i understand that gains on an amp is not a volume thing so please dont try to re educate me there.

im trying to set my gains correctly and here is how im doing it.

with my trunk open...

i turn my cd player where i want it with the gains all the way down, i am turning the gain up until the sub distorts, then i turn the gain down just below distortion.

now here is my dilemma.

if i have the trunk closed and adjust the gain higher, it doesnt distort until i turn it up twice as much, but once i open the trunk again it distorts.

so, should i turn the gain up to the point just before distortion with the trunk closed? or should i keep it below distortion when the trunk is open (how i have it set now)

i hope this isnt confusing. TIA

 

ok i just did a little more searching/reading here is what i got.

turn my eq settings to flat (on my HU is 0) do this for just the L or for L M and H (i also have frequency controls on my HU, setup like this L = 40 2w M= 200 2w and H = 8 2w) i dont know what those really mean, i just set it how it sounds best to me

turn my cd player up to where i listen to it or 3/4 of the way up (whichever comes first)

then adjust the gain until the sub distorts, then turn down just a little bit.

then adjust the bass boost the same way.

then the frequency control (my max is 155hz) i dunno what i should tune that too.

 

I dont know why they tell you to adjust the gain with the EQ setting set to 0.

Because the EQ will increase or decrease the gain of particular frequencies.

I say adjust your EQ where you like it ,then adjust your gains.

Basically the way you are using it is as a volume ****. The reason being, you are adjusting it to the point of where you sub distorts. There may be additional gain to have out of that amplifier you sub just can't handle the additional power.

You want to set gain so that the amp never clips. The only true way to do this is with an oscilliscope.

The reason your speaker distorts with your trunk open is because your trunk is acting as part of the box.


Modified by nsxxtreme at 4:22 PM 11/29/2005

 

ok so should i adjust the gains with the trunk closed since obvisouly its closed when im using it?

 

They say adjust the gain with your EQ to flat to avoid bass boosts and EQ lows that could affect the output of the speaker.There is a crazy technical way to set your gain here
http://forum.sounddomain.com/f...30419

but i usually just set it to quarter of the way up and leave it.Sue Me.

 

yeah im doin it by ear cause im ghetto.

i also have mine a quarter of the way up right now, but im real picky about not getting the most out of what i bought.

i just made a cd with frequencies ranging from 20hz - 165 hz since my amp only goes to 155 on the frequency controls. this way i can loop the tracks over and over while i test it and see how it sounds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Skip01 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">They say adjust the gain with your EQ to flat to avoid bass boosts and EQ lows that could affect the output of the speaker.There is a crazy technical way to set your gain here
http://forum.sounddomain.com/f...30419

but i usually just set it to quarter of the way up and leave it.Sue Me.

</TD></TR></TABLE>
Doing it with your EQ set flat is wrong this is why.
If you set the gain to achieve maximum gain without clipping when your EQ is flat. You are going to clip once you start adjusting the EQ or bass boost.

There is one problem with the procedure in that link. Most meters are RMS meters so your getting .707*(voltage)=Voltage measured. So if you set it that way then you may be setting the gain higher then what it should be. The other thing that it doesn't take into acoount is there is two ways to clip an amplifier. Voltage and Current.

You have to take both extremes into account. No you also have to ask what requires the most power. Well it takes more to produce a 20Hz wave vs a 2kHz wave. So you need to make sure that you also dont current clip the amplifier under the worst case extremes.

That procedure also assumes the amplifier can reach the stated power without clipping voltage or current. Now we all know a lot of amplifiers are overrated and never reach there stated output. There are also amplifiers that can put out more then there rated output. So if you adjust to rated output you could be leaving extra power behind.


Modified by nsxxtreme at 9:34 AM 11/30/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxxtreme &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Doing it with your EQ set flat is wrong this is why.
If you set the gain to achieve maximum gain without clipping when you EQ is flat. You are going to clip once you start adjusting the EQ or bass boost.</TD></TR></TABLE>


yeah thats true, but my cd player has a weird volume scale 0 - 63

so at about 50 with my eq flat, it actually sounds really good, just really loud.

i will probably set my L to about halway being 3 my M to about 5 and H to about 5

then set cd player volume to about 35 just over 50% for the player and then ill adjust my gains to that i guess.

i got my gain adjusted correctly for what i wanted to start off with L M and H all at 6 at 25 volume, but i cant hear the words now!!!

 

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/supp...d=143 theres a great guide. be carefull because if you set the gains to high it will clip the sub and can blow it easy

 

I have always done it by ear, with any eq where i want it, trunk closed, etc, exactly how it will be in a normal situation. It's always worked well for me. I'm not some extreme audiophile guy but i do make music so i'm used to being around a "tuned" environment when listening to music. I think finding the right crossover points is far more important than getting the "perfect" amount of gain. If it's loud enough and not clipping, your good.

 

yeah i got it guys, i like set it to where at a volume of 30 it is the loudest it can be, and at my normal listening level of 25 it sounds great and i can actually hear the words.

i cant stand to listen to bass and not hear the other parts of the song.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by talontsiawd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it's loud enough and not clipping, your good.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Thats almost the definition of gain.

The purpose of gain is not to limit distortion from your speakers.

Many manufacturers build different recievers. They all have different output levels. So the amp makers provide you a gain ****, so you can adjust the gain of the amp to compensate for the different ouput levels.

Gain should be adjusted to allow maximum amplifier output without clipping the amplifier.