What's the factory sub weak point?

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i wonder if theres a workaround for FM/XM? i mean, the factory EQ works aswell.
You'd have to ask the hondahack/viper devs if it's possible. The factory EQ is the problem, and the whole reason we have to use aftermarket fixes.
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just put a powered jbl 8 inch in my exl hatch using a pac loc from the head unit. it sounds pretty good but was not amplified from factory. the entire job only took me a couple of hours with the right tools and knowledge.
 

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So, my understanding is that the lc2i does NOT do signal summing (see 4th response down by "audio control": https://www.caraudio.com/threads/audiocontrol-lc2i-can-it-sum.570100/). So, if you patch into the fronts you have a high-pass filter working against you, if you patch into the sub, you have a low pass filter working against you (only allows below 40Hz I believe - ScopeSys did some work on this).

That should mean you need an lc7i or similar to sum the signals. BUT, summing the signals will do-away with some controls based on what you sum. Summing front left + front right would eliminate the balance control; summing front + rear would eliminate the fade control; it would then follow that summing front+sub then should eliminate the sub control right? This should not be an issue if you use the wired remote knob as an accessory from Audio Control.

All of this might mean that the frequency restriction on the factory amp side might be the root of the problem and that replacing the sub will do little. Thoughts?


edit: typed too fast and kant spel
OK, I have a question. I ran my own sub and amp kit. I used a basic line out converter off of my factory sub plug. What is the best place to tap in to for the line out converter to receive the prob hz range for my subs? And is it that big of an advantage to run the lci7 over a basic loc?
 

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OK, I have a question. I ran my own sub and amp kit. I used a basic line out converter off of my factory sub plug. What is the best place to tap in to for the line out converter to receive the prob hz range for my subs? And is it that big of an advantage to run the lci7 over a basic loc?
That would be the door 6.5" speakers. Per other very good forum posts, it appears they receive the fullest signal in the system. You would tap for signal from the factory amp plug located under the front passenger foot-well area.

The 2018 Premium Audio System Thread, page 6 shows you the exact location as well as wires to tap.
 

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That would be the door 6.5" speakers. Per other very good forum posts, it appears they receive the fullest signal in the system. You would tap for signal from the factory amp plug located under the front passenger foot-well area.

The 2018 Premium Audio System Thread, page 6 shows you the exact location as well as wires to tap.
Thanks a lot bro
 


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I've had a few Honda's with factory subs, I wouldn't say it's the EQ that's bad but it's the crossover frequency they used, IMO it's crossed over way too low, Like 50 hz or so. It should be 80 or 90 hz, at least then kick drums would actually have a little kick to them...they sounded anemic ion my vehicles.
 

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The subwooder is a marketing add on IMO. Its a $5 speaker at best. Honda has always been at the bottom when it comes to audio. Now in the digital era, the factory crossovers and filters cripple the system and sub permanently.
 

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Considering all the built in limitations I just got a moderately priced dual voice coil 4 Ohm 10” sub, wired the voice coils in parallel and the size cabinet that best matched it and put in from the factory sub amp output a switch to go either to the built in or external cabinet. The external sub works great and I can’t turn it up much or it makes my lungs rattle uncomfortably. The factory sub amp isn’t ghetto thuggishly powerful “one note” but is sufficient for my musical taste.
 
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I wired in an aftermarket amp with an loc with a remote sub dial and used the factory sub. It's night and day difference. Would probably be even better with a quality subwoofer, but my budget doesn't have room for that right now.
 

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Wow! Definitely gonna need to give Viper a try! My first factory subs weak point was definitely it popping XD Voice coil and spider separated, went from a bit of rattle to sounding like a bag of smashed A**holes banging around in my trunk :doh:, dealer warrantied it though!
 


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I wired in an aftermarket amp with an loc with a remote sub dial and used the factory sub. It's night and day difference. Would probably be even better with a quality subwoofer, but my budget doesn't have room for that right now.
Hello, I'm a new guy and Civic owner on the block and have read through most of the sub upgrades here but was curious about some of the details of your mod. Did you use a loc like a lc2i or is there another I should consider? For input wires into your amp, did you pull the front door speakers only or also grab the sub wire too and possibly add the necessary diodes or resistors to the front L and R inputs on one channel with the sub inputs on the other? That is great to hear that you utilized the factory sub, if not just to try it out since it's there. Based on your discoveries I may try to do the same but seriously thinking I'll upgrade the 8" factory sub in the near future if it doesn't fill the void of the missing bass. Thanks everyone here for the shared knowledge!
 
