swisscheese Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Hello everyone. New to this forum. I just purchased a 2009 Legacy for my daughter. I believe it's just a 2.5 as I can find nothing to indicate a higher trim level. It has a Harman Kardon stereo in it. Everything seems to work fine but the sound quality seems to be lacking. I traced the problem to the SW. Sounds very distorted with very low volume output. Never really had to deal with a SW before so I am not sure if it's blown or bad wiring.I find it hard to believe a stock HU would blow a SW. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to learning from you all. Thanks Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisscheese Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_419 Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Have you visually inspected the sub for torn surround, damaged spider, or damage to the cone? Any one of these could cause to sound as you describe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisscheese Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 Did not seem to be any tears or damage to the speaker. Did not see any wires hanging or anything like that. I'm sure there is a cover For it but that was not on the vehicle. I guess I will just have to tear it apart see what I find. Thanks for your response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavedikian Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 I purchased a SW off of a member on this site and it seems to be the same way so I'm interested to hear about what you find out. I've tried adjusting the gain and crossover in concert with the Bass settint on the head unit. The mids hit way harder and it seems to distort easily as well as the crossover not seeming to do anything. My guess is that they guy sold me a broken sub but I look forward to your discovery as I don't have time to open mine up and test the speaker and amp individually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisscheese Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 I was trying to dig deeper into a poorly working subwoofer but I couldn't even get the speaker cover off. I pried and it showed no signs of budging. So before I break something I wanted to see if anyone had an idea on how too proceed. Since the HK name plate was facing towards rear of car, I assume the cover has been removed before. Why do the simple things always seem too take so long. AAAARRRR!!!! Thanks for any help. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavedikian Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I wish I could help but I've not had time to open mine up but I do know what you mean about things that should be simple that are not. I'm interested to know as well as I need to pry mine open too and do some testing since I think it was sold to me screwed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigleben Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I couldn't even get the speaker cover off. I pried and it showed no signs of budging. So before I break something I wanted to see if anyone had an idea on how too proceed. You have to take the screws off before prying. IIRC there are 6-8 little screws. Might have to remove the foam between the bracket to access 1 or 2 of them. Also don't expect those "subwoofer" to punch like 10" or 12" subs in the trunk. Maybe your SW settings are too high along with the HU?? FWIW I setted my HU to -2 bass and the adjustments on my two subs aren't that high either(althought I don't have the harman kardon system) Good luck troubleshooting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavedikian Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I've seen posts around where people have taken them apart but I would have to search for a while because I don't think they came up right away when searching for information on the sub. I have the upgraded setup with Nav and I know the sub isn't meant to be used but it is working. The door speakers sound very good but the sub starts to rattle when barely turned up, it's almost as though the knobs aren't working. When I spin them it doesn't change anything. Eventually I will pull it apart and test it once I find the thread with those that have and post it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavedikian Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Actually, I found the thread, here it is: http://www.scoobymods.com/showthread.php/oem-underseat-subwoofer-info-199.html?t=199 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisscheese Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 I think it will cheaper for me to replace than to fix. The cost of classes just to understand the thread you posted would be expensive. My eyes were starting to glaze over. Way too much info for my limited knowledge. Thanks for your help. I'm just not that smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhavedikian Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Yeah, I understand, it can get kind of crazy. Some items the money is more important than the research time and other times I have no time. At this point I think I am going to go another route with my setup and just sell the underseat sub if I can to help pay for the more involved setup that will provide proper bass. The more OEM systems I see the more I don't understand why the manufacturers did what they did when designing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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