Does your head unit have a subwoofer level control or any subwoofer eq settings? Without an oscilloscope it is difficult to set the gain, bass boost should be off. It will boost a set frequency and once you think the levels are right, a different song that peaks at the same frequency that the bass boost is trying to boost comes on and the bass is just overbearing. Gain that is set properly should be much easier without the bass boost on, I suggest using your favorite song and setting the subwoofer level on the amp to match how it sounds with a good set of headphones. The quick, fast, and easy fix for subwoofer level is to get an "lc1" from eBay. It is a level controller with a potentiometer. Set the amp at .5-1v, hook the lc1 up in a location that is easy to reach from the drivers seat. It is just an rca in/out so you'll need a short set of RCA's to run to the head unit from the lc1 and then hook the other set from the amp into the output side of the lc1. Then you can adjust the subwoofer level as easily as the volume on the head unit. That is how I did my BMW. I actually put the lc1 under the center console armrest so the knob is hidden but still easy to access. If you find that you aren't getting enough output without the bass boost then you "can" use it to help out but usually it just clips the signal and gives you distorted bass that seems loud because our ears perceive distortion as louder than clean sound waves. Again, the only way to know if you are getting clean waves or clipping is to use an o-scope or dd-1 distortion detector. Neither option is cheap, only one has multiple uses and they generally aren't easy to use. In a perfect world your speaker will move constantly while a tone is being played, the movement will be perfectly linear and the sound waves produced will be clean. A clipped signal makes your speaker pause on the furthest points of the in stroke as well as the out stroke. You can't see it happen, but if you have ever looked at an o-scope, the wave is the movement your speaker follows. A clipped signal is just what it sounds like. The wave is too large so the furthers peak at the top and bottom of the wave are cut, or clipped, off resulting in a squared off waveform instead of rounded peaks and valleys that show clean and linear movement. Hopefully I have answered your question somewhere in there. I have a tendency to go off on tangents so I apologize for that! Some people know a lot about sound, some people don't so I try to explain things in enough detain to give a fuller understanding of what is going on. The simplified point is bass boost plus high gain level on the amp will damage the voice coils of you speakers, everything else explains how. When a speaker stops moving for any point in time there is straight DC current flowing through it and that cooks the coil making it brittle and weak. On powerful setups you can smell it happen within a few seconds. If you have ever heard of people having speakers billow smoke or catch on fire, that is why it happened...lol

I greatly appreciate your response! That last bit with smoking speakers reminds me of when I would cook guitar amps with waaaayyyyy to much loudness(maybe the same principal). So I am short on money (like most of us) so if i was to tune it as is I should turn down the bass boost and turn up the input sensitivity? My head unit has a little bit of eq for the sub woofer, loudness I think, LPV and a polarity reverse normal thing that only works if the head unit LPV is set to anything but THROUGH.

Again thank you for your time!

I believe the lc1 is around $10 and a short patch cable from radio shack should be less than $5. Yes you can just turn the bass boost down and adjust the gain to where it sounds right but you be left with little adjustability if the head unit doesn't have a variable filter or level control to help ensure the right frequencies are getting there and at the right level. I have had to battle my cheap head unit that doesn't have a USB or Bluetooth due to budget issues and the 1/8 input on my head unit is wonderful but the iPod doesn't really level out all the different songs so one song might be louder or quieter than another so I decided to go the cheap route and just put the lc1 in. Plus, if you want to make someone jump out of their skin you leave it turned way way down and wait till its about a minute into the song and without touching the head unit all the sudden things get loud!! People look at me like "that's all you got??!!" and I just make them think that it is all I've got... for a little bit at least!

Really that inexpensive? Man...Ok when I find myself around one of those places I will pick em up and see what happens. I will do the other things for now but you are right I wont have the adjustment for particular songs.

Ok man well thanks and if I have any more questions I know where to ask!

Any time man. I'll post up some links in the morning

Just search EBay for a "PAC LC-1" and you'll be good to go. Bunch of them for $11-$12 shipped new.

