New system wont go loud

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

I Installed my new speakers and amp last week, but it doesn't even sound as loud as my stock system. My amp is an Infinity 7541 and the speakers are MTX 6001 components which are rated at 90 watts RMS. The gain is set at the 2 o'clock position and anything over that makes the clip meter come on the amp. Could there be something wrong with the amp?

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[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

could be when i initially started reading i though the gain was not high enough what kind of Head Unit volt preouts ect... Also what volume level are u tuning your amp at ex 25/35

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

got a pic of the speaker install?

 

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

could be when i initially started reading i though the gain was not high enough what kind of Head Unit volt preouts ect... Also what volume level are u tuning your amp at ex 25/35

The headunit is a pioneer 4800 so I believe the pre outs are 4 volts. I set the volume level at 45 out of 62

 

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

got a pic of the speaker install?

No I don't. The speakers are wired up using 14 gauge wire, and the doors are sound deadened.

 

[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

sounds like the amp if u have those i of preouts and gain almost 3/4 either bad connections at crossover or speaker or something idk... maybe someone else will chime in with some insight

 

[Stem 10+ year member]

well i think you should start by setting the gains right...

make sure all the rca's are working and such, check to see if the power is flowing

 

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

well i think you should start by setting the gains right...
make sure all the rca's are working and such, check to see if the power is flowing

What do you mean by set the gains right? I set the headunit volume at 45 of 62 and then I turned the gain up until the clip meter started to blink.

 

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

Is it possible that there is a poor ground connection? I'm not sure if it is or not so I took a picture. What do you guys think?

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

No I don't. The speakers are wired up using 14 gauge wire, and the doors are sound deadened.

that's great but why I ask is that some installers just use wood screws with no baffles and there are gaps between the speaker and the plane of the door, making it free-air and sounding like crap. RE-check the phase of the wiring too.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Many times the distortion level of a stock system at high volume makes them sound a lot louder than they really are. The effect is that after adding an upgraded front stage it doesn't seem as loud as the factory setup even though it is really much louder.

 

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

Many times the distortion level of a stock system at high volume makes them sound a lot louder than they really are. The effect is that after adding an upgraded front stage it doesn't seem as loud as the factory setup even though it is really much louder.

I actually think something is not right. My speakers are rated at 90 watts RMS and the amp puts out 111 watts a channel. This should mean that the gain should be closer to max instead of minimum. While the amp was off, I turned the gain all the way to max just to see how much farther it would go, and it made a full rotation before stopping. Right now, the gain is set so that its only a couple notches away from minimum. Since my speakers are are closer to the max output of the amp, shouldn't the gain be closer to the max setting instead of the minimum?

 

[Wkbdkid 10+ year member]

Read the "Gain Setting Tutorial" in the amp section. An like DJMan said, is there baffles or jus a speaker screwed into a bigger opening?

 

[jeffrey_martin 10+ year member]

Read the "Gain Setting Tutorial" in the amp section. An like DJMan said, is there baffles or jus a speaker screwed into a bigger opening?

The speakers are mounted on MDF baffles, and are mounted and sealed up using modeling clay. I did read the gain setting tutorial, but as of right now I don't have a DMM, so I went by the clip meter on the amp

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

I actually think something is not right. My speakers are rated at 90 watts RMS and the amp puts out 111 watts a channel. This should mean that the gain should be closer to max instead of minimum. While the amp was off, I turned the gain all the way to max just to see how much farther it would go, and it made a full rotation before stopping. Right now, the gain is set so that its only a couple notches away from minimum. Since my speakers are are closer to the max output of the amp, shouldn't the gain be closer to the max setting instead of the minimum?

The position of the gain dial has no direct bearing on the level of output. If the clipping indicator is flickering, that means that the gain is as it should be and turning it up higher will only increase distortion and the likelihood of damaging something.