Under-Seat Subwoofer Issues

[AV8R]

I just sent of an enquiry to Kia, I suggest you go to Kia.com and do the same.

 

[tofu]

I cranked my system up to 20 on the drive home from work this evening, and thought I felt a bit of air movement with my hand on the grill. Might have been just some vibration from the door speakers, because at 20, the music is very loud and I would expect more of a "thump" from this setup.

I feel like I'm going deaf by the time I hit 10!

 

[AV8R]

What ....lol

 

[tofu]

Try the sound in mode where there is no enhanced engine sound. Maybe that’s the trigger.

Can you even fully turn it off?

 

[AV8R]

I think so you have to go into menu for enhanced sound

 

[upsidedown]

I noticed the same no sound issue about the speakers when I got my car about 1 month ago and decided to recheck when I had more time. After seeing this thread I did a more thorough check today. From what I can gather with my head down on the floor and trying to block sound from the door speaker I "think" the floor speaker is providing a very low frequency addition which is making the bass sound richer. I am no audiophile but I 'm thinking maybe something along the lines of the "LFE" channel on a home theatre system?

 

[AV8R]

Welcome to the forum upsidedown. Thx for your input it helps us a lot.

 

[Taimaishoo]

Around half way should definitely get you a decent amount of movement out of any subwoofer or speaker...

I've been wondering, however. These sit on the floorboard and I wouldn't expect a shallow speaker to throw a lot of air around so maybe these are just 'punchy' speakers? We'll have to wait and see. Currently, I have the Quantum sound turned on and set for On Stage.. Maybe if I disabled it, or tried the Audience setting... hmm. Well, I'm not going to go check at 3am so if I remember, I will check sometime tomorrow.. err... later today.

 

[StingerGTandMe]

I've been wondering, however. These sit on the floorboard and I wouldn't expect a shallow speaker to throw a lot of air around so maybe these are just 'punchy' speakers? We'll have to wait and see. Currently, I have the Quantum sound turned on and set for On Stage.. Maybe if I disabled it, or tried the Audience setting... hmm. Well, I'm not going to go check at 3am so if I remember, I will check sometime tomorrow.. err... later today.

I tried both settings and bass did not change. The way the sound came through the car changed but bass seamed to stay.

 

[Kia Stinger]

I noticed the same no sound issue about the speakers when I got my car about 1 month ago and decided to recheck when I had more time. After seeing this thread I did a more thorough check today. From what I can gather with my head down on the floor and trying to block sound from the door speaker I "think" the floor speaker is providing a very low frequency addition which is making the bass sound richer. I am no audiophile but I 'm thinking maybe something along the lines of the "LFE" channel on a home theatre system?

Welcome aboard, @upsidedown! Thank you for signing up and adding your input. And congratulations on your Stinger!

I've been wondering, however. These sit on the floorboard and I wouldn't expect a shallow speaker to throw a lot of air around so maybe these are just 'punchy' speakers? We'll have to wait and see. Currently, I have the Quantum sound turned on and set for On Stage.. Maybe if I disabled it, or tried the Audience setting... hmm. Well, I'm not going to go check at 3am so if I remember, I will check sometime tomorrow.. err... later today.

I've been told there's a small recess beneath the speaker - so there's at least a little room to provide a little movement and air flow. The speaker should definitely be doing more than it is for most people. For some people, the speaker is working normally - and that's why we're feeling there's a defect here. It's probably just a lose wire or something. In any event, it's going to need to be addressed on a wide scale because it appears a large percentage of Stinger owners are having this problem.

 

[Waynerm002]

I would go to the dealer and try other cars with the system to see if they are the same. Your amp may have an issue. When I got my Volvo S60 I had problems with the bass setting being high and causing a rattle in the doors. I realized after doing some research that the front woofers are what provided the bass in this HK system and it was thick. After several visits to the dealer to fix the rattle, teh regional rep came in, checked the car and recommend a door trim replacement, was ok for a bit but the treble was weak and could only be adjusted through the equalizer but it didn't do a lot. HK recommended a software update, that took the bass down to normal levels but treble was an issue still.

