Amplifier Setting Tutorial

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

there already is a sticky for it.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

There is a sticky at the top of the forum that links to this and other good threads.

 

[jmoneypierce21 10+ year member]

Few questions:

-What setting do i put the dmm on for the speaker terminals.

-Cant find test tones anywhere link didnt work

-When it says gains? my amp has no gain or sensitivity(hifonics zx6400) i have hpf lpf bass boost and level

help me im so lost..

 

[jmoneypierce21 10+ year member]

thats the setting options...

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

"level" is the gain control.

VAC (RMS preferably) on the DMM to measure the speaker output voltage.

Can't help you on the test tones though.

 

[tymanh99 10+ year member]

Realm of Excursion has test tones.

http://realmofexcursion.com/

 

[RIPw4 10+ year member]

Considering that unhooking my component speakers would consist of a lot of hassle..would setting the HPF on the HU to something like 120 cover me from blowing my door speakers from the -3db sine wave or is disconnecting the door speakers totally necessary and there is no way around it? I wish there was a self adjusting amp.. it would make life so much simpler!

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

Considering that unhooking my component speakers would consist of a lot of hassle..would setting the HPF on the HU to something like 120 cover me from blowing my door speakers from the -3db sine wave or is disconnecting the door speakers totally necessary and there is no way around it? I wish there was a self adjusting amp.. it would make life so much simpler!

120 hz tone shouldn't blow your speakers, just don't keep it on for minutes on end or they could overheat

 

[RIPw4 10+ year member]

120 hz tone shouldn't blow your speakers, just don't keep it on for minutes on end or they could overheat

So you are saying that using my high pass filter on my head unit set to 120 will keep my door speakers from damage while I am setting my subwoofer amplifier with a -3db test tone?( just making sure I understood right!)

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

I'm gonna guess that you have your front speakers running off HU power?

With the HP filter at 120hz and using a 40Hz tone to set the sub gain, the signal to the front speakers should be about 20dB down at the freq of the test tone. Shouldn't be a problem. You wouldn't have to worry about cooking them but rather reaching their excursion max anyway.

 

[RIPw4 10+ year member]

I'm gonna guess that you have your front speakers running off HU power?
With the HP filter at 120hz and using a 40Hz tone to set the sub gain, the signal to the front speakers should be about 20dB down at the freq of the test tone. Shouldn't be a problem. You wouldn't have to worry about cooking them but rather reaching their excursion max anyway.

Yes the front and rear speakers are running off the headunit. 22 wts rms to each.

Lets hope a 50hz. -3db test tone doesnt force them to max excursion. I would think it might...

Any other solutions?

Or I guess I should just try it and see.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Yes the front and rear speakers are running off the headunit. 22 wts rms to each.
Lets hope a 50hz. -3db test tone doesnt force them to max excursion. I would think it might...

Any other solutions?

Or I guess I should just try it and see.

If you have a high pass filter on the speakers it isn't going to be an issue. If you don't believe me just turn up the volume slowly.

 

[RIPw4 10+ year member]

If you have a high pass filter on the speakers it isn't going to be an issue. If you don't believe me just turn up the volume slowly.

I do believe you!

Thanks for the help! really.

 

[danp129 10+ year member]

There is some conflicting (unless I overlooked something) info between this thread and the one you posted here, I may be overlooking something but I believe the following are conflicting:

... To set your gains, use the MAX settings you'd NORMALLY use ... If the loudest you listen to your music at on a regular basis is 22/35 with bass @ +3 and treble @ 0 with MX on, by all means use those settings. Also remember to have the car on It should also be noted that if you want to use bass boost, set it prior to the gains and use the center frequency of the bass boost (45 Hz for most amps) as your test tone ... Please remember that if you have a subwoofer volume control, set it to full before you set the gains on the sub amp ...

Step 1: Setting up your head unit
1) Turn off all filters (low-pass and high-pass)

2) Set your EQ settings to 0 (i.e. Bass, Treble, Mid)

3) Turn off loudness

4) If you won’t be using the head unit’s internal amp, turn it off (if possible)

It's very possible I missed something, it's late. I do plan on using one of the guides to set my amp. I did not see anything that said to turn EQ or any other settings (besides HPF/LPF/SSF) back on in the steps prior to setting amp gains, so that's where I'm confused.

Thanks in advance.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

set the gain THEN adjust the crossovers