Kenwood KSC-SW10 not enough...at all
 

When I originally built my system (going to cheaper, but still good) I was looking at putting an infinity basslink in my Z in the rear hatch. It bothered me that it would be a little too big and noticeable from the outside. I had a basslink in my wrx, and for what it was, it was really good. Especially considering the rear seats didn't fold down so it had to go thru there. However, I have heard that some people have issues with their amps blowing out :(

So I started looking at other powered subwoofers. After reading a bit on here it seemed everyone with it was happy with it. I'm really not sure how. Currently this is what I have (please excuse me if I can't get the model numbers 100%):

Pioneer AVH-3400BH Head unit
Polk DB6501 speakers
Kenwood KSC-SW10 "subwoofer"

As it sits after messing with the kenwood for about 3 days, it just doesn't have enough to fill the sound like I would hope. I'm really not sure why they included this bass remote when anything past, say, 15% on the gain causes the sub to cough and just run out of breath/distort/flop/whatever. Anything really below 15% is unnoticeable with the volume remotely turned up on the HU.

Just testing with my HU, I turned the sub output off and it seems like the door speakers were doing just as good of a job with handling bass, just without the farting/coughing noise.

So is there anything else anyone can recommend that is a cheaper alternative that will sound good and not fall on its face? I'm really only wanting to spend $200ish, which is right around the cost of the basslink, but I don't like the fact it is so easy to see from the outside.

The kenwood is made to fill in the missing lower bass Frequency's that a mid can not. It will not however do the job of a full side sub and amp.
It does have the potential to shake the car but it is not going to get you heard down the street. Everyone is different so it may not work for your needs. The install in cali for example. He was running a set of Polk db's and a BA amp with your same kenwood sub. There was plenty of bass for him and he listened to heavy rock.
Also do you have bass boost? Loud? or SRS wow? On These will all increase distortion. Also where did you locate the kenwood?

If you are wanting an alternative, I would highly recommend just going with the zenclosure and a a solid amp and sub.

Glad you made this post gaveup. I was looking at this unit. Now I may look elsewhere.

Well, like you said, everyone is going to have a different opinion I guess. For me, it just didn't seem like it was able to fill in any of the bass being missed by the mids without distorting. I've tested it just playing bass frequencies from my friend (he's an audio engineer) and he simply put it as "It isn't going to move enough air to do ****." I just cant see this unit shaking anything except for the speakers itself while it coughs like a 95 year old smoker.

All bass boost or anything was turned off. EQ set to flat. Its also mounted behind the drivers seat just like the one in the california build. At first I thought it was just a bad vibration from the mounting to plastic, but even when unmounted and being held on my lap its the same story.

As far as the next step. I was thinking about the z enclosure with just a 10 and an amp, but really, I think that's going to get a bit pricey for me. That box is pretty expensive for what it is and takes up a lot more space than I would like. I really wanted this kenwood to do what I hoped it would. It gets annoying when every kickdrum I hear sounds like a cough.

I'm just sour I wasted $150 on this kenwood and can't return it because it has been installed.

Ya I would even care to say there may be a problem with it. May want to call for a warranty replacement. Because I know personally it produces plenty of bass over even aftermarket speakers.

I really don't want to rule that out.

I was initially thinking it was broken from the start, because I really couldn't see how a company could release this and market it as useful. Im going to call onlinecarstereo and see what they have to say

It sounds like 2 things are wrong:

Maybe the 180 degree phase-inversion button is pressed, which really only helps songs with mid-bass hit but ruins anything with low freq boom or bump. Make sure that is off if the speaker is behind your seat.

Also- You said you "turned the sub output off to test the door speakers." I think it should be wired like a normal speaker, it's hard to do it successfully without filters if you are using a preout, and they don't recommend any preout with fader. You may be throwing too much amp'd sub sound at it when it expects relatively normal sound that it can convert to bass. IMO you shouldn't double dip with these powered subs!

What is your per-channel output on that Pioneer? I kept stock head and amped the DB6501's with 50w to each side. Big set my amp gain to "stun but not kill" with stereo full blast, and it is plennty, even with windows down going around Willow Springs at 80-140mph with Beastie Boys (RIP MCA!)

I've tested both ways with the inversion button pressed and not.

When I say I turned off the subwoofer, I mean on my HU it has subwoofer out via RCAs. This allows you to disable the sub out so nothing goes out to the sub.

Here is the spec sheet for the HU:
AVH-P3400BH - <b>NEW!</b> - 2-DIN Multimedia DVD Receiver with 5.8" Widescreen Touch Panel Display, Built-In Bluetooth®, and HD Radio™ Tuner | Pioneer Electronics USA

So are you saying this amp/sub shouldn't be using RCA out from the back of the HU? I'm not sure why it would make a difference if it was wired as a speaker instead as opposed to RCA out. Maybe I am confusing what you are saying here..

i assisted in installing the gear into his car. first lemme answer your concerns.



1. if the 180 button was pressed, bass would sound hollow, or out of phase, hence the button being a phase button. this is not the issue.

2. i have used preamp outs from head units for years while using their built in cross over properties with great success. works fine for us average joe enthusiasts that want good sound without a ridiculous amount of money invested. the headunit spits out amplified sound straight to the door speakers, and they are crossed over with a 12 slope cut at 80 hz i beleive. the sub was set around 80 also, phasing was played with but didnt matter in this scenario.

heres the problem, its one damn amplified 5*7 driver and one passive 5*7 driver. you realize these are like having a 6.5" sub. hardly much punch in the world of "QUAD" lol. hell, if they coulda been at least 6*9 thats like having an 8" sub.

the kenwood unit i am sure works very well as a filler sub. when i turned down the volume on it and just let it fill in the bottom it did do it, and for some this is fine. well if it was mine, this thing is a joke. i have a 12w6v2 in my car and a 10 in my truck. i would never switch to this sub unless i decided i hate bass in my music.

it cant handle what the poster wants, and thats the problem. hell, as i was installing, im like only a 10 amp fuse? and why this rinky dink thin gauge wire? but it all makes sense, its not much power, and not much speaker area, so obviously its not much bass.

hope this helps for those in the future looking at this option, my recommendation, hear it first before buying it.

Bass nuts will not like this.

For people who want a little more bass in the lower end than the speakers will provide I agree that it will be ok.

That is how I see the device.

I can see that, but for me I am noticing a very little.

Now just to figure out what I am going to replace it with. This is a slippery slope that can get expensive fast.

I have one of these mounted behind my driver's seat. It has a nice range of adjustment for cross-over frequency and level. It adds a little extra "bump at the bottom" - good enough for me. It will get muddy if you push it for sure.

Most systems have way too much bass for my taste anyway. The idea is to be balanced - no to bulge the windows out.

what if you install two?

You would get double the garbage sound.

Just to update, I went with an infinity basslink and it blows this unit out of the water in every possible way I can think of.

Did we also realize that this is rated at 40 watts RMS?? They have brass ones even calling this a sub. I fart louder than that unit.
I'm quite surprised that kenwood markets this unit. The only possible way this will shake your car is if you put it under the wheel before you drive off.