Alpine Technical Expertise needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Brew0360 10+ year member]

I have tried everything I can think of to solve the frequency output problem in my car and still have not been able to figure out what is going on. Here is my set up:

Alpine IVA-W505, Alpine PXA-H701, Alpine TUA-500HD, Alpine TUA-T020XM, (2) JL 300-2, (1) JL 300-4, (1) JL 500-1, (2) Tsunami 1.5 FARAD Cap, Yellow Top Battery running 0 gauge to a distribution cap then to the Caps. (2) Sets of Boston Z-6 speakers (front stage is bi-amped), Boston Pro 6 1/2 for the center channel, Boston 12" G-5 Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer. EQ (PXA-H701) is connected via AI-Net and optically.

We have rewired the amps and made sure that all components are properly grounded and ever performed a "voltage drop" test and everything is working properly.

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[jluv 10+ year member]

I have a very similar setup. You never described your problem.

 

[Brew0360 10+ year member]

I have a very similar setup. You never described your problem.

Everytime I start my car, my stereo will sound different. Sometimes my highs are not as loud, the next time it may be the mid bass and so on. Or a combination of frequencies are not as loud. I have swapped almost everthing in the car and I still have the problem. Last night we did a voltage drop text and everything was fine. My installers think the the EQ (PXA-H701) is working erractically eventhough it never losses my presets. Stange this is that I have 2 PXA and my car does the same with either. One has been sent back to Alpine to see if something is wrong with it. I myself think that it is something simple that my installers and I are missing. Can't be the pactch cords, because we replace them last week.

 

[jluv 10+ year member]

Everytime I start my car, my stereo will sound different. Sometimes my highs are not as loud, the next time it may be the mid bass and so on. Or a combination of frequencies are not as loud. I have swapped almost everthing in the car and I still have the problem. Last night we did a voltage drop text and everything was fine. My installers think the the EQ (PXA-H701) is working erractically eventhough it never losses my presets. Stange this is that I have 2 PXA and my car does the same with either. One has been sent back to Alpine to see if something is wrong with it. I myself think that it is something simple that my installers and I are missing. Can't be the pactch cords, because we replace them last week.

If you've already swapped out the H701 and checked all of the connections, then it seems like it must be your head unit.

That's really weird.

 

[Brew0360 10+ year member]

If you've already swapped out the H701 and checked all of the connections, then it seems like it must be your head unit.
That's really weird.

I have swapped out the headunit also. I had an IVA-D901 and an IVA-W205 prior to the 505.

 

[Brew0360 10+ year member]

If you've already swapped out the H701 and checked all of the connections, then it seems like it must be your head unit.
That's really weird.

Is your head unit connected to your PXA both by Ai-Net and Optically?

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

All you can do is isolate or swap out components till the problem stops. This includes wiring and/or all signal cables. If you have swapped out the 701 and it still does it, that is not the problem, move on. Your installer is wasting time if he thinks you got two bad 701's in a row.

Some simple logic should help isolate the problem as well. Does it on occur on the highs only? if so, that would indicate a problem in the signal chain past where the freqs split for the tweets (amp, speakers, wire, or xover itself). If the problem sometimes occurs to tweets, sometimes to mids, or sometimes to various speakers, clearly the problem is upstream from where the signal splits.

IIRC, your slash series amplifiers have regulated power supplies. This means their output will not fluctuate with voltage. If Im remembering correctly, your installer should know this, and chasing voltage problems was a wild goose chase. Id be suspicious of their abilities. Perhaps a second opinion at another shop is in order.

 

[jluv 10+ year member]

Is your head unit connected to your PXA both by Ai-Net and Optically?

Yes. I've ran mine that way with the W200, W205, and W505.

So you've been experiencing this problem with all 3 of the head units you mentioned? That rules out the head unit.

And you've switched out the 701, so it's not that.

And you say it happens to bass frequencies sometimes and then high frequencies another time. So it's not just an amp.

And you redid all of the wiring?

Man, I don't envy you. Good luck with all of that.

 

[Brew0360 10+ year member]

All you can do is isolate or swap out components till the problem stops. This includes wiring and/or all signal cables. If you have swapped out the 701 and it still does it, that is not the problem, move on. Your installer is wasting time if he thinks you got two bad 701's in a row.
Some simple logic should help isolate the problem as well. Does it on occur on the highs only? if so, that would indicate a problem in the signal chain past where the freqs split for the tweets (amp, speakers, wire, or xover itself). If the problem sometimes occurs to tweets, sometimes to mids, or sometimes to various speakers, clearly the problem is upstream from where the signal splits.

IIRC, your slash series amplifiers have regulated power supplies. This means their output will not fluctuate with voltage. If Im remembering correctly, your installer should know this, and chasing voltage problems was a wild goose chase. Id be suspicious of their abilities. Perhaps a second opinion at another shop is in order.

Thanks for your input. We are troubleshooting everything since my current installers are the same as the initial installer (same company though). The reworked everything (at their expense) so they would know that they did the work. They have done everything that I have asked of them based on forum suggestions and I will share your input with them.