Factory setup question

[Jason05216]

We recently purchased a 2015 LSV and I have a couple of questions about the factory stereo setup in the boat. The head unit is a Fusion MS-RA205, the amp is a Kicker KXM800.5, sub under the helm, 6 speakers in the boat, none on the tower. At some point I want to add tower speakers and upgrade a bit. But, for now I will just use what I've got. There doesn't seem to be much coming from the sub. I attached the remote bass level control but it didn't seem to have any impact on the sub. What should I do to get more from the sub? Also, I've read on here about leaving the tone controls flat. Should you not use them or is that just for tuning a system?

[nitrodude24]

There's no enclosure for the factory sub so it vents into the whole bow area back To the observers area. It needs to be in a vented enclosure to get the maximum db out of it designed to sub manufacturers specs. I bought a prebuilt box from hifisoundconnect.com for a 10" sub and mounted. it under the helm and I am well pleased with it in my lsv

[MLA]

Jason,

You said you attached the bass level knob. What it supplied with the boat, and just not plugged up?

What sub is there?

[Jason05216]

Not sure which brand. I'll take a look. It's a 10" speaker.

The bass level control wasn't attached. It was in the bag with the other documentation. I connected it to the amp with the supplied cable, it looks like phone cable, as shown in the manual. I couldn't tell that it was doing anything.

[MLA]

Ok, its safe to say that the system was not tuned with knob in mind. Just to make sure every thing is working like it should, turn the sub knob all the way, turn the head-unit volume up to 75%, place you hand gently on the sub and turn the bass knob down. You should feel the sub's level drop.

If the sub is running infinite-baffle and its not a true IB sub, its performance can be improved with a small sealed enclosure, but lets not get too far ahead. Id like to know more about we've got at hand and investigate the amps tuning first.

I would also like to know how many pairs of RCA are plugged up to the KXM800.5 and in what spots they are plugged up. This helps me determine whether the sub is getting its signal direct from the head-unit or if its passed through from the "Amp-1" inputs.

[Jason05216]

I looked in the documentation and there isn't anything about the speakers. I'll have to look in the boat this weekend. The boat is about an hour from me. I won't be there till Friday evening.

[Jason05216]

Here are some pics of the amp and the sub. The sub is just mounted on the panel below the steering wheel. The panel is open at the top and it opens into the bow under seat storage on the back. It is working just doesn't do much.

http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p719/jasonjpm/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsa5791708.jpg (http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/jasonjpm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsa5791708.jpg.html)

http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p719/jasonjpm/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps877daeb9.jpg (http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/jasonjpm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps877daeb9.jpg.html)

http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p719/jasonjpm/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsbf8bd007.jpg (http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/jasonjpm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsbf8bd007.jpg.html)

[MLA]

Ok, so the sub level knob turns the sub up and down, its just that when all the way, its output is still lacking.

That sub absolutely will perform 10X better, with a small sealed enclosure behind. Partly because its not a true IB sub, but mostly because that facade is open at the top. Thats a less than ideal IB application.

Ok, looks as if the sub is getting its source signal from a dedicated sub output on the head-unit. I would look and see if that is an adjustable output. If so, it could be see too low. Just make sure the sub level knob all the way.

Next, I would open the access panel for the amp adjustments. I would like to see what the sub chnl settings are. Mainly the cross over. As a last resort, we may be able to tweak the bass-boost and gain.

[Jason05216]

I'll get a shot of that. My phone died earlier.

[patrick232]

I have the same sub in a sealed box using the front of kick plate as the front of the box. It's running on its own amp I believe its a 300 watt but will have to check. Not factory amp or sub.
What are the buttons towards the bottom next to the power?

[David Analog]

The Kicker KM10 is a decent subwoofer but stands no chance in the factory application.
I suspect that the KM10 is a moderately high 'Q' sub that will work just okay in an infinite baffle application when used in limited power applications. But as mentioned above it will perform much better in a sealed enclosure of a displacement that is better balanced to this subwoofer.
The present application is not even 'infinite baffle' since there is very little front to rear acoustic isolation. The woofer is presently undamped = no acoustic resistance. The short distance over the top of the baffle means that any waveform longer/lower than the isolation distance is cut-off at a high rate. So presently....no power handling, no control, and no deep bass. It's not the fault of the woofer. The correct enclosure will remedy all this.

[MLA]

What are the buttons towards the bottom next to the power?

Is this regarding your amp, or the pic of Jason's amp? For the amp pictured above, Input Level = Hi/Low is to se the amp depending on the source level, like speaker outputs or RCA's. FADE OFF when using only a single set of RCA into the AMP-1 jacks, or FADE ON for when you are using front and rear RCAs into both Amp-1 and Amp-2 jacks. Sub = this determines where the sub gets its signal from. Passed through from the other chnls or direct from sub RCAs.

If your question is specific to your amp, post up what amp you have an we can see about getting you an answer.

[Jason05216]

Couple of questions...is there a trick to getting the front door open on the amp to see the settings? Manual says its magnetic but it doesnt readily open. Also, would it make sense that I would have to remove the amp from where it is mounted to be able to see the front? It is mounted so low that I think even if I got the door open I'm not going to be able to see anything. I went into the settings on the fusion head unit and set the sub zone to max. On the head unit the sub bypass is set to 55 MHz.

[MLA]

The access door on the KXM amp is held closed by two allen head screws.

Just for chits and giggles, change the position of the sub input button. Lets get its signal from the other RCA's. If that 55hz is the low-pass cross over, thats way to low for that 10" sub and killing its performance.

[Jason05216]

The 55 is changeable what would be more appropriate? I'll change that switch and see what happens.

[MLA]

Off or full-range or something higher then 150HZ

[David Analog]

It's much better to use a single active crossover filter. If given the option, I would set the source to 'full' and exclusively use the amplifier lowpass filter. I wouldn't want the cascading phase offset of two filters.

[Jason05216]

Here is what the manual says about the sub settings

SUBWOOFER — Select ‘Settings’ then ‘Zones’ then ‘Subwoofer’.
Select ‘Sub level’ to set the desired maximum subwoofer output volume.
Select ‘Sub Filter’ to select the desired cut-off frequency.
55Hz - 85Hz - 120Hz - 160Hz
Default: 85Hz

Set it at 160? I'll also try changing the sub input and see what happens.

[MLA]

Just change the position of the sub input button on the amp. The sub will then receive its signal from the full-range inputs that feed chnls 1-4.

[Brennen M]

I have the 2015 LSV as well. same set up with the fusion deck, kicker sub and amp. The bass in the sub was a complete joke. did a whole bunch of research and the factory mounting of the "free air" sub is technically wrong and nothing you do will make a big difference. the front and rear have to be completely separated and as stated there is the huge gap at the top. don't bother fiddling with the amps or the bass volume control. tried everything as well. Had the same sub mounted in a sealed box with the same kicker 800.5 amp and you would not believe the difference. the bass sounds awesome and is super clean. also added a JL sub driving Roswell spinvamp tower speakers. sounds great.