Ok, so ive read a bout a million ways to set your gains and yada yada to the right level to minimize distortion yada yada, but im just not so great technicaly when it comes to audio systems. i understand a little bit, but no matter how much i read, its all chinese to me. so what i did was got all the specs from all of my audio compinents so i can tell you all what i have so you can tell me exactly what i need and how to tune the system properly cause the "by ear" method isnt working too great. there are just so many different settings, so ill gve you guys all of my settings starting with the HU...

sirt question before i start though, is it better to use rca inputs, or speaker level inputs on amps that can take speaker lines?

HU SETTINGS:

-Pre-amp = 4V
-there is an EQ menu (Custom/flat/super bass/ powerful/natural/vocal)
-loudness: on/off
-subwoofer settings
--phase(normal/reverse)
--level (-6 to +6)
--frequency (50hz/80hz/125hz)
--hp filter (off/on: 50hz/80hz/125hz)

Alpine mrd 605 SETTINGS (all digital):
-RMS - 4Ohms 400w x1channel
-LP crossover frequency (30hz - 200hz)
-LP slope (12db / 24bd)
-subsonic filter (off / 15hz / 30hz)
-gain (.1V - 8V)
-bass eq adjustment (0db - +16db)

i use this amp to pus an sq10 (4ohm 250w rms / 500w max)

Alpine mrp m450 amp SETTINGS:
400w rms x1channel @2ohms

-gain knob (min - max)
-bass eq knob (0 - 12db) fixed at 50hz
- LP filter knob (50-200hz)
(subsonic filter fixed @ 15hz, 24 db/octave)

i use this to push 2 4ohm 8" subs: 150w rms / 300w max

Alpine PLV7 (amp/sub enclosure) SETTINGS:

-LP filter knob (50 - 200hz)
-bass eq knob (0-12)
-phase switch (0 degrees / 180 degrees)
-gain knob (min - max)


THANKS FOR ANY HELP GUYS! and just to complicate things some more, will all this change if i change my HU in the future to one that has 2.2V pre-amp (pioneer d3!)

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well lets leave out the technical stuff for now...what im asking is, on this digital set up on the amp (ive only ever used amps with a gain knob) it goes from .1 to 8. now does it make sense that the bass gets louder when that gain number gets lower? i guess im asking if you know what the .1 - 8 numbers represent?

and you are right, when it comes to setting an amp, i am somewhat clueless, there are just so many different settings on different amp, that i settle for what sounds good to me!
now on my hu, theres a screen that lets me adjust a subwoofer, so what youre saying is that i need to adjust my amp to match that?

yeah ive seen that video. do you think it would be safe to do that because the RMS of a SQ10 is 300w and doing 40volts would be pushing 400w out of the amp right?

I wouldn't expect your sub to get very loud, although I could be underestimating the little guy. :P

You really do need to take a DMM and test the voltage being put out by the amp's terminals. It's the best way to troubleshoot and will let you know if you're risking the life of your sub or not. Follow Skier's directions.

iddoit2er, I've got a Alpine MRV-F545, and mine does the same thing. Honestly I am not sure how to tune either. I've checked the manuals and even went as far as to ask the local audio shop I get my work done at. No one knows. lol. I just thought I'd let you know cause I went crazy for a little while thinking I got a broke amp cause the gain settings were all backwards. I still haven't figured it out.

cahnged my original question to a more simpler, yet much more complicated one...haha. check it out...

well lets leave out the technical stuff for now...what im asking is, on this digital set up on the amp (ive only ever used amps with a gain knob) it goes from .1 to 8. now does it make sense that the bass gets louder when that gain number gets lower? i guess im asking if you know what the .1 - 8 numbers represent?
I don't have your amp or the owner's manual, but can tell you what it likely means. The numbers are the range of expected signal voltage coming into the amp, from one tenth of a volt (".1") to eight volts ("8"). Now don't go thinking you can just set it to the middle to get the 4v setting (which you stated your HU is capable of), because most gain controls aren't linear, so the center position may not be 4v.

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

this is by far the best walk through that i've found. read through it, and then read my suggestions below.


in the beginning, it tells you turn everything off and to it's lowest setting. I followed this except for my remote gain control knob. I turned that all the way up. This way once the gains are set on the amp in the back, you can only go down in power, you cant go up and exceed what you set it for like you could if you tune it with the knob turned to its lowest setting.

I didnt use the bass boost feature on my amp. I used only the gain knob. the bass boost is still at its lowest setting.

when setting the filters, instead of going by ear like it tells you to, i did it technically. On my test tone CD, i put a 80hz note and an 81hz note. I set the LP filter knob on my sub amp precisely enough where the subs would play the 80hz tone, and wouldnt play the 81hz tone. same (but opposite) idea for the components. I set the hp filter precisely where the comps would play an 81hz tone, but would play the 80hz tone. What this did was keep the bass notes (80hz and below) playing through the subs, and everything else through the comps. doing this took a good while of TINY adjustments of the knob, by ear would be easier, but this way will give you a perfect crossover.


hope that helps!

can someone tell me where to get the test tone CD's I have one someone gave me but it's scratched really bad.

www.realmofexcursion.com has A LOT of test tones that you can download...

that's where i got mine too. if you need special tones, just email them and they'll send them to you. that's where i got my 80 and 81hz tones.

I can generate tones if anyone needs them.... just send me a PM with your e-mail addy, Hz requested, and length of the tone....

if you download audacity you can make your own in about 5 seconds.

http://www.icixsound.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27819

once we get those freq. test CD's I'm all over this walkthrough. Maybe I can figure things out a little better then.