I've had an 03 enthusiast model for a while now. Upon originally buying the car, there appeared to be no bass coming from the system. I've just dealt with it up until now, however, it's really starting to get on my nerves. I'm the farthest from experienced when it comes to car audio, so any input would be greatly appreciated. As I said before, it was already the way it is when I bought the car, so I'm not sure of any previous problems, etc.
Could it be a bad amp?
Thanks in advance,
Josh

Edit - Forgot to add in that the only upgrade done was the installation of an aftermarket headunit.

 

Bose or no Bose?

 

You have an Enthusiast so you don't have a subwoofer, only the models with the Bose system do.

Go aftermarket and you should be happy

 

What else is in the car besides the new radio?

 

Maybe the woofer is broken?

 

No bose.


It's not even that I don't have a subwoofer, I don't even have the normal bass coming out that is produced by the speakers themselves. When the radio is playing, it is purely vocals and sounds coming out, nothing bass related.

 

Does the headunit have a low pass filter? That's my vote.

 

Josh,

I had a double din unit (Kenwood), and rockford fosgate 152 coaxials all around on my base model. Had absolutely no bass of any kind. So I was also in your shoes and yes it's extremely shitty. I now have a complete system of components up front, great quality kappa coaxials in the rear, and a 10" sub. A billion times more satisfying. Your speakers can be a big reason why you don't have any bass as well. Some speakers don't do any lows at all, like my old prime 152's. Your headunit probably isn't the issue.

 

Honestly, I'm not even sure what a low pass filter means/does. :\

Thank you for the response! Are the components in the front much better than the coaxials you had?
What would you recommend I do to at least produce the normal amount of bass a car's stock speakers produce? Mine literally produce nothing.
Thanks!

 

Oh the components sound WAY better than the coaxials I had before. Right now I have them housed in the stock location, with the grill covering the speakers. This is a problem. The stock grills reduce sound by as much as 60%. When I'm able to, I'm going to invest in some wicked cas door pods. That way the speaker sits outside the doors and is free to give me all the quality sound they can produce. Can't wait!

If you honestly are not willing to invest in a full system (speakers, amps, sub), then I suggest you look into good quality 3-way speakers. May I suggest Infinity Kappa 639i. Two way speakers (aka coaxials) are generally good with mids and highs only, you won't get much low frequency out of them. But 3-way speakers have a woofer, which will provide you with some bass. If you slap 3-ways all around, you should get some bump. Nothing near what a simple 8" sub would do though. I prefer 1 10", that is more than enough bump for a Z IMHO. I like to hear music, not pure bass lol. Hope this helps.

 

We have no facts to work with here. No base? And this has been checked with audio instruments, and we find no frequencies below, say, 200 Hz? And the average volume level is 10 db? 100 db?

Many members complain about OEM audio. Want thumping base frequencies that will rattle the hatch? Plenty of examples here.

 

Like previously stated, I have little-to-no experience with car audio, or audio of any sort for that matter. If I had equipment that could check those things, I wouldn't be posting here for help. Likewise, if I had of already taken my car somewhere to have it checked out and obtained db/frequency readings from them, I also wouldn't be posting here. You're right, I have no facts, that's why I'm here, for help!

It's not that I simply dislike the stock audio. A friend of mine has a base 03 Z and I've ridden with him several times. His system is completely stock and sounds much better. Something is wrong with mine, I don't even hear it producing mids/highs. It's honestly like they're just producing the sounds coming from the person singing the songs.

It's not that I want anything out of the ordinary, in all honesty, I don't even want enough bass that a nice 12" would put out. I just want it to sound normal.

 

bump.