turn up bass boost or gain first one amp?

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

I have a hifonics bx1605d amp hooked up to two 15 inch solo barics. I already have it all set up and set the amp by ear and everything. I have the gain all the way up and the bass boost about half way up. There is no noticeable clipping. But anyways when i set up my amp i turned the bass boost knob all the way down on the amp and set the gain first. I got the gain all the way up and there was no clipping so I started turning the bass boost up until it started sounding bad and i turned it down a tad.

I just now got to thinking about it though...is it better to turn the bass boost up first or the gain or does it matter either way?

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[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

Assuming you are using a tone centered at the frequency where the boost is highest, it would not matter.

Otherwise, if you are not, whenever a note was played at that most boosted fequency the system would clip beyond your accepted max.

You really shouldn't be using bass boost. It shouldn't make anything louder and only causes you to have a large hump in your frequency response. But I am sure you have heard that all before.

Also, the way you have your system tuned sounds a bit extreme. Gains ALL the way up AND bass boost? It almost has to be clipping majorally even on music that was recorded very low. I would be careful with your volume knob.

If somehow you have the gain turned all the way up and it is not clipping then you may have line voltage issues. Are you using a LOC to get a preamp signal for your amps?

 

[TwistedMovistar 10+ year member]

also what headunit do you have?

 

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

Jvc

 

[D_Nyholm]

Sounds to me like you won't even be able to hear your mids and highs!! Can you??

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

Wow, take it easy with the bass boost, if you use it I wouldnt max it out, same goes for the gain. Becareful with it before you end up burning up your amp. Turn the gain down now!

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

bass boost should be at 0

gain should probably also be lowered.

assuming the gains are set correctly (but i doubt it) and you have it wired to 1 ohm, thats 1600W, right? if the bass boost goes from 0-18dB, and you have it halfway up that's 9dB of boost at the given frequency (probably 40-45Hz). according to the laws of physics, for every 3dB increase in output you'll need double the power.

...so, with gains set properly, you'd need 12,800W to get that amount of boost.

i'm pretty sure you're clipping, whether you can hear it or not.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

bass boost should be at 0
gain should probably also be lowered.

assuming the gains are set correctly (but i doubt it) and you have it wired to 1 ohm, thats 1600W, right? if the bass boost goes from 0-18dB, and you have it halfway up that's 9dB of boost at the given frequency (probably 40-45Hz). according to the laws of physics, for every 3dB increase in output you'll need double the power.

...so, with gains set properly, you'd need 12,800W to get that amount of boost.

i'm pretty sure you're clipping, whether you can hear it or not.

What he said.

 

[skadude016 5,000+ posts]

set bass boost to "0" now.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Bass boost to 0 and use a DMM to set the gains correctly. Remember --- gain is not volume!

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

Last time I checked a human being cannot detect the Clipping of an amplifiers signal with their ears. Maybe im crazy though. First off set the bass boost at 0, all that is, is a distortion knob, next go to wally mart and pickup a 15 dollar DMM and go to http://www.realmofexcurion.com and download a 40Hz 0db test tone, unhook your subs, and set the amp with the DMM. Go to the gain setting tutorial at the top of the amplifiers section for more info.

 

[aaron7114 10+ year member]

I turned the bass boost on 0 last night. It doesn't sound quite as loud by ear but with my db meter it is the same. 1600 watts at 1 ohm should be 40 volts right?

Should i use a 40 hz song or 50 hz?

Shouldn't I use a -3 db tone...i read in the gain tutorial that -3 was good for rap music and that is what i listen to.

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

i use a -3dB 45Hz tone for subs

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

I turned the bass boost on 0 last night. It doesn't sound quite as loud by ear but with my db meter it is the same. 1600 watts at 1 ohm should be 40 volts right?
Should i use a 40 hz song or 50 hz?

Shouldn't I use a -3 db tone...i read in the gain tutorial that -3 was good for rap music and that is what i listen to.

-3Db is fine.

It seemed louder to the ear before because distorted signals are perceived by the ear to be louder than clean ones.

50hz or 40hz should both work fine. Most tutorials I see recommend 50hz.

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

I turned the bass boost on 0 last night. It doesn't sound quite as loud by ear but with my db meter it is the same. 1600 watts at 1 ohm should be 40 volts right?
Should i use a 40 hz song or 50 hz?

Shouldn't I use a -3 db tone...i read in the gain tutorial that -3 was good for rap music and that is what i listen to.

what dB meter?

if you turned off bass boost, used a DMM and set it with a -3dB test tone you should be good!