gain setting issue

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

i have an audiobahn amp for my mids and highs with a clipping indicator on it....i set my HU volume to 30/40 and popped in a 1Khz test tone and turned the gain up until it started clipping and then turned it back just enough til it stopped.....but now when i put in a music cd it still clips slightly on some songs?....is this normal?.....should i lower the gain more or will it be ok?

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Did you use a test tone recorded at 0dB for the initial setup?

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

i'm not sure....its whatever db the test tones in jmac's sig are....i think they're 0db'z but i'm not positive

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

anyone....?? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

bump

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

i have an audiobahn amp for my mids and highs with a clipping indicator on it....i set my HU volume to 30/40 and popped in a 1Khz test tone and turned the gain up until it started clipping and then turned it back just enough til it stopped.....but now when i put in a music cd it still clips slightly on some songs?....is this normal?.....should i lower the gain more or will it be ok?

how do you know its clipping?

are you just hearing distortion?

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

i said there's a clipping indicator on the amp

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

If you want to be sure, get some time on an oscilloscope...I'd trust that more than I'd trust a 5-cent LED and a coil or two...

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

i said there's a clipping indicator on the amp

i've never heard of a clipping indicator.

if your speakers are distorting badly, increase the HPF, or decrease the bass EQ going to those speakers. If it still distorts, turn the gains down.

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

If you want to be sure, get some time on an oscilloscope...I'd trust that more than I'd trust a 5-cent LED and a coil or two...

wtf is an oscilloscope and where would i get one??

i've never heard of a clipping indicator.
if your speakers are distorting badly, increase the HPF, or decrease the bass EQ going to those speakers. If it still distorts, turn the gains down.

the speakers sound fine.....but the LED's on the amp get into the red a tiny bit on some songs....red indicates clipping....alot of the audiobahn amps have the indicators

Maybe i should just use a DMM and ignore the lights???....only problem there is i have been told the DMM isnt as accurate as most people think due to impedance rise and i might end-up not using my amp to its full potential

 

[walkychalky 10+ year member]

well i think it was because i was listening to an mp3 cd and some songs were ripped too loud.....i threw in a cd from the store and not even the songs with really HEAVY bass clipped.....so do u think i'll be okay playing my mp3 cd's though?.....i'm thinking it'll be fine since only some songs clip very slightly and it's only for short periods of time....what do u guys think?

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

Maybe i should just use a DMM and ignore the lights???....only problem there is i have been told the DMM isnt as accurate as most people think due to impedance rise and i might end-up not using my amp to its full potential

you're correct on the first part. Ignore the lights and use a DMM. Wrong however, on the second part. If you get a good DMM and read the gain setting tutorial, you'll be fine. Extreme impedence rise only occurs at higher volumes/excursion. most of your listening will be at low to mid levels.

 

[Alpineinstaller 10+ year member]

umm, i wouldn't trust the amp on when the speaker is clipping, especially an Audiobahn amp.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

only problem there is i have been told the DMM isnt as accurate as most people think due to impedance rise and i might end-up not using my amp to its full potential

The DMM is 100% accurate. It's people who are not accurate. If you use a -10db or -6db test tone to set up your gains, on music you will be using the full potential. But on the average user I would recommend using the 0db test tone. It will save you from destroying your equipment.

And please do not use the bahns clipping indicator as a true way to measure clipping.