Till now nobody has clearly answer my question:(

[DIGIDIGIBOMBO 10+ year member]

My only question about gain setting is that: Why am i having a very poor output when it comes to setting gains for subs, i am using 50Hz test tone, and the power formula... sub is barely moving why??? with speakers its kinda ok. Thx

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[saywhat? 5,000+ posts]

im sure for speakers a 1khz tone would be better and just go by ear. And as far as the sub output, it's the same here so i think you need to know what impedence u are truly at and go from there.....dont quote me though.

 

[DIGIDIGIBOMBO 10+ year member]

Dude, sure for speakers i am using a 1Khz tone not 50Hz, i am sure i know what impedance i am using etc.....well i cant be that dumb man, sometimes i used a sub SVC rated at 4 ohms so, i no way to calculate a wrong output voltage , its very easy.But it seems that always i have to cranck the gains a lot more than the DMM will show me in order for the subs to work well, and i never burned a sub till now, so i dunno y the DMM isnt working for subs. Thx

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Using a 0db test tone?

Try using a -6db or -10db

 

[DIGIDIGIBOMBO 10+ year member]

hmmm, ye sur right , sure if i se a -10dB i will have better output, but with speakers i am using 0dB and output is ok. If i am gonna use the -10dB for the sub, then i will go and set the gain by ears man now i am only using the 1KHz 0dB test tone in order to know what is the maximal unclipped volume of the HU, and then throw the cd and set all gains using my ears, and not exceeding the maximum unclipped HU volume. Some times i do turn gains to the maximum, because i know my preout HU voltage is very low+ if the maximum unclipped HU volume is 50, i do set it to 45 to keep some clearance for cd's that are recorded a low volumes...etc

 

[DIGIDIGIBOMBO 10+ year member]

Maybe its unecessary to set the Hu volume to 45, the Max Unclip HU volume with a 0db 1KHz test tone is 50, so even for low recorded cd's that max uncl HU volume will become more than 50 right?like 55 for example.

 

[GSteg 10+ year member]

Why can't you just turn it up until it sounds good? Most competitors I know do not have the exact gains anyways.

Your ears are also more sensitive to midrange frequency than subbass so you're going to need to bump up the sub a bit more in order to "balance" things out in your case.

~1khz is the reference point. For example, lets use 50db as the reference volume. You'll need 40hz to be close to 80db to perceive 40hz and 1khz as "the same" volume".

In your case, if your gains are set the same as the mids, then there lies your problem. The subwoofer and mids have the same gain setting, so your subwoofer's volume isn't going to sound as loud. The problem is not the subwoofer. After all, the subwoofer has more total displacement than the mids correct? It will boil down to the intensity level between the subwoofer and mid.

Either turn up the gain a bit more to comphensate or lower the gain on the mids.

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

I have found that the voltmeter way of setting gains garantees you will never clip, but does not garantee it will sound good. I went to set mine, and my mids were dead nuts accurate by ear (voltage was right on) and my sub was underperforming with the gain set via DVM- but you can drive a sub into clipping without hearing it (usually) so I comprimised at DVM setting plus a scootch (I know I shouldn't use technical terms like scooch here!)

 

[stones 10+ year member]

I have found that the voltmeter way of setting gains garantees you will never clip, but does not garantee it will sound good. I went to set mine, and my mids were dead nuts accurate by ear (voltage was right on) and my sub was underperforming with the gain set via DVM- but you can drive a sub into clipping without hearing it (usually) so I comprimised at DVM setting plus a scootch (I know I shouldn't use technical terms like scooch here!)

Scooch is a perfectly acceptable technical term

I do the same, While playing music the continuous power output of the amp is considerably less then with a tone so you can easily get away with a little extra on the amp sensitivity, The DMM will just give you a good reference point.