Disappearing bass

    I just don't get it. Can you help?


    I have a 10 inch JL subwoofer in the storage space behind the passenger seat. When sitting still, i can dial in the subwoofer and it sounds great, powerful, and clean. But when I get the sling above 30 or 40 mph and higher, all that great bass just disappears. The woofer is still working, but all the bass is gone.


    Can someone explain why that happens and is there a way to fix it?


    2nd question:


    Would under-the-glovebox subwoofer boxes sound better (not lose the bass at speed) since they are in front of you? I would think the smaller drivers would not give me the bone-rattling bass the 10 inch behind the seat does, but if i can't hear it at speed, what difference does it make?


    Any insight would be helpful.


    I also have a lot of tweeking abilities on my head unit like delaying signals to woofers, mids, and highs, and right speakers and left speakers and such. I have NO idea what to do with these adjustments. Let me know what you know.


    Thanks,


    Dave

    I have the same setup and can not hear the deep bass at speed either. Part of driving an open cockpit vehicle I guess.

    Always be yourself unless you can be Batman.
    Then be Batman!

    Quote from Blaze

    I have the same setup and can not hear the deep bass at speed either. Part of driving an open cockpit vehicle I guess.

    Yes, that's exactly right. Being able to hear any frequency of sound is based on its ability to move through the air. Higher frequencies have less trouble traveling to your ears through fast moving air than lower frequencies.

    "If I were a Jedi, there's a 100% chance I would use the force inappropriately!"

    The biggest issue is the sealed box you have behind the seat. I have the SSV sub box with a JL 10" and it does ok...but I have to really increase the sub volume off the deck and turn up the gain on the amp to get it to boom while I am driving at any speeds. Box design would help out a lot. There are a few ported boxes that are out there that sound a lot better at speed. One bandpass style box I have seen has been easily the best for volume, but the bass gets a little sloppy for songs that have quick drum beats. It's kind of a give and take. Unfortunately being open air you have nowhere to contain the bass.


    Will the dual 6" subs under the glove box be better? I was impressed with them...but for the bass it sounds like you are looking for...not really. To really get bass, you have to move air...and with smaller speakers, you typically need more power or more air volume...Every set up I have heard with the dual 6 inch subs, the owners used them for primarily mid-bass applications. Filling in the gap from where their full range speakers drop off and the Subs pick up.

    Actively looking for another sling...It is time...

    Another thing I think is important to consider is others around us - - if we set our Slingshot stereos to where we hear the perfect sound / bass we want to hear at 40 - 50 MPH what is it going to sound like to the people next to us at stop lights? - - - I dont know about other people, but I dont like hearing other peoples pounding bass especially if their entire car vibrates when I am sitting at a light - I want to hear my music, not theirs - - even with a totally stock radio if I crank it up to where I can hear it well as 50 mph I get looks from other drivers at lights. I finally resigned myself to either using bluetooth headphones if I want to hear it at speed or just accepting that I wont always hear all the music


    Anyway I know this doesn't address your question - just thought it was worth mentioning

    Cage Free - 2016 Pearl Red SL

    DDM Short Shifter, Sway Bar Mounts Coolant tank Master Cylinder Brace & CAI

    Twist Dynamics Sway Bar, JRI GT Coilovers, Assault Hood Vent

    OEM Double Bubble windshields & various other goodies

    Edward Neal , i wish my radio had auto volume like on some motorcycles. Where the volume lowers when you go slower or are stopped. I find that I am always manually lowering my volume when I come to a light to prevent the very thing you are concerned about. Then I have to turn it up again when I start to move.

    Quote from dallen1059

    Edward Neal , i wish my radio had auto volume like on some motorcycles. Where the volume lowers when you go slower or are stopped. I find that I am always manually lowering my volume when I come to a light to prevent the very thing you are concerned about. Then I have to turn it up again when I start to move.

