i currently have an adire audio shiva that i hooked up to my memphis st3004 just to see what it sounds like...and....im not satisfied. i think the primary reason is that the sub just doesnt hit high enough for me. if i listen to some rap it sounds great and almost hurts, but once i pop in tool or some alternative stuff its just not loud enough. my question is, should i sell the shiva and go to 10 inch subs or would more power be my answer? the amp i was using powers my door speakers (75x4) and i just bridged the whole thing...i was figuring on getting a 1000d to power the shiva but right now i just dont know...any insight including "you r an idiot" is welcome

 

There just isn't as much low bass in rock as there is in Rap and R&B. You could turn the crossover up a little but the higher frequency mid bass will have more trouble passing throught the rear seat, rear deck, etc. So the sub may be playing it real well and you just aren't hearing it. But a slightly larger amp might also help. What voice coil config do you have on your shiva? Are you aware that there still may be a few adire vamps in the web store pre-order and special section? They have slightly better small sealed box specs than the shiva, and are selling for $75 a piece.

Another item that may help out is a seperate sub level control. That way when you switch CD's you can simply turn the level up or down. But for rock you probably want more midbass that can only be had with better front stage mids / midbass drivers if you have an SQ install.

 

I think I understand where you are coming from here. I have a Brahma 12 in my system now and it is so musical that you almost don't know it is there until you realize that the whole car is shaking. It is not nearly as forward sounding as a lot of subs.

Also, rock is often more midbass than bass. I put Focal 7" midbass speakers in my rear doors to go along with the 6.5" component set up front and that made all the difference in the world. You might try something similar.

 

Yeah, I have a brahma 10 in my trunk right now and it blows away the midbass the paired Hex 6.5's can produce. The ten can take a few more degree's of the gain on my 1000D, but the mids can't keep up. The brahma has a transparent sound quality. Keep the crossover at 80 or below and the bass is right up front. In fact I think you can go even high with the crossover point. But like I said somewhere else the upper bass has more trouble going through the rear seat and the rest of the trunk. I am hoping to hold off on rebuilding my front doors until more is known about the forthcomeing brahma 8's. That will be my solution for rock & roll midbass and drums.

 

well, i have crappy memphis 6x9's in the rear deck, but w/ my current setup i cant hook those up w/o getting another amp (which i have no $ for right now)...so maybe in the long run i'll use those as midbass until i get real serious w/ the midbass drivers n such, but thats far 2 long away to dream about right now...but 4 now, what about a smaller or larger box? i dont really know much about this stuff, and i'll measure the box later on, it was given 2 me so i dont really know the dimensions of it...but would a different size box help any???

ive got the dual voice coils running in parallel 4 now...isnt that the way 2 go? or should i hook them up separately?

on another note...since i dont really listen to any rap or techno stuff regularly could any1 recomend some good current tunes that are good on low bass? takin the woman out soon, and i cant show her up on my bass w/ all my rock music...lol...winmx time

 

Actually the new Korn album had a couple real bass heavy tracks on it. Bout the only one that really jumps to mind.

You should definately get the box dimensions, also is it ported or sealed? Are you running a Shiva 12? If the dual voice coils are 2 Ohm each you might have some problems if you try running your amp bridged. Not many amps like a 1 Ohm load while bridged. You might think about wiring the voice coils in series, therefore making a 4 Ohm load.

 

I think Shivas are only available in DVC 8 ohm, so he should have it wired for a 4ohm load. That is one reason I'm not running a Shiva right now. I would want to go with a single Shiva but I want to get a 2 or 1 ohm load to get full power from my amp. Also, all Shivas are 12s.

 

Yeah, a better box built to Adire's specs would sound better. THey have both sealed and ported specs on their website I think. If you want it to hit harder try a ported box.

 

good idea...i just printed out the box specs n stuff and i'll see what i can do...i'll post how it turns out....thanx every1 4 da input

 

well, im back, w/ no good results...i made the smallest box adire had 4 the shiva and the only very noticable thing is did was make the sub not as loud...i guess i'll have to sell the b!tch to some1 that likes rap n stuff...i just dont listen to enuf of it to enjoy the sub...it doesnt even play the limited amount of techno i have well...but at least now i can go back to having kick a$$ mids n highs...damn headunit power blows!!!!

 

Yes head unit power blows. And no, no other sub will sound better with the same crossover frequency and poor quality mid up front. If you want mid bass up front the best solution is to put a mid bass driver up front. If you just want really loud sound kicker makes all kinds of square coned speakers. I really think you are expecting your sub to play something that is not in the music, or at least not in the range your sub amp is sending to the sub. Did you really disconnect your door speakers? They previously had 75 watts each? Now they have about 12 distorted watts from the HU? If this is true it's obvious you are not giving the subs a fair chance. With just HU power going to the door speakers and a mid size amp powering the sub there is no way the mid-bass could keep up with the bass and sub bass.

Where is the sub mounted and faceing what direction?

 

tru, very tru...ima do sum more research and wait till i get my other amp b/f doing anything...i had the sub facing the rear of the car in a box...i think u r right about the midbass not being able to pass thru all the cardbaord and foam in the seats so.....i think what ima do is just wait till i have another amp and power everything and go from there...but thats a long way off cause i gotta paint my car 1st

 

Do you have any friends with systems? Ask if you can put just the sub in their car to see how it sounds blended with their system. That will give you a direct comparison to whatever sub they are using. And as for the box placement I have gotten the best output with my sub currently faceing into the rear fender. But that box for the shiva is probably too big to sit back there without getting in the way of the trunk arms. If you have an EQ try turning down the lowest one or two frequencies and boost the upper bass. That may hit the midbass you are missing. But I would wait to do this till you have both amps set up to see if it is needed. If you boost the midbass on the headunit it will most likely just distort.

 

Just one more suggestion, you might try removing the two 6x9s off the rear deck. That way you leave good vents for the bass to pass to the main cabin. I took out the Bose sub in my car off the deck and just left a big hole there. Seems to help a lot, but now if I carry anything around back there I can hear it.

 

thanx!

 

I know I dragged this topic up, sorry.

I just got my 2 12' Shivas in a Sealed box powered by a JBL 1200 (1200 RMS)

It just doesnt seem loud at all. I have to turn it way up for the thing to pound.....


would a ported enclosure help make it hit harder and lower?? It just doesnt seem very loud, I like boomy bass

 

The Shiva hits hard and low. But it does have a slightly larger box requirement. It was designed for the home stereo DIY market. What is the internal volume of your box? Secondly is to find out if it is not hitting, or if you just aren't hearing the distortion you associate with the music in friends systems. The way to do this is to look at the subs movement. If it is moving an inch or more two - way, it's your ears at fault not the sub. A more scientific method would be to use an SPL meter and gauge it against the "louder" system with the same meter, same mic, same humidity, same temperature. Then again you could have wired them out of phase. If you wire them out of phase your SPL will be near 0.

But ported can definitely hit harder and lower. Especially in a large box like the Shiva needs. But check everything else three times before you go to the effort of building two new boxes.