I can't get my system to sound right at all. I have 3 JL 10w3 and MB Quart RAA1000 amp. I don't know much about tuning them and it has so many different ***** I don't know what is goin on.

That is it, hopefully someone can help me out. If you read this in CT and can tune an amp let me know.

 

WOOO ffffuuunnn. Good luck man... j/k

Will start with easy part. You'll probably want the filter on. Some people tune with out it... but it creates less of a headache.

2. depending upon what the box was tuned for, will be what you adjust your subsonic and bass EQ to. But I have always had fun playing with dials. I'd start off with the Bass EQ personally. Make sure you have your gain about 1/4 of the way.

Start with the Bass EQ freq all the way to the left, and slowly turn it right. Listen for the change. Get it where you want it, and then move onto your subsonic freq.

Make sure whenever you're adjusting, you use a song that has a constant run of close to the same freq range. If you want a lot of low end bass, play that, and adjust.

Tuning can sometimes be a hit and miss deal. Especially if you miss you don't know what the box and subs are tuned for.

 

I thought Subsonic filter comes in hand when you running a ported application-

Anyways, you want to start off with everything set at zero both on amp and whatever sub controls you have on the HU.

Adjust the lowpass xover on the amp to the frequency where you have your fronstage crossed over at on the HU.

Turn your system up at about 3/4 volume and then begin raising the gain on the sub amp up to where by ear you feel its output best matches your fronstage as far as balance in output and overall sound

At that point I encourage you to perhaps try (if needed) to add a db or a few on the bass boost if you feel you need it- BE AWARE!!! BASS BOOST IS THE #1 KILLER OR SUBWOOFERS, IT WILL CLIP THE SHYT OUT OF IT if you overdue it.

Also you need to figure out what the overall impedance you are pulling from the amp based on the wiring of your subwoofers. This is important so that you know the power load they will see and thus helps in understanding the nescessary gain setting .

 

I tune my sub amps by turning every **** that says bass boost or gain all the way up, and cranking the n/f output on the h/u all the way up..and listening to it that way for 2 years. me likey my pioneer subs. even with a hole in the surround of one of em (damn screwdriver ) they sound great in the passenger compartment.

 

you got to be kidding me...

 

Here's another way to set your gains in case you can't figure out how much gain is too much by ear.

JL gain setting tutorial (second link on the page)

The best way to do it though would be by using an o-scope so you can ensure your amp isn't clipping [or at least only to an acceptable level].

As for the xover settings, if you're unfamiliar with what freq your front stage is x'd over at, I would try an initial setting of around 80Hz, and dial it up and down a bit while listening to familiar music, to see where you'd like to leave it. As for the subsonic filter, think of it as a highpass xover set to subsonic freq's [they can cause damage to a sub in a ported enclosure depending on the freq. that the enclosure is tuned to]. Some people recommend using them even with a sealed enclosure. Again, try it out at a moderate volume and see if you can tell any difference.

dh

 

This is why I like Class D a lot.

 

If you need some help i think i can help you out somewhat...i just installed a system aswell, well its about a month old now so..ya

 

Nope..

 

lol youll damage your sub with the bass boost up, you should leave it at zero. your gain should not go any where past 75percent up

 

I've been running my subs like this for two years with NO problems WHAT SO EVER. the only damage either of my subs has, is one of em has a hole in the surround from a screwdriver slipping when I put the subs in the box. I've repatched it 3x, but within a month or so of repatching, it breaks the patch loose again. the subs cost me $39 each shipped when I got em, and they still outperform other entry level subs that run up to $130.

 

I'm glad you like how this sounds to you. Perhaps your headunit doesn't have much of a voltage output, and you need the gains on the amp as high as possible to match the output of the deck, but most likely you're sending a pretty severely clipped signal to your subs. If the subs don't sound distorted to you and they have handled it to this point, I'd say you should be very happy with them, and it sounds like you are. I would, however, refrain from giving this advice out as how to set up an amp, only because it may not work for them, and very likely could damage their subs [assuming they pass their physical/thermal limits]. Or at least warn them that if they send a clipped signal, there is a possibility of damaging their stuff.

dh

 

Hey man, patching is a problem

 

hmm care to wager on that claim? i know a sub or 2 that can take you that cost less than $130. anyway, if anyone has a gain up to 75% that means a few things... either you are clipping the hell out of the amp, the amps sensitivity is real real real real low, and/or your preouts are very very very weak.

