line drivers ..yes/no?

[60ndown 10+ year member]

wanna bump my voltage from 2 too 5 volts? line driver ok? comments please

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[BeanII 10+ year member]

as long as the amp doesn't have a built in line driver, I think they're a great idea

 

[stones 10+ year member]

Do you currently have problems with noise in your system?.

Do you find it necessary to turn your amplifier gains unreasonably high?.

Is your vehicle intended for SPL competitions?.

If the answer is no to all the above then don't bother with it.

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

amp is a pg xennon 600, has a variable input .2-8 volts,with the variable @ 2 v the sub is just not loud enough for my tastes at lower listening volumes.hu out is 2 v.when turned up everything sounds awesome! but im getting old and i want to listen at lower volumes with bass 'enanced'......rl-p 12 even at .2 v i want a bit more? i figure the hu signal is not a full 2 volts @ lower volumes ? so ill boost the signal a bit to make the amp work more??

 

[DJ Kontakt 10+ year member]

wait, what head unit are you using?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I'm not a big line driver fan.

Save your money. If you want more output at lower volumes, then just increase your gain some so that the amplifier will output more power with the lower input signal @ a lower volume. Just know that you won't be able to turn it up as loud without the amplifier clipping, however. But if your main concern is increased output at lower listening levels, then you probably aren't cranking it up that loud very often anyways.

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

I'm not a big line driver fan.
Save your money. If you want more output at lower volumes, then just increase your gain some so that the amplifier will output more power with the lower input signal @ a lower volume. Just know that you won't be able to turn it up as loud without the amplifier clipping, however. But if your main concern is increased output at lower listening levels, then you probably aren't cranking it up that loud very often anyways.

huh? What are you talking about with "more output at lower volumes"? Thats not what a line driver does. When setup properly, a line driver will not change the volume of the system at all, it just sends a stronger signal to the amp and will often remove any alien noise in the signal. And YOu WILL be able to turn it up JUST as loud before the amp clips, the point is that you will turn the gain down as the signal voltage increases.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Yes, that was my point.

If you want it louder at lower volumes, you'll need to increase the gain setting on the amp and just not turn the stereo up as loud at the headunit and bypass the whole "line driver" thing as it won't do anything for you.

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

wait, what head unit are you using?

jvc arsenal ad ah-800

2 volt sub out(which apparently is not a constant 2 v,varies with volume dial movement), which means @ lower listening levels i have no idea how many vlts, ....milli volts its sending to the amp? but apparently its not sending enough for my tastes/preferences? even @ .2mv?

so i am going to try a line driver (phoenix gold e bay $60) and see if i can tweak the signal a lil so as to raise the level of the sub without useing tone controlls or loudness? i only need about 20% additional gain max? hopefully i can mod the signal from .1 mv to a solid 2 volts? and have killer deep sq bass at very modest listening levels! @ the expense of not being able to crank it as much? but with the sub level controller up front i should have the ability to crank some!

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

Yes, that was my point.
If you want it louder at lower volumes, you'll need to increase the gain setting on the amp and just not turn the stereo up as loud at the headunit and bypass the whole "line driver" thing as it won't do anything for you.

tried it ,even with the variable i at .2 mv (max) its not enough? some of my issue might be because im running the f and r speakers off the hu? they sound real good at any volume so i dont need it loud to 'be there' just gotta get the level of the rl-p up a lil-without effecting the sq?

 

[stones 10+ year member]

Wasting money.

Just increase gain sesitivity untill it sounds right.

Then send me the 60 bucks.

If its not enough at .2 volts sensitivity a line driver wont help, you will need a bigger amp for more output or a ported box, especially with the RL-p.

If full sensitivity on the amp won't work the line driver will only allow you to drive the amp deeper into clipping.

My recommendation is that you invest in a ported enclosure, it will actually correct the problem.

trust me I've been there and done that.

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

we gotta do these thing ourselves to find out eh?

the line driver is in the mail, the $$ in his paypal account,(you know how it is when you post a question and buy somthing before anyone replies?) i have a 2 cubic ft slot-ported to 32 hz ready to try in the garage? or finish encloseing my i.b. rl-p setup???

i figure if a line driver can increase a 2 v signal to 8 v thats 4 times?

so if it can increase my .2v signal to .8???........errr?

maybe ill try the ported?

what i really want is the ability to have OVERWHELMING sq bass at modest listening levels!.not that i would listen to it that way.....very often, buti want the ability to controll the bass that way!

if im not happy with the ported,or the line driver / ported/i.b. arrangement,a bigger amp is my next step?

but honestly if a 2 x power increase only gets 3 db then im not sure i believe its gonnasatisfy me,a 4x boosted signal from the sub out-clean into the amp might?

dontchaluvdisobby?

Wasting money.Just increase gain sesitivity untill it sounds right.

Then send me the 60 bucks.

If its not enough at .2 volts sensitivity a line driver wont help, you will need a bigger amp for more output or a ported box, especially with the RL-p.

If full sensitivity on the amp won't work the line driver will only allow you to drive the amp deeper into clipping.

My recommendation is that you invest in a ported enclosure, it will actually correct the problem.

trust me I've been there and done that.

 

[stones 10+ year member]

I have said all that needs to be said.

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

tried the ported, lots more output but sq sounds like its in the car behind? cant wait for the line driver to arrive?

 

[thch 10+ year member]

i'm just glad no one mentioned the myth that a line driver makes the amps work less because it doens't have to boost the signal as much... give me 2 transistors i will give you a voltage gain over 10,000...

possibly there is a "loud" feature on your HU. this was desinged to increase bass for a more enriched low volume listening experience. of course most people think the exact opposite.