After getting a loaner on my next visit with the same system, I had the tech listen to that one and they concluded my amp was bad after swapping mine into the loaner and it's unit into mine. They let me keep that unit until my replacement came in. Keep in mind, while the cars are sold there, the folks that work there may not own one and know how it should sound, sales rep and service alike. It's best to do a comparison to see if it is an issue or you might be expecting a lot from the system. I say this as my buddy that likes bass think the system is OK, I like a clear sounding system with punchy but not overpowering rattle your windows bass. We all have different tastes but as someone that had a BMW with underseat mounted speakers with the HK system that found it great, my buddy felt it needed a 10" sealed box in the trunk.

I'm curious to hear the outcome of this issue.

 

[AV8R]

I will go to dealer this week and check.

 

[AnyVare]

Welcome aboard, @upsidedown! Thank you for signing up and adding your input. And congratulations on your Stinger!

I've been told there's a small recess beneath the speaker - so there's at least a little room to provide a little movement and air flow. The speaker should definitely be doing more than it is for most people. For some people, the speaker is working normally - and that's why we're feeling there's a defect here. It's probably just a lose wire or something. In any event, it's going to need to be addressed on a wide scale because it appears a large percentage of Stinger owners are having this problem.

It would be cool if an owner could take some detail pics of under the seat and under the car.

 

[AV8R]

It would be cool if an owner could take some detail pics of under the seat and under the car.

Go to page 1 post 13 , pics are there

 

[AnyVare]

Go to page 1 post 13 , pics are there

Haha, let me be more clear. It would be nice to see a picture of the sub (not just the grill); the install box; and the underside of the car to determine how it is installed in or thru the floor.

 

[AV8R]

Good luck with that as you would have to remove seat. If any one can get a shot from the service manual it would be better.

 

[AnyVare]

Good luck with that as you would have to remove seat. If any one can get a shot from the service manual it would be better.

Agreed....a service manual diagram would be great. Given the depth of most under seat subs, like this JBL JBL BassPro SL | Powered 8" Under-seat Car Subwoofer there should be at least 3-4" of box for the cone. Or

I also found an interesting 3rd party solution that might be a useful upgrade... Ghost BMW Underseat Subwoofer Upgrades | BAVSOUND

And their install video for a BMW might be very similar to what the OEM HK unit is like in the Stinger. And if that's what it looks like, it's not going to have a huge impact on audio. IMO.

 

[AV8R]

Agreed....a service manual diagram would be great. Given the depth of most under seat subs, like this JBL JBL BassPro SL | Powered 8" Under-seat Car Subwoofer there should be at least 3-4" of box for the cone. Or

I also found an interesting 3rd party solution that might be a useful upgrade... Ghost BMW Underseat Subwoofer Upgrades | BAVSOUND

And their install video for a BMW might be very similar to what the OEM HK unit is like in the Stinger. And if that's what it looks like, it's not going to have a huge impact on audio. IMO.

So the bavsound would fit?

 

[AnyVare]

So the bavsound would fit?

Someone would have to verify it by removing their seat and sub.....but my guess is the design and architecture of the under seat sub in the BAVSOUND videos are probably exactly like the ones in the Stinger.

This video shows more detail of what the BMWs subwoofer enclosure and the car pan looks like..

I find the sub enclosure rubber isolator interesting....

And if the KIA's OEM sub is like the ones in the video, the driver coil on top of the cone doesn't have the same throw distance as the BAVSOUND unit, which would explain why it would improve the bass. Move more air = more bass.

 

[stinger1168]

I haven't read all of the posts here so I'm sorry if this was brought up already but could there be something in the audio settings menu that can be adjusted to bring these under seat sub woofers to life???