I want to cut all the bass to my components and let my sub handle all the lows. I just cant figure out how to do it. I believe i can do it from my Kenwood KDC X994 HU, but I can't find the setting. There's a way to adjust subwoofer level, and set the gains for the equalizer, but I don't know how to shut off bass entirely to the components. Anyone else have any experience with this headunit?


Here's the equipment I'm running FYI:
Kenwood Excelon KDC X994 HU
JL Audio TR 650 Comps and Tweets powered by JL Audio XD 200W/2 Channel
Kenwood Excelon 10" Shallow Mount Sub powered by JL Audio 300W Sub Amp

 

you have a few options, you can either find the HPF in the HU usually found by holding the menu button and going to advanced settings. or you can go to your jl 2channel amp and turn the HPF **** up to about 80, there may also be a switch that needs to be flipped to HPF, but not always.

 

yep, dirt is exactly right. The best way to go about it is with the HU though as you'll have much more accurate control over your adjustments.

Press the volume ****.
Turn it to "Detailed Setup">"X'OVER" and press the **** again.
Turn the volume **** to select the set of speakers you want to adjust "Front", "REAR", or "SUBWOOFER" and press the **** again.

Now just set the crossover to the desired frequency. The slope has to do with how steep the roll off, or how strong, the cut is. A -6dB slope is a shallow slope, think of it like a long hill. A -24dB slope is very steep, like something we would climb with our Blazers, lol. Select a slope and listen to the speakers for a little bit. Adjust until you get a good blend with the subwoofer and you're set.

On that HU you may have to go in and set the vehicle type and speaker size before it lets you adjust the crossover. I have a 991 and it doesn't require that, but the manual on yours mentions setting that stuff first so it may be a requirement.

 

Out of idle curiosity, are you having major issues with distortion? How do you have the components installed (used factory locations, baffles, etc.) ?

Those components generally get great reviews and while I've never heard any in person I would imagine that they should perform very well. Typically a slope of -12dB and in the 60 to 80hz area's can still offer decent midbass response from the mids while protecting them from the frequencies the sub's should be covering.

 

Thank you so much ACT! That is exactly what I was looking for! I'm surprised a member of this forum knew exactly how to do this with my specific HU!

I have the Comps and everything else installed. I just have to work on mounting the amps and getting some wire tucked away. It sounds fantastic! This system was actually installed by a professional shop around 2010 in my cousins Tacoma for $1700. He sold the truck, but saved the system. I paid him $500 for a tuned system with wiring that was all designed to work together perfectly. I had to buy new comps, since he left those behind, so I bought the same ones he had. They are beautiful speakers. He told me that he used to crank it all the way up and they SCREAM with no distortion. After I get them fine tuned I'll see how good they really are. For $140 though, they are a great deal.

I am not getting much distortion at all. actually, the comps are crystal clear so far. They can really sing when you have a song with good vocals. I got everything in the factory location with no problems (keeps it stealthy). I used the factory speaker mounts on the doors. The factory mounts have a foam cover that goes around the sides of the speaker, so I screwed the component on top of the foam. I siliconed the foam that was sandwiched between the speaker and the mount to keep it airtight. I don't like this, and I want to know if i should just strip the silicone and foam and mount the woofer directly to the plastic mount.

 

All I did was pull up the owner's manual off of Kenwood's website.

You got quite a hell of a deal for $500. Those are really nice amps and they alone were worth that. If you're able to crank it pretty decent without much if any distortion then you will not likely need to turn the crossover up much at all, which is great.

Having the silicone and foam under them really isn't a big deal, neither would it be to undo it. The doors on a vehicle are inherently suckish for speakers. There's a million places for the back wave, or the sound the back of the speaker creates, to come out and interfere with what you're supposed to hear and cause issues. Also, the factory plastic and sheet metal is flimsy and flexible. When that stuff flexes the speaker is losing output and clarity.

If you think you like it now spend a few dollars on some sound deadening and make a good solid baffle for the speakers to mount to and replace that factory plastic one and they'll REALLY come to life. There's absolutely no comparison to what a truly good installation can do for a set of speakers. Bass and midbass will be greatly improved, midrange will be clearer, distortion reduced, and it will get noticeably louder as a result. Not to mention the fact that rattles, road noise, etc. will be reduced, and that's just doing the doors. If you had the funds and ambition to do the entire truck you wouldn't believe you were driving the same vehicle.