Setting Gain with Multimeter Problems

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

I'm actually at work right now so I'll have to get that to you later. But basically there were 8 speaker wires from the head unit, they did go straight to the input of the stock Bose amp. They now get spliced into a RCA cable. That goes straight to my Pioneer amp. There is no LOC, it's spliced with the adapter that came with the amp.

 

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

This is the adapter that came with the amp to get high level speaker input to the amp via RCA jacks.

http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/380693/big/gmd9500f.jpg

 

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

i just looked up that amp and i know how you got it.its a rca cable with 1 end cut off. the cutoff end connects to the speaker output of the radio. the other end of the rca goes into the amp.

so its a loc/rca cable. but its not a loc if that makes cents.

Pioneer GM-D8601 Mono subwoofer amplifier — 800 watts RMS at 1 ohm at Crutchfield.com

look at the manual on this page.

Correct, it's not changing the signal at all. My amp is designed to take either high or low through the RCA jack.

 

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

So what's the problem? How can I set my gain? The system sounds great but I just don't want to mess up the speakers.

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

set it by ear. turn the gain up until it sounds distorted or bad - then back it off until it sounds good again.

most of the time i set my gain by ear also - and ive yet to burn up anything

 

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

I know what regular speaker clipping sounds like. I don't know what subwoofer clipping sounds like. I can turn the gain up all the way on the sub and don't hear any problem with it, but I'm sure that is too high. I'll just set it by ear I guess. Just wondering though, do you have any speculation as to why my voltage is like that?

 

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

Bump, anybody?

 

[los33]

Your current system headunit will not produce a higher preamp since 99% stock headunits with rcas or not were made in a certain way to keep voltage down which is keeping preamp from 1v to .2v.

That pioneer amp even tho it does rated power that would be enough to run your sub the preamp is way to low.

Your only chance to actually make your stock h/u work is to get a higher watt amp so it can produce a higher voltage at a lower amperage meaning:

1. a 300 watt amp getting only .3 -.6v will only see max 80-110 watts.

2. a 600 watt amp getting only .3 - .6v will see 200-340 watts

but that is with rca coming from stock h/u.

If you choose to get a real loc then you will see much higher voltage getting better wattage.

Or get a amp capable of inputing speaker outputs from the h/u so the amp its self can act as a loc sort of aka high level input.

To summarize this all do not expect much from a stock h/u rca unless you can regulate the amperage from rca.

 

[Hybrid13 10+ year member]

So I have two questions:

I can turn my gain all the way up and nothing bad will happen with the stock HU?

If I get LOC's all will be good and I will see the correct voltage?

 

[los33]

So I have two questions:
I can turn my gain all the way up and nothing bad will happen with the stock HU?

If I get LOC's all will be good and I will see the correct voltage?

1. Nothing will happen to your h/u but you might clip the cra p out of your speakers and kill them.

2. A loc will give you a better preamp to actually use a amp correctly.