Hi all - Tried searching and came up empty.

As my sig says, I've got an '09 tC with plans in the works. Here is what I've done so far so you have an idea of what my problem is.

Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.1 using high level inputs from stock head unit.

Outputs from 3Sixty go to Hifonics amps, one 4 chan 85wx4@4ohm and the other is for my sub. The sub is from ED using their SQ10 sub @ 2ohm.

My speakers are also Hifonics, components in front & rear.

Everything is all well and good and my sound quality is great! No hissing, no alternator whine, and the SQ10 keeps up nicely with the 4 channel amp.... sort of

Here is my problem -

Everything is wonderful until I turn the volume up. I do know that the factory sub would actually lower down a bit when the volume was turned up and it sort of seems that my SQ10 is doing the same thing. Instead of my bass increasing with volume, it does the opposite, just like the factory sub does.

When I put this system together I was under the assumption the 3Sixty would take care of that issue but it looks like I'm wrong.

What are my options? If I have to buy a bass reconstruction device then so be it but like anyone, I'd prefer not to spend more than I already have. Is this a setting I can change on the factory head unit and/or the 3sixty? Is the bass really there and I'm losing my mind?

Any input is appreciated greatly and thank you!!

 

I noticed as well that the bass is reduced at the speaker outputs on my head unit to keep the stock speakers from blowing up and that's why you'll hear the bass stop increasing as you turn up the volume.

I haven't seen any solid fix to this other than the bass **** that I have that controls my sub amp. I just have to turn the **** up to compensate for the lack of bass whenever I turn up my volume on the stock head unit.

Last time I looked, I couldn't find any setting on the stock head unit to disable this speaker-saving safeguard...

Although you have the Fosgate 3Sixty, I'm not 100% sure that it actively processes your signal to compensate for the loss of bass at higher head unit volume levels, and if that was the case, it's something that I probably wouldn't want any way because you could end up with unexpected bass boosts in the middle of songs and may even flatten the dynamic quality of some music.

I know that this doesn't sound like the answer that you were looking for, but I hope it helps...

 

its the stock headunit alot of pioneers do it as the volume ramps up.

 

Hmm my suspicions were correct. It makes me sad that you cannot shut off the lowering of bass from the HU. I've been add/removing bass with my **** as well as i turn it up.

Question - Does the Scion "premium" head unit also do this?

Research has led me to this product - http://reqsound.com/

MTX Re-Q. This seems like it would do the trick but it introduces new problems/issues.

The unit only has speaker level input so I'd have to split the high level inputs from the 360 and plug them into the Re-Q as well.

...If only the Re-q had high level output. I could put it in the trunk and not worry about it.

...If only the Re-Q had low level input! I could take the sub out from the 360 and pop it onto the Re-Q and use my existing 360 bass ****.

If I go with this, I need to run the bass **** wire from my sub amp into the dash and remove my 360 ****. I'd prefer to avoid that...

Is there a competitor for this? I can't seem to find anything that advertises itself like this. Thanks again for your help!!

 

Is there a reason that you would not just replace the HU?

It sounds like you are going through a lot of work for the stock HU.

I liked the stock HU for about a week. Then I wanted something more. So I swapped out the stock speakers and didn't like the sound I was getting with my new speakers. I used the before in my old car and loved them. It sounded to me that the stock HU was blocking bass to the back speakers along with other things.

I got fed up and just replaced the HU. Which did a lot, and I actually enjoyed the system then. When I did this I also didn't keep the stock sub, I left it un-plugged.

 

I wanted to keep it a stealth installation. I've got the amps in the spare tire well and the SQ10 goes in place of the factory sub. If I change the HU i'd lose my stealth image/perception.

Believe me, I've thought of getting a screen with integrated NAV (and i'm leaning towards it more every day with all this grief)

 

I don't know about the mojority of others here... but I kept my stock HU for the purpose of trying to keep the thieves away. I used to have more than $1k invested only on my HU in my 4Runner but it was always getting eyeballed by thieves and they also tried to steal it at one time, but the alarm allowed me to catch them before they got it out.

The 4Runner was a cruiser, with DVD and TV's for the passengers, but the tC is not that type of vehicle for me so it doesn't seem to need video and the stock HU is musically fine for me... the only addition that was needed was a sub and an amp to give the sound some fullness.

The sub is under the trunk floor so that it doesn't attract the wrong type of attention when the hatch is open. That along with the stock HU keeps the music flowin' without having to worry about someone jacking my system...

 

Current Setup -




Proposed Solution



Solution #2 (My preferred)

Forgot my second propsal!!




Let me know what you guys think. Obviously this would keep the stock head unit and my stealth install intact. Thanks!

 

I just wanted to update this thread to provide info in case anyone needs it in the future -

I wound up doing the third solution and instead of getting the 3 channel Re-Q I got the 5-channel version. It worked well but balancing the gains between the Re-q, 3Sixty & my amps was time consuming! Everything works loud & clear though.

Can you build a nice system from a factory head unit? YES!