I have had my tC for less then a month and the one thing I regret getting was the VSE subwoofer. Thing sounds like crap and I have stopped using it. Gains are all the way down and my bass is to 0 on my deck. I was thinking of having the dealer remove it and credit me for soemthing else. Has anyone else had any luck with this or am I out the $500? For that kind of money I could have had a local shop build a nice box with a better amp that sounded better.

 

You know, when I got mine, I thought the same thing - it sounds ok, but since the other speakers can't keep up, unless you're playing some techno or hip-hop, it sounds pretty bad. But I can tell you friend, that it can be fixed!

Here's what you need to do.

1. Check out the vehicle specific modes - if you have it on tC, switch it! I think xA is the best.

2. Gain ****. Mine is maybe 1/5-1/4 of the way up, which means the white dot is pointed pretty much straight up. You shouldn't need more than that, I don't think.

3. SSE Modes (I think that's what they're called). I think mine is on Hear. Definitely not Feel. I think Normal sounds too flat.

4. Lastly and most importantly, you can set the bass to NEGATIVE numbers. I think mine is on -3 with the trebel at +4 or +5. Before I found out about the negatives, I was ____ed too.

Tune it up and tell me what you think. You might also be able to block the port on the enclosure that might tighten up the bass a little, but I don't think it's necessary. I've also followed Jason's instructions on this board and added a switch so I can turn off the sub when I'm listening to talk or something.

 

is it that bad? It's one of my options too.

 

I just got a 12" rockford fosgate p1 in a vented box installed yesterday with a 200watt amp. provides an almost perfect amount of bass. noticable boom to it at lower volumes and at high volumes it runs through you.

 

I have the factory sub and i sealed the port on it (most ported enclosures sound like crap, there are exeptions, but the bazooka is certainly not one of them). Sounds alot better now, much tighter and flatter frequency responce. I HIGHLY recommend it. You just might have to turn the gain up on the sub a tad after you do that as sealed enclosures are a bit more quiet.

 

how do u turn up the sub?

 

Thanks for all the options. I do have a couple more questions.

1. How do I change the Modes?

2. How do I seal the port?

I am going to call my sales person today to see if they will return it.

Yes I think it is that bad, but I am used to my old system in my truck so I am jaded. You have to take the grill off to access the gain control.