Setting Gain with no extra tools

[aggybong 10+ year member]

I'm too cheap to buy a Voltmeter (Hell, I don't even know how much they cost), so I wanted to tune my amp by ear.

I set the gains to zero\off\low\whatever you want to call it, and turned the HU up until it distorted, which was around the 27 range (Alpine 9830). I gave it a little breathing room and put it to 25. I then disconnected all but 1 set of RCAs (the front) and turned it up until it distorted, then I backed it down a tad. I did the same for the rear, and I will do the same for the sub when I get it tomorrow.

Now, considering I have a 75w rms and 40w rms speakers, I was surprised that they both maxed out at the same gain setting on a 50w x4 RMS amp, which wasn't even half way. Did I mess something up, or miss something?

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[Nikuk 5,000+ posts]

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[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Um.....sounds to me like you were using the crossover knobs/switches and not the gain.

 

[aggybong 10+ year member]

It's hard to miss the thing that says "Gain" on it

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

*sigh*...

what sort of equipment are we dealing with here?

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

It's hard to miss the thing that says "Gain" on it

Sometimes it says "Level" on it.

 

[aggybong 10+ year member]

Nothing fancy.

Alpine 9830 HU

Infinity Kappa 62.5i

Pioneer TS-A6960R

Alpine 1041D

All powered by a SoundStream 800.5 amp

 

[JoseMCeee 10+ year member]

i think your method is off...

IF you decide to go by ear, u set the HU to the loudest volume u would listen to. I agree that on ur alpine deck it would be around 23-25. My is around that volume with MMX3. After you set the volume, u then turn the gain(The one that controls the power/watts) until u hear distortion. I would recommend setting the hpf, lpf prior to this then after u can mess around with it. Just use common sense. For the kicks it would be hpf at around 125 or so. If they distort then turn it up, if they lack bass or sound weak, turn it down. For sub it should never be higher than 100 and lpf. Usually u can do the sub by just seeing where it stops getting loud. If theres a point where the sub just doesnt get any louder, u stop.