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.

[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?