Too Many Bass Settings to Choose From

Discussion in 'General Car Audio Discussions' started by Bonesy, Aug 18, 2009.

  1. Bonesy

    Bonesy New Member

    From the time the music is read from its media to the output through the subs, my bass can go through 3 different locations to alter it and I believe it's making the bass sound not as well as it could.

    First, the head unit (Pioneer AVIC-FT90BT) has a few settings:
    Bass:
    -Phase (Normal/Reverse)
    -Level (1-6)
    -Freq (30?-150? Hz)
    Bass Boost:
    -Amount (1-10)

    Second, Clarion active crossover (i mainly have it for HPF for Mid Amp & High Amp),
    LPF:
    -Dial (Up to 400? Hz)
    Bass Boost (Mandatory):
    -Freq Dial (Up to 100Hz?)
    -Boost Dial (Up to +18 db)
    Line Output:
    -Dial (Up to 100%)

    Third, Hifonics Amp
    Subsonic Filter:
    -Dial (Down to 15 Hz)
    Low Pass Filter:
    -Dial (Up to 250 Hz)
    Bass Equalizer
    -Dial
    Bass Boost
    -Dial
    Gain
    -Dial (0.9 to 9v?)

    Sorry for a lot of "?" I am not sure about the specific ranges, but it gives you the gist. Every piece has a different range on the same line.

    I am thinking that I will keep the active crossover for the High/Mid, but will plug the SUB Preamps directly to the amp. Other than that, do you have any suggestions on how I should start out. I know how to set the gain until clipping/distortion, but I am puzzled at the Eq/Boosts. For the Eq, I've read you are suppose to match your music preference. I find it hard to narrow down when I regularly listen to County, Emo.Rock, Southern Rock, 90s Hip-Hop, Alternative, 80's, Techno/Daft Punk, etc. Then whenever I use the bass boost at any point (nd this is how it is now), my bass greatly overwhelms the mids and highs. I would like a profound bass, but also in good mix with the highs/mids instead of shrienking their sound.

    Any suggestion for managing the settings and blending the music is greatly appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2009