best way to tune amp??

[bluebear15]

so i recently put in all new speakers (alpine type s components up front and coaxial in rear doors) along with my subs (12" infinity's). i'm running the speakers off a rockford fosgate p450.4 four channel amp and my 2 subs off a rockford fosgate p325.1 amp. i'm just looking for the best way to adjust the gain and frequency on the 4 channel amp to get my speakers sounding great since i already have the subs adjusted.

i've currently just tried adjusting the frequency and gain by ear but i seem to either be too high and it shuts off my amp or too low and it doesnt sound quite right. so just wondering if theres an exact way i can tune it in to whats perfect for my setup?

 

[xX Mavr1ck Xx]

Well I guess the "best" way would be to use an o-scope to set your gain, but those are kind of expensive and I think you'll be able to set it up by ear anyway. Here's a good link on to set it up with a DMM. http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/How-To-Set-Amplifier-Gain-t3704.html. Here's one without any meter http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/70258-amplifier-gain-settings-without-dmm.html If you follow that through I think you'll be set. How are the type s midbass btw?

 

[grnrpr68]

use an o-scope to set your gain

 

[destroyer1362]

^Theres some good videos on how to do it that way on youtube. I know the channel meade916 has a how to vid in there.

 

[Mild]

Most people dont have access to an O scope.

Heres what i do for the frequency, mute the subs and the rear channels and start with the front.

turn the HPF on the amp upwards of 200 with your volume at a pretty high level, then go down on the HPF knob until the bass starts to get kind of muddy or bad sounding, then go up a notch. then turn off the truck, plug your rear RCA's in, and do the same thing with the rear channels.

as far as the gains go, i generally leave it around halfway, maybe a little more.


if i cant get my radio volume 85% of the way up without the speakers sounding crappy (Clipping) then i back the gains down some.

hope this helps...

-Robin

 

[drowndindreams]

ballers like myself do it by ear.

 

[bluebear15]

lol ya i dont have access to an o-scope so thats out lol and by ear its a lil difficult since i seem to either go too high on the gain and then when i go above vol 10 (about 50% vol or a lil less) then it will cut out and the amp will shut off altho its not always right away. and if i end up going a lil on the low side then it just doesnt sound that good (too low of a sound and not enough treble to match the bass)

i'll check out the DMM way and see. i also know a guy that has a friend who's in the car audio business to ask him but i havent been able to get a hold of him yet.

mavr1k - the speakers are great when they have the right power and all that adjusted right (for me they sound great when i have the gain up but it cuts out for me above vol 10 randomly)

 

[riviera rider]

do you have the amp wired to too low of an ohm level??? maybe its shutting off so that it wont over heat or its not able to push that much at that ohm possibly

 

[bluebear15]

do you have the amp wired to too low of an ohm level??? maybe its shutting off so that it wont over heat or its not able to push that much at that ohm possibly

how do i know what ohm its wired to? i know the speakers are only 4ohm

 

[blueflamed03]

one, tuning the amp is one of the most important factors. Too much gain, or too little has both different effects.
If your not sure, it's worth the few dollars to stop in a reputable spot and have a pro do it, and leave it. Too many times, someone says "well, with the gain THIS high, it's louder...so lets add more, and wow, listen to this bass boost.."

The whole time tearing up equipment.

Impedance is how do you have the woofers wired to match the gain. Is the amp 1 ohm stable, 2 ohm? How are the woofers matched to the amp?

If you've done many a systems, you can do it by ear, but if you haven't, too much gain, or bass boost, will kill your subwoofers.