How to tune my amp for an l7?

[marquisbrah 10+ year member]

hey i have 2 15inch l7s on my car and i wanted to know how high should my amp be tuned?

its a kicker kx 1200.1 amp (old school). max power at 1ohm is 1200 rms.

it was skipping so i undid the bridge for the subs and only hooked one up. the skipping stopped and now i can crank the radio louder without blowing the fuse.

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[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

What voice coil configuration are the subs?

The settings on the amp should be as follows

Gain: Should be set to match your head unit's preout voltage.

Subsonic Filter: 10 Hz or so below box tuning

Low Pass Filter: 80 Hz

Phase: 0 degrees

Bass Boost: 0 dB

Also, you should know that when running a 1200 watt amplifier, you will need electrical upgrades to support the current hungry amp. You will need to do the big three and at least add one decent sized battery if you plan on playing it for prolonged periods of time. DO NOT buy a capacitor as they do more harm than good.

 

[marquisbrah 10+ year member]

how do i find the info on the preout voltage?

also, my amp has 3 settings. (knobs)

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Look up the info on the head unit you are using.

 

[SmartAsss 10+ year member]

Gain: Should be set to match your head unit's preout voltage.Subsonic Filter: 10 Hz or so below box tuning

Low Pass Filter: 80 Hz

Phase: 0 degrees

Bass Boost: 0 dB

Seriously..

For one, headunit voltage is variable the specs are never accurate, they are always rated at maximum volume, at maximum volume there is maximum distortion and clipping. the gain knob on your amp is never accurate, it is only a general guide line.

a sub will not play well below its tuning frequency without ill effects, distortion, efficiency mechanical or electrical limits can all be maxed out past the tuning frequency.

The crossover is a variable in any car. it depends on the lowest range that the mid-range speakers can play at the same level as the sub output

phase is a variable too. phase will adjust for any acoustic cancellation due to the midranges playing the same frequencies.

bass boost can be used if there is a dip in freq response at the specified boost level, it should be compensated by lowering the gain.

there are plenty of tutorials that will give you this information. I've written the proper way to set all of these setting before..

Test tones are not what you want to use, multimeters and oscilloscopes are only what you would want to use for testing with them. your gains will be set too low if you set them with that method mentioned. I've been there tried that. the reason being is that test tones have a much higher amplitude then actual music. unless you listen to test tones or compete by using them then your sub will be much lower then it should be for music.
The tried and true method is to turn your stereo up to maximum listening volume that you will listen to music (or generally 3/4, not the head units max volume) using a well recorded track that you know by heart. slowly turn the gain knob up from its minimum position until you hear signs of distortion from the sub (distinct change in tonal output) or mechanical noise, then back it down slightly. this will be the optimum setting.

bass boost should be off, crossover setting should be at around 80 to 120hz (where ever it sounds best and blends with your front speakers without sounding muddy), sub sonicfilter should be set at maximum (for your particular setup). phase is set by adjusting it up and down listening for the point at which the sub sounds the loudest in the drivers seat. bass boost (if necessary) is set by turning it up a notch or two, and decreasing the gain slightly. do not over do the bass boost setting as it will cause a nasty peak. the more you turn the boost up the more you have to turn the gain down.

the sub sonic filter specifically applied to his over sized box but everything other that applys to you. your sub sonic filter will be set at your tuning frequency by ear.. not by the knob marker.