 

or, you just have a not so good sounding, distorted, piece of cocca. hey what ever floats your boat

 

the way i do it is i turn on some music with a good amount of bass and then go in my trunk and turn my ***** until i get a good precise sound. but whatever u do, dont turn the gains up TOO much otherwise kiss ur JL goodbye

 

This isn't necessarily the case either, as a sub getting less power than it can handle shouldn't be damaged by even the worse clipped signal you can send to it. BUT. . . it will sound like garbage, so I will have to agree. Set the gains properly, and listen to the subs. . . if it sounds like they are in distress [bottoming out on heavy beats, etc. . .], it's because they are.

dh

 

i disagree...you can blow a sub with a much higher rms then the power you send it. from what i read, clipping causes much more heat and can damage a coil. but either way, minimal clipping on a sub whos rms is 800 and you are giving it 400 should be just fine.

 

my headunit only has a 2v preout, and its a cheap amp. the subs don't distort in the least..they're clean sounding as long as I keep the crossovers set properly. If I turn the crossover point a little too high, it improves the rap SQ (oxymoron?) but drops the classic rock SQ. Thats been my only complaint about using a 4 ch amp to drive 2 subs: I have to tweak the h/u bass controls more than I'd like rather than turn a **** on a remote bass boost **** if I make a radical song change..like going from Imma Tell to..Pinball Wizard..

I'm sure if I had a stronger preout voltage, either by feeding an active crossover or an equalizer from my headunit, I'd have to change my tweaking method. That'll have to wait til I have money to spend on stereo stuff, which may be a few months away, or longer, unless theres a sudden boom of people needing their houses rewired.

 

i should take a pic of mine, i have the EXACT same amp i put in a couple days ago...3 w3's are lookin for around 900w rms huh, so are my solos... i set my gains quite conservatively though, i'm sure yours aren't much higher than half if that. turn your xover freq between 80~120 (you cant get it exact) and set your h/u to same.. don't use the EQ or Q, or Phase...

 

As dumb as this is....
I have 4v Pre-outs and my gain is set to like 60-70% All the EQs and MX modes are off.
And I don't go over 21/35 on the volume....
Do you think this is right

 

yes...if u want to go higher on the h/u get some new speakers!!!

 

what kind of amp? it all depends on the input sensitivity range

 

I like the approach using the multimeter shown in this tutorial.
Are there cross references for voltage levels for other amps? The ones listed are obviously for their own.
Where does one get a CD with sine wave test tones?
Thanks
CFC

 

Here's the test disc I have, though I'm sure you can download a sweep off the web. [try realmofexcursion.com]

Autosound 2000 CD 104

The chart that JL audio uses is just Ohms Law.

E = squareroot of (p*r)

If you're using a 1000 watt amp in a 1 ohm load, then. . .
1000watts*1ohm=1000
sqrt of 1000=31.6V


dh

 

Yo Zach, 8:30 p.m. Friday at Taco Bell on the Berline Turnpike. Me and a couple other Maxima guys are going to meet up there...

 

You can make a CD using Winisd. You can make sweeps also. For setting the gains, heres a even easer article to understand.

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubb/ult...c;f=2;t=030419

 

Ill be there if I can figure out how to get onto the pike...

 

Gotcha, sadly I'm an electrical engineer and I do know Ohm's law. I just didn't realize what the cross referenced models were
I appreciate it,

CFC

 

Thanks for the winisd tip,
I'll check it out.

CFC

 

I'll try and get there. I may not get out of work until around 8 and it takes like a half hour to get home but maybe I'll just stop in my work clothes. I'll PM you tomorrow and let you know.

 

use an ocilliscope to tune your outputs...

anyone ever do this? I've never done this in a car, but i have with smaller applications

 

I haven't, I've been meaning to find a cheap one, but it hasn't been a priority. You're right though, that's the best way to set your gains.

dh

 

Also if you can somehow "borrow" one, you can tune your amps and make sure you take note of the clipping voltages. Once you have those, you can use a simple multimeter to get to that voltage in the future.
Multimeter are not ideal though because usually they measure AC at 60 Hz, and obviously your signal won't necessarilly be at 60 Hz. It is a good tool to ballpark it though.

CFC

 

Okay, time to get over your fear of highways. You won't get lost, trust me. I'll try to find a way via regular pain old boring streets for you.



That's cool Zach, hope to see you there!