My Audio Build

Stayed with the factory head unit. Just too integrated and I didn't want to loose any nav functionality and such. I have a link to my build thread in my signature below.

 

Thanks dude!!

 

Here's my current setup with my ugly ass box. I removed all the carpet in an attempt to get rid of the mold smell. It definitely helped. I spent hours sanding down the glue and carpet fragments that stuck to the box and bought paint and everything to make it look nice and that's where I got frustrated because it still smelt a little like mold. SO, until my new box arrives this is how it will be. Also, you can notice the wires on the floor. Again, once the new box arrives i'll cut those to length and hide everything.

 

Well I figured no better time than now so I red did the wiring in a much better way.




And made it all nice!

 

Looking super good man!! So much work but it's worth it in the end!!

 

Update: I'm having a small issue with the sound system. When i'm listening to a song that has some heavy bass but then cuts to like a vocals only section (think Electronic music when they have bass 'drops') the bass will not come on as strong for a split second before it sounds full again. I'm thinking this has something to do with the electronics not having a bass signal during those vocal sessions and then something taking a delay when the signal comes back? Any ideas? It's not a big deal as it is literally like a split second but its not 100% right either.

 

Do you have the audiocontrol LOC accubass turned up pretty high? There may be a small delay before it detects a bass signal and then applies whatever processing it does.

 

I was curious myself & did a little googling. Looks like you're not the first person to complain of the LC2i doing that. Bummer.

 

The AccuBass feature I left at the default midpoint. I've only messed with the "Main" and "Bass" adjustments.

 

Well, damn... I won't give up yet. Once my new box comes in i'll have to mess with the adjustments all over again i'll try and play around with everything and see if I can get it to go away.

Edit: after doing some Googling myself, I still think there is room for adjustments. Hell, the internet rabbit hole makes me think I may have my polarities reversed! Too much information out there...

 

That sucks you're having issues. You get anything else figured out?

 

It's extremely minor and the system as a whole sounds awesome. Music with a constant beat has no problem at all as I think a solid signal coming through at all times alleviates the issue. I'll get it right with more tweaking.

 

So you think phase issues are causing the delayed bass response?

Me personally, I'd turn down the accubass - bypass it if possible.

 

After more Googling and searching, I think AudioControls website FAQ might have the answer. Per this interactive diagram:

https://1.shortstack.com/Cx1RRJ

I think I need to turn the AccuBass "Threshold" either all the way up/down due to "This pot, located on the end of the LC2i™, adjusts the input level at which AccuBASS turns on." I'm not sure if that means up/down is the more sensitive side i.e. all the way down will turn on with a faint signal coming in or all the way up forces it to be more sensitive.

From there, I can tweak the other adjustments. Probably turn the top AccuBass knob down, leave the Main at 75% and the Bass at 75%. I'll report back.

Edit: Ya i'm thinking it has something to do with the AccuBass Threshold adjustments. Per another FAQ response, " AccuBASS™ can be set to activate only when the bass in the factory system begins rolling off (using the Threshold knob)." Something tells me I just don't have the right Threshold settings down and its messing up the consistency of the Bass signal coming in.

 

you have the Entune deck right? no-nav no-jbl?

there is no bass rolloff from the factory radio, you can leave the Addabass turned off if you want.

 

I just noticed your post this morning... wish someone posted this earlier. After work yesterday, I figured this out on my own by adjusting the settings on my sub amp and the LC2i. Sounds really good now. LC2i has AccuBass "threshold" all the way clockwise. AccuBass is all the way down. Main is 80% and Bass is 95%. This was all set with the Bass Knob set at 50% so on some songs I can overboost the bass and others I can turn it down. My sub amp has all settings turned all the way down except the frequency I have set at 90-ish (hard to tell on the knob).

 

By this I'm not sure if you have your gains turned all the way down on both lc2 and sub amp. Have you adjusted/matched the gains on both? I feel like your music might sound better afterwards

 

I believe the LC2i gains are set high (Main/Bass) and the gains on my amp are set low.

The Phoenix Gold Tantrum amp has three knobs: 1) Sensitivity 2) Bass EQ and 3) Crossover Frequency

I have sensitivity at 4 (full counter clockwise) and bass set at zero (full counter clockwise) and frequency set at the 90-ish mark. According to the PG manual it states to use the Bass EQ "sparingly" as every 3dB of 'boost' requires double the power at 45Hz... I see what you're saying though. I could probably set the LC2i Bass setting at default and turn up the amp sensitivity to middle-range. Its weird, the amp sensitivity goes from 4 to .2? I don't know what that means but 4 is full counter clockwise and .2 is full clockwise.

 

The amp sensitivity values are probably in relation to the output voltage level of the device feeding it. If the head unit (LOC in this case) sends 4V at full volume, then you only need a little gain from your amp (hence "4"). If the head unit outputs only a small voltage (0.2 V) at full volume, then you need more gain.

You are totally fine with really low amp gains, but if you start to hear noise (like hissing or buzzing), then turn down the gain on your LOC and up the gain on your amps. A 0 dB track would be very useful for troubleshooting noisy equipment in your signal chain.

 

So correct me if i'm wrong but i'm reading the Phoenix Gold amp manual and it has a DC Input Voltage Range of 10-15.5v. Max output voltage from the LC2i is 9.5v. So currently, I have my Bass gains at 95% on the LC2i (sending out almost as strong of a signal as possible) which is coming close to the minimum input voltage range on the amp. Seems like I might need to turn up the sensitivity on my amp to compensate for the difference? It sounds good now but if it could sound better...

The amp itself doesn't have a "gains" knob, unless its the dB adjustment knob? I just don't want to be forcing the amp to work harder than it needs to.

Edit: actually since my ACR-1 Bass Knob was set at 50% to the LC2i that throws my voltage readings out of whack even more.