How to set gains by ear?

[THXdts 10+ year member]

How do you actually set your sub gain and other gains by ear? Does anyone have anything written up on it? I don't actually know how to do it, or to know when its clipping.

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[crunktimes.com 5,000+ posts]

Set your gains using a multimeter, you will get the most out of your amp and ensure you do not fuck anything up. You can pick one up on ebay for like $15 shipped.

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

I stick a stethoscope on my amp, tweek the gain until I hear some clipping.

 

[kross 10+ year member]

Play music or test tone, turn HU up to about 75% of max, and turn up gain until you start to hear distortion, then back it off a little, so the distortion goes away. You're done.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

I stick a stethoscope on my amp, tweek the gain until I hear some clipping.

I actually had to use a defibrillator on my amp the other day, it went into cardiac arrest //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

i dont like setting gains by ears because by the time it clips for me the output is too much to hear tell for me. i mean i can tell a sever clip no problem, but if your looking for basically no clipping, i would just try the dmm method and a -6db 50hz tone.

just about every song ive tested has bass that never goes higher than about -6.5db.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

I've always used a 0db, 60hz test tone cd when setting my gains. Usually doesn't have a lot of output, I've been meaning to try a -3hz db cd instead.

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

I've always used a 0db, 60hz test tone cd when setting my gains. Usually doesn't have a lot of output, I've been meaning to try a -3hz db cd instead.

you should man. i have seen many songs in the -9db range as well, on their peak freq.

i remember trying 0db tones when i was first getting into car audio. it lacked so much output its not even funny. i then started using -6db tones, and its only about a couple months ago that i actually started mapping some songs to see what the peak freq are, and realized, how attenuated the notes really are.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

Yeah I think I will, I'm just to lazy to go buy blank CD's. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

Yeah I think I will, I'm just to lazy to go buy blank CD's. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

lol no shit.

my local fry's has cd-r's for CHEAP. i was kind of surprised. i needed a soldering iron...but i hate going in there cause every employee is a straight up skeezy car salesman type (or at least gives that impression), and 99% of the customers are weird as ****. when its time for shit like that, or cdr's, i get in/out as quick as possible

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

lol no shit.
my local fry's has cd-r's for CHEAP. i was kind of surprised. i needed a soldering iron...but i hate going in there cause every employee is a straight up skeezy car salesman type (or at least gives that impression), and 99% of the customers are weird as ****. when its time for shit like that, or cdr's, i get in/out as quick as possible

2x

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

i usually put my ear really close to the screen and meditate - you know, try and see the voltage by listening to the magnetic fields of the LCD.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Play music or test tone, turn HU up to about 75% of max, and turn up gain until you start to hear distortion, then back it off a little, so the distortion goes away. You're done.

Turn the HU volume to the max you will listen to ... turning to 75% of max does absolutely nothing if you never turn it past 30%...