daily listening levels?

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

hey i set the gain (using a voltmeter and the sticky in the amplifier section) on my hifonics NX600 (150wattsx2) to power my Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.1 Component set. when i set the gain i set it with the volume on 25 on my alpine using a 1khz test tone.

when i listen to music in my car i start at 20 and as time goes by it doesn't seem as loud as it was when i first got in the car so i tend to turn the volume up more as i drive.. as im sure a lot of drivers do.

simple question: can i leave the volume at 25 constantly without having worries of overheating or overdoing my components?? i get paranoid when having the volume at 25.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif should i be??

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[DFW40 10+ year member]

Well if you set your gains to not clip with the volume at 25 then you should be fine.

 

[Dj-torn 10+ year member]

Personally i don't think that you should fear about it. Most electornics today, come with a protector and if they happen to overheat they should turn off as a safety precaution.

If you are still worried i would say cut a hole in the top of your amp the location depends on the setup location of the amp and install a fan that blows air outward to keep the components cool.

you can find the fans here

http://www.cardomain.com/shoplist~b~Lightning+Audio~t~12+Volt+Fans

And if you are worried about your HU, most vehicles have the AC ducts next to them just make a small hole in it which allows a some air enter the area of your HU. Don't aim the air right at it if you do that there will probably start condensation and that is not good.

Hope this helps

 

[negativezeroz 5,000+ posts]

dont worry about the Kappa's they will take what your throwing at them with ease //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

I've heard things the other way around, that the cone is too brittle and can break with too much power. Maybe it was their Reference line. =/ I dunno.

Anyhoo, I say just drop it to 20 every time you get out of the car. If you leave it at 25, then you pose the risk of being desensitized to it being that loud, and will have to go louder. If that happens, your hearing is at risk.

I could probably say it's saved my hearing. I drop mine all the way down (like single digit volume) and then adjust as I see fit for the next ride. Some days I'd stick with 15/16, other days I'd drive around pounding at 30. The point is, it's not always 30, which was quite loud and made my ears ring when I got out of the car. To this day, about 8 months after buying that HU, 30 is just as loud now as it was then.

My $0.02.

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

I've heard things the other way around, that the cone is too brittle and can break with too much power. Maybe it was their Reference line. =/ I dunno.
Anyhoo, I say just drop it to 20 every time you get out of the car. If you leave it at 25, then you pose the risk of being desensitized to it being that loud, and will have to go louder. If that happens, your hearing is at risk.

I could probably say it's saved my hearing. I drop mine all the way down (like single digit volume) and then adjust as I see fit for the next ride. Some days I'd stick with 15/16, other days I'd drive around pounding at 30. The point is, it's not always 30, which was quite loud and made my ears ring when I got out of the car. To this day, about 8 months after buying that HU, 30 is just as loud now as it was then.

My $0.02.

i hope you dont think i said my speakers arent as loud with the same volume level as time went by. im saying that when i first sit in the car 20 seems pretty loud but not super loud. then say, after twenty minutes of listening to 20 constnt, itll seem like my ears are use to it and want more loudness.

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

I know the kappa subs have a thermal handling thats almost exactly the same as the rms.

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

i hope you dont think i said my speakers arent as loud with the same volume level as time went by. im saying that when i first sit in the car 20 seems pretty loud but not super loud. then say, after twenty minutes of listening to 20 constnt, itll seem like my ears are use to it and want more loudness.

Yeah, that happens to everybody. The best equipment in the world will do this, because it's not fault of the equipment. I'm saying that keeping it at 25 constant will do the same thing, and you'll end up cranking it to 30 after 20 minutes to compensate. That's sensory adaptation, you will grow insensitive to SPL the more it's consistantly around you.

This goes both ways, the softer you listen to music, the more sensitive you'll be to it. It's very hard to go in this direction, trust me. Right now my headphones are so quiet if I pull them out a solid inch from my ear they are pure silence. I can hear the buzz of the PC beside me, the tapping of my fingers on the keys, and the furnace kicking on in the basement.

What I'm getting at is this. YES, you can keep it at 25 consistantly. I highly doubt this is gonna hurt your speakers. However, if you do you pose the risk of being desensitized to the volume at 25, and will turn the volume even higher, like 30. Eventually, you're going to damage your hearing.

100 decibels can damage hearing. 110 is "a loud car stereo" according to dangerousdecibels.org. In my experience, this could be closer to 115 or 120, 2-3 times louder than 110.

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

ohhh ok ic what youre saying.. good info.. thanks

 

[HeatSeeker 10+ year member]

Every time I get out of the car, I usually lower it to about 10-15 for a minute or 2. That way it's nice n loud when I get back in.

 

[ace007]

hey i set the gain (using a voltmeter and the sticky in the amplifier section) on my hifonics NX600 (150wattsx2) to power my Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.1 Component set. when i set the gain i set it with the volume on 25 on my alpine using a 1khz test tone. when i listen to music in my car i start at 20 and as time goes by it doesn't seem as loud as it was when i first got in the car so i tend to turn the volume up more as i drive.. as im sure a lot of drivers do.

simple question: can i leave the volume at 25 constantly without having worries of overheating or overdoing my components?? i get paranoid when having the volume at 25.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif should i be??

Sir dont worry those sets can handle plenty of power. Perfects comps are very POWER hungry. These sets are amazing, your ears will bleed before these comps distort(IMO). Word of caution though, if it gets to loud I predict those sets will cut the amp goes quiter for a second and come back again. if this happens then welcome to the club of bewlidered-users-of-Perfects. I love those sets I just hate how they cut my amo (JBL PX300.4)