Gains for this sub

[comp2007 10+ year member]

I know setting gains by ear is very subjective for every application but I was wondering about my new setup. I have a Critical Mass LS 12" sub in a box built to spec sealed. Its running off an alpine mrp m-650 amp capable of 600 rms at 2ohm. The speaker is rated at 1000 rms 2ohm.

My question is should I be able to move the gain to 3/4 the way up or more without damaging the sub? I don't hear any distortion but was told these critical mass subs don't distort much. If it can handle 1000rms and 1500peak I should be safe correct?

Thanks a lot and sorry for the noob like questions.

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[7ender 10+ year member]

No, not necessarily. Sounds like you don't really understand how the gain works. If you are good at setting by ear though, you may be fine.

The power handling of the sub doens't really matter much in terms of the gain level. Once you set the gain too high and introduce clipping, you are hurting your sub regardless of how much power you're sending it.

And the point of having a gain is so that you can make your amp put out its rated power with altering input voltages (ie, not every head unit has the same preout voltage). If you try to make it do more than that, you're more than likely clipping.

Why not just buy a DMM and set it that way? It's not the most accurate, but more so than you're doing now.

 

[comp2007 10+ year member]

No, not necessarily. Sounds like you don't really understand how the gain works. If you are good at setting by ear though, you may be fine.
The power handling of the sub doens't really matter much in terms of the gain level. Once you set the gain too high and introduce clipping, you are hurting your sub regardless of how much power you're sending it.

And the point of having a gain is so that you can make your amp put out its rated power with altering input voltages (ie, not every head unit has the same preout voltage). If you try to make it do more than that, you're more than likely clipping.

Why not just buy a DMM and set it that way? It's not the most accurate, but more so than you're doing now.

Ya I am pretty new to all of this. I really don't want to damage anything and am not sure what to even hook the dmm to when setting the gain and what to look for. What would clipping sound like?

 

[7ender 10+ year member]

If you have to ask, i'd honestly just get a dmm. It's really easy to do, takes like one minute and youv' epretty much gauranteed yourself you're not going to blow out your subs (well, sort of).

Just search around for the dmm gain setting tutorial, there are alot on here.

 

[comp2007 10+ year member]

If you have to ask, i'd honestly just get a dmm. It's really easy to do, takes like one minute and youv' epretty much gauranteed yourself you're not going to blow out your subs (well, sort of).
Just search around for the dmm gain setting tutorial, there are alot on here.

K cool ill do that then, as for my settings now should I just leave them as is if I don't hear any distortion or clipping? Thanks for the help.

 

[7ender 10+ year member]

That's up to you and whether you want to risk that or not. I cant' say since I haven't heard your setup. If you dont' hear any distortion though, you're *probably* okay.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

No, not necessarily. Sounds like you don't really understand how the gain works. If you are good at setting by ear though, you may be fine.
The power handling of the sub doens't really matter much in terms of the gain level. Once you set the gain too high and introduce clipping, you are hurting your sub regardless of how much power you're sending it.

And the point of having a gain is so that you can make your amp put out its rated power with altering input voltages (ie, not every head unit has the same preout voltage). If you try to make it do more than that, you're more than likely clipping.

Why not just buy a DMM and set it that way? It's not the most accurate, but more so than you're doing now.

While your assessment of what the gain controls are for (altering input sensitivity to adjust for varying signal voltage) is correct, your statement that clipping at any power level will damage a speaker is not true. Clipping does diminish speaker cooling somewhat, and increases amplifier output power above rated specs, but if these two factors still maintain a heat generation level the speaker is capable of handling, no damage will result. Now, most people dont run such an underpowered amplifier that these two corresponding factors are incapable of creating a dangerous situation for the speaker(s), but its false to simply say clipping causes damage under every circumstance. Id alter your advice in that slight way to achieve a completely accurate description of the situation.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I don't hear any distortion but was told these critical mass subs don't distort much. If it can handle 1000rms and 1500peak I should be safe correct?

You are confusing signal distortion, such as clipping, with speaker distortion. Even the most accurate of speakers will reproduce distortion audibly, if its fed a distorted signal. The speaker does not distinguish between distortion its fed, and music. What's meant when someone says a speaker has little distortion is that the speaker itself displays very little distortion of its own (mostly BL distortion caused by varying motor strength throughout the speaker's cone travel as the coil leaves the gap) in and above the distortion that may or may not be present in the signal.

Is the CMass LS series BL optimized? I dont believe so. If that's the case, it's not really a low distortion speaker, not compared to many other BL optimized drivers on the market today.

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

While your assessment of what the gain controls are for (altering input sensitivity to adjust for varying signal voltage) is correct, your statement that clipping at any power level will damage a speaker is not true. Clipping does diminish speaker cooling somewhat, and increases amplifier output power above rated specs, but if these two factors still maintain a heat generation level the speaker is capable of handling, no damage will result. Now, most people dont run such an underpowered amplifier that these two corresponding factors are incapable of creating a dangerous situation for the speaker(s), but its false to simply say clipping causes damage under every circumstance. Id alter your advice in that slight way to achieve a completely accurate description of the situation.

x2

example

if you have a 1000 watt sub and a 50 watt amp, at full clipping that amp is LIKE putting out 100 watts which wont do crap to a 1000 watt sub

 

[7ender 10+ year member]

Yeah, I realize that except the OP is using a 600 watt amp and a sub rated for 1000. I'd say that's definetely enough to damage his sub assuming he had some significant clipping.