Problem with my sound system!

[Headstrong--]

hey guys, I have a 2001 chevy sillverado ext. cab and for my sound system I have a;
Headunit------Sony cdx-gt550ui
Amplifier------Eclipse xa1200 ice
Sub----------new 10" kicker comp dvc
Wires--------- 4 gauge kit from online

My sub is a dual 4ohm so I have it wired down to 2ohm so it can put out 400 watts rms and at 2 ohms my amp should be putting out 500 watts rms, well the problem is you cant hear my sub until you crank the volume up but by doing that the treble is way to loud to enjoy the music. I can get the sub to sound great at my listening level by having the gain cranked, loudness on, sub level on headunit all the way up, and bass boost on a little bit but that shouldnt be right. Man its crazy how hard this sub pounds though, its better than most of my friends 2 10" subs but you have to be out of the truck to enjoy it. I set the gains on the amp with a dmm but then I couldnt hear much bass unless the bass boost was up or with loudness button on... Not sure what the deal is and its frustrating me because I dont want to wreck my new sub with bass boost on. I took it to a local audio shop and they cranked everything possible up so I turned everything back down and I dont think im going back there... My headunit has 2v preouts, is that the problem?
Any advice or information will be nice so please reply! thanks
oh yeah I listen to rock and country, only listen to rap when my friends are riding with me because thats their choice...

[damion]

Your 100% sure your sub is wired 2ohm?? It sounds as if youve got it wired for an 8 ohm load, which in theory will cut your power ( and output ) to about half.

[bocker20]

Your 100% sure your sub is wired 2ohm?? It sounds as if youve got it wired for an 8 ohm load, which in theory will cut your power ( and output ) to about half.

I'm getting the same feeling. I had a 10" Rockford p2 in my 95' rcsb powered by 400w kicker amp and it didn't take much to hear/feel/notice the bass. Especially with an ext cab, you should be able to run a bigger box then what I could get. Double check you wiring. Good luck.

[Headstrong--]

well I double checked my wiring and it all seems to be fine... I made sure the sub was wired at 2 ohms so I don't know what the deal is. Is it better to have the loudness button on with bass boost down or the other way around, thanks for replying!

[damion]

Loudness and boost wont really make a huge difference.

Can you post a pic or make a diagram of how your sub is wired?

Also a box that is not correct for the sub will do this.

[Headstrong--]

Loudness and boost wont really make a huge difference.

Can you post a pic or make a diagram of how your sub is wired?

Also a box that is not correct for the sub will do this.

This is how I have my sub wired
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/ca/learningcenter/car/subwoofer_wiring/1DVC_4-ohm_mono.jpg

and for my box, well I made it myself so I double checked the minimum cubic feetfor a sealed box which was .8 and went as big as I could under my seat which ended up being around .93 cubic feet. I made it out of 1/2" MDF because I was told from the audio place that with my enclosure being so small I wont have to worry about flexing. So What else do you think can be a problem? thanks for the reply

[damion]

ok that looks ok. Thats small for a sub to get a really loud output out of though. But if its what it calls for then okie. Just remember if your box is lets say 1 cuft, when you drop your sub in, its now less than 1 cuft, the sub takes up airspace. So even though your box is .93 if it calls for .8cuft with the sub in, its probably a little small.

Trick to get by this ( kinda ) is stuff your box. fill it to about 80% full with polyfill ( cottony stuff thats in pillows ) but dont pack it really tight. this will trick your sub and make it think its in a bigger box than what it is.

Now to set your amp, turn the gain all the way down, then turn your stereo up as loud as you will ever listen to it ( or untill it distorts ), now with your sub volume on your deck set at 0, slowly turn your gain up untill your sub distorts and back it off a bit. Thats the most efficent way to set gain for subs.

Hope this helps

[Headstrong--]

ok that looks ok. Thats small for a sub to get a really loud output out of though. But if its what it calls for then okie. Just remember if your box is lets say 1 cuft, when you drop your sub in, its now less than 1 cuft, the sub takes up airspace. So even though your box is .93 if it calls for .8cuft with the sub in, its probably a little small.

Trick to get by this ( kinda ) is stuff your box. fill it to about 80% full with polyfill ( cottony stuff thats in pillows ) but dont pack it really tight. this will trick your sub and make it think its in a bigger box than what it is.

Now to set your amp, turn the gain all the way down, then turn your stereo up as loud as you will ever listen to it ( or untill it distorts ), now with your sub volume on your deck set at 0, slowly turn your gain up untill your sub distorts and back it off a bit. Thats the most efficent way to set gain for subs.

Hope this helps

ha shoot i forgot to figure the space that the sub takes up... well I bought that polyfill a while ago and put it in, not sure how it is supposed to help but others have recommended it so I figured why not. I tried setting my gains the way you told me and I end up maxing out the gain and I can even turn the bass boost up a ways before it distorts. one thing I noticed though after I did it, when I play certain songs my sub makes a weird noise, not sure if its bottoming out or what so i turned the bass boost down all the way again. It made it sounds like it tried playing the note and it looked like the sub extended out more than it should. thanks for the tips