mid bass question

[ExpiredDrummer 10+ year member]

i want to run some type of mid bass and im not sure how to properly do it. im think maybe a single 8 would do the job.

im running right now a premier 510, 2 6.5's up front running off an mtx4300, jl 5x7's in the rear deck running off the HU, and 3 12w3v2's running off a kx1200.1. could i use the available preout on the HU for a midbass amp? would 1 8" be enough? if i have that 1 8" in the trunk with the 12w3v2's, will it interfere with the 12's? or vise versa? any and all info will help

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[BloodyGuts335i 10+ year member]

i think putting it in the trunk will not work as good as two 8's on the kick panels..

 

[ExpiredDrummer 10+ year member]

i think putting it in the trunk will not work as good as two 8's on the kick panels..

i thought of that at first, but i have zero experience on custom kick panels, and i dont have any of the necessary tools.

 

[BloodyGuts335i 10+ year member]

i thought of that at first, but i have zero experience on custom kick panels, and i dont have any of the necessary tools.

I see.. my same reason for not having that type of set up as well.. lol

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Several problems here.

One, midbass, unlike subbass, is localizable. Your ears can tell which direction its coming from. So placing your midbass driver(s) in the trunk will pull your sound stage to the rear, not up front where it belongs.

Second, being that midbass is localizable, it requires two drivers, one for the left, and one for the right, to maintain stereo separation.

Third, the suggestion for midbass in the kicks is a bad idea, as midbass drivers tend to need a good amount of airspace behind them to perform correctly. Most car audio mids/midbass drivers you'll find actually expect to play infinite baffle (large area behind the cone so as to creat NO backpressure/air cushion). So placing midbass drivers in tiny kick panel pods will completely destroy their lower frequency performance. The only good way to do midbass in the kicks is aperiodic membrane, or ported. Either presents complications that a novice will likely screw up, or find too daunting to attempt. The 'standard' way to set up dedicated midbass drivers would be to mount them in the doors where they have a large airspace behind them, and move your mids and tweets to the kick panels. Midrange will perform much better in small sealed pods than would midbass speakers. This will also help equalize pathlengths of your mids and tweets, a good thing.

Use the search function to look up fully active 3-way front stage setups, plenty of info already here at your disposal.

Cheers.

 

[BloodyGuts335i 10+ year member]

Several problems here.
One, midbass, unlike subbass, is localizable. Your ears can tell which direction its coming from. So placing your midbass driver(s) in the trunk will pull your sound stage to the rear, not up front where it belongs.

Second, being that midbass is localizable, it requires two drivers, one for the left, and one for the right, to maintain stereo separation.

Third, the suggestion for midbass in the kicks is a bad idea, as midbass drivers tend to need a good amount of airspace behind them to perform correctly. Most car audio mids/midbass drivers you'll find actually expect to play infinite baffle (large area behind the cone so as to creat NO backpressure/air cushion). So placing midbass drivers in tiny kick panel pods will completely destroy their lower frequency performance. The only good way to do midbass in the kicks is aperiodic membrane, or ported. Either presents complications that a novice will likely screw up, or find too daunting to attempt. The 'standard' way to set up dedicated midbass drivers would be to mount them in the doors where they have a large airspace behind them, and move your mids and tweets to the kick panels. Midrange will perform much better in small sealed pods than would midbass speakers. This will also help equalize pathlengths of your mids and tweets, a good thing.

Use the search function to look up fully active 3-way front stage setups, plenty of info already here at your disposal.

Cheers.

thanks for the good info and clearing it up...

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

No problem, glad I could contribute.

 

[ExpiredDrummer 10+ year member]

good stuff. heres another question. if i were to install midbass drivers in the doors, AND leave the 6.5's there, would that be acceptable? if so,i would have to do so, so that the midbass drivers wouldnt be seen. ie, cutting into the metal in the doors, but not cutting out a grill in the plastic door panel. like i said before, i have zero experience with working with custom moldings.

 

[ExpiredDrummer 10+ year member]

can anyone shed some light on the last question??

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Couple problems with that idea. One, the midbass speakers would affect the midrange speakers. Speakers work by moving a diaphragm that pressurizes the air. So the midbass speakers pumping in and out would create an artificial pressure on the rear of the cone on the midrange speakers, forcing them to move in a manner the signal/amplifier is not dictating. Would it work? Yes. Would it work well? Probably not. You could get around this problem however by sealing off the back of the midrange speakers so that they would not be affected by the midbass, and vice versa. This does add some complications however... but its certainly doable. Ive done it, run midbass and midrange in the same doors, with the midrange havinf sealed backs. But the door panels were completely custom to allow such a large array of speakers. Not exactly a newbie-friendly install, and less ideal than just making/buying kick panel pods for the midrange and tweets.

Second, if you mount the midbass in the doors but do not have a way for the direct radiated sound waves from them to be emitted into the cabin, this will obviously affect their perceived output and frequency response. You being a drummer, I will assume you understand my meaning there. Subs can many times be hidden, as so much of their perceived response is tactile. But midbass speakers, again being localizable based on freq response, do not perform well when their direct radiating sound waves are blocked from the listener. This is also why I disagree with the notion of placing midbass speakers under your seats. Doable? Yes. Acceptable? Depends on your goals and expectations. Ideal? Not even close. So at that point it would be up to you to decide how accurate you want this system to be.

 

[ExpiredDrummer 10+ year member]

Couple problems with that idea. One, the midbass speakers would affect the midrange speakers. Speakers work by moving a diaphragm that pressurizes the air. So the midbass speakers pumping in and out would create an artificial pressure on the rear of the cone on the midrange speakers, forcing them to move in a manner the signal/amplifier is not dictating. Would it work? Yes. Would it work well? Probably not. You could get around this problem however by sealing off the back of the midrange speakers so that they would not be affected by the midbass, and vice versa. This does add some complications however... but its certainly doable. Ive done it, run midbass and midrange in the same doors, with the midrange havinf sealed backs. But the door panels were completely custom to allow such a large array of speakers. Not exactly a newbie-friendly install, and less ideal than just making/buying kick panel pods for the midrange and tweets.
Second, if you mount the midbass in the doors but do not have a way for the direct radiated sound waves from them to be emitted into the cabin, this will obviously affect their perceived output and frequency response. You being a drummer, I will assume you understand my meaning there. Subs can many times be hidden, as so much of their perceived response is tactile. But midbass speakers, again being localizable based on freq response, do not perform well when their direct radiating sound waves are blocked from the listener. This is also why I disagree with the notion of placing midbass speakers under your seats. Doable? Yes. Acceptable? Depends on your goals and expectations. Ideal? Not even close. So at that point it would be up to you to decide how accurate you want this system to be.

that makes alot of sense. thanks for all the info.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Again, glad to help. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[BloodyGuts335i 10+ year member]

audioholic.. clear up your pm's.. lol.. when you do, pm me plz.. thanks

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

audioholic.. clear up your pm's.. lol.. when you do, pm me plz.. thanks

Okay, I made some room. Id PM you to tell you, but that will take up more PM space. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif
Warning: Im a bit drunk tonight, you never know what I might say.