Frequency Response

[GlassHeadlights]

I have a MTX MZS1204 sub that I paid $60 on boxing day so I don't really care about it and I have a Pioneer GM-3300T amp powering it which I paid $75 for off eBay. I just threw togther a cheap combo hoping it would work well. It sounds pretty good for what I paid. The only complaint I have is sometimes when the bass goes really low I get next to no sound. As far as I understand this it has to do with the frequency response. Idk. you tell me.

The sub has a 29 - 150 Hz response.
The amp has 10 Hz - 50 kHz response.

So the way I understand it is that when the bass goes really low it must go under 29 Hz which my sub can only handle then it doesn't respond.

Also the sub asks for 300 watts RMS and 600 watts peak.
My amp gives off 150 watts RMS and only 300 watts peak.

What does RMS mean. Is the set up shitty? Is it hard on both the sub and amp? Thanks

 

[GsR_CiViC]

Is the sub one or two voice coils?
Is your amps Bridgeable/2ohm stable?

Adjusting an amplifier is very tricky.. There is Mid bass and Deep bass lines. Try locating the frequency knob on your amp and turn it to the lowest numbers. and the gain down... You may be amplifyng the actuall bass hit, and not the line...

Depending on your head unit.. turn high pass filter on... and the bass up...
Play around with it for awhile untill the highs sound good, Then turn the gain up a little!
also make sure your sub is mounted on the box air tight! even the smallest leak will make you loose a bassline.
It also helps to put the sub closest the passengers in the trunk with the cone facing the ass of the car, this helps bass travel around the trunk and get deeper.. try it out

 

[FLounder]

i dont see anything wrong with the setup.... sure its a little bit underpowered but its not bad. like this other guy said it could be the way you have you headunit and/or amp tuned in, you may be able to gain some sound by playing around with it.

but im suspecting that you have a ported box? a lot of ported boxes wont hit very solid at the lowest frequencies. also sounds below 30hz starts getting into the range where we (people in general) cant really hear it anymore, just feel it. below 20hz is definitely out of hearing range.

 

[GlassHeadlights]

The sub is a single 4 ohm voice coil.
The amp is 1/2 channel bridgeable and I set it to briged channel 1 channel.

I don't think I have a frequency option on my amp, I have a gain knob. I think my amp is more designed for speakers. My stereo has a lot of subwoofer options on it. I have it set up to HPF and the bass turned up until it doesn't distort. I'm pretty sure my stereo has a frequency option on it. I'll play around with that until I get a good range of bass.

Another thing is that my box does leak. It is ported, I hand made to specs that came with the sub. I have to go over it with silicone or wood glue. And yes its made of MDF. The cone is facing the ass of the car.

I guess I'll fiddle with the sub options on my deck and seal thoes leaks.

 

[fionntan]

Most humans cant really hear bass past 25-30hz so if you cant hear anything then dont worry. Usually amps that you use for car subs will have a frequency cut off knob, but that will just cut off at the frequency that you set it too. Meaning if you want it to respond at say 120hz and lower then you set it to 120, but it wont allow for more low end response then the speaker allows. So if your speaker wont play a frequency at 25hz then you need to get better speakers. People that have perfect hearing can hear from 20hz-20khz. If you listen to loud music a lot and are around really noisy things then your hearing is probably 25-30hz-15-17khz. You might have it set to cut off too low, say 60-70hz which means you are losing a lot of sound from 70-120. Check the crossover and see what it is set to, your cut off should be around 100-120hz. Once again if you want more low end response get a speaker with a freq. resp. starting at around 15-20hz.