I'm not happy with the overall sound of what I've done so far. I was looking for a simple, yet good sounding system. I listen to a LOT of different music, rock, country, alternative, SOME rap... I think I'm just missing something here because at louder volumes, it just doesn't have any stereo separation and generally sounds muddled together. I haven't done the sub yet because I've been so frustrated trying to "tune" what I have by ear. I've tried setting the gains according to JLs instructions and I've used a test tone like they said - but I had a hard time even hitting the voltage they suggest. This is supposed to be a 5v pre-amp HU, so I didn't think I should have to CRANK the gains to achieve the correct voltage.

This is in a Mazda 3 hatch:

HU - Kenwood DNX-8120
Amp JL HD600/4
Front speakers Morel Tempo 6 (6.5 components)
Rear speakers Image Dynamics 6.5 drivers (no tweets)
The entire floor and all 4 doors are deadened (including trunkarea) As well as a layer of ensolite.

Lastly, I'm a big DIY'r - I like to do technical projects myself... If I bring this to a shop to iron out the bugs, are they going to give me a hard time or even be willing to work on it since I did it myself?

Thanks

 

If a shop gives you a hard time, then you are at the wrong shop. Constructive critism from a professional is what you are paying for. Your setup looks good and is not low-quality stuff so I am not sure what the problem is. Honestly, you need a second opinion. Most any qualified shop would be willing to listen and make suggestions for you. If it can be tuned correctly with what you have, the charge should be minimal.

 

Where in St. Pete are you, I could check it out for you.

 

If you're nearby bring it to me, let me have a listen. I'm on 49th st half a block north of 110th ave. I'll be glad to try to help point you in the right direction. It sounds like you've got a good start on it with good stuff.

 

Thanks guys - might take you up on the help. Today, I'm messing with the angle on my tweeters. If I move my head towards the dash and down a little, it sounds much better - so I'm trying to accomplish the same sound where my head usually sits

 

I was thinking, maybe post pics up of your setup. If we can see what you're working with, maybe something will come to mind for someone here. Chances are, one of us here has done that setup more than once and can give you some real-time pointers about placement and how it will come out. Maybe save you some heartache...

 

Upon thinking about this a bit more this morning, I've used one set of those that a customer supplied and we had a very hard time getting a really good image out of them...I think what I ended up doing was running them active an ditching the x-over. After looking them up i remember why - the stock crossover point is 3800hz at 6db. That's pretty high, and with only a 6db slope you're going to be hearing the midrange playing up into the 5K+ range. I didn't have a lot of time to play with it so you may be able to use the crossover just fine with more time to play with locations and angles. And again, if you're ever nearbly feel free to swing in!

 

I'll be in the area tomorrow. I'll stop in if you don't tease me about the unfinished install

 

haha i got news for you...my own install has been ongoing for 8 months and isnt near finished so i've got no room to talk. I'll be here all day, stop on in.

 

It was nice meeting you today, Luke. Thanks for listening to my piece and for the pointers. I'm glad that you could also hear what I am hearing....lacking - so I'm not crazy after all I'm going to try all the free-bee suggestions this weekend and see where that gets me. After that, I think I'd try an active crossover before I tried to make a custom passive...seems like that would give me the best odds of fixing this.