EXTREMELY concerned about clipping after test tones test??

[eb2phkingood 10+ year member]

I generally had my HU volume on 14-18, sometimes, although very rare, up to 22. Listening to my system inside the car, 10 feet away, and 50 feet away, i could NOT hear any clipping. My HU sub level was at +3, my amp gain was 75% turned up, and my amp DB was +12.

well today i decide to do the test tones test. i started the amp gain at 0%, and the db at 0, and the hu subwoofer level at 0. from there i turned up my radio to volume 22 (the max i ever listen to). i started by turning the amp gain to about 30% and the db to +6 and i could hear a weird popping noise from the subs, so i backed the db back off to +2 and it went away. well now when i play songs in my car i have WAY less bass then i use to. so i went back, turned the gain up to 60% and the db to +6 again (where i could hear the popping with the test tone) and played my favorite song with great highs and lows, couldnt hear a single pop from the speakers. tested with several other low bass songs and even mid bass songs. any ideas or thoughts???

hu kdc-x794

sub amp alpine m1000

subs: two alpine 10" type r's (sealed box)

Click to read more...

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Tones put max strain on sub/amps, normal music wont. Put it back to where you had it and dont tune with test tones...

 

[mossberg385t 10+ year member]

:facepalm:

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

What was the test tone freq and was it at 0db. A lot of people use a -3db testone, because music will never as hard as the testtone will. thats one of the safeties of using the testone. If you are not clipping it, you will never clip with music. Sorry for the shitty explanation, hopefully you understand

 

[eb2phkingood 10+ year member]

:facepalm:

what does that mean?? lol

 

[eb2phkingood 10+ year member]

What was the test tone freq and was it at 0db. A lot of people use a -3db testone, because music will never as hard as the testtone will. thats one of the safeties of using the testone. If you are not clipping it, you will never clip with music. Sorry for the shitty explanation, hopefully you understand

0db, i got it from here:

Gain Settings

it says "you can download here" and it is embedded. they were wav files but i had to covert them to 320kbs mp3 so that my hu would read them.

 

[eb2phkingood 10+ year member]

also, is that popping noise considered clipping? or is that just the sound of a sub being pushed beyond its limit and getting close to the blowing stage?

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

It says those are 0db test tones. Most music wont even hit the level of a -3db test tone. Which is why many people use -3db and are still safe.

3db is a double in amplitude, so if you were doing less than that, which you probably were, your music would be really quiet.

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

are you using a dmm?? when you play the tone? doesnt sound like it

If not then just set the gain by ear

 

[eb2phkingood 10+ year member]

It says those are 0db test tones. Most music wont even hit the level of a -3db test tone. Which is why many people use -3db and are still safe.
3db is a double in amplitude, so if you were doing less than that, which you probably were, your music would be really quiet.

not sure if you'll happen to know this, but just for sh.its n' giggles, what level (test tone wise) does most music get up to? -6? -9? ect??

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

i dont know

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Just get FP12's, they will take the clipping, and probably disrespect someone at the same time.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

The popping noise is probably the sub reaching its mechanical limits. Without know the speaker design, its hard to say if its motor limited or suspension limited, but usually when someone describes a 'popping' sound its the coil contacting the backplate (motor limited). This is a function of the enclosure design (internal volume and tuning), and the freq of the material being played.

There is no such thing as "0%" gain settings.

 

[Vossy 10+ year member]

Gain is a sensitivity knob, not a volume knob

And your Db boost is bass boost, basically clipping.

Get a multimeter or oscilliscope and do it right.

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

Turn the bass boost on the amp to 0db and go from there