setting gain... 3/4 of volume question

[srch4aresn 10+ year member]

im going to have a new setup soon( cant decide to make a box for my 15 l5 or buy a local 13w6 in box) but i was reading over the 500/1 manual and it says when setting gain with voltmeter to have the volume at 3/4 volume etc etc

i have a alpine 9856 which goes to volume 35. the highest i play my music is 22, but 3/4 volume is like 27 or so. so should i set the volume 3/4 of the max volume at ~27 or 3/4 of my max volume that i use at around ~17 or so?

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[IonRL205 10+ year member]

They normally say 3/4 of the max volume because your deck can send a clipped signal if you set it higher. If 22 is your max volume you're going to listen to, then set your gain to that, or maybe a couple notches higher (like 24 or so) in case you do decide to turn it up a bit more.

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

If you can get a hold of a O-scope your best bet is to down all your gains on mids/highs and sub amp and individually see where the deck begins to send a clipped signal. Move down 1 from that, and then set your amps at that volume then never go past that volume. If you can't get a O-scope, find a 1000hz tone and try to listen for a change in that tone. Back it off from that tone (1000hz is where the human ear is most sensitive so it's best to audibly hear distortion) and move from there. For the subs, 40hz is the boosted signal on the amp and deck so that's the tone to find a clip, since is will most normally be the most powerful tone to the subs.

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

im going to have a new setup soon( cant decide to make a box for my 15 l5 or buy a local 13w6 in box) but i was reading over the 500/1 manual and it says when setting gain with voltmeter to have the volume at 3/4 volume etc etc
i have a alpine 9856 which goes to volume 35. the highest i play my music is 22, but 3/4 volume is like 27 or so. so should i set the volume 3/4 of the max volume at ~27 or 3/4 of my max volume that i use at around ~17 or so?

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[BASSMEKANIK89 10+ year member]

If you can get a hold of a O-scope your best bet is to down all your gains on mids/highs and sub amp and individually see where the deck begins to send a clipped signal. Move down 1 from that, and then set your amps at that volume then never go past that volume. If you can't get a O-scope, find a 1000hz tone and try to listen for a change in that tone. Back it off from that tone (1000hz is where the human ear is most sensitive so it's best to audibly hear distortion) and move from there. For the subs, 40hz is the boosted signal on the amp and deck so that's the tone to find a clip, since is will most normally be the most powerful tone to the subs.

X2

If you are going to build a ported enclosure be sure to turn on the infrasonic filter.