Gain Setting Tutorial

[Castro]

anyone?

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

i got a mmats d2100.05 im running @ 1 ohm right now on 1 12" mx its rated at 1550 rms @ .5 so i figure 800 rms @ 1 ohm

so sr of 800x1= 28.28

with gain all the way down on my amp its reading 52-53 ac volts?

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

anyone?

has nothing to do with rms of sub

its square root of the rms of the amp multiplied byTotal OHMS IMPENDENCE of all subs hooked to the amp

 

[willya745 10+ year member]

i have 2 subs that 2 ohm and my amp is rated for 200w rms... is that 20v?

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

anyone

 

[zeuolaxxx 10+ year member]

I have a RF Power T1000 for 2 Kicker L7 15" DVC 4 OHM, I want 1000 rms @ 1ohm...for both.. what voltage it should be? 31.6v?

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

yes.

use a -6db tone

 

[zeuolaxxx 10+ year member]

ok thanks..!!

 

[Torr 10+ year member]

I apologize if this has been asked before, but I'm new to this forum and had a hard time figuring out how the search function works and I am also new to car audio in general.

I think I just blew one of my brand new Polk db component speakers, and I want to prevent this from happening again with the next set of speakers I get.

Here is my setup and the conundrum:

1 Pioner DEH-P4900iB head unit

1 4x150 watt RMS @4 ohm Cadence TXA-6004 amp

4x MB Quart PCE-216 Component speakers (rated for 60-130watts RMS with a peak of 260 and resistance of 4ohms)

1 Clarion EQ

First, here is my calculation:

I would like to give the speakers some breathing room, so rather than running them at a max of 130 watts, I'd like to run them at a max of 120. Therefore, the formula would be SQRT(120 x 4) for a total of 22 volts rounded up. Is this correct?

If so, then the only issues remaining are the following:

1. When setting the volume, I have two volume knobs, the one on the head and the one on the EQ. what should I set each of them to?

2. This is not a subwoofer, these are component speakers (tweeter + woofer), so what test tone should I get and where can I get it?

3. After completing the above, what should I be using as a volume knob from now on? the volume on the head? or on the EQ?

One final question; my head says it has a preamp voltage of 4 volts. Does this affect anything? What about the 22 watts RMS the head unit puts out without the amp?

Thanks for your help

 

[Stel 10+ year member]

I would like to give the speakers some breathing room, so rather than running them at a max of 130 watts, I'd like to run them at a max of 120. Therefore, the formula would be SQRT(120 x 4) for a total of 22 volts rounded up. Is this correct?

yes, 22 volts

If so, then the only issues remaining are the following:

1. When setting the volume, I have two volume knobs, the one on the head and the one on the EQ. what should I set each of them to?

2. This is not a subwoofer, these are component speakers (tweeter + woofer), so what test tone should I get and where can I get it?

3. After completing the above, what should I be using as a volume knob from now on? the volume on the head? or on the EQ?

One final question; my head says it has a preamp voltage of 4 volts. Does this affect anything? What about the 22 watts RMS the head unit puts out without the amp?

Thanks for your help

1. The HU volume should be around 3/4 of the way up. Though this varies by HU, some add more distortion than others at a given level. The only way to know for sure is with an oscilloscope, so 3/4 up is normally used since most HU's are ok at that level. The EQ I'm not sure of, probably should use the same, 3/4.

2. 1000Hz should be fine. It looks like the tones that where linked from here are missing. Anyone feel like upping them again?

3. Use the HU volume.

4. The reason amps have a gain setting is to match the various levels coming from headunits, so the 4v preout won't be a problem. The 22watts RMS from the HU comes out on a different set of wires (the speaker leads) and will be unused. You can turn your HU's internal amp off if it has a setting for that.

This thread has some gain setting info too:

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164826

Also see the sticky at the top of this forum:

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=9

All in all you shouldn't be able to blow these speakers with that amp if your not hearing any distortion. Though being new to CA you might not realize you are hearing distortion until it is too late, it can be relatively (to what your used to hearing) subtle.

 

[Torr 10+ year member]

Thanks.

Does anyone have a definitive answer for question one regarding the eq volume? What should I set that to, and should I not touch it again after setting it, using the hu volume instead from then on?

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

just use the hu volume, can still use the EQ but adjust it when the volume is like half way up so you don't get clipping

 

[Torr 10+ year member]

just use the hu volume, can still use the EQ but adjust it when the volume is like half way up so you don't get clipping

Thanks.

But I don't fully understand your answer.

I understand you are suggesting that I use the hu volume. However, I don't understand the rest of your post.

Which of the two volumes needs to be at halfway while I am adjusting my EQ? and what should the EQ volume be left at permanently if I'm always going to use the HU volume?

Anyone else with a definitive answer, feel free to respond.

 

[Andrizzle 10+ year member]

where did all the tuts go? why edit op?

 

[montx 10+ year member]

Alright. I have set my gain on the amplifier with a 50Hz test tone, to 63V. Since most music isn't as powerful as a test tone, can I turn the head unit volume up a little more without doing any damage? Because I know whenever I had Lil Jon's "Da Blow" cranking I could only get it to reach 59.9V with the gain turned all the way up.

Another tiny question: I have a Pioneer 4900IB. It has 4V pre-outs with a subwoofer out. On the subwoofer frequency there is an option to change the subwoofer from 1-6, right beside the frequency. What is this number and what should I set it to? Thanks.