No bass to rear speakers?

[Dan C]

Im damn near spamming this forum. The problem is pretty straightforward - essentially no bass is sent to the speakers in the rear doors. I have replaced them, but this was the case with the stock speakers, before i did anything. I know from this forum that many people have replaced the speakers, but i havent found anyone mentioning this. Is this a fluke? I am able to know this by just pushing fade all the way back. The speakers are identical in all four doors and power is being sent back there. I cant imagine why subaru would do this, but has anyone else noticed this? Been able to figure out why, and how to fix it short of a new head unit or an amp?

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[02_Forester]

I switched headunits (Alpine 9820XM) and I have decent bass with the stock speakers. Hip hop songs to classical music sound good, probably not good enough for an audiophile. The bass is solid, not tinny or distorted. A set of component speakers might help direct the frequencies better.

I am considering the low profile sub box from Clarion or Kenwood to sit under the passenger seat.

[Pow]

It sounds like no bass would have to be a head unit problem. There is only one pair of wires run to the speakers and unless you've got an in-line filter in there I don't know where else the problem would be. Since you have replaced them you have confirmed that it isn't a speaker problem.

I'm over in Brookhaven, PA and have my old head unit stored in my attic. (I think... in process of moving so it could be elsewhere.) If you would want to try swapping head units as a test to confirm the problem is with that component I could dig the old unit out. I'm also pretty much a pro at getting into the dash at this point, I could help you do it. I figure it would take less than half an hour to just swap units and confirm the problem, which you may then be able to take to your dealer for a warranty replacement.

Sorry tho, if my head unit does work it isn't for sale. I still want to keep it in order to put back in my Baja when I sell/trade/total it.

-Pow

[mcsvt]

Also sounds like a headunit problem to me as well. If Pow is unable to help you with his headunit let me know and I might be able to help as I am just in S. Jersey and am in Philly all the time.

And I also recomend the Alpine 9820XM radio as an excellent replacement.

Gary

[Bravestarr]

My stock stereo was the same way. I think it is something that Subaru does for some reason. I ended up replacing the head unit with an Alpine CDA-9830, and put Polk db6500's component speakers in the front doors, and some Kicker KS60's in the rear doors. That sounded much better than the stock system, but I needed more bass, so I put a Clarion SRV303 under the front passenger seat. It's a tight fit, but it helps out alot! The 303 gives the system a much "fuller" sound. It doesn't bump like a couple of 10's with an amp; but for some more bass inside the cabin, it does the job. This is my first post, so I hope I didn't ramble on too much.

[Dan C]

Thanks for the help guys. The thing is, i have a 6 cd changer in dash. I have put in head units before in my old car (93' Ford Windstar 3.8, nearly straight ahead as fast as baja when no seats in it) but i dont wanna pay a couple hundred for a new 6cd. Ive been thinking the headunits the problem, but i have been blindly hoping that someone will be able to tell me "OH, thats just.......15 minutes and its good". And regarding ur guys systems, you had to get a flat sub right? One thing about the baja i dont like is the lack of interior storage space.

[mjalex007]

Got crossovers on those speakers by any chance? If you hook those up incorrectly, that might do it.

[Pow]

Just to verify... you're saying that in the rear with the stock speakers and your new speakers you have *absolutely no* bass, not just *lousy* bass, right?

I think our bajas come with lousy bass as standard equipment.

-Pow