car sub's/house amp

[justanothernoob]

Hi all, I am having real trouble with some vibe subwoofers I bought to run off of a home/dj amp. These are what I have

Vibe Slick SLR10 Subwoofer - Car Audio Direct on eBay (end time 01-May-11 23:12:38 BST)

SKYTEC SPL500 WATT DJ PA HOME HIFI AMPLIFIER EQ LED NEW on eBay (end time 07-May-11 12:21:57 BST)


I have the left and right versions of the subwoofer.

I am trying to run them on the amp with high and mid range turned down completely and low range in the middle.

They work ok when on real low but as soon as i turn it up and the sub's start to move a little more the subwoofers sound blown. I am not sure that they are though as both are brand new, is this likely to be my amp doing this?

Please help

 

[Etienne A]

You're going to need an external crossover to cut out anything above 150hz.

 

[justanothernoob]

You're going to need an external crossover to cut out anything above 150hz.

I am not too sure what one of those is

Could you link one so I can see what it is i need


Thank you

 

[swiftpete]

Hi, a crossover will allow you to block off the higher frequencies going to the speakers to ensure that only the bass frequencies get through. At the moment even though you've adjusted the midrange and treble down, it's still getting through. I don't know what you're using the subs for, but if you use something like this;

Sound Around 3 Way 6 Ch. HOME/STUDIO X-OVER Rack Moun PR3000

then you can adjust it to only allow the low frequencies through, maybe everything under 150hz, under 120hz or whatever you want. My subs are set to run everything under 120hz, but I don't use them for music, just films so you may want to go a bit higher.

You may be able to find cheaper than this, but this gives you an idea of what you are after. You can get car crossovers a lot cheaper and easier, but you'd need a 12v power supply to run those as they obviously wouldn't work on a home 240v supply.

 

[PSM1]

Do you know the impedance of the subs? The amp it says is a minimum of 4 ohms and often car speakers are substantially below this (in the 3ohm or below range). If they are in this range then they will be putting a greater load on the amp and this could also be contributing to your issue. If this is causing it then it would become more apparent at higher volumes because the amp could be clipping (and if it is this is a sure way to damage your speakers).

 

[justanothernoob]

Thank you for the reply and the link

The sub's will mostly be used for gaming, I bought car ones as I have a seat set-up for racing games and these blend in real nice but I will also be using them for music and the odd film.

Will the sub getting high and mid range explain why they can sounds blown? I managed to hook it up to a very low watt sub outlet and it sounded perfect but it was a very low wattage and didn't make the sub bounce too much.


The subs are rated at 4 ohms each

 

[Etienne A]

What is your source? I.E. what is feeding the amp's input? If your source has a dedicated LFE/Sub out then you can connect that to your amp, and make do w/o the crossover I mentioned.

You say you've connected it to a "very low watt sub outlet " ... care to explain what this is?

And yes - unless the sub themselves have some protection against high frequencies, they won't sound right being fed a full-range signal. Having said that - ideally you find a way to confirm this really is your problem before spending money on a crossover - which is why I was wondering what your source/s is/are?

 

[justanothernoob]

My ps3 is where my sound is coming from.

I have a small/cheap 2.1 system on another pc, I took the sub out of this and wired one at a time my vibe ones straight onto where the original small sub was, both subs gave nice clear base but only moved maybe 3-4mm.

I am finding it very hard/impossible to find a crossover that has rca/aux inputs and bare wire out puts in the UK. I have even tried to find a new house amp that will power these subs but to no avail..

 

[justanothernoob]

Would some thing simple like this work to cut out the high and mid range?

L073A N15300BC Low Pass Filter | eBay UK

 

[PSM1]

So is your PS3 directly connected to the Skytec?
Can you describe exactly how everything is connected? Where are the higher frequencies being directed too?

 

[Etienne A]

I am finding it very hard/impossible to find a crossover that has rca/aux inputs and bare wire out puts in the UK.

Normally crossovers' in/out are at the same lever ... so it's either rca in and out on some active crossovers, or speaker lever in and out on the passive crossovers.

Would some thing simple like this work to cut out the high and mid range?

L073A N15300BC Low Pass Filter | eBay UK

A couple of those (one per channel) could do the trick, but I can't find the specs .... i.e. from what freq does it start filtering? You should confirm that before buying. Note - that looks like a passive filter so you'd attach it to the speaker out, and then the subs to them.

 

[justanothernoob]

Normally crossovers' in/out are at the same lever ... so it's either rca in and out on some active crossovers, or speaker lever in and out on the passive crossovers.



A couple of those (one per channel) could do the trick, but I can't find the specs .... i.e. from what freq does it start filtering? You should confirm that before buying. Note - that looks like a passive filter so you'd attach it to the speaker out, and then the subs to them.

I found this one also at the same price and this one says 250 HZ, I am not sure if that is good or not though lol, If these may work at that HZ then I will buy 1 and try it before i throw away too much cash.

Eminence PXB-LP250 Low Pass Filter @ 250 Hz | eBay UK



Thank you for your help so far, very much appreciated

 

[justanothernoob]

This is my set-up by the way. The subs will be at either side of my pedals

I will be building a box to hold both my amps that will slot in down the side of the chair next to the wall.

 

[PSM1]

When building a box for the amps make sure they have plenty of ventillation as they will produce a fair bit of heat.
what is the box behind the seat? (with the blue lights?)
Where are the front speakers?
How is the PS3 connected to the amps and via what connection etc.

 

[justanothernoob]

When building a box for the amps make sure they have plenty of ventillation as they will produce a fair bit of heat.
what is the box behind the seat? (with the blue lights?)
Where are the front speakers?
How is the PS3 connected to the amps and via what connection etc.

They are speakers behind the seat, big PA ones on a 500w amp.

I will probably put a fan of some sort on the box to help the amps stay cool.

This is all a work in progress and I have gone loud instead of quality but I am a little deaf in both ears so making it loud is more important for me.

My sound comes out of the ps3 straight into a mixer so i can control volume better and split between my pc also with out changing wires around, then my current amp is connected to my mixer, I will be adding my other amp for the subs separately..I just need to know if the low pass filters will work so i can buy one and wire it all in and try lol