liquidennis
CarAudio.com Newbie
Hey everyone,
I have a question concerning the best solution to the configuration of my signal processor, amp, and head unit as far as gains, crossover, and tuning. For a little background I'm a single father of three and I just didn't have the time to install all the equipment I have so I had reputable local shop perform the install. That was a big mistake. When I got in the car afterward you couldn't really hear anything but a hint of highs. I had to fix it and found that they had the L/R channels on my signal processor coming out of the crossover on highs only which cut everything else out. I need the full pass on those to get everything. Here's the list of what I have.
Head Unit: Kenwood DDX-814
Mid/High Amp: JL 300/4
Mid/High Speakers: JL XR CSi-650 x 4
Signal Processor: Rockford Fosgate EPX2 with the 28 band crossover
Sub Amp: Rockford Fosgate 1000@2 (bought it off the shelf in the 90s)
Sub: JL 10W7 - Anniversary Edition with the HO slot-ported box
Power: 2x 1.2 Farad caps/extra Optima yellow top deep cycle battery with 0/4 gauge wiring
So when the installation was completed and I fixed the wiring to full pass on the EPX2 I got some good sound. Then to my surprise the sub blew - TWICE. I found out it was due to the installer setting the gain at MAX on the Rockford amp, which is already grossly overpowering that JL sub. It was replaced twice at my shipping expense - which *****, also JL will no longer warranty the sub due to this. Did I mention I'm never going back there? Also I recently found that in my door they tore off the negative wire right out of one of the tweeters and made a sad attempt to glue it back on with this black tarry substance that is now all over it. I have to figure out how to solder that in place.
So I now have the gain all the way down for fear that I may blow this super expensive sub again. My question is more for the RCA and crossover config though. I had it setup so that both amps went out to the signal processor so the left/right were adjustable through the head unit, but this made me lost the ability to adjust the sub via the head unit because it only has left/right out. So I moved the sub off of the signal processor and ran it right to the head unit with RCAs so I could now adjust it. The thing is it seems like that EPX2 gives some added voltage to the line, so it seems like I've lost some serious power there. That or I'm nuts, because it's kind of hard to tell.
I'm not good at tuning this and don't want to end up screwing up this beautiful equipment any further. I feel like at the first sign of distortion something is going to blow up on me. So should I be tuning the gains/crossovers at the amp level, the EXP2 level, or the head unit level? I know if you start trying to tune these crossovers at multiple levels you end up with a negative result with phasing or something. I'm just no expert at this intricate level and don't want to end up doing more damage than the shop has already so kindly done for me. I plan on writing them a letter and laying all of this out but I just haven't had the time yet. I appreciate any help anyone can give!
I have a question concerning the best solution to the configuration of my signal processor, amp, and head unit as far as gains, crossover, and tuning. For a little background I'm a single father of three and I just didn't have the time to install all the equipment I have so I had reputable local shop perform the install. That was a big mistake. When I got in the car afterward you couldn't really hear anything but a hint of highs. I had to fix it and found that they had the L/R channels on my signal processor coming out of the crossover on highs only which cut everything else out. I need the full pass on those to get everything. Here's the list of what I have.
Head Unit: Kenwood DDX-814
Mid/High Amp: JL 300/4
Mid/High Speakers: JL XR CSi-650 x 4
Signal Processor: Rockford Fosgate EPX2 with the 28 band crossover
Sub Amp: Rockford Fosgate 1000@2 (bought it off the shelf in the 90s)
Sub: JL 10W7 - Anniversary Edition with the HO slot-ported box
Power: 2x 1.2 Farad caps/extra Optima yellow top deep cycle battery with 0/4 gauge wiring
So when the installation was completed and I fixed the wiring to full pass on the EPX2 I got some good sound. Then to my surprise the sub blew - TWICE. I found out it was due to the installer setting the gain at MAX on the Rockford amp, which is already grossly overpowering that JL sub. It was replaced twice at my shipping expense - which *****, also JL will no longer warranty the sub due to this. Did I mention I'm never going back there? Also I recently found that in my door they tore off the negative wire right out of one of the tweeters and made a sad attempt to glue it back on with this black tarry substance that is now all over it. I have to figure out how to solder that in place.
So I now have the gain all the way down for fear that I may blow this super expensive sub again. My question is more for the RCA and crossover config though. I had it setup so that both amps went out to the signal processor so the left/right were adjustable through the head unit, but this made me lost the ability to adjust the sub via the head unit because it only has left/right out. So I moved the sub off of the signal processor and ran it right to the head unit with RCAs so I could now adjust it. The thing is it seems like that EPX2 gives some added voltage to the line, so it seems like I've lost some serious power there. That or I'm nuts, because it's kind of hard to tell.
I'm not good at tuning this and don't want to end up screwing up this beautiful equipment any further. I feel like at the first sign of distortion something is going to blow up on me. So should I be tuning the gains/crossovers at the amp level, the EXP2 level, or the head unit level? I know if you start trying to tune these crossovers at multiple levels you end up with a negative result with phasing or something. I'm just no expert at this intricate level and don't want to end up doing more damage than the shop has already so kindly done for me. I plan on writing them a letter and laying all of this out but I just haven't had the time yet. I appreciate any help anyone can give!
