some advise for ya all

[kyball 10+ year member]

This is a thread for all of you newbies. it is intended to help you all out before you get screwed over. it's a simple layout for all you guys who don't know that much and don't want to waste your time posting a thread having no responce. Also, an one else who really knows what they are talking about please feel free to put in your two cents. this is none biased, and any product names used, are there for example purposes only.

here are some basics to know

1) there is no perfect amp, box, hu, speaker, cap, or sub the will comply with your every waking need. it's all about how much your willing to spend and what your looking for.

2)Don't add another battery if you have electrical problems

3)listen to the product before you buy it, and know the product before you buy it. And don't buy it bc it looks cool.

4)it doesn't hurt to surf the net and do a little reasearch. you can find great deals over the net.

5)just bc you have 15 sq subs doesn't mean you have an sq setup

6)we can't tell you the SPL numbers you will hit

some basic terms

SQ=sound quality

SPL=Sound Pressure Level

Ohm= Ohms law, the resistance of the flow of electrons through a circut

current= the flow of electrons

more to come:

Here some basic electronics:

the way a circut works is basicly like water running through a garden hose. There is a higher pressure of water coming from the house(so to speak) and when you open the valve there is less pressure at the end of the hose. What's going to happen is that the pressure is going to level out and force water out the end of the hose. it works the same way with electricty. there is larger amount of electrons on one side then there is on the recieving side, example: a battery ( - and + sides). in a circut, the hose is repersented by a material that allows electrons to pass freely through it, example: steel, copper, and etc. The only way electons will move is if there is a path for "them" to travel on, the conductive material. Ohms laws states many things but what you need to know is that, ohms is the resistance to flow of current. If you had a circut with a 2ohm resistor and a circut with 4ohm resistor, the circut with the 2ohm resistor will allow more current to pass through it. Voltage is like the pressure in the hose example. the more voltage you have the more pressure you aply to the circut. there are two basic types of connection, series, and parrallel.

to figure out total resistance there are two basic formulas.

Rt= the total resistance

1) in a series circuit, you would use R1+R2+R3+...+R50=Rt

2)in a parrallel circuit you would use; (1/R1)+(1/R2)+....+(1/R20)=(1/Rt)

sorry but i gtg now, time to pick up my buddy i'll be back with more

peace

oh! there is one more thing

I doesn't matter what the hell THEY have for a sound system or what name it is or who owns it. All that matters is that YOU are happy with the way it sounds. it's kind sad to see so many of these posts consist of "JL vs Kicker vs Rockford vs I dream of genie". i understand that not every one is able to hear all the products that they want but just go through some of theses old posts and read them, nothings changed. Try to go out and hear the equipment, and if you can't listen to the product then do some research. Use your mind, and play with the equipment YOU have and just find that level that YOU want.

Click to read more...

 

[mykeys 10+ year member]

Not a bad idea ..just need to give this a bump once a day or so.

 

[budgetSQ 10+ year member]

also:

WE CANNOT TELL YOU THE SPL NUMBERS YOU WILL HIT

 

[kyball 10+ year member]

here is a little more for ya to chew on. and Any one who would like to contribute, please do

latta

 

[zane 10+ year member]

Excellent Idea!! This thread needs to be bumped to the top each day and the nonsense posts eliminated to make this an easy reference for those who are new to this sport.

To further add to the information here I have included a few links below that many Car Audio Enthusiasts will find quite helpful.

http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm

This is quite possibly the most comprehensive and informative Car Audio site on the net. Very easy to navigate, tons of useful information!

http://www.wssh.net/~wattsup/audio/

A great online Enclosure Calculator site. Also has several Software Downloads related to Car Audio.

http://www.soundwavescs.com/thiele.html?

This is a link from my own site that has Thiele-Small Parameters and thier definitions. Very useful for enclosure design and as a reference tool to use when selecting your next set of speakers.

http://www.diysubwoofers.org/caraudio.htm

A great site for Everything from Thiele-Small Parameters, Enclosure Design, Dumax measurements, and system design. It may be a bit on the technical side for some, however, the information contained here is excellent.

take it easy,

-zane

 

[Corsica 5,000+ posts]

Anyother thing i have yet to see written here (though it maybe on one of Zane's links). Don't play volume or gain master. This means don't v=crankt ha gains all the way up of the speaker volume all the way up to get maximum thumpitude. Tune it to where u cn listen to it and not hvae it full of distortion. Distortion can aid in the killing of a speaker. WOn'tbe the totl cause but can help it along.

