Sub Sonic Filter?

Question

i have a Kicker 06ZX1500.1 and it has a sub sonic filter on it with an on and off switch. if i turn it off will it allow me to get more powerful lows my subs two Kicker 06S15L72 are rated to handle down to 18hz. or will this just make my amp do more work with no noticeable results.

Answer 1

The sub-sonic filter removes bass frequencies that are too low to be heard by the human ear, hence the term sub-sonic. They are used to allow the frequencies we can hear to be produced louder & clearer without interference from sub-sonic frequencies. Human ears can not "hear" frequencies below 30hz but we do sense them in the form of vibrations, so you can feel sub-sonic freqs you just cant "hear" them. It is really a matter of personal preffrence, try it both ways and see which way you like it. If you want the bass to go so low that you cannot hear it but it shakes everything around then leave it off. I have bass tracks that go down to about 20hz, you cannot hear it but it will make goosebumps on your arms and bounces a six pack all over my truck bed.

Answer 2

I can hear 23000Hz, but cannot 25Hz. its too variable.

Sobsonic should be set somewhere between 20-30Hz in terms of filtering subsonic frequencies, but in fact, you should set some Highpass filter/subsonic with different rules.

For sealed box, it is not so important, but for basreflex boxes it is, because speaker excursion goes rapidly up under vent tuning frequency. so you can "blow up" your 1000W speaker with 200Watts easily without smoke. The voice coil can hit the backplate of magnetic assembly or speaker cone can leave the basket and "fly somewhere..." :D  so if you want "to have" 30Hz in your music, you should tune your basreflex box to 30-35Hz and cut it somewhere around 30Hz, because if 20Hz tone come, your speaker is going to crash when fully powered. it is for longer discussion

Answer 3

acually we can't hear below 20Hz...not 30. our hearing range is 20Hz to 20,000Hz...thats why some many speakers stay within this range.

the main purpose of a SSF is to cut out low freq. to prevent damage to your sub when in a ported enclosure. if you enclosure is tuned to...say 32Hz...this means you are producing 32Hz at 0dB...as the scale drops below 0dB the sub has the potential of reaching an over excursion limit (cone will move more than it is made to) and in result you will damage you sub. the enclosure can not supply enough back pressure to support the suspension of the sub below its tuning freq.

if your in a sealed enclosure, turn the SSF off.

i usually don't use mine even in a ported enclosure because i tune my enclosure low enough to not matter.