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Infinity Kappa Perfect DVQ10 sound quality?

2028 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  ChrisB
Hello. I'm new to this forum and I'm looking for some suggestions with my subwoofer set-up I just recently completed, as I do not believe I'm getting the best sound possible out of what I have. I can provide some basic specs on all of the components to the system for starters and can provide more if needed. I'm not new to the car stereo world but there's a lot for me to learn still which is why I've turned to this forum. So here's the components: 2 Infinity Kappa Perfect DVQ10s; 1 Kicker zxs1500.1 amp; Kicker PK4 wiring kit; Fierce Audio build-a-box dual 10" enclosure; and a Pioneer DEH-4800mp head-unit that still has some life to it. The basic specs: The subs are rated at 400w rms at 4ohms and are dual-voice coil with the medium-sized Q-inserts installed; the amp is 1500w rms at 2ohms, 750w rms at 4ohms; the build-a-box is .75ft^3 per chamber. The "issue": Based upon what I've read on these subs I'm not entirely happy with the output. I essentially have them designed to "punch" for rock and metal music and I have not experienced that to my desired taste. I've heard my roommates 2 10" Type E subs with a 500w amp hit frequencies in songs much harder than my set-up. Like I said I'm not new and I did as much research as I could to acquire a high quality sound, but I think I did something wrong with this set-up. I'm thinking possibly the wiring kit, the box or even the wiring which was done professionally. They informed me the wiring was done in parallel. Does anyone have any corrections I should make to the set-up? Anything would help. Like I said I can provide more information to any or all of the components as needed. Thanks in advance.
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So.... they're dual 4ohm, correct?
If so, you can only get a 4ohm or 1ohm final load for your amp. I don't know if that amp is 1ohm stable (sorry, not big on Kicker amps) so you probably need to go with 4ohm. This requires you to wire the negative to the positive from each sub (one wire between the two) and then both positives/negatives wired together to your amp. This is series/parallel wiring. the12volt.com can explain with a picture if you need one.

I looked up that amp model and it says [email protected] and [email protected] Is that not the same amp you have?

If you truly only have [email protected] then you'll only get 375W to each sub which is a bit less than your friend's giving his E's. I think .75 is about right on the box for the Perfect 10s.
Are you sure the amp is correct? Because after looking it up seems you have 1000 watts at 4 ohms which is plenty for the two subs.. Question on the build a box, was it fully sealed on the inside seams with caulk/silicone? If not I suggest that you go over all the inside corners and make sure everything is sealed up a leaky box kills output.
If you run only one sub does it sound any better?

Try putting some fill inside the box, I think most state 1/4 to 1/3 full of fill is all that's needed.

Like stated make sure the box is sealed nice and tight as well as the sub to the box. I had the 1st gen perfect 12 sub which sounded like complete crap. I purchased a generic box and it didn't seal around the sub properly. I fixed that..... Much better :)
Sometimes it's the seemingly smallest things. I thought about the box not being completely sealed but didn't mention it. It's certainly something to check out, and fill is usually a good idea.
The 1000 watts rms at 4 ohms is correct, that was just an error on my part. With the build a box I had the installers also put that together. I've heard a lot about how fill can affect the sound so I could definitely look into doing that. Not having experience building boxes what would your suggestions be to add it? Also, I've heard a ported box would take away from the "punch" affect the sealed boxes create. What are your thoughts on that with this set up? Again I appreciate all of your thoughts!
The 1000 watts rms at 4 ohms is correct, that was just an error on my part. With the build a box I had the installers also put that together. I've heard a lot about how fill can affect the sound so I could definitely look into doing that. Not having experience building boxes what would your suggestions be to add it? Also, I've heard a ported box would take away from the "punch" affect the sealed boxes create. What are your thoughts on that with this set up? Again I appreciate all of your thoughts!
The statement about a ported box is a myth.

It all comes down to the final Q of the system and the frequency of the box tuning.

Another thing to consider is if the woofer you're using is designed for use in a ported enclosure.
Yes they are. The woofers are actually designed to be put in any type of enclosure as they use variable metal inserts to actually change the Q. I've read about this as much as I could and it all seems confusing to me actually.
I just have two other questions now. What affect does the fill have? And where could I go to get the box tuned and the Q of the system tested?
Have you tried the other metal inserts the subs came with to see if you like the sound better with those? I ran 2 Kappa Perfect 12s several years ago (the ones without the VQ part) in a sealed box with about 1 cubic foot per sub on the most powerful Infinity mono amp, somewhere around 1200 RMS IIRC, and they sounded great. They're power hungry in a sealed box, mine were rated at 350 watts RMS, but Infinity's specs for a sealed enclosure were at 500 watts. Mine took 600 watts like a champ and they were rated lower than yours so they might just want more power. I'd try hooking just 1 up, turn the gain on the amp down a bit since you'd be giving it 1500 watts at 2 ohms and see if that sounds better.
I just have two other questions now. What affect does the fill have? And where could I go to get the box tuned and the Q of the system tested?
I'll answer the first part. Polyfil converts sound energy into heat. Unfortunately, the effects of polyfil are usually minimal and borderline psychoacoustic. That goes double if the enclosure isn't properly sized to begin with.

Of course, your mileage will vary depending on other factors and polyfil is about $5 at wal mart in the crafts section.
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