SePaTc

x2. i installed a pdx amp with a set of Boston components in a Kia Sorrent0 (lol, i know) a few months ago and they sounded REAL nice. i've actually been thinking about swapping my amp for an alpine, but i'd have to pay too much $$$ for the power i want. having 2 800w subs that is.....

nebster

i would set your gains at the MAXIMUM listening level that way you don't risk blowing something up. if you set it at its peak at a volume that you'll never get to then you'll never have to risk blowing something up.

kevbow

I went through alot of sub/amp setup's......I ended up going with 2 10 inch rockford P1 subs in a sealed box....there being powered by a bazooka ela 300.1 amp.....it's running at 2 ohm and putting out a little over 300 watts rms......those subs and amp match up perfectly together.....I can crank it with no distortion....and the amp pounds the rockfords.....it's very loud and very clean. In my opinion it's about finding the right amp to match up with the right subs. I had more expensive amps with more power and more expensive subs that sounded like crap.

Blacklistcustomz

well the tuning sounds easy, now comes the hookup... I think i will just take it to this place in my town that installed my headunit... they did a pretty good job, and maybe they can do this new install.

Unless someone here knows what to do and can tell me step by step what to do....

Blacklistcustomz

well the tuning sounds easy, now comes the hookup... I think i will just take it to this place in my town that installed my headunit... they did a pretty good job, and maybe they can do this new install.

Unless someone here knows what to do and can tell me step by step what to do....

dugzilla

You should invest a couple of buck on a car stereo install guide. It will be loads less than having someone else install it. Plus it's always good to know so later down the road you can make changes if you want.

trialsindude

I've seen the birthsheet on some of those PDX amps, they will put out 1202watts. A tad bit over 1k! Powerful little boogers. I would actually want to get one myself with the 4.100 so I can stack them up. I would like to get a matching amp for my T10001bd but they are HUGE amps.

dugzilla

That's what I like about the PDX amps, they are so small you can mount them just about anywhere.

kevbow

What are you looking to install? I installed my system in my TC.

SePaTc

not exactly. and i know what you're saying, its better to slightly over power than to underpower, but the way you worded it, it sounds like you're telling him to set the gain on the amp to MAximum. which would likely fry the amp AND subs.

its not recommended to match your gain at Max volume, because all types of music and all different recordings have different levels. Ie. if you set your gain while listening to rock music at max volume, the sub bass will match the levels for that type of music. but then, if you go put some rap/hip hop in, the sub bass will overpower the mids and highs, since the rap/hip hop music records lower/stronger/louder bass levels. when you turned up the volume to max listening to rap, either you would clip the signal, get distortion, or the bass would just be ungodly loud and overpower the rest of the system.

the technique i described gives you a little headroom, ie. the ability to turn the subwoofer setting up after you've reached your max listening volume to account for different types of music.

nebster

as you increase the volume on your headunit your preout voltages go up causing the amp to receive more power. say you set your sub getting 1200 wrms at your"normal listening volume", turn it up to where u want it for a spl contest and boom goes your sub. you need to set the gains at your maximum listening level that way when you turn down your headunit you will reduce the power going to the amp and thus the sub.

trialsindude

I agree, you would want to set the amp at the max w/o clipping and then adjust it down with the sub output on the HU itself. So there is no risk of killing the sub.

then what would happen if you underpower them?

SePaTc

if you think setting your gain at 3/4 max listening volume is going to make your sub blow up, then you really do have absolutely no friggin clue what you are talking about.

we'll let the OP google "tuning an amp" or "setting the gain on my amp" and such, and see what he comes up with.

you wrote:

as you increase the volume on your headunit your preout voltages go up causing the amp to receive more power. Not really, your amp is also receiving the same power, approx. 13.6 volts Nsay you set your sub getting 1200 wrms subs don't "get watts" they GET volts and PUT OUT wattsat your"normal listening volume", turn it up to where u want it for a spl contest and boom goes your sub. you need to set the gains at your maximum listening level that way when you turn down your headunit you will reduce the power going to the amp and thus the sub. Turning down the HU reduces power going the the subs no matter where the gain is set. again, if you think having the gain set slightly lower than at max volume, and then listening at lower power levels will blow the sub, you're just wrong. as long as the amp's wattage is properly matched to the subs specs anyway.

nebster

i never said it would blow the sub ********. i'm saying what you're doing will blow it. set the gains where they need to be at a mid listening level and then turning it up when you want to will blow ____ up. you're right its a constant 13.6 - 14 volts when your car is on but your rca's give the amp the signal. turn your amp up the signal gets stronger and the amp puts out more power and vice versa. additionally you said at a moderate listening level. that for me is like 30-50%. whatever, i know how to set my gains properly and i have before. you need to stop being the troll

SePaTc

underpowerd subs need the gain turned up higher to get the desired output. this causes mismatched voltages which will fry the sub.

