factory amp?

[racerx]

hey, kind of a newbie at car audio here...

anyway, can anyone tell me if the DX model came with a factory amp?

the thing is: i had a pioneer 50 x 4 deck in, with 6.5" Cerwin-Vega HED's in front, and 6 x 9" Cerwin-Vega SS's in the back, and it always sounded awesome! i mean, you could almost float around and swim in the sound. the bass was thick, deep and loud.

I swapped the whole shebang into my 91 prelude... and now the mid and treble sound fine, but the bass sounds like @$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!! Where did it go??

my friend suggested that it could be the factory amps, or lack thereof in the prelude...

[SteveDX89]

Only 3g that had a factory amp was the SE-i. Also, on a typical stereo system installation, the factory amp is bypassed. Most of the time they don't work with an aftermarket head unit.

[racerx]

that's not good news....

so why does the system sound so much less powerful in the prelude? does the "angle" of the speakers make a difference? they're kinda tilted to fit into the holes back there...

[SteveDX89]

First thing I'd say is double check to make sure all your settings are the same as before. Make sure all 4 speakers going. If one has loose connection and cuts in and out, the sounds changes dramatically.

[DanLXI88]

Yes since they use the trunk kind of like an enclosure to help produce bass.

[racerx]

well, lets see... the rear speakers are not exactly "sealed"... i used some foam "tool drawer organizer" stuff to fill in the gaps... maybe that could be it?

oh, and yes, i just looked, on of the rear speaker's wire came out of the connector thing... i'm replacing it right now...

[BlueBead]

If you don't have a good seal on your speakers, the sound waves will actually cancel each other out and you won't be able to hear most of them; If you connect a speaker and test it before putting it in its enclosure it will be much quieter and will have diddly for bass. Make sure you get those 6x9s in tight, because they're the base providers in your system. Also make sure you check your settings like Steve said; when you pulled the head unit out it probably reset itself back to the default settings, which are usually zeroed for each level. If you like more bass try adjusting for it.
One last thing, try taping your rear deck wires into the connectors; sometimes crap in the trunk can knock them loose otherwise. Good luck man!

[racerx]

well, i reconnected the speaker...
also, yes i readjusted to my original settings, with "loud" set to mid, and the parametric EQ adjusted to my specs, etc.

the speakers are not, in fact, tight... so i just discovered... i can feel air passing next to the speakers... i'll be working on that now..

what's the best stuff to use to seal speakers? for now i'm just gonna try using that same stuff i've been using. thanks for the advice!

[accordlxi2.0]

i had a lx-i that came with an amp.
then switched everything to the lx.

[Immeraufdemhund]

well the best stuff you could use would be fiberglass... but that might be impracticle. What year lude do you have? i had a 88 and i would of had to cut to make 6x9's work in them. If i would of done that i would of went to a commercial construction site and grabbed the airtight foam stuff they put on to the bigo' duct work. That seals wonderfully. so other than cutting or fiberglass i wouldn't know how to hep ya.