Adding amp & sub to first audio setup.

[Dash Parr]

Hi all,

First post here.

I've been gradually working on my first car audio upgrade in my little 09 Corolla.

I've currently added:

A Kenwood DDX4018BT Head Unit

Rockford Fosgate P16-S splits in the front.
(These were a mistake. They sound very harsh and tuning out treble doesn't fix the harshness, just gets rid of the treble. I'm hoping powering them properly with an amp will improve this, but I can't imagine doing so will fix the problem.)

My local audiostore has recommended adding an  Audiocontrol lc-4.800 amplifier to power the front speakers and an Alpine sws-10d2 in their custom ported enclosure.

What do you guys think about this advice?

Also, an extra question that shows off my ignorance: I was playing around with the HU settings - testing adjusting the crossover to remove the bass and see what the speakers sound like and noticed the HU had crossover adjustments for a sub (so I went in and set the sub to none). Could the HU have been wasting power on a non-existent sub or would this have made no difference? 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

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[nauc 10+ year member]

no, the deck only powers the front and rear speakers, not the sub.  it just has a xover for the sub.  most decks are like that

i like Fi for subs.  what amp for sub?

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

ps, the speakers might sound harsh if youre clipping the deck

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

good stuff to know.. https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/200265750-Car-Audio-Support

heres the tones for amp gain setting, how to in link above

https://www.realmofexcursion.com/downloads.htm

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

no none of that is your  issue and adding an amp wont make your treble any less harsh. This is the consequence of buying a component speaker.  The passive crossover in the set has a set point for example 5000hz and you cant change that whatsoever. its where the midrange dies down and the tweeter picks back up. In an idea situation this will do that and you'll have a fairly flat pleasing response. However in a car, you have different dash shapes, seat fabrics, and overall car acoustics that drastically change how your speakers sound. Your same speakers, head unit etc.. in a different car could sound absolutely amazing while it sounds like **** in your car.  

In your situation even adding an amp will just make the treble even harsher. 

The harshness is caused by a spike in the frequency response due to bad crossover points, you think its the tweeters but its actually the mid as well.  You can EQ it all you want but its a horribly weak band aid to the real problem. 

You'll want the ability to control the crossovers yourself and how much power goes to each mid and tweeter to achieve a perfect blend between mid and tweeter. Your kenwood head unit does not have that ability. You can 1 get an active capable amp or 2 get a dsp and a 4 channel amp and run active.

I've had a corolla before, they have a tendency to have a natural high spike in the 6khz to 8khz range regardless of components used. The best solution is to have a crossover gap between the mid and tweet which tames the peak and flatten the frequency response very well.