a giant "duh" on SRS/WOW

[youknowit]

Yeah. I actually don't like it all that much. It does seem to give a richer, fuller feeling of being immersed in the music (i.e. surround sound) but it REALLY cranks up the bass way beyond what I like. And you can't just dial down the bass either it doesn't sound right. Too bad. I was pretty excited about this feature.

Hanslo

 

Do u have the "stock sub" If u do just adjust it from under the seat like i did....Makes a big difference.

[05lgt5spd]

what is the point of putting a srs button on the hu, why dont they just make it that way from the get go. its like the old ghetto radios that had stereo and mono. who the hell listens to mono

[Onthewagon]

Depending on your source, you might not want the music to be processed. I have SRS on my MP3 player and I never use it -- on a good set of headphones the SRS makes music sound fake, it loses its natural warmth.

 

And the old radios: sometimes you could get better reception in mono mode, if you couldn't quite get the station tuned right in stereo mode. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ghetto...I had a fancy hi-fi with mono 1, mono 2, and stereo modes.

[05lgt5spd]

oh snap, high speed dubbing with 12 band graphic equalizer? I have a chromed out panasonic in my garage, it even has a RCA input, and my 05 lgt doesnt? WTF

[kenzo]

what is the point of putting a srs button on the hu, why dont they just make it that way from the get go. its like the old ghetto radios that had stereo and mono. who the hell listens to mono

 

I often like to add salt to my food, but I don't want it made salty for me every time.

[Hanslo]

Do u have the "stock sub" If u do just adjust it from under the seat like i did....Makes a big difference.

 

Yes, my sound system is completely stock. I never thought about being able to adjust the bass outside the console. I'll search this topic this weekend but if you can by any chance point me to a thread i'd appreciate it. I'm excited that there is hope for my SRS. I love this forum.

Thanks youknowit,

Hanslo

[Hanslo]

Now i'm confused. I don't have a subwoofer under my seat. Was the "stock sub" an optional add-on? I have an '07 with SRS/WOW. When I enable it the sound dynamics definitely change. I get a much more full, surround sound type sound but the bass automatically cranks up way past my preference level. If I just dial down the bass on the HU it doesn't sound right. When I heard you could adjust the crossover and gain on the subwoofer I got excited. But there is no subwoofer under there. So did some cars like mine come with SRS but no sub?

Thanks,

Hanslo

 

 

Ok, I found this on cars101.com:

Stereo: SRSLabs WOW stereo system for certain models. The WOW system provides "...an immersive 3D stereo experience. The natural and spacious 3D sound field allows for superb sound from any listening position – eliminating the sweet spot. SRS WOW also shapes a maximized bass response using sculpted filters and driver physics to go beyond the low-frequency limitations of speakers, resulting in big bass without the need for a subwoofer. In addition, SRS WOW electronically elevates the sound image to an optimal ear level without physically moving the speakers from the base of the door panels and creates a phantom center speaker”.

 

So, if I get a subwoofer, would it take over the big bass mentioned above from the door speakers and give me more control (i.e. crossover)? I'd hate to buy and install a sub then find that the SRS still blasts out non-adjustable big bass.

Thanks,

Hanslo

[subiedad51]

The subwoofer is an option on the 07. I added it to my stock system and it makes a huge difference. You can usually pick one up pretty cheaply on here or ebay. It's pretty much plug and play installation.

[markc0220k]

no srs/wow in 09 spec.b

[BAC5.2]

The HK cars don't have it I guess. Not in my 09OBXT.

[markc0220k]

haha.. but after last weekend, i upgraded from amp, wires, and spkers. The only H/K thing is the sub (still figuring out how to pop up the rear deckl!) .

[Hanslo]

Now i'm confused. I don't have a subwoofer under my seat. Was the "stock sub" an optional add-on? I have an '07 with SRS/WOW. When I enable it the sound dynamics definitely change. I get a much more full, surround sound type sound but the bass automatically cranks up way past my preference level. If I just dial down the bass on the HU it doesn't sound right. When I heard you could adjust the crossover and gain on the subwoofer I got excited. But there is no subwoofer under there. So did some cars like mine come with SRS but no sub?

