StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

Not true. A speaker has NEVER been blown due to under powering it. What blows speakers is clipping and distortion.....which is what people push amplifiers to when there isn't enough power to make them as loud as they want. They crank up the gains on the amp beyond the limits of what it should be. Poor tuning blows speakers.

350zspl

iTrader: (3)

i prefer more power than less

you can clip if you under powering

if he sets his gain 1/2 way on the amp he won't clip

VO...

iTrader: (25)

So theoretically a 500 watt amp turned up half way outputs 250watts. If the sub can handle 1000watts rms, how is this not underpowering it?

VO(not able to add 2 + 2 and get 5)

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

It's not really as simple as this. There are so many factors to take into account when figuring out how much power will be output at a certain gain level. output voltage of the headunit, input voltage range of the amp, the cleanliness of the source (cd, ipod, radio, etc), position of the volume **** on the headunit.

Let's put it this way:
If you have a clean audiophile grade headunit putting out 8volt on the premaps, you have a JL audio 1000/1 amp, and a subwoofer that is rated at 1000 watts rms, and everything is tuned to put out 1000 watts without clipping. This is the perfect match of equipment when it is tuned properly. Now if the headunit's volume **** is turned up only half way and you measured the watts coming from the amp you would most likely get a reading of around 500 watts, not 1000 watts. So just by turning down the volume you are 'underpowering' the sub. Is it causing damage? Not at all, it's just not as loud as it can play.

Now, same scenario as above but with a 500/1 amp instead, and everything is tuned to put out 500 watts without clipping. You turn the volume up all the way on the headunit and you are maxing out at 500 watts from the amp and you say to yourself "i know this sub can be louder, let me crank up the gain on the amp to make it louder", this is now going to cause the signal to clip which will cause thermal damage to the driver and thereby cause premature failure most likely.

VO...

iTrader: (25)

Gotcha. So it is better to tune one's system with the HU at max output rather than the amp?

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

When I tune my systems, i:
Turn the amp gains down all the way
Turn volume on headunit to 3/4 (leaves room for lower output sources)
Use a CD with test tones (usually higher output than FM radio or iPod)
Slowly turn up gains on amp
On mids/highs turn up until you hear clipping, then back off a hair
Subs is hard to hear clipping, but sometimes you can increase the xover point to around 150Hz and you can usually hear when it clips.

Or you can:
Turn the amp gains down all the way
Turn volume on headunit to 3/4 (leaves room for lower output sources)
Use a CD with test tones (usually higher output than FM radio or iPod)
Use a multimeter and measure the voltage on the output of the amp
Slowly turn up gains on amp until you reach the target voltage given by this calculator HERE: http://www.subwoofertools.com/forum/setgain.asp


You want to adjust gains with no loudness, no EQ adjustments, no srs circle surround, etc. just raw audio. All of these adjustments can be made after you have set your gains properly.

VO...

iTrader: (25)

I like this option. One question though. When you say turn the HU gain up 3/4, so you mean to literally turn the volume up until it won't go any higher then back off 1/4?

Example: If the numbers on my HU go up to 100, I should turn it down to 75?

One question here also. By no eq adjustments, do you mean bass, mid, & high should all be set to "0" or to the least negative setting they will go to? I believe my HU ranges from -6 thru +6, 0 being the mid point.

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

Yes, this leaves you a little bit of play to turn up some quieter sources or recordings.

set the bass and treble and mid tone to "0", turn off loudness, turn off any sound enhancement features, set any equalizer settings to "0".

VO...

iTrader: (25)

Thank you graciously for the info. It appears I've been tweeking incorrect all along.

What able the variable "bass ****" that links to most sub amps? My RF P8002 has a bass **** interfaced to it via and RJ45 cord. I use it to turn up the bass when a song lacks bass, instead of turning it up on the HU. It's much more convienient to make quick adjustments when a song is playing.

Should this **** be at mid level also, when tweeking the system?

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

Bass ***** are nothing more than gain adjustments from a remote location, but the max position of the remote **** will basically be the setting that the amp gain is at on the amp chassis. Disconnect any remote bass ***** prior to tuning the amp. Once the amp is tuned, connect the remote bass ****.

VO...

iTrader: (25)

Will do.

350zspl

iTrader: (3)

a gain is not a volume ****

higher gains means your reaching peak volume sooner on your head units volume ****

lower gains allows you to get to the same volume just farther down the Hu volume ****

350zspl

iTrader: (3)

a new 2 **** RF bass **** allows with one **** to peak at a frequncy , the other **** adjusts boost at that chosen frequency

blasian

iTrader: (29)

I thought bass ***** weren't gain ***** but just a boost for a certain frequency? eD has a video on their site on why they don't recommending using bass *****.

Luckily, my amp has a remote gain ****.

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

Ok, it appears there are 2 different setups here then. Some amps may provide boost at a certain freq with their bass *****.

The Amps with ***** that I have owned in the past, the ***** were nothing more than a gain adjustment. When turned all the way down, the sub was basically turned off (gain set to minimum), most recently the last amp I had with such a **** was Crossfire's VR705d. Crossfire describes it as a "Remote Subwoofer Level Control ****".

Please make sure you know what your specific **** does.

On a side note, I don't like bass ***** either. If the system is tuned correctly what is the purpose of a bass ****?

VO...

iTrader: (25)

When my bass **** is turned all the way down, the bass still plays. If I'm playing a song that was recorded with low volume and I need more bass, all I have to do is turn the **** to the desired volume and my sub gets louder...

Should I still unplug it when tweeking?

VO...

iTrader: (25)

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

If it's a boost at a specific frequency, read the specs, it should tell you if this boost level is something like 0to+10dB or something like -10to+10dB, you want this set to 0.

So if is it 0to+10dB - turn it all the way down

if is it -10to+10dB - turn it to the center

Your overall goal is to have no physical or electronic modification of the signal when setting gains.

VO...

iTrader: (25)

Understood. I'll check the manual...

DeZi_chokro

VOWWW!!! (wow)...VO-ry Sexy! ...looking good! keep em coming..let's see how it is...!