DB level of test tone for setting gain

[BoomTaco64]

i love hearing that tuning by ear is "common sense"....why/how can you say that. some may not be able to hear the same distortion as others. using an o-scope and/or a DMM ensures what power you are getting and that you are not clipping/distorting. what is the person is deaf and has a nice system in their car for the passengers and does his own install? i have a couple friends that are in that situation and their cars sound amazing. both used the same method of tuning. just because you think that you are perfect and can try to attempt to tune by ear then that is for you.

i hope you are just listening to the songs on your ipod and not tuning with them..ipod audio for tuning=...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/sick.gif.b1847c8dabbfeeddbcf1a78052249e10.gif

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

just because you think that you are perfect and can try to attempt to tune by ear then that is for you.

Nobody is claiming to be perfect here, and I'm certainly not saying to only tune by ear. That takes guidance and some experience to learn what things are supposed to sound like. Someone who has never heard music with live instruments as well as hearing those instruments in person, unamplified, cannot possibly know when a trumpet on a recording sounds like a real trumpet, a voice sounds unaltered, and on and on. A basic example of this is autotune for vocals. I'm sure a lot of people have no clue how to hear when it's happening, but someone with vocal training can pick it up instantly.

The worst thing you can do if you're trying to make your system sound the best it can is to stare at a meter while setting gains and then assume you have to leave it that way, "because voltage", because an LED turned on, because a sine wave is not flattening off at the peaks and troughs. You have to LISTEN.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

i love hearing that tuning by ear is "common sense"....why/how can you say that. some may not be able to hear the same distortion as others. using an o-scope and/or a DMM ensures what power you are getting and that you are not clipping/distorting. what is the person is deaf and has a nice system in their car for the passengers and does his own install? i have a couple friends that are in that situation and their cars sound amazing. both used the same method of tuning. just because you think that you are perfect and can try to attempt to tune by ear then that is for you.
i hope you are just listening to the songs on your ipod and not tuning with them..ipod audio for tuning=...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/sick.gif.b1847c8dabbfeeddbcf1a78052249e10.gif

Turning up a subwoofer gain isnt' ******* "tuning". I've sat in more SQ cars than you've probably ever come close to. You don't have to be able to hear distortion if you can hear when things stop getting louder, it's not that hard guys. If your setting gains with 0db tones, your ensuring nothing is clipped/distorted and that almost no power is reaching your speakers, congratulations. If a person is literally deaf, have someone else set the gains, if that's the best argument you have, go home lol.

As far as the ipod comment goes, the ipod itself is NO problem. Apples DAC has been shown to be audiophile grade literally hundreds of times at this point. There is a long thread on DIYMA about it from several years ago, you know, since I've been into SQ since 2004... I can post links if you'd like, or you can look it up and realize you just looking like more of a fucktard for trying to argue this. If you have lossless audio on your ipod, your IPOD will NEVER be the weak link. Hell, in a moving vehicle MP3's really aren't the weak link anyways. But do go on.. Tell me more about how you can hear the difference between a 128k MP3 in your car while it rides down the highway at 60mph and your probably blaring rap music with 30 extra DB's of sub gain and listening to your cup holder rattle.. Yup, that 20khz information is SOO important.. Maybe if you 12 and the car is parked... Or a freaking dog (if you want to claim to hear it while driving). 95% of SQ is about getting 40hz-12khz correct. Go look at a how many cars in the 90's won world finals, nationals, etc with horns. HLCD's roll off hard past 12k, but realistically you've already captured the fundamentals every musical instrument by that point and most of the harmonics.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

Nobody is claiming to be perfect here, and I'm certainly not saying to only tune by ear. That takes guidance and some experience to learn what things are supposed to sound like. Someone who has never heard music with live instruments as well as hearing those instruments in person, unamplified, cannot possibly know when a trumpet on a recording sounds like a real trumpet, a voice sounds unaltered, and on and on. A basic example of this is autotune for vocals. I'm sure a lot of people have no clue how to hear when it's happening, but someone with vocal training can pick it up instantly.
The worst thing you can do if you're trying to make your system sound the best it can is to stare at a meter while setting gains and then assume you have to leave it that way, "because voltage", because an LED turned on, because a sine wave is not flattening off at the peaks and troughs. You have to LISTEN.

There is no way in hell to "tune" a car in terms of SQ using a DMM anyway. IDK how that would even begin to work on the output side. For SQ it's all about how things actually sound and EQ and ACTUAL level matching are key, both of which are done with your ears.. I don't need to explain this to you though, so why I'm bothering to argue it to anyone else makes no sense.. Last I checked this thead is about how can I turn my sub up so I can blare rap without breaking it.. That's what "gain setting" is to 99% of this forum..

 

[Da64u 10+ year member]

Alright, I've read a lot on here about different levels of sine waves to use for setting amp gain but I can't decide what is best. All of my amps are set using 0db 50hz and 0db 1000hz tones. Do you guys use 0 dB , -3db, -5 ? Let me know what you all do

50Hz is for setting the gains on a sub amp and 1000Hz is for a mids and highs amp right?

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

There is no way in hell to "tune" a car in terms of SQ using a DMM anyway. IDK how that would even begin to work on the output side. For SQ it's all about how things actually sound and EQ and ACTUAL level matching are key, both of which are done with your ears.. I don't need to explain this to you though, so why I'm bothering to argue it to anyone else makes no sense.. Last I checked this thead is about how can I turn my sub up so I can blare rap without breaking it.. That's what "gain setting" is to 99% of this forum..

I think what we both understand and have been through is discovering that there are better ways to tune audio systems, and we've seeked to learn the best methods. You can't put this down on paper/a computer screen with a simple checklist of supplies needed and 1, 2, 3 instructions.

For everyone reading along, this is not about being elitist, or better than you. It's for motivation! Speaking of motivation and education, look up on YouTube the video "JL Audio School of Sound". YouTube isn't working right at this moment so I can't embed it here.

 

[afearlesshunter]

50Hz is for setting the gains on a sub amp and 1000Hz is for a mids and highs amp right?

Yes, that's what I usually use and many other people too

 

[NIHL8ION]

All I know is that I like to KNOW where my gain sits on my amp @ 75% volume on a 0db test tone. I always mark that spot on a fresh setup and work from there... YES - My final tuning is done by ear... But I have been installing stereo equipment since the 90's, and NOT everyone is capable of doing so... You also have to take into consideration that MOST ppl out there are going to jack around with their EQ, turn on the loudness, boost songs, etc. - So setting with a dmm on a 0db test tone isn't all that bad of an idea for those peeps //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif Whatever works for YOU and YOUR setup BEST is all that really matters //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

 

[afearlesshunter]

All I know is that I like to KNOW where my gain sits on my amp @ 75% volume on a 0db test tone. I always mark that spot on a fresh setup and work from there... YES - My final tuning is done by ear... But I have been installing stereo equipment since the 90's, and NOT everyone is capable of doing so... You also have to take into consideration that MOST ppl out there are going to jack around with their EQ, turn on the loudness, boost songs, etc. - So setting with a dmm on a 0db test tone isn't all that bad of an idea for those peeps //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif Whatever works for YOU and YOUR setup BEST is all that really matters //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

Thank you for your input NIHL8ION. I just don't feel like I'm getting everything I can out of the amp and I always keep my eq flat and never use bass boost of any kind .