See the owners manual for an idea:
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/2383.pdf

My guess is low presence (say down in the door) will be louder while, high presence (on the dash) will not be as loud. This type of xover setting is typically applied to the high midrange frequencies not low midrange so it's unlikely to solve your problem, but I could be wrong since I haven't used the JLs before.

In addition to the high-pass xover dial on the amp. Check the xover settings of your headunit. Make sure the high-pass is low enough say 60hz, and there is no Equalizer settings lowering the output of the bass. Also, changing the EQ from Vocal/Flat to Bass/Powerful will help but that's more of a hack.

Have you deadened/seal the driver & passenger door already? Do you have a nice sturdy baffle to mount the woofers? These are very important for good midbass.

 

The crossovers on the JL's look just like the ones on my XR series so that might be what they are. You can move the pins around on the crossovers to tone down the tweeters down some. I am by no means an expert but I just installed my XR's yesterday and love them but now that you mention it they are a little low in the midrange. I am still in the process of fine tuning it for my taste but so far I LOVE the speakers. As others have said, try playing around with the crossover on the HU too. If those are the XR JL's they should sound pretty good. Good luck.

 

the thing that pops into my head first is to check the high pass filter (HPF)

 

Thanks for all the information, guys.
I'll try all those mentioned above.
Tuning the sound is more difficult for me than installing it.
Once again, I appreciate your help guys.

Dan