Amp controls, explain please.

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

so yeah i have my system up and running for some time now

it sounds great and i really enjoy it, i enjoyed installing it and setting it up.through the good and bad

and thanks for your help

anyway to what im getting at..

these are the controls that im curious about, on my fosgate 201s amp.

amp gain-?

and a swich from 0db, +6db, +8db..(or 12..not positive)

i have the gain turned upp halfway so i dont fry my **** sub again....what does the little switch from 0 6 and 8 do anyway? i turned it to 6 and it thumped louder...its on 0 now im deathly scared of screwing up another

so the gains set at about half which sounds about right

should i turn the gain down and turn the other switch up? or what hte heck should i do

thanks lots

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[ANeonRider 10+ year member]

gain = matches the pre-amp output from the HU to the input of the amp

bass boost = boosts the signal at a certain frequency (usually 45Hz). Also known as the woofer cooker, unless you know what you are doing, leave this one at 0.

Crossover/Filter = Filters the signal that is reproduced, if it is a low pass filter, filters the frequencies below the set frequency at a set slope (6dB/octave, 12dB/octave, etc)

Check out the sticky at the top of the amplifier section on how to set the gain, or you will most likely fry another sub.

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

the gain is set alright now...its been playing great for a month or so

i was just wondering about the boost...guess ill leave it at zero

although i want to turn somtihng up because i dont like turning "LOUD ON" on my HU..because when i turn that up it powers bass up in my speakers and i dont like that because i dont want to hurt them

 

[ANeonRider 10+ year member]

Set your gain as per the tutorial, guessing is a bad way of going about it if you want your equipment not to let out the magic smoke.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

the gain is set alright now...its been playing great for a month or soi was just wondering about the boost...guess ill leave it at zero

although i want to turn somtihng up because i dont like turning "LOUD ON" on my HU..because when i turn that up it powers bass up in my speakers and i dont like that because i dont want to hurt them

loud is the exact same thing as that switch 0- +3 +6 @ frequency (~45hz usually)

all loud does is boost that frequency (ex. 45hz) and those around that a certain amount of decibles.

say your system was playing 100db at 20 volume... if you put that switch on +3, 45hz would be 103db, and the frequencies around 45 would 'roll off' back down to 100db at the 'slope' or 'octave' (just how fast the roll off is - picture a hill, 103db is the top, 100db is the bottom - and depending on the slope of the hill, depends on how much land is above 100db so to speak.)

thats what 'bass boost' is. any frequency blow 80hz or so that is set to be louder than the rest of the system at any given volume. equalizers are made to get RID of that.

bassically - its a tiny 1-band eq that only boosts 45hz (for example)

leave it at 0, set your gains correctly, and bump responsably. or eaither get a better box to put it all in - or buy new equipment. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

hope that made sense. off to home.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

loud is the exact same thing as that switch 0- +3 +6 @ frequency (~45hz usually)

all loud does is boost that frequency (ex. 45hz) and those around that a certain amount of decibles.

Umm... no. "Loud" on the HU is short for Loudness Contour. It's an equalization scheme that's been around for 50 years. It's supposed to boost both the low and high frequencies at low volumes only, and disappear as the volume is raised. Compensation for the human ear's insensitivity to frequency extremes at low volume levels.

I use one notch of "Loudness" in my system, otherwise it sounds anemic when down low.