I just put in an Alpine 10in type E and an mtx thunder 421d and it sounds great, but I pretty much can't hear the sub at all untill the gain is almost at its maximum, is this a problem

 

So turn it up to the maximum.



If you think something is up, check and make sure you didn't accidentally reverse the polarity.

 

Do not max the gains on it. If you have only one sub the reversed polarity should not make the speakers cancel out that much with the 6x9's. What thickness power wire are you running? Do you have good connections?

 

If the cone is moving a lot but you're not getting much sound, your enclosure may not be sealed properly. Check for leaks and make sure that the area around the sub is well sealed without any leaking air.

 

the Gain is NOT a vol. control. you will fry that amp over time if you do that

 

I know. The icon was intended to indicate sarcasm.

 

No when the gain is low the cone doesn't move. The power/ground is 4 guage, and the remote on wire is 16 guage. The connections seem pretty decent. Should I maybe sand the ground chasis connection point some more? Also when I spliced the remote power wire in I only used twist and tape, but could the remote power wire cause this problem?

 

Sanding down the surface that the ground wire rests on isn't a bad start, metal to metal contact is optimal. As for the remote wire, that's only there to turn on your amp when the head unit comes on. If your amp is on when the deck is on, then there's no problem. It only needs a small current and won't affect your subs in any way. Also I'd still check for leaks in the enclosure just to be sure... it can really hurt perfonmance and they're pretty easy to fix.

One other thing: is the airspace in the enclosure close to the recommended volume for the sub? That could cause it to underperfom. Good luck.

 

Is there a special way to check for leaks? I think the volume is fine, the box is 1 f^3 and alpine recommends .6-1.25 feet.

 

for a sealed 10 most of the time its a .8 box and for a sealed 12 its 1.25 again MOST of the time not always, one way to see if you have a leak is to puch the woffer down from around the cone and listen for air.

 

Yeah on a sealed box, push in on the cone, it should resist you pushing it in. Just listen for air as My86Firebird said.

 

Sounds to me like it could be a crossover problem. Are you absolutely sure your sub is running low pass?

Are you sure you don't have conflicting signals (i.e. your deck is sending a 90Hz high-pass and your amp is crossed over at 125Hz low-pass)?

 

I suspected a crossover problem but Im new to this so Im still learing. My amp has a frequency button and my headunit has a crap load of crossover functions im trying to figure out.

*Update* Well I took out the type E and put a type R in, so that is making it louder/clearer, but I did notice that when I push the cones of either one in i can hear some air leaking out around the edge of the woofer/box. Box is a qlogic 1.0010se btw. Is the box deffective or do the prefabbed boxes just suck in general. Can I seal the edge or something?

 

Is it leaking in the joints or is it leaking around the sub? if its in the joints just get some liquid nails and caulk the inside of all joints.

 

Its leaking arround the sub.

 

Get some rope caulk its a clay like substance that doesn't dry and is non adhesive and try using that. Don't use anything that will bond the sub in the box and that will void most warranties.