Help with setting gains on 4 channel amp

[speedyjuarez Premium Member]

Amp kicker 350.4

Front door- DS 65.2 -4 ohm peak 120/60 rms

Back door-KS60 -4 ohm peak 195/65 rms

Okay so when I set my gains on my amp I have figured out that I should set the front speakers to 21.9 with my DMM @ 1000hz. And my back door speakers should be set to 27.92 with DMM @ 1000hz.

Correct me if I'm wrong with any of this I just want to make sure all this is right.

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[MXcarAudio]

i do it by ear

 

[speedyjuarez Premium Member]

Okay so I have been looking and some guys say leave speakers hooked up when setting gains some say unhook them, what should I do? And when I was checking with my DMM it the highest it would go was 8.9 what I'm I doing wrong?

 

[bmk6795 10+ year member]

Okay so I have been looking and some guys say leave speakers hooked up when setting gains some say unhook them, what should I do? And when I was checking with my DMM it the highest it would go was 8.9 what I'm I doing wrong?

did you have your hu turned up? silly question but I've done it multiple times.

 

[speedyjuarez Premium Member]

I had to think about it, but yes it was turned up because my speakers were still connected so I had the doors closed.

 

[yogegoy]

There is another trick setting gain without any tools except your ear. Run your tone (I use -10db 40-60hz for subs and 1khz for full range)with the speaker disconnected, make you disconnect or you'll blow fuses. When adjusting the gain on the specific amp, place your ear near the amp as possible. When you turn the gain up slowly listen for a a buzz like a relay or solenoid going higher in pitch and rapid switching of the component. Once you hear it, back off and you are set. Don't know if it happens to the head unit since I use a DD1 and a Oscope when I do mine, I just happen to hear that faint buzzing when it starts to distort and both testers confirms what I hear. Try it, no harm done unless you don't disconnect the speakers.

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

There is another trick setting gain without any tools except your ear. Run your tone (I use -10db 40-60hz for subs and 1khz for full range)with the speaker disconnected, make you disconnect or you'll blow fuses. When adjusting the gain on the specific amp, place your ear near the amp as possible. When you turn the gain up slowly listen for a a buzz like a relay or solenoid going higher in pitch and rapid switching of the component. Once you hear it, back off and you are set. Don't know if it happens to the head unit since I use a DD1 and a Oscope when I do mine, I just happen to hear that faint buzzing when it starts to distort and both testers confirms what I hear. Try it, no harm done unless you don't disconnect the speakers.

good trick i know when i use thee dd1 the red light comes on right when the buzzing starts

 

[bbeljefe]

Not all amps will make an internal noise when clipping and those that do are clipping dangerously. Don't use that method.

You're amp is rated for 60w at 4Ω. If you do manage to get a 65 watt voltage reading from it on the rear channels, you are clipping the hell out of it and you will cook the coils in your speakers. In other words, don't worry about what the speakers can handle, set the amp to it's maximum output.

Also, disconnect the speakers when you're setting the amp. You don't want any current draw on the circuit that could cause a lower voltage reading because you'll wind up setting the gain too high to compensate for what's being lost to the voice coil.

Lastly, if you cannot achieve the voltage you're looking for, your preamp voltage is too low. Find out what voltage your preamp (head unit) sends, disconnect the RCA cables and check that your volume level is high enough that you're getting that much voltage. If you can't get the correct preamp voltage, your media is attenuated too much. If that's the case, go find a 0dB track to use or, switch sources (i.e. CD, USB). You can download the DD-1 test CD at D'Amore Engineering's website for free and those tracks are verified to be recorded at the levels they claim. Use track two.

 

[yogegoy]

Not all amps will make an internal noise when clipping and those that do are clipping dangerously. Don't use that method.

Since I am not an electronics engineer specific to anything that uses electricity in general. Having very limited knowledge, what is this component that buzzes when too much voltage is fed to it? Given not all amps will react the same way and those that do clip, clips the same time as a DD1 and an Oscope clips. In some instances the sound appears way before both devices senses the clipping, the buzzing can still be heard very faintly even when the DD1 (LED red light off) and Oscope (curved wave opposed to flat) senses it's safe from clipping and quiets down when both devices say so. When I hear a faint buzz and both devices states it is safe, I should follow what both devices are telling me and not what I'm hearing?