I noticed that the bass in my car is way louder when the car is at a standstill versus when i have my foot on the accelerator pedal. Is this normal? The minute i take my foot off the pedal the volume of the bass goes up. Do I need another battery or a capacitor or something? thanks!

 

Typically your alternator would be holding the electrical system at a higher voltage when revving than when idling... so if your bass were going away when you took your foot off the pedal, that might indicate a voltage problem.

But bass getting louder when idling...the only theory I have is that the modified exhaust note and the louder modified air intake just drown out the bass.

 

hmmm maybe im just paranoid or something and there's really nothing wrong, but that could be the case. It is possible its just the roadnoise and what not. Is there anyways to test this?

 

The only thing I can think of is to try an RTA analyzer, but even then, when I test the stock TSX exhaust most of the noise is in the bass, so that's what would interfere with your bass the most.

 

oh ok, i think the TSX has a more apparent exhaust note compared to my 2nd Gen TL, atleast thats what i noticed when i got a TSX loaner. Maybe its just me, but i will keep listening and have my friends listen as well.

 

I would think your removed airbox would be noisy...

 

its prettymuch stock sounding, unless a floor it, which i dont do to often. I played some different CD's on the way back and forth from school, and there is definately and undulation of volume.

 

OK, I can't remember but I think you have a stock HU. Run a long RCA cable into the amp, and get your trusty discman out again : )

If you have the same issue with the discman, it's the amp. If you don't, it's some sort of EQ/compression in the HU signal output.

 

back to that again! well i was driving on the freeway and it seemed fine, i think it was only during city driving that it would dip in volume. looks like another weekend to rip apart the system

 

Dang...it's messed up again man?

It only happens on the bass?
where did you ground the amp?

 

yeah man, its not too noticeable, but enough to drive me nuts i grounded it above the trunk hinge. i sanded the hell out of the spot and used the grounding block, i dont think its the ground, but knowin' my luck, im gonna buy some high quality RCA's when i get a chance, im still usin the home ones

 

Oh okay dude...yeah hopefully that helps. I can still check it out sometime if you have trouble man. Switching out the RCAs is a good first step.

Good luck bro!

 

yeah man, lookin forward to next weekend, got a 4-day weekend, so i should have time to mess with everything. btw, which brand RCA's would you guys recommend, i originally had the 20-buck monster cables, but i think i need to put a lil more money in them.

 

The single biggest waste of money when I was in retail was getting people to spend more money on RCAs because they would get better sound or more bass or less noise (this was before twisted pair). I can't tell you how many times I took OUT a set of expensive RCA's and substituted cheap black crap and noise went away.

The three things I tell people to spend money on with an RCA:

1) Twisted pair. For noise rejection. For bass amps it's not worth it - if your woofer can play engine noise, you have a LOT of engine noise.

2) cast outer barrel. Lasts longer. Not an audible diff to me but better connection over time.

3) split center pin. See #2 above.

Thicker insulation is nice, but unless you're bending them hard or pinching them it's really not a deal. I have a friend used to work for Alpine who made his own Kimber Kable knockoff RCAs for his cars,with no shielding and no outer jacket insulation, all twisted conductors. The jacket is just to protect from damage as they are being pulled by the American Tourister gorilla-installer.

 

yeah i had a feeling about that...no problem, more money for the headunit!

 

im not sure exacty what caused the problem, but it doesnt seem to be happening any more (probably just paranoia)! As far as RCA's are concerned, just about any will do im guessing.

 

while we are chattin about wires: does the same apply to speaker wire from the amp to the sub? does a thicker wire have any benefits?