newbie needs help

[RayRay1417]

What's your voltage like?

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Dude turn those levels down.

 

[fly_marlin]

Are the gains on the amp and on the EQ aux set to max? Can't tell from the pic.

 

[treesive 10+ year member]

It is clipped. Has all of the characteristics.

 

[CSCStang]

Source at full tilt=distortion from the get.....

 

[DrEatsAlot]

What's your voltage like?

lol..... whatever the battery gives me....lol....... no voltmeter.....soooooo.......?????? who knows

Are the gains on the amp and on the EQ aux set to max? Can't tell from the pic.

no....not maxed......more like 2/3......

Source at full tilt=distortion from the get.....

by source you mean my phone volume being maxed?.....

 

[Cloud77]

If you are ripping the leads it could be your box and the fact that you are using the Bass boost

 

[DrEatsAlot]

i have several other amps......but the all give too much midbass....not enough loudness from my speakers......the audiobahn 2002t is what sound the loudest if that makes sense....

i have an mtx bt pro 150.2 and 75.2 mint..... but with gains turn down... all i get is midbass.... no loudness..... sooo thats why i went with the audiobahn......

all my items are garage sale/swapmeet items..... so cheap is where i like to be....... this is my first system and was done all by myself..... with the help of this site and some youtube videos

im trying for more of a SQL than SPL...... i like to hear the word as the bass hits......is it just my cheap equipment....and im trying to get too much out of nothing????

also wanted to say thanks in advance to all who reply....learning more and more every time i log on...lol

 

[DrEatsAlot]

If you are ripping the leads it could be your box and the fact that you are using the Bass boost

bass boost, lpf, and hpf....is where i get lost..... soooo should it be at zero? or close to?

box is a box......dont know specs or cube ft.... all i know is its a sealed box......

ill gladly measure if itll help

 

[RayRay1417]

I waS in the same boat when I started. The cheaper the better. But I can tell you from experience that your better off spending a little extra a buy some better equipment. You can pick up a sundown e series for around $50 used. Then just go buy a sealed preefab box. For around 20 used and you'll be golden it should sound hands down better then what you had previosly.

 

[CSCStang]

Lpf....used for subs. If you have Lpf set on your mids, you'll get low notes. Hpf, used for mids and tweets. The source (in your case) is your phone. You NEVER go max volume, don't go above 75-80 percent. Learn how to set your gains correctly....this is crucial.

 

[los33 10+ year member]

bass boost, lpf, and hpf....is where i get lost..... soooo should it be at zero? or close to?
box is a box......dont know specs or cube ft.... all i know is its a sealed box......

ill gladly measure if itll help

Keep bass boost completely off..

Lpf set it to 80hz & hpf will not do a thing for the subs as its a low pass speaker not high pass.

Start off by easing on the eq settings. Leaving them high with a low quality amp will only cause signals to clip.

Leave it all flat on the eq and just use the amp for gains until you learn to set your eq or have someone set it for you who knows.

 

[fly_marlin]

I honestly think you may just be expecting too much out of your setup. It costs to play. When I first got into car audio, I thought I could outdo everyone by buying the cheapest possible. Ended up with a boss amp, blew it within a day and had to learn the hard way. I think if your expectations match what you've purchased, you'll be fine.

 

[What was that? 10+ year member]

Ok soooo dont know if this effects anything but..... i dont use my head unit at all.... its not even pluged in to my eq main. .... i listen to my phone.... through a rca/jack cord....

Someone can help me with this - I thought using your phone directly as a volume control was bad because it does not regulate the signal like a head unit does. That in turn does not allow you to set the amp gain to a specific place to prevent clipping.

 

[fly_marlin]

I'm not sure about the dynamics of connecting the phone directly to the amp, however, even with the head unit - signal voltage is never the same either. As far as I understand, it changes as frequency changes. For example, if you have a 4V output on your HU - you get 4V output max. This depends on your volume level as well as frequency or frequencies being played.

I think the problem is just him expecting a certain level of output from his setup and not getting it.