I installed Kicker 40CS654 6.5" in the front and Kicker 40CS54 5.25" earlier this year, but I feel like they are really lacking on the low end. I have hardly any bass. Is there anyway to get some more sound and bass out of these without adding a sub? I really dont want to lose any cargo space.

Edit: Forgot to add that I am running a 2014 Scion FRS headunit.

Some good info e46. I have some parts waiting for install in the Runner...gotta get back to working and pay some other bills off first. I had an 03 Tahoe with a JVC bongiovi KDS100 head unit...stock bose speakers and two Elemental Design 15's in a sealed box on a ED nine.1 and for sealed it pretty damn good and was very clean. Sold the Tahoe and got a 2012 wrangler jku...ran the stock headunit and polk db 6.5 comp set up front and db 2ways in the sound bar...first I had to Skar MA-8's tuned to 34hz with my Nine.1 on them and it surprised a lot of people then I sold those and went to a Imperium Audio Design Reign 12 in a prefab tuned to 37hz on the same power. Way a bit cleaner but the box is slightly small and I want one tuned to 32hz...which i may go kerf port and 2.2 cubes since I have the extra room now. It will be run by a Memphis 1k for now. IM still working out my front and rear stages.
I know a 8in mid will fit in the door but I dont know if I want to go that route. May just got with a 6x9 comp set with a tweeter in the dash there the 3.5 is...idk, I know its a good bit of rewiring involved with the odd ohm's and factory harness but we will see.

What a let down. I thought this was going to be about fish!

You need a mid bass driver instead of those "full range" jobbies if you want some bass out of the doors. Frequency response and the response curve are 2 different things. A speaker will have a frequency response from 20hz-20khz but the 20hz is at -20dbs and the 20khz is at -30dbs on the frequency curve. Full range drivers or 2/3 way speakers really fall flat on their face in the frequencies we want them to be efficient at for bass reproduction. My best suggestion is an exodus anarchy 6.5 driver set for the doors if you want bass an to not require adding a subwoofer and amp. The anarchy plays down to 40hz with authority. I have been very impressed with what those little guys can do. However they are also the biggest 6.5 I ha e ever laid hands on. They are like 4-5" from surround to backplate on the motor and weigh more than most 8" woofers.
As far as the 8's in the doors of the wrangler, I dont see you having much issue with that. My wife's patriot limited has 8's in the doors from the factory and that little bugger impressed me as far as how flat the response is for a factory stereo. It just sounds great and really doesn't lack anything at any frequency above 30hz other than the ridiculous amount of power that I am used to...lol That being said, try out some tantric sounds Ld8's run as a component setup. You'll need no subwoofer, and if you run some American Bass sealed back 5.25 silver flutes and a decent set of silk dome tweeters you will be more than happy with the outcome and have a beautiful musicality from wherever the tweeters cut off at on the high end, all the way deep into the 30's with the 8's sealed in the doors in about .25-.5 cubes net each.

I sold the wrangler and have the 4runner now. But it has the 6x9s in the doors and I was considering doing the 8in mids mainly because they fit with little work and a cleaner sound than what's there now. I'm not looking for bass from them just more "fill". If I do go with a comp set im thinking about trying some focals. But i will look into the tantric's, I know of their subs of course but don't know much about their full range stuff.

I also don't know if those anarchy sets will fit in the doors. .....I can gain some extra depth using taco tunes spacer adapters but idk if that much lol.
Plus again I'm not looking to add that much bass up front.
Oh and those seem to out of production as well.

Where would I go about purchasing these anarchy drivers at?

Sundown also makes a nice 6.5 sub

Hey Josh,

I have a question which I wanted to ask but didn't know who to address it until I came across this thread.

Couple weeks ago I installed JVC KW-V50BT along with a Hertz HCP4D running two sets of Hertz ESK 6.5" components in front and back. I'm also planning to add JL 10TW3 sub in near future with additional mono amp.

My question is: which crossover for HPF I should use? The one on HU or amplifier? I read that HCP4D has a very well designed crossover but its really hard to tell where frequencies change on the dial. On HU its all graphical and very easy to set HPF. Can I set full range on my amp and instead use HU HPF? What frequency should I set HPF with my set up?

Thanks