Is it possible that my sub seems to be out of time with my music?

I constantly feel that when im listening to music with kicking bass that its ever so slightly behind..
is this a fixable problem? is my sub simply not good enough to keep up (type s 12")? or am I imagining things?

swap polarity of the sub.

Ported or sealed box? How many litres?

easiest experiment is putting the sub out of phase (swapping - for + wires). this may help to bring it inline with your music a bit better.

if your running a ported box you may experience a delay in the tone from the port to reach the cabin compared to the tone from the enclosure. this gives off somewhat of a double beat, making the sub sound laggy and sloppy. only way to fix this is by changing the enclosure or positioning of the sub. (if you are experiencing this).

the best way however to bring your bass notes inline with your front stage is to time align it if you have any equipment capable of time alignment.

rattles also contribute a fair amount 'delay' with subbass.


also lowering the high pass for your sub can reduce a bit of lag

sealed box, not sure of specs (bought 2nd hand)

cheers guys, will try swapping polarity and get back to you. its very subtle but annoying enough with the styles of music i listen to.

Which way is your sub facing in the boot? Simply turning it around (if you're able to) may get you a more desired response.

its right up at the ski port facing the back of the car in the center. my installs built it in that spot but i may be able to turn it and face it straight into the ski port

The other thing to check is the sub phase on your head unit. You can set it to normal and reverse, this will change the way the sound waves are sent out with the music and cause it to hit your ears at a different time. So check your HU for any sub settings like that.. not sure if it's on all, but it should be on most.

cheers man, will check it all out
i only have an alpine cde 9872e so its pretty basic, but not too sure.

I just added you to MSN, send me a song you listen to next time your online and I will go test it in my car.

you can turn the sub around to improve potential lag, but i bet you your going to lose 80% of bass presence too. changing the phase on the head unit is essentially the same as swapping the polarity of the sub, its just easier.

said to be the cleanest bass position in a sedan boot is behind the driver side wheel arch firing at the passenger side rear seat, but this isnt an option if your install wont allow it.

you can turn the sub around to improve potential lag, but i bet you your going to lose 80% of bass presence too. changing the phase on the head unit is essentially the same as swapping the polarity of the sub, its just easier.

said to be the cleanest bass position in a sedan boot is behind the driver side wheel arch firing at the passenger side rear seat, but this isnt an option if your install wont allow it.

Thanks Woob:beer:

you can turn the sub around to improve potential lag, but i bet you your going to lose 80% of bass presence too. changing the phase on the head unit is essentially the same as swapping the polarity of the sub, its just easier.


From my experience with Alpine units, I have not come across this feature yet like most the Pioneers deck have which is odd... Haven't used the Processor enabled unit though so they may have it.

Alpines sub options for mid to low range decks in the last series were:
Sub on / off
Sub level 0-15
System System 1 or 2

Not sure if Alpines current range is any different but the Pioneers have the Normal / Reverse feature plus Xover in the deck if it has a line out for the sub for some years now.