HU bass setting

[comp2007 10+ year member]

I just finished my setup and I was wondering if this is ok for my bass setting. I have it so that at +3 bass out of 6 it sounds perfect. Do most people have it set at +0 bass on the HU? What are signs I should watch for that I might be pushing the sub too far?

Its a JL 12w3v3 on a alpine mrp m650 amp.

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[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

i mess with my bass a little. i don't stray too far from 0 though and never set my amps with anything turned over 0. you're gonna probably need to adjust bass a little from your head unit, unless you listen to 1 type of music all the time.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

I just finished my setup and I was wondering if this is ok for my bass setting. I have it so that at +3 bass out of 6 it sounds perfect. Do most people have it set at +0 bass on the HU? What are signs I should watch for that I might be pushing the sub too far?
Its a JL 12w3v3 on a alpine mrp m650 amp.

It depends on how you set your gains. With your bass at +3 it is electronically the same as having it at zero with your amp gains set 3 db higher. Your adding +3 db of bass, if you do it here or there doens't really matter much. Although you are reducing the headroom of your HU by the same amount before distortion. The ideal is to send a clean signal, free of distortion, from you HU and let your amplifier do the amplification.

I suggest you set your gains with a meter and refrence disc with all controls at zero. If your listening to a song that has very little bass, then you can turn up the bass, or turn it down if it has too much.

Also at low listening levels you will want to add in some lows and highs, but when you turn up the volume, you will need to return those settings back to zero to sound good. Also be aware the bass control sends more bass to your main speakers as well as the subs. This is why it's nice to have seperate sub level control rather than just "bass" control. Use the bass control to adjust for listening levels and individual songs, and sub out to tune your system.

You should be listening for distortion and mechanical sounds from the speakers, those are bad. You want clear, clean tight bass sounds. Setting your gains with a meter and matching your amp power levels correctly with your speakers should put you near your max power levels of you HU, amp and speakers, equally and all at the same time, without too much fear of damaging your speakers.

 

[deLeo 10+ year member]

bass at 0 and set ur gain with a DMM... u set your gain to match the voltage that your headunit puts out... gain is not a volume knob neither is bassboost or any other EQ setting

 

[rod_b 10+ year member]

What about sub level? I've read some people say set it to max and others say leave it at 0. My Kenwood X591 has both sub level 0 to +15 and then the bass eq -6 to +6

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

What about sub level? I've read some people say set it to max and others say leave it at 0. My Kenwood X591 has both sub level 0 to +15 and then the bass eq -6 to +6

Same thing. Set your gains with all the settings at zero, then you can use it to make minor adjustments later depending on songs, listening levels and your mood.

If you set gains correctly at zero, then you shouldn't need to add very often. Anyone who tells you to set your gains with settings at maximum is wrong and you should not take advice from that person.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

... and before you ask, the e.q. on your amplifer should also be set at zero when you set your gains.