CKNY

iTrader: (1)

Okay guys, the JVC KD-SH99 is in (I love it) and today I just put in 2 JL 12w6's powered by a Kicker ZR360. I have some ****ty Pioneer components in the front and the stock panasonics (ouch) in the rear - although I will be replacing the speakers with diamond audio m3's in the near future.

For now, I need help tuning the system with the head unit. The problem is that I have NO IDEA what the different settings mean and what they should be set at.

I'll give you an example of the different settings on the head unit:

Frequency (low, mid, high)
Width (low, mid)
Level (low, nid, high)

According to the manual -
Frequency = center frequency adjustments
Width = select the band with level (Q)
Level = Adjust the enhancement level

Here are the values you can select:

Frequency:
Low: 50, 80, 120 hz
Mid: 700 hz, 1 khz, 2 khz
High: 8, 12 khz

Width:
Low: 1 - 4 (highest)
Mid: 1 - 4 (highest)
High: No adjustment available

Level
Low: -06 to +06
Mid: -06 to +06
High: -06 to +06

Anyway, can anyone help me out by advising what I should be setting these levels at? Keep in mind all types of music will be played in the car with the emphasis on rap, house, and r & b but still plenty of rock. Not easy - I know.

Are there any tutorials that help with this kind of stuff? I checked the sticky but none of the links really hit home with this stuff.

Thanks in advance
-Chris

Maxstilln

Honestly the best thing to do is take it to a local shop that you know, and ask them for help if your really want it right. Try it yourself and set it to how you want it to sound. Level is going to adjust the output level to the amps, ie how loud that channel is in realtion to the others. As for the crossover points, what type of box are your JL's in, ported or sealed? If ported what is the box tuned for? Do your amps have x-overs built into them? The lower you go the less 3rd order noise you will have. Exsample if you crossover at lets say 100hz than 2nd order is 200hz, and 3rd order is 300hz which would be right in your midbass area. This is something to avoid as it could sound sloppy. And since you don't have "strong" midbasses you really want to cross over lower, try 80hz or 70hz, but that's just a recomemdation, I would want other BBS memebers to jump on me. Have you gone to JVC's site to see about them giving information about how to use the unit?

jmax

Remember, all these recommendations are estimations of how the circuitry actually works, and how these adjustments will affect the sound of the system. Also, your speakers, amps, and install will affect how the various levels, etc affect the sound.

Frequency low, you probably want it at 50 or 80 Hz. There is a lot of synth in the low bass region for rap so maybe the 50Hz work best. But you probably also want width set fairly wide so that more of the bass range will be affected by an adjustment of the level control. Also, the way you set your gains on the amps will affect this.
Freq. mid, you are really going to have to play with this and see what happens.

I'm sorry but we could really go on for months, and write a short book, about how modest adjustments will alter the sound. But in the end they will just be theory and guestimations. Get a good battery charger and hook it up to the car. Then sit down in the car and try numerous varieties of settings, with a lot of different music. Then remember that when the car is moving, there will be road noise, wind noise, and other sources to mask the sound.
Crutchfield may have a short guide on how these adjustments will affect the sound.

CKNY

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'm gonna just have to play around with it for a while and see what sounds best. And once I get the speakers I'll take it to a shop to tune it =)

97GreenMax

I have the exact same head unit, and I just had to keep messing with it to get it to sound good.