http://www.audiobahn.com/Audiobahn06/pages/tech.html

"Below you will find information on adjusting the amplifiers gains. Adjusting the gain correctly is essential to
proper operation of the amplifier. If the gain is not adjusted properly it can and will lead to damage of
the amplifier and connected speakers and will void your MANUFACTURER WARRANTY. The gain on
an amplifier is not a volume control. It is a signal level setting that tells the amplifier how strong of a signal is
coming from the head unit. Your amplifier has an input sensitivity of 200mV-8V. The minimum setting is 8V
and the maximum setting is 200mV. Minimum meaning the head unit or processor has an 8V output and the
maximum meaning it has a 200mV output.
When using Low-Level (RCA) inputs you MUST know what the pre-out or line-out voltage of your head unit
is rate din Volts. This is not the wattage rating. This can be found in the manaul of the head unit or by
contacting the manufacturer. If you are using a line-driver or another type of processor that adjusts the output
voltage of the signal to the amplifier you will nee dto know what the output is adjusted to. the gain on the
amplifier needs to be set proportionately to th pre-out or line-out voltage rating of the head unit or processor.
If the signal strength is 4V then the gain would be adjusted to about 45-50%. Below is a list of commonly
found voltage ratings and their appropriate gain adjustments. When adjusting the gains you want to start with
the bass boost setting on the amp set to minimum and bass adjustments on the head unit or processor are
set at 0 or flat. As these other settings for bass adjustments are increased, the gain setting will need to be
adjusted lower.
2V 70%
4V 45%
5V 32.5
8V 5% (Bass boost must be left at minimum on the amp and 0 or flat on the head unit or processor)
10V Can not be used with this amplifier
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you should have any questions concerning the installation or
settings on your amplifier or are unsure of anything discussed in this manual, please
contact out Technical Support department at 1-800-488-8595 for help. It is much
better to take 5 minutes today to get it right then to adjust the settings incorrectly and
have a problem with your amp or speakers.
>_
>_ >
_ >
_
>_
If your amplifier includes Hi-Level (speaker wire) inputs and you are using them for the audio signal
connection, please use the below steps to adjust the amplifier. Start with a song with good bass that you
know very well.
1. Use a screwdriver to turn GAIN (8V/0.2V) fully counterclockwise to 8V
2. Turn the auto sound system's volume control to about 3/4 of its full range. Any higher normally leads to the
signal being distorted.
3. Turn up the amplifiers gain / level control until the sound begins to distort, then immediately gain / level
down to a point just before where the distortion began.
4. Adjust the auto sound system's volume control to a comfortable listening level and you are good to go.
Note: The steps to adjusting the gain / level control need to be repeated when you adjust any bass boost
settings on the amplifier, processors or significantly on the head unit. Adjusting bass boost settings
significantly without adjusting the gain / level can lead to a distorted signal and damage to the amp an"

trialsindude

what does underpowering the sub has anything to do with the gain setting? What is the desired output? The main reason to match the amp to the sub is to get the most out of your sub. You can put a 100watt amp to a sub that can take 10k watts rms and it will be all good. You are just not using your sub to its full potential.

SePaTc

you never said it would blow the sub, you're saying what i'm doing will blow it. hmmm, that makes sense.

listen kid, my HU maxes out at 22 volume (clips at 23, so i don't go there). I set my amp gain to about 60-70% at about 15 volume. or 68% volume. I turn my volume up to 22 ALL THE TIME over the last 3 years. not ONCE have i EVER "blown poop up". what are u not comprehending here. ???

your statement about the RCA's giving the amp the signal...what does this have to do with anything???

all the amp does is match the input signal from the head unit to the running voltage of the amp. If you have a 2v preout signal, the amp multiplies that signal a given amount, dependent on where you set the gain. If you have a 2v signal, you're going to need the gain higher, if you have an 8v signal, you won't need as much gain at all because the signal doesn't need to multiplied as much. its pretty simple actually. dont' know what your difficulty in understanding is.

SePaTc

Q: Is too much power, or too little power worse for a speaker?
A: Rumor has it that too little power will blow your speakers. This is not exactly true. If it was, when you turn down the volume of your head unit or other source unit, your speakers will blow as the power output to your speakers will decrease. The actual problems occur when distortion is fed to a speaker. This occurs more often when you are dealing with an underpowered system. Typically the consumer will turn either turn up the volume on the head unit too much, adjust the gains too high or improperly or adjust bass boost settings on the amp or head unit to get more volume from the system trying to compensate for the lower amounts of power. This can greatly increase distortion of the signal. This can destroy any speaker. When a speaker is overpowered, however, it is not nearly as common to have these problems, so speakers aren't blown as much. It is certainly possible to destroy a speaker thermally by overpowering it or distorting the sub, but you will tend to find gain settings more appropriately set in these such cases.

Garage1217

iTrader: (5)

Wow... this is some pretty great reading from some people that actually have a clue and some people that actually have 0 clue about audio in general and some of the statements made are so far off and so stupid it makes your head spin.*LOL* Will watch this post for kicks Looks like the 1st page was cruising ok with some bias... 2nd page started to missfire... and by the 3rd page, the plane had crashed into a school filled with blind and deaf children

SePaTc

What is the gain/level adjustment on my amplifier for? Is it a volume **** on the amplifier?
A: The gain/level adjustment on your amplifier is not a volume control or ****. The gain is used to tell the amplifier how strong of a signal is coming from the head unit on the RCA cables. This is called line-out or pre-out voltage and is rated in volts. The amplifier takes the signal coming from the head unit and will amplify it depending on the setting you choose. If you do not properly set the gain and turn it too high up, the signal will be over-amplified and it can cause the amp to clip, which causes distortion to be sent to the subs. This is one of the most common reasons for amplifiers / speakers or subwoofers to blow. An amplifier can produce full or maximum power with many different gain settings depending on the head unit's pre-out voltage. If you have a high pre-out voltage from the head unit, the gain will need to be set lower. If you have a low pre-out voltage, you will need to se the gain higher. Make sure you head unit does not have a higher pre-out voltage than the amplifier can use. the rating on the amplifier you need to look at is called input sensitivity. Try to always get an amplifier with a higher maximum input sensitivity than your head unit pre-out rating.


btw, all this info is coming from Audiobahn's site. And i'm sure they have "0 clue" about audio. :D