Help with amp/system adjustments...

[SwayKnee]

Hi All! I'm new to this site and was hoping I could get some advice/help. I've installed a Kicker CVT10 sub and a Kicker DX250.1 amp in my truck and now I'm looking to get it setup as best as possible. In order to make sure everything is set as well as it can be, I've researched tuning my amp with a digital multimeter. I've downloaded a 60hz tone from MTX's website and I've figured out that I need the DMM voltage to be around 22.4 when I set my gain. My headunit's max volume is 62 so I plan to turn the volume to about 45 or 46 and set the preset eq to "flat" before adjusting my gain. My question is, this amp only has a dial for gain. It has a a button labeled "input level - push button in for hi, leave unpushed for lo" and then it has a push button for bass boost. Apparently on this amp, it has a fixed lo-pass crossover of 80hz and a fixed hi-pass crossover of 25hz.

What would be the best settings to try before I adjust gain? Should I leave the bass boost button out and how about the input level button? After I adjust the gain on the amp, could I just go in and select a preset eq like "powerful" and then turn "loud" on or is this all basically user preference? Also, on my Pioneer DEH-4400HD headunit, there are lots of different options for the subwoofer like setting the phase to normal, reverse or off (right now I have it on normal). It has a screen for tone control that goes from +6 to -6. You can also adjust the cut-off frequency to 50hz, 63hz, 80hz, 100hz, or 125hz and then there's an output level that goes from -24 to +6. I have no clue what these need to be set on either. Thanks for any advice you can provide!

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[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

bass boost off and on lp

 

[SwayKnee]

bass boost off and on lp

So on the input level button, leave it unpushed for lo, correct? Also, once I set it to the correct gain, should I always leave the bass boost and input level buttons unpushed? I'm afraid if I don't have the bass boost button pushed in, I won't get the bass as heavy as I'm looking for.

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

Make all necessary adjustments, eq, bass boost etc, then set your gain, and input level set to low.

 

[SwayKnee]

Make all necessary adjustments, eq, bass boost etc, then set your gain, and input level set to low.

That's whats confusing me... everything I'm seeing tells me to set everything to a base/flat setting, set gain then adjust other settings/fine tune...

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

If you set everything flat/off and adjust your gain, chances are you are going to overide your gain settings after making all adjustments.

Make your adjustments, then set your gain with the dmm (which is an approximation anyways), then if you feel the need to turn your gain up, do it by ear and listen for distortion then turn it a bit back down.

 

[SwayKnee]

So all those settings that I mentioned, is that basically just user preference?