how to avoid clipping?

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

i've been out of car audio loop for about 4 years, and im just now getting my system together, im running 2 ed 13ov.2's off an ed nine.1. this will be about the perfect combo running at 1 ohm right? well my question is, how do i avoid clipping? is there a cheap way to test, is it detectable by ear or what? before, i was just a kid and never really researched anything about it, just hooked up 2 jl 10w3s and 2 12w3s in sealed boxes in my camaro, and tuned them by ear, until i thought i wasnt hearing any distortion. i never blew them or anything, but i want to make sure that nothing bad happens to my set up. also, how should i go about breaking the 12's in? thanks,

Shaun

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

There's a sticky in the Wiring/Install thread that will help you out.

Basically, you use a DMM and a basic knowledge of Ohm's Law to set the amp for the maximum unclipped voltage on the speaker outputs.

 

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif 0db test tone?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

A sine wave, just a straight tone recorded at a 0dB reference level. You want to use a 50 or 60Hz tone for setting your subwoofer amp gains. Downloadable tones can be had in lots of places, a Google search will probably give you plenty of results.

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

run the subs at medium volume for at least a total of 2 hours.. they'll loosen up and you can send more power to them safely....

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

It's stuck in the amplifier section ...
By using a 0 dB test tone and applying the basic principles of Ohm's Law, you can prevent your amplifier from clipping (it doesn't take into account impedance drops, but then you'd have to plot your impedance curve and it just gets overly complex.).

Thats the lame way.

I set it by ear/eye //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[kuijo 10+ year member]

Thats the lame way.I set it by ear/eye //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

Thats how pros do it. MAybe you should try by grabbing the postive and negative ends and trying to figure how many volts are running through ur body.

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

8.396, already checked //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

8.441....your wrong.....end your life now

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

enough off topic.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

There's a reason why it's called tuning for "maximum smoke"...

run the subs at medium volume for at least a total of 2 hours.. they'll loosen up and you can send more power to them safely....

That helps with driver break-in, if it wasn't handled at the factory...but has nothing to do with the amplifier clipping or not. It'll still clip whether your drivers are broken in or not.