Help setting gains with DMM

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

I'm trying to set my gains for my components with a DMM. This is the specs of the amp.

Hifonics zx6400 (4 channel)

4 ohm load - 85 x 4

2 ohm load - 170 x 4

mono bridged into 4 ohm load -340 x 2

The speakers or CDT CL-62's, 4 ohm speakers.

I have the amp bridged to 2 channels with a 4 ohm final load. Does that mean i sending 340 watts to each speaker or 170 watts?

Im so confused! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crying.gif.ec0ebefe590df0251476573bc49e46d8.gif

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[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

it means you have the ability to send 340w to each speaker

use the RMS rating of those CDTs to set the gains

 

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

Dang that was quick!!! Ok the speakers are 150w rms. So i use this calculation?

Sqrt(150 x 4)= 24.5v

 

[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

yep, 24.5v will give you 150w @ 4 ohms

 

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

do i need to do anything special with the calculations since i bridged the speakers?

 

[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

nope, just make sure the gain for the right and the left (channels 1 and 2 and channels 3 and 4) are the same

 

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

Ok, i got my gains set for my components, they sound great might i add, but when it comes to the subs, i'm lost. I have a Alpine CDA-9825 HU and my subs amp is a Alpine MRD-M501 (digital). How in the heck do i set this?

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

The same way you set the front, only now you have just 1 gain to deal with.

 

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

On my HU, i can adjust the bass from 0-15, do i want it at 0 or 15?

 

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

Not to sound like a smart ***, but the CDT website says their 170w RMS.

Thanks!!!

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Trust me, Jmac's right on that one. RMS power isn't actually how much power you *should* send to your speakers, it's just how much power they can take without overheating. Yeah, they are 170 RMS, does that mean they won't properly make sound with 15 watts from an average HU? How much you should send them is dependant on your preferences.

 

[Spud2388 10+ year member]

I understand now. I rarely play them at max output, so would i be alright sending them 170w?