    My slingshots stock radio - 2016 does have this option, but I dont use it - even if I set it to be loud enough to hear at 50 or 60 it would still be too loud at at stop lights - - also stock radio / speakers crap out if you go too high - - I actually just got some inexpensive Anker bluetooth earbuds with over the ear hooks - - they seem to work well with my 1/2 helmet and the hooks keep them from falling out - - - they dont give pounding bass, but at least I can hear my music even at 80 :thumbsup:

    Cage Free - 2016 Pearl Red SL

    DDM Short Shifter, Sway Bar Mounts Coolant tank Master Cylinder Brace & CAI

    Twist Dynamics Sway Bar, JRI GT Coilovers, Assault Hood Vent

    OEM Double Bubble windshields & various other goodies

    Quote from dallen1059

    Edward Neal , i wish my radio had auto volume like on some motorcycles. Where the volume lowers when you go slower or are stopped. I find that I am always manually lowering my volume when I come to a light to prevent the very thing you are concerned about. Then I have to turn it up again when I start to move.

    The 'oem' radios in the 2015/16 had auto volume ...

    When I put the rear window down in my pick up going over 40 there is a buffeting noise from the wind and it actually feels and sounds like bass vibrations. Could be a cancellation effect from the wind disrupting the bass waves coming from the speakers. Watch the speaker moving up and down it’s pushing wind you call feel. If the wind coming in and the wind from the speaker is at or Near the same frequency it could cancel.


    maybe the wind is actually pushing (blowing) the sound waves from the speaker out of the SS


    as a side note my radio is never on I can’t hear it because I wear earplugs, because of the wind noise.

    As long as we're talking about audio, has anyone done anything to their stock radio to improve its horrible reception? I figure, since there's no antenna on the Sling, it must have been a feature that Polaris didn't think was important, hence the worst FM reception I've ever heard. So, is there a hack out there that I haven't read about? rabtech is there an empty antenna port on the back of the ride command that I could simply plug a replacement antenna cord into? Thanks in advance.

    "If I were a Jedi, there's a 100% chance I would use the force inappropriately!"

    There actually is an antenna. It's located inside the rear fin, towards the front side, close to the seats.


    Some people have gotten in there to straighten it up which seems to help. Some have even drilled holes to make the antenna stick straight up in front of the fin (I don't recommend this). Some have put amplifiers on the antenna. Some have put on different antennas.


    I tried 3 of the 4 (no hole drilled) but nothing did any good. But once I switched to an aftermarket stereo, the stock antenna worked great, just as it was. I think it's more a bad stereo than bad antenna.

    I never had a problem with mine, but I did do the Sling Mod booster and that was a mistake and then I did have a problem. I very rarely listen to the radio so I have never made any other changes. Some have just gotten the wire antenna and pushed the leads into the opening on the rubber bumper under the wind screen and that worked great,

    Thanks to both of you for your advice. I don't believe my radio is bad, just poor quality. I think I'll try the antenna wire under the windscreen idea first and see how that sounds. Eventually, I may end up purchasing a new stereo all together, but I was just curious what others had done.

    "If I were a Jedi, there's a 100% chance I would use the force inappropriately!"

    Quote from Roadhawg

    Thanks to both of you for your advice. I don't believe my radio is bad, just poor quality. I think I'll try the antenna wire under the windscreen idea first and see how that sounds. Eventually, I may end up purchasing a new stereo all together, but I was just curious what others had done.

    2015/16 radio AM/FM reception was not good... I put a lot of different music on memory sticks....works great for me. My $5.00 ears don't need a $1,000.00 stereo system. A friend who installs systems for a living put a $10,000.00 system in a Slingshot back in early 2015. CRAZY.

    Quote from Roadhawg

    Thanks to both of you for your advice. I don't believe my radio is bad, just poor quality. I think I'll try the antenna wire under the windscreen idea first and see how that sounds. Eventually, I may end up purchasing a new stereo all together, but I was just curious what others had done.

    Yeah, I know, I'm quoting myself, but while seated in the driver seat today and remembering what I had said about purchasing a new stereo, I looked at the dash and thought, where the hell would I put one... lol :/

    "If I were a Jedi, there's a 100% chance I would use the force inappropriately!"