Amp Settings Question

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

First of all my amp is a Monoblock Cadence ZRS-9 pushing 1000W @ 2Ohm to a ... don't laugh... 12'' Audiobahn Eternal dual-4ohm sub.

I understand the gain, lowpass, and subsonic filters no problem, and they work exactly as I'd expect. My problem lies in the bass boost knobs.

There are two knobs, one is Frequency, and one is boost. Frequency ranges from 50-80Hz and boost is 0-15dB. Now I understand that the frequency is the center or most amplified frequency, and the dB is the amount of boost to that frequency, and there is probably a curve centered around the frequency setting that slopes down to normal....anyway...here's my question :

I thought that the bass boost knob was an option, but when I turn the boost down to zero, I get no bass at all. Well I get enough to almost be heard over a pin dropping. I'm getting into sound quality and looking to get a more even response, which is hard to do when in order to get your sub to be loud enough you have to boost your amp 15dB, which is centered around a specific frequency, creating a blatant unevenness in the bass. Is there a way to just boost the volume equally, or is this just a weird amp?

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[fsrenduro 10+ year member]

before you do any bass boost you need to set you gain/output/sensitivity level. These can all be the same knob but different amps call it different names. If this knob on your amp is all the way down you won't get much sound. This knob is different from the bass boost knob as it boosts the entire level not just one frequency range.

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

Even with the gain maxed, I barely can hear the bass at all without using the bass boost. I even have a line driver increasing the voltage on the amp's input, because it was so little before that even with the bass boost I could barely hear anything.

 

[SubbinNCali 10+ year member]

Are those knobs on the amp itself, or on a remote knob by you? If its on a remote knob by you, unplug it.

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

On the amp itself.

Basically I have a car pc...the sound card's subwoofer output is converted to RCA, then routed through a line driver to increase the voltage, then into the amp. The signal is around 4 volts, so it isn't a problem with the signal being too weak like it was before I put the line driver on.

If I set the gain correctly I have to set the bass boost to max for it to be loud enough. If I completely max out the gain I still have to put the boost about halfway before it's as loud as before.