Alpine 60x4 deck is getting clipped...is this a common problem with these decks?

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Which specific Alpine do you have? (there was more than one model with that alleged 60w X 4 internal amp)

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, tell us what deck you have and we can walk you through step by step on how to turn the amplifier off.

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

hahaaaa, its old but...7876. Still in perfect condition though....not a button worn on it...not one.

 

[mikegett 10+ year member]

Turning off the internal amp won't help your preouts. As long as you don't have a speaker hooked to your internal amp, it won't pull any current. Turn up the HU as high as you want, there is no load on it.

Clipping on a HU is caused by a variety of conditions. For starters, all internal amps will clip. Some HU's limit the volume prior to the normal clipping. In most casses, a HU will clip at about 85-90 percent volume. If your HU maxes out at 35, then 22-25 sounds about right for clipping. If you have any loud or bass boost (above 0) turned on then it will clip prior to this. Some HU's are known to clip at around 40 percent with bass boost on. It all deepends on how much boost that particular HU applies to lower frequencies. The first thing I suggest you do, is check where your HU clips. In order to find this, download a clipped and unclipped sign wave. I am pretty sure there is a link in the setting gains tutorial. You want to hook up one speaker (I suggest a poor OEM) to one of the amps. Turn off all loud and bass boost. Ensure any crossovers are off as well. Turn the amps gain all the way down. Turn on the HU and play the clipped sine wave. Raise the volume till you hear it clip or distort. That will be the normal clipping range for your HU. Now repeat the proceedure with your normal loud or bass boost on. Record your clipping points and set your gains below this point.

In all honesty, I speculate if you are realy hearing clipping. You stated that your channel cuts out with gains high. Explain what is happening in detail. Do you hear distortion or do you loose all volume? Clipping is distortion. If your channel is literaly cutting out then there is another problem. Cutting out could be related to your amps max voltage input. In most casses, the amp will induce hissing if your voltage is too high. In some cases it will send your amp into a protection mode. Check to ensure your amp is still on and all lights are normal.