2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport
- Thread starter erinh
- Start date
Hillbilly SQ
BURNED OUT
Awesome. I was gonna ask you how the tune was coming along. How are you liking what Dirac is doing for you?
The install was featured in this month's Mobile Electronics Mag. Joey asked me if I'd be interested in writing something up about the install to provide some insights for the mag and highlight the work Steve and his crew put in on this build. So, of course I was happy to oblige.
https://issuu.com/mobileelectronics/docs/19me_december/48
https://issuu.com/mobileelectronics/docs/19me_december/48
Subydude81
Noob
Really nice work.
blockrocker
A Refined Basshead
Wow, that is soooo cool!! Congratulations on the recognition, it's very well deserved. The installation is absolutely incredible. The article is a good read too.
Hillbilly SQ
BURNED OUT
Erin in the big boy club now
Been a while since I've posted here. Nearly 7 months since I started the thread. Oh, that reminds me, I think a few people in this thread owe me some money for their wager that I would change things before 6 months. 
Anyway, I've been working on getting my testing going again and have started posting things on YouTube. My video today has some information about how I set up my sub/midbass crossover and thought some of you might be interested in seeing it. Here's a link to the thread I started:
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threads/use-your-subwoofer-to-get-better-midbass.427251/
And here's the post:
In this video I discuss why I recommend using your subwoofer to improve midbass response. Get your pitchforks ready!... I’m suggesting to run your sub higher than 30hz!
This isn’t truly a shocking revelation. Plenty of people already do what I suggest. It just goes against intuition and against some beliefs in the car audio community that a subwoofer should not play too high in frequency because it can cause the bass to be localized behind you.
The reason why is due to one MAJOR issue in car audio: the “Nearside Null”. This is the large dip in response of the driver’s side midbass speaker that occurs typically in the 70-90hz region. This doesn't occur in every car; there are certainly exceptions to the more extreme car installs.
It is an acoustical null caused by the relationship of the listener’s location relative to the midbass location and generally caused by the width of the vehicle. If you play a track with bass guitar it’s very prevalent; you get a localization to the nearside midbass speaker when the midbass speaker is crossed lower than the frequency where the null occurs.
Generally speaking, the lower your crossover point between midbass and subwoofer, the more noticeable this occurrence is. Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can simply “EQ out”, either. Throwing +6dB at this null may only result in 1dB of actual gain; that means you’re wasting a LOT of power and risking damage to your speaker for no acoustical gain. Some of you may even think to yourselves “seems like you’re not getting much by crossing the midbass low. Maybe there’s not as much benefit as I thought in doing that”. That’s a logical assumption and a lot of times that’s actually true. Crossing the midbass too low can actually result in more “bass behind you”! And you can also take some of the strain off your midbass by crossing them at or above the null. Ironically, we in car audio tend to cross midbass low to get the “up front” bass we so much desire. BUT, IN FACT, the majority of the time you have bass that pulls to the rear is BECAUSE of the midbass nulls. I know that sounds counteractive. But it’s the truth. Standing waves are problematic and this is one symptom of them; whether in home or car audio.
Contrary to popular belief, raising the subwoofer crossover in to the region that this null occurs can actually HELP the sound to stay focused and achieve “up front” bass. If you can move your subwoofer to a location where it is null-free through a frequency above the Nearside Null then you can likely improve midbass without negatively impacting the “up front bass” effect that so many are after. And you can also take some of the strain off your midbass by crossing them at or above the null frequency. Not all have the luxury of space to move the subwoofer around much but experimentation is key here; you may be surprised at the difference subwoofer placement in the trunk can make.
And one important conclusion here is that placing the rear mounted subwoofer on the opposite side of the listening position often results in better response!
Anyway, I've been working on getting my testing going again and have started posting things on YouTube. My video today has some information about how I set up my sub/midbass crossover and thought some of you might be interested in seeing it. Here's a link to the thread I started:
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threads/use-your-subwoofer-to-get-better-midbass.427251/
And here's the post:
In this video I discuss why I recommend using your subwoofer to improve midbass response. Get your pitchforks ready!... I’m suggesting to run your sub higher than 30hz!
This isn’t truly a shocking revelation. Plenty of people already do what I suggest. It just goes against intuition and against some beliefs in the car audio community that a subwoofer should not play too high in frequency because it can cause the bass to be localized behind you.
The reason why is due to one MAJOR issue in car audio: the “Nearside Null”. This is the large dip in response of the driver’s side midbass speaker that occurs typically in the 70-90hz region. This doesn't occur in every car; there are certainly exceptions to the more extreme car installs.
It is an acoustical null caused by the relationship of the listener’s location relative to the midbass location and generally caused by the width of the vehicle. If you play a track with bass guitar it’s very prevalent; you get a localization to the nearside midbass speaker when the midbass speaker is crossed lower than the frequency where the null occurs.
Generally speaking, the lower your crossover point between midbass and subwoofer, the more noticeable this occurrence is. Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can simply “EQ out”, either. Throwing +6dB at this null may only result in 1dB of actual gain; that means you’re wasting a LOT of power and risking damage to your speaker for no acoustical gain. Some of you may even think to yourselves “seems like you’re not getting much by crossing the midbass low. Maybe there’s not as much benefit as I thought in doing that”. That’s a logical assumption and a lot of times that’s actually true. Crossing the midbass too low can actually result in more “bass behind you”! And you can also take some of the strain off your midbass by crossing them at or above the null. Ironically, we in car audio tend to cross midbass low to get the “up front” bass we so much desire. BUT, IN FACT, the majority of the time you have bass that pulls to the rear is BECAUSE of the midbass nulls. I know that sounds counteractive. But it’s the truth. Standing waves are problematic and this is one symptom of them; whether in home or car audio.
Contrary to popular belief, raising the subwoofer crossover in to the region that this null occurs can actually HELP the sound to stay focused and achieve “up front” bass. If you can move your subwoofer to a location where it is null-free through a frequency above the Nearside Null then you can likely improve midbass without negatively impacting the “up front bass” effect that so many are after. And you can also take some of the strain off your midbass by crossing them at or above the null frequency. Not all have the luxury of space to move the subwoofer around much but experimentation is key here; you may be surprised at the difference subwoofer placement in the trunk can make.
And one important conclusion here is that placing the rear mounted subwoofer on the opposite side of the listening position often results in better response!