Looking for someone in the SOCAL area that has an Oscilloscope and the knowledge to use it. I will gladly pay a fee if you can drop by and assist in setting my amp gains. I know it can be done by ear but I want to nail it.

I live in Huntington Beach.

 

you a DMM, better then ear and cheaper then an oscilloscope..

 

Thats why I was looking for someone local that has one. There are to many variables with DMM so its not nearly as accurate. I will use that as a last option.

 

setting with a dmm is fine. thats how i do mine and my sub has been fine, and so are my comps.

 

Im looking for better than fine

 

good luck, and there is really nothing at all wrong with using a dmm to set them. i also choose amps that leave plenty of headroom as well.

 

Certainly nothing wrong with setting them with a DMM. I just want the most accurate setting I can get, which is not DMM.... but if I have no other alternative thats what way I will go.

 

^ what exactly are you worried about?

 

Im not worried. I just want to set my amps at optimal and matching settings. The accuracy just isnt there using a DMM.

 

i don't understand why you think it's not there with a dmm. if you set them correctly with a dmm you will have no problems. i can get into details of you like.

i set both of my amps with a dmm, on the comps i used a -3db 1khz tone and on the sub used a 0db 50hz tone, i stuck the leads on each amp while playing music extremely loud and the voltage is no where near the voltage i used to set the gains so i am really really safe. so i have no chance at all of clipping, and everything gets extremely loud.

 

I'm not saying it cannot be done with a dmm... Mine is set right now by dmm. Its just not as accurate as an oscilloscope. The rating of the amp alone will throw the results off depending on if its over or under rated when using a dmm.

 

well thats why i choose to be safe and got amps that do a lil more than i need. for example my amp for my front components can do a "rated"(kicker underrates their amps a lil) 205x2 at 4ohms but i have the gain set at 24.5 volts which is 150x2 at 4ohms. so if you buy yourself a lil bit of extra headroom this method is perfectly fine.

even with me using a -3db tone when i set it, i have never seen the voltage spike above 18a/c volts when playing music very loudly

 

Can you explain why an o-scope is necessary? Music isn't a pure sin wave, so why would you set your gains accordingly?

 

i can understand why everyone is saying a DMM would work fine. But what's so wrong with using an oscilliscope? besides the price. I would think that an o-scope would be more accurate as it would tell more of what the voltage is doing, instead of just a number.

he lives in so cal, isn't there a place there that has an o-scope?

 

Again... I never said it was necessary... I never said a dmm would not work. I said the osc is more accurate.

With the dmm you need to know the actual rating of the amp for it to be accurate. Yes you can still get close by going with the amps labeled rating but if the actual rating is higher or lower, your setting is going to be off.

With the osc you use a test tone just like you would with the dmm but you will be able to visually see the clipping and not just a number that "might" be correct.

My friend stopped by today and theres a good chance I will have my own osc in a day or two. If that does happen I will do a comparison and see how much difference there is in the settings.

 

ok let us know your results. i never meant to be a ***** when i was commenting earlier, just trying to give some advice.

 

Don't think you were being a *****. It was good advice.. and if I did not already have amps I would do what you suggested but unfortunately thats not the case. What sucks is I will end up getting one larger amp to push both subs but since Polk does not offer one suitable for that I will have to go another brand,... which means switching out my other amps because I do not like having mismatched amps.

 

i know what you mean. right now i have an mtx for my sub and a kicker for my front comps, i have a matching kicker on it's way though.

 

I got access to a Fluke Scopemeter, unfortunately someone had left batteries in it for quite some time and battery acid leaked into it. Working on getting another one in the next few days.

 

^^ OUCH.. Yeah definitely keep us posted, I know I'm curious to know how it goes