Amplifier Setting Tutorial

[DIGIDIGIBOMBO 10+ year member]

Dont be too accurate and start thinking how to hit the 30Hz with sub filter lol. just set it somwhere in the midle of the frequency range of the sub filter

 

[thch 10+ year member]

one simple subsonic filter method is to play a low frequency sweep -- 20 to 30hz. set the subsonic filter all the way up at max (40hz?) and lower it. if the woofer starts distorting, or overexurts, then you've gone too far. you might want to lower the gain to get a lower subsonic filter frequency. this solution works better for sealed boxes.

of course if the woofer can destroy itself from overexurting before showing other signs of overexcursion, you may be out of luck. a solution might be to place a soft object or use a laser pointer shown at the cone to get an estimate of distance traveled.

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

I just tried this and for some reason I couldn't get anything to read on my DMM. It was somewhere in the 10-100 mV range, and didn't change with changing the gain setting. When I set the DMM to the V range I got 0.00

My equipment is in my signature, what could have gone wrong?

 

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

Why are you supposed to turn the subsonic filter off if you have a sealed box?

 

[hatemedina 10+ year member]

What if my amp keeps going in to protect mode when the speakers are disconnected.. im trying to set my gains audiobahn sucks gotta get better amps

 

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

What if my amp keeps going in to protect mode when the speakers are disconnected.. im trying to set my gains audiobahn sucks gotta get better amps

Im having the same problem with 1 of my audiobahn a8000ts. One works just fine but one goes in to protection mode as soon as it turns on.

 

[hatemedina 10+ year member]

do you need to have the subs disconnected to set gains. or is there a difference in voltage with them hooke up to amps

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

I have found no difference wth them attached or unhooked. I personally leave them unhooked though.

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

I just tried this and for some reason I couldn't get anything to read on my DMM. It was somewhere in the 10-100 mV range, and didn't change with changing the gain setting. When I set the DMM to the V range I got 0.00
My equipment is in my signature, what could have gone wrong?

turns out a just needed a new fuse in my DMM. i got my amp putting out 40V (gains at ~3/4), and it sounds great! (no audible clipping at all)

also, if you have a phoenix gold xenon series amp you MUST turn the car on with the subs still attached (and then you can take them out) or you'll set your gains too low (due to the xe.load feature). if you need more info send me a PM.

Why are you supposed to turn the subsonic filter off if you have a sealed box?

the suspension of the box will help control the cone movement enough so that it won't reach over-excursion.

I have found no difference wth them attached or unhooked. I personally leave them unhooked though.

yeah, listening to that test tone at full volume with your head right next to your sub(s) can be kind of annoying //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[joshpoints 10+ year member]

Jmac you are my favorite guy on these forums now.

 

[joshpoints 10+ year member]

Wow amazing! My system sounds way better now. The filters at the amp are shutoff. The equalizer at the HU is set to 0 DB's across the board and my highpass filter is at 135hz for rap and 110 hz for old school rock. Haven't listened to modern rock yet but I'm guessing it will be around 110 hz as well. Amazing. My components sound so much fuller. Prior they produced too much high's and not enough mids (even when I turned down the high's on the equalizer it didn't completely right); now it's nice and balanced. Will probably have to adjust some more once I get sub amp back in car for proper balance. That voltage meter method is awesome. By ear I guess I naturally set my gains conservative as they seemed to be lower than they are now by a bit.

 

[fox_forma 10+ year member]

just a quick question about all this. Is there a big difference setting the gains for a sub amp using a 50hz test tone rather than the 60hz? Also the -3db test tone, is that for mids and such or is that for subs as well? I think I am going to redo my set-up and wanted to make sure. I think i followed a guide before for setting gains but I used a 50hz test tone and that was about it so I am a little confused what all the db test tones are for.

 

[joshpoints 10+ year member]

just a quick question about all this. Is there a big difference setting the gains for a sub amp using a 50hz test tone rather than the 60hz? Also the -3db test tone, is that for mids and such or is that for subs as well? I think I am going to redo my set-up and wanted to make sure. I think i followed a guide before for setting gains but I used a 50hz test tone and that was about it so I am a little confused what all the db test tones are for.

You want to use the same db for each. SO if you used -3db for mids and highs then use -3 for subs. The problem that I found was I believe my voltage meter read over 50 volts (amp rms's @ 1600 @ 1 ohm)when I had the gain turned all the way down on the amp and the gain knob at the cockpit turned to max and the hu sub output turned to max. I then hooked up the sub and very little volume came from it. I then turned it up a little bit at the amp and the sub put out good output. I think I may just turn the gain knob in the cokcpit to minimum and never use it and then set the gains on the amp using the voltage meter and see what happens.

 

[fox_forma 10+ year member]

ok but since I dont have my door speakers amped or anything I dont use the -3db correct? I would just use the 60hz test tone and do the rest like the tutorial said right? I think I used a 50hz tone before so would 60hz make a real difference? I am also still running my stock HU so all that aftermarket HU stuff I dont have to worry about.

I am also waiting to hear back about my PAC adapter I have that is being used for my RCA's with the stock deck, there are gain features on that as well and I'm not sure what it really controls. If I turn them up it may give a higher signal to my amp's inputs I would imagine and I would think that could also change my gain settings maybe?

 

[LinxuS 10+ year member]

When setting the HPF on your speakers, how audible is audible distortion? Do you think it would hurt anything if my Frequency is set at about ~80-90 hz? Will it destory my speakers over time or anything?

But I finally went out and bought a DMM and wow it improved my sound so much, ty!

Pioneer AVIC-N3 (2v outputs

Phoenix gold R8.0:4

Alpine Type-R comps (60 RMS)

Set it at about 7.5 / 7.6 V, at 48 / 62 volume, and it really made a difference. I set my Frequency on the amp to about 85 ish hz, and I don't "think" I hear any distortion... Should that be ok?