Need Help With Gains

[Riley1015]

Hi, I’m very new to car audio, I didn’t want to spend too much money so I got what I would consider a basic setup. I have a 2022 Toyota Tacoma non-jbl. I replaced the tweeters with DS18s, the front doors with Kicker CS 6x9s, and added a ported kicker subwoofer running off a Jensen amplifier I had from a previous four wheeler project. These worked okay, but I recently found out about the kicker keyloc and replaced my cheap loc with that one. I ran through the test and it set up fine but I have no clue how to set the output gain on the loc as well as the gain on my amplifier. I have a multimeter but don’t know where to start with doing it.

Also, the Jensen app allows a bunch of customization, how should I be setting the frequency and eq levels for a subwoofer? Thanks in advance!

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[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

You should take it to a shop if you don't know how and can't afford to replace it. Improperly set gains can toast a high quality sub. Ask me about my L7.

With that in mind: the rule of thumb for setting gain is ohm's law: P=IxE, or P=E²/R, or E=√(PxR) . P is either your speaker or your amplifier's rms power rating (generally whichever is lower if both are equal quality because gain IS a volume knob), R is your final load that the amplifier sees, and E is where you set the voltage on the speaker terminals on your amp, measured in ac voltage, using the gain setting. Solve for E and adjust your gain until you reach your E.

Edit for wrongly typed formula.

 

[2023 LTZ]

One observation is that I believe is MHJ meant the gain is not a volume knob.

To basically set the gain you’d start your vehicle you’d turn your gain all the way down then turn your hu volume to a point just under what you believe to be distortion then slowly turn amp gain up til it distorts then go back down. Remember not all music is the same so you’ll want to go a little lower on the gain to account for that.
Often it’s 1/2 or below considering many factors.
Balance is a thing too. Wouldn’t want the bass overpowering the highs.
Conservative settings make gear last longer.