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Question guys, need some help.

I have a Pioneer deck, MTX amp, and 1 10" Elemental Designs sub. On the Pioneer deck, I turn the volume up to say 30, and the sub and mids and highs sounds even, just how I like it. If I turn it up to 40+ the sub gets drowned out by the mids and highs. I would still like the sub to be even with the mids and highs at 40+ volume. I tried turning up the gain on the amp (prob from 60% to 75%) and it sounded like the sub was bottoming out.

Is my problem the amp? Too little power?
Or my sub? Not enough RMS watt power/max power?

 
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might be a radio setting. do you have LOUD turned on? ar eyou using the easyEQ? the adjustments change as the volume increases or decreases, destdroying your linearity.

if you do have those settings on, try setting everything flat and compensating with your gains. Then see if you have the same problems with linearity.

 
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Loud is off. Im using a custom EQ that I set up, I like the setting of my mids and highs, but as Im trying to compensate for the subs with adjusting the gains on the amp, the sub sounds almost like it doesnt have enough power.

But I dont know if I am lacking power in the sub or the amp. Im not sure if the amp is putting out enough, or if it is putting out enough but the sub cant handle it.


For reference, I have an MTX Thunder 125 Amp.

 
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What are the specs on the Thunder125. I can't find anything on it. Are you sure it's a 125? A lot of MTX amps are 4ohm stable when bridged. That's a problem for your ED 10" if you've got it wired wrong. If you've got the D2ohm, you could series the coils and wind up with a 4ohm load. If you parellel, you'll get a single ohm. If you've got the D4ohm, you are looking at 8 if you series, and only 2 if you parellel. How have you got it wired?

 
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If the sub is bottoming out and the highs can be turned up even more, then the gain on the sub is too high. In essence the sub reaches full capacity before the highs.

Once that is straightened out, if the sub still isn't loud enough .... you need more and better subs ..... since the mtx just can't keep up ....

 
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yup, I intended to mention the gains were too high as well, but I got off in my rant. Definitley might need a better amp.

 
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when youor sub sounds like its bottoming out, whats the volume on the radio? 45 out of 63?

 
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Don't some amps sound slightly attenuated when they are slightly overheated as well? Maybe that's what's going on.

 
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Yeah about 45 out of 63. In essence yeah the subs reach full capacity before the mids and highs. Ha... dyslexia kicked in, its actually a MTX 152 amp. I really have no idea how it is wired because I got it installed before I actually knew anything about car stereo. Now I do, somewhat, but these little intracacies between amp/sub wiring confuses me. I got the specs on the amp though:

37.5 x 2 @ 4 ohms
75 x 2 @ 2 ohms
150 x 1 bridged @ 4 ohms

And the sub is DVC2.

 
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So, you've got a DVC2 sub series coils into 4ohm and an amp seeing the 4ohm bridged. Problem = underpowered. The Ov.2 10" is 450w RMS. You've got a do a little better than 150 from MTX if you wanna be able to crank that volume. Onlinecarstereo.com has Hifonics BX 1500D BRUTUS for $279. It's 500x1 @ 4ohm.

 
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Last week someone trustworthy told me they loved the PG Octane amps for the $$. Maybe Mega will chime in and shine some light on that.

 
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well, if he got a class D amp, he could find one that does 500x1 at 1 ohm for a third of that price for sure! dont they make a brutus 500D?

anyways, haywood, try zeroing your EQ, zeroing your highs gains, turning the radio volume to 55ish or so, then gaining up your sub amp to distortion then backing off. play with the volume, maybe 57 or 63 or even 61 of 63, and then gaining the sub amp.

once youve got that set so theres no distortion, then gain your highs amp to match.

can't guarantee its gonna fix the issue, but its the first step I would take to get a baseline of volume control. youd have to run your radio at higher volume to get the same volume level in the stereo, but it should improve sound.

Do you have an Ov.2? or is it a Kx? definitely check the powerhandling requirements of the woofer, and see what others are running for power! perhaps a little more power is in fact in order.

and, due to my flaming ball of hate (if you like eD, skip this section) I must say that if you want a bit more volume, it might be time to upgrade anyways! you could sell your sub amp, box, and subwoofer as a starter kit for some cash and use that to partially fund a louder setup, something that will suit your listening tastes more than your current bass setup does...

 
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YES! A flaming ball of hate! WR, that's awsome.

 
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I have to say, the octane amp was pretty weak when I got the chance to test one, but in all fairness, it was versus an audison, so I can't compare it to amplifiers in its own category. could be a winner!

but quite frankly, the audison 65x2 srx2 wiped the floor with the 500 watt PG.

 
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Thanks for the help guys, got the problem fixed. It was the amp, not enough juice was going to the ED sub. Picked up an Alpine amp which is putting out 200 watts, recommended for the sub is between 150-250. The old amp was putting out around 125. Amazing what the right amp can do for you.

 
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[hate] its not to late to ditch the eD sub! [/hate]

edit: whats up with vbb code? doesnt seem to be working

 
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I don't know but I move for the Hate Graphic to be a flaming ball from now on.