Thanks,

Hanslo

 

 

Ok, I found this on cars101.com:

Stereo: SRSLabs WOW stereo system for certain models. The WOW system provides "...an immersive 3D stereo experience. The natural and spacious 3D sound field allows for superb sound from any listening position – eliminating the sweet spot. SRS WOW also shapes a maximized bass response using sculpted filters and driver physics to go beyond the low-frequency limitations of speakers, resulting in big bass without the need for a subwoofer. In addition, SRS WOW electronically elevates the sound image to an optimal ear level without physically moving the speakers from the base of the door panels and creates a phantom center speaker”.

 

 

 

So, if I get a subwoofer, would it take over the big bass mentioned above from the door speakers and give me more control (i.e. crossover)? I'd hate to buy and install a sub then find that the SRS still blasts out non-adjustable big bass.

Thanks,

Hanslo

 

Almost a year later and I did it. I installed a subaru OEM subwoofer under my seat. Unfortunately I didn't get what I was hoping for. I was hoping the sub would "syphon off" or take the low bass away from the door speakers so that I could dial down the gain to reduce the unnecessary (IMHO) bass boost that the SRS/WOW pumps out. What I got was a subwoofer that adds bass (I know ... Duh!). It seems to "copy" (sorry for the non-audiophile terminology) the low bass and let me decide what I want to do with it but the SRS still pumps too much bass out of the door speakers no matter what I do with the sub. I tried turning the bass down on the head unit a couple of notches but that just seems to make everything sound too tinny.

Am I missing something? Is there a way for me to use the components I have to reduce the huge over-bass I get from the SRS? Right now I'm using the non-SRS setting with a little of the subwoofer dialed in. Kinda nice but I'm still dissapaointed with the SRS.

Thanks for any and all help.

Hanslo

[markc0220k]

correct me if i'm wrong, the SRS/WOW should has done something like phase shifting and thus the midlow(e.g. 350~140hz) is end up cancellated. Manufactory knows this sound weird, so they "add" more bass to compensate this cancellation of midlow, but meanwhile the low (e.g. 160Hz and below) will also be peaked up as well. If dial down the "bass" by ourself (range like 160~80hz), of coz' the low will be reduced but at the sametime the midlow will be gone too.. sound will certainly go back to "weird"!

[Hanslo]

correct me if i'm wrong, the SRS/WOW should has done something like phase shifting and thus the midlow(e.g. 350~140hz) is end up cancellated. Manufactory knows this sound weird, so they "add" more bass to compensate this cancellation of midlow, but meanwhile the low (e.g. 160Hz and below) will also be peaked up as well. If dial down the "bass" by ourself (range like 160~80hz), of coz' the low will be reduced but at the sametime the midlow will be gone too.. sound will certainly go back to "weird"!

 

This is definitely what I get when I use the head-unit/console to reduce the bass. I was hoping the subwoofer would allow me to leave the console dial at normal bass and then use the subwoofer to control the lowest, thumping bass. Now with the subwoofer when I dial back the bass on the console I guess I'm still losing the mid-low frequencies but retaining the ultra-low which is kinda opposite of what I was going for.

[markc0220k]

i had tried this (phase shifting with front stage 2way components) and i thought i could use my rear deck subwoofer to fill those missing notes. but the sound was much worse than i thought! i finally bought a dsp to do the job instead.

 

just by guessing, is it possible to let the door woofer works for SRS/WOW and underseat sub to handle the missing notes? i heard few brands of underseats subs, most of them can handle 200+hz to 140hz.. but that meaning 2 underseat subs on each side may required! well, that bring up another issue, can "sub-out" be splited into left and right channel ( i guess not) ? or use rear channel? yes, i guess that would be the best way since now we want those unfiltered signal go to the "sub" and reproduce some midbass! that means we need to trade off that "rearfill"? no, i think it's not too far btw the rear door woofer and underseat and rearfill doesnt need high freq. it's just my opinion.