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Hello, I'm a new guy and Civic owner on the block and have read through most of the sub upgrades here but was curious about some of the details of your mod. Did you use a loc like a lc2i or is there another I should consider? For input wires into your amp, did you pull the front door speakers only or also grab the sub wire too and possibly add the necessary diodes or resistors to the front L and R inputs on one channel with the sub inputs on the other? That is great to hear that you utilized the factory sub, if not just to try it out since it's there. Based on your discoveries I may try to do the same but seriously thinking I'll upgrade the 8" factory sub in the near future if it doesn't fill the void of the missing bass. Thanks everyone here for the shared knowledge!
I used a regular LOC with a remote sub dial and variable L/R wired from the front door speaker lines right after the factory amp. My aftermarket amp has a low-pass and high pass switch, so just used that. I just unplugged the factory sub where it runs into the sub housing and tapped into the sub wires from there. It's almost the same as wiring a car without a factory amp sub in that I used the left and right door speakers for input, and ignored the factory sub outputs. An LC2i would probably give a nicer signal and better upgradability, and I may upgrade the sub someday too, if the stock sub blows or I get some extra money after doing other upgrades first.
 

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I used a regular LOC with a remote sub dial and variable L/R wired from the front door speaker lines right after the factory amp. My aftermarket amp has a low-pass and high pass switch, so just used that. I just unplugged the factory sub where it runs into the sub housing and tapped into the sub wires from there. It's almost the same as wiring a car without a factory amp sub in that I used the left and right door speakers for input, and ignored the factory sub outputs. An LC2i would probably give a nicer signal and better upgradability, and I may upgrade the sub someday too, if the stock sub blows or I get some extra money after doing other upgrades first.
Thanks Phy for the quick reply and explanation of your setup. To clarify, you only used the L/R door speaker lines (after the factor amp) as input into your LOC? Then connected the LOC to your aftermarket amp, then out of the amp directly to the factory sub? So you didn’t use the factory sub output for any parts of your signal input? My understanding is that the factory sub output produces frequencies 8-40 Hz and that the front door speakers extend the frequency to around 80 Hz. Or, perhaps it was the LCi2 LOC that cut off the upper frequencies at 80 Hz, I might have to go back and read Scopesys’s article for that detail. Perhaps the frequency you obtain from the front door speakers is low enough?

Another thought, my amp has a low pass filter. Does anyone know if I could connect the L/R signals from the front door speaker wires and use them as input directly into the amp? Would I be missing some of the signal strength that is magically created by the LOC (LCi2 in this case?) Connected directly to the amp I could use the amp’s low pass filter to block frequencies above X (80-100 Hz?) before connecting to the factory or aftermarket sub. Just trying to clarify if the LOC is necessary.
 

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My understanding is that the factory sub output produces frequencies 8-40 Hz and that the front door speakers extend the frequency to around 80 Hz..
Honda Civic 10th gen What's the factory sub weak point? freqs

Here is the sub signal and the front mids signal.

If you use the the sub signal for feeding an aftermarket amp/sub, be sure not to use a low-pass crossover on the amp, or if it has one that can't be turned off, turn it to the highest frequency it allows (often that is 200Hz). That's because the factory sub signal is already low-passed, so you don't want to low-pass it again.

If you use the front mids' signal instead, you'll want to use a device that has some kind of signal processing capabilities to bring the bass level found in that signal up (e.g. LC2i). That's because the mid signal is high-passed and you need to undo that.
 
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Thanks Phy for the quick reply and explanation of your setup. To clarify, you only used the L/R door speaker lines (after the factor amp) as input into your LOC? Then connected the LOC to your aftermarket amp, then out of the amp directly to the factory sub? So you didn’t use the factory sub output for any parts of your signal input?
Correct. Some people have used the sub signal for their input, I just choose to wire it the way I would for a non-amped/sub system (EX and lower trim cars)
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