Amp Gain and EQ question

[Humpty 10+ year member]

okay so I'm a little confused about the gain and the ac volts out of the amp.

My setup consists of a jvc avx840 head unit, alpine mrp-m2000 amp a stinger power cap and a kicker 15" l7. I have upgraded my alt to a 320a and have done the big 3 in ) gauge. The amp and power cap are also done in 0 gauge.

So I've set the hu to flat and bass knob to full and the sub control on hu to full. the deck goes to 50 volume so I put it to 40, then I set the gain with the dmm, the sub is rated at 1000w running at 2 ohms.

sqrt of 2000 is 44 and change. I used a 40hz -3db test tone and set the gain til out of the amp was 44v.

Now this means amp gain is set properly and I will not clip the signal as long as I stay under the volume I set the gain at?

SO since my eq is all flat can I now play with those settings?

or once I set the gains should the eq stay the same or only be lowered?

I feel like the sub can go louder but I am scared to try. Since I have the gain set and matched to the sub rms watts does this mean it is pretty much the max my sub can do?

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[mat3833 10+ year member]

the "bass knob" should be at zero if im not mistaken. and you need a 0db tone as well. i may be wrong, but ALL EQ needs to be off, bass boost, blah blah. other than that you set the gains properly from what i can tell.

Matt

 

[cdc351jeferson 10+ year member]

you would want to set the bass boost at what you think it will be used at . if you have a bass knob then you should set it half way then you have more control over the output . thats how its done with a dd1 anyways . i set my amp with a dd1 and i have bass boost up 3/8 the way up on the amp dont use knob but i use a lc-1 for my sub control . my subs do fine that way

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Don't use a 0 dB test tone. Your sub will never get as loud as it could with music playing. Use an attenuated test tone to account for the level the music may be produced at. Also, leave your sub level turned down a bit so you have room to boost the level.

 

[cdc351jeferson 10+ year member]

yeah set everything flat sorry at work had to re read your post/ only thing you want is your bassknob halfway up but set sub level on deck to flat 0 and then set yoru gains .

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

well my bass is always pumping that's why I put the knob to full, if I put the knob halfway and the sub control on deck to 0 and set the gain then if I turned the knob up or turn up the sub control wouldn't that put too much power to the sub? My bass knob is an pac lc-1

 

[cdc351jeferson 10+ year member]

well my bass is always pumping that's why I put the knob to full, if I put the knob halfway and the sub control on deck to 0 and set the gain then if I turned the knob up or turn up the sub control wouldn't that put too much power to the sub? My bass knob is an pac lc-1

ok you use same thing i do put your bas boost up on amp somewhere around 1/2 give or take lc1 all the way up sub level on deck at 0 all eq flat then set gains . after setting gains bump your sub level to +6 or whatever and then you have full control with lc1

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

So when I was setting gain we played with the sub control on hu and found that every notch added 3v, I could go up a total of 10.

If I did what you said wouldn't that put too many volts to my sub then? If I were to recheck the gains after I made adjustments wouldn't the voltage number be way higher then what I want to see now?

 

[cdc351jeferson 10+ year member]

So when I was setting gain we played with the sub control on hu and found that every notch added 3v, I could go up a total of 10.If I did what you said wouldn't that put too many volts to my sub then? If I were to recheck the gains after I made adjustments wouldn't the voltage number be way higher then what I want to see now?

you got 3 extra volts where?

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

when we were setting the gain with the test tone and we had the dmm on the amp out, after we had the gain dial where we wanted it. we turned the sub control up 1 notch at a time, each notch added 3v more of power from the amp.

 

[cdc351jeferson 10+ year member]

@keep_hope_alive ; maybe he can answer more about then never seen that myself

---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------

[/COLOR @keep_hope_alive ; maybe he can answer more about then never seen that myself

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

that's why im a bit nervous to turn things up.

Also the gain on my deck has 3 options high low or off. off has no speaker sounds at all.

Low the inside speakers don't go loud enough and high they go real loud. But when I get to setting the amp gain, when the deck is on high I have to set the gain at 0 and the sub control down 3 notches from full to get the desired volts, which was 44. so if I turn the bass boost up I will be way higher then the voltage number I am looking for.

Just double checked, deck settings flat, hu sub control 0 and sub know full, amp settings 0.

get a reading of 22v at amp, then turn sub control up 5, get a reading of 37v, turn it up 5 more to full and get 52v.

So I guess after I set the gain this should sub control should not be moved, unless its down!?

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

I seems you've done everything right. Setting the gain with a -3dB tone and bass knob full is the preferred method. From there you can only turn it down.

I would just play it and listen for anything funky. Enjoy.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

it is correct that a 0dB tone will result in a lower gain setting than necessary - but you will NEVER clip.

music with heavy bass has around -3dB of bass tone strength, the rest of the space is filled with music that rides on those low frequency tones.

i typically recommend using a 0dB tone, then adjusting your bass boost, etc. to suit your needs. since you were conservative with the gain, you can afford to add more signal.

or, you can set bass boosts, EQ, etc. how you want it and use a -3dB tone but not increase bass settings more after.

in my opinion, if you need to run your equipment at it's max, you chose too small. i recommend having more than you need - that way you'll be enjoying your gear for 10 years or more.

i have subs i bought in 1996, and ran them plenty hard, but within reason, and i still use them in my garage. i have components i bought in 1998, that i still use. my amps are from 1999... etc.