Tuning AMP with DMM & Test Tone

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Luve2Fish88

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Hey guys. For years I've done the tune with a dmm thing with a 50hz 0db test tone. I ran hifonics hfx12d subs and an audiopipe amp. Now that i've got a mmats setup, a good HU and "decent" sounding speakers, i really want to get the most out of my system. Car audio isn't a big thing around me so there aren't many shops who can help and i like learning on my own anyways, so i figured i'd come here.

I have two MMATS Procast 12" subs in a sealed box (of proper size) and a MMATS DHC 1400.1 amp. Subs are wired down to 1 ohm. Proper sized wiring, good grounds, etc. The headunit is much more capable than i am. I use wireless android auto mostly. My headunit clips my speakers around 30/40 so i "tuned" my amp at 25/40 volume at 37.42v with the test tone from kicker downloaded to my phone. I feel like i'm not pulling out the full potential from these subs. I just sent them in to MMATS to be rebuilt after the surround on one tore (they're 20 years old) and the voice coil leads on the other blew out on one voice coil.

So what do i need to know and what settings in the head unit/ test tone should i use? I mostly listen to hip hop. Any info you guys can give me would be awesome! I can follow directions too lol.
 
throw that method away. you arent listening to test tones you are listening to music. Unless you use audacity's spectrum analyzer and check all your music to have a good idea of what the bass levels in recordings of your music is, then setting gains with some random ass test tone isnt gonna do jack sh*t. Its just gonna give you complete **** for output because you left waaaaaaaaay too much on the table. Recording levels directly affect power input signal aka power output of your amp. If you are setting gains with 0 db test tones and all your music is around -6 db recording levels then you literally threw a lot of clicks on the volume knob down the drain.

How do you know your head unit clips at 30? Most pioneer (i'm assuming its a pioneer double din due to the max volume) is clean up to 40, your sub level should be high and your gains should be relatively low.
 
I can hear the distortion at 31ish. The speakers are powered from the head unit, not amped. I do eventually plan to amp them. The music that i listen to is all over the place. Drake, the game, etc. So how do i set my gain so that i know i'm not going to blow my subs which i can't afford to fix again lol. Any way you can break the process down? H.U. flat, etc? LPF.... HPF... for now, i need a dummy proof way to get it relatively close. I listen to my music around 26-27 most of the time anyways. Would listen lower if bass hit harder.... but i want to be able to go up with volume without worry, which is why i listen to it at higher volume.
 
thats not where the head unit RCAs clip at, its just where the head unit amplification stage distorts at. You are literally at around1 ish volts pre out right now thats why it doesnt feel strong.

EQ is not supposed to be flat, your measured vehicle frequency response during listening is supposed to be flat, you use the EQ to lower down harsh frequencies. low pass high pass just keep it at 80hz
 
Or I should ask, what are the steps and materials I need in order to get it as close as I can without any sophisticated equipment. Is there a sure fire way?
 
Play your hardest hitting song, turn it up till it stops getting louder, back it off. Check subs and amp for heat, smells or mechanical noises every min for 10 mins. If its cold you got a little bit more to go, if its hot or stinky, back it down. If its room temperature to slightly warm you are at the max safe output
 
Are there any other ways to get close to that where its more controlled and not so heavily dependent on my ability to perceive things i'm not famaliar with? If i saw someone else do it in person i'd be able to tweak it but just going off of heat, smells and mechanical noises i'd be driving cringing everytime a new song came on. I listen to amazon music a lot. songs differ track to track. i want it safe but would like to use my system to its potential.
 
If you dont learn now, you'll never properly learn the limits of your system. Its not that hard to find the hardest hitting song you have on your library then tune your system to that. Afterwards any other song wont come close to clipping

You've been brainwashed into the noob trap where theres a magical way to set gains with a test tone when what you are playing is music
 
I don't think i'd have trouble finding the song. Knowing distortion from bass is not something im famaliar with and ruining my system is something i don't want to do lol. But if there's a song that's more bass'y than the one i "set" it to, it'll clip?
 
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Luve2Fish88

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