Jordan

 

[Jasontb2000 10+ year member]

AMEN!!

 

[budgetSQ 10+ year member]

bump it baby!

 

[Ricky Nichols 10+ year member]

ok this may be a stupid qeustion but what if you short ohm's like a speaker wants 4 but you give it 2??

 

[Phatillusion 5,000+ posts]

Adding to:

1) Installation- most important thing, money can buy the best equipment out there, if it isn't installed right, it won't sound good. Opposite also applies, cheap equipment, with a good installation can also sound good.

2) Mids/Hi's- All you ever hear people talk about is their subs, w/o good mids/hi's, you have no system. I suggest leaving the rear fill speakers out of the picture, a good front stage is all you need. Save the money for improvements.

3) Caps/Electrical System- A capacitor stores power, if your lights are already dimming, this means you are lacking power, therefore your electrical system has no power to store. You will need more output from your altenator. Check into getting your altenator rewound, or buy a new one.

4) Responsiblity- Not everybody wants to hear your system. You think you may be turning heads, when in fact your only turning them so they can get your vehicle description to report you. For every person that's impressed w/ your loud bass as you go by, I can guarantee there are more than 10x as many that are irritated. There is a time and place to boom, residential/business areas are not the place.

5) Wiring/Installation- I suggest going with 8 gauge for 250 RMS and lower, 4 gauge for 250-750, and anything above that 1/0. I typically use 12 gauge for speaker wire. The brand of wire really does not matter, as long as it can carry current.

6) DVC/SVC- The only difference here is DVC will allow you more wiring options. There is no audible difference in the two.

7) Amps Classes/Basic- Your typical class D amplifier is for your boom, it provides less strain on your electrical system compared with an AB. Most class D amps are stable to 1-ohm, some are only stable to 2-ohms. Class AB amps are a little rough on your electrical system, especially when you have the channels bridged, class AB's are generally used for mid's/hi's, but can also be used for subs.

8) Power- Power is power, 500 watts from a RF amp, is the same as 500watts from a pyramid amp, there will be no audible difference in 500 watts from 500 watts. The only difference you will see is RF will tend to underrate their amps, whereas pyramid will overrate. Ex. (RF 500 watt amp could be rated as 475x1) (Pyramid 500 watt amp could be rated as 750x1)

9) If you have a question, do a search on this forum, you will be amazed at what we have already discussed, if you find nothing, feel free to ask. Not that we don't mind answering questions, but the same questions often get repeated, and it's kinda like getting the 'HUH' thing all over again.

 

[taylor 10+ year member]

hey Ricky Nichols, a speakers impedance never changes, only the amps impedance changes, if your making your amp see a 2 ohm load and it is 2 ohm stable all the better, your amp prolly puts out more power at 2 ohms, if it's not then it will either shutoff and go into protection mode, catch on fire or fry....

 

[Ricky Nichols 10+ year member]

thanks taylor thats the first straght answer i got, thanks man //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Brutus2600 10+ year member]

Do the board admins have the ability to make this thread "sticky"? (it stays at the top even if it doesn't have new posts). Cause it would be alot easier than bumping it all the time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[budgetSQ 10+ year member]

ohms are speaker resistance. for a normal speaker (4 ohms) wired normally, you will get 4 ohms. with a 2 ohm speaker wired normally you will get 2 ohms.

 

[Corsica 5,000+ posts]

if you plan on doing your own installation don't skip on certain things. Don't use home carpet on your box. From my experience it doen't seal as well as speaker carpet, and while it loos "cutsie" are you trying to impress people with your frillyness or are you tring to impress them with your bass (only @ certain times though). Also use wiring that is correct for your aps size and fits into your amp cleanly. Don't force it in but don't use like 20 guage power wire. It just doesn't conduct current all that well.

Next don't be an ignoramous. If u see someone doing stuff that could potentially give Bassheads a bad name tell them the rules (tis applies only if u already kow them). Lastly make sure you dont turn ur speakers up so they distort just so u can feel the bass. Clipped signals can potentially harm speakers.