profile amp with 6.5 comps and 6x9s

brandnew1482

any have the profile 80x4rms amp hooked up to polk 6.5 compentents and 6x9s theyre the db series ones each with 100watts rms 300 max....the install guys hooked it up adn it sounded god but iwent to play with it and messed itup and i can't get it back to sounding how the had it...but the way theya hd it wans't much louder..just could be clear all the way up....i turned up the gain and then i mseed with the lows and everything....someone who has this and has everything set please help me out...i got an alpine deck

MacLeod

Im not going to be able to tell you how to tune it over an internet forum cause I cant hear it.

I say take it back to the shop and tell them your stupid little brother was messing with the settings and its screwed up now. Im sure theyd re-tune it for you. It shouldnt take too long.

brandnew1482

well the thing i dont get is i bought this amp so i could have clarity at all levels its only 80 rms and the spaekrs are 100 so it should be ableto handle the amps gain cranked no problem....right..

1996blackmax

Put everything back to zero and adjust your gains after that. Don't forget to turn the gains on the amp all the way down before adjusting the gains. Basically put the HU's volume to 75% of full volume, turn up the gains until you start to hear some distortion, then turn down the gains just slightly from that point. After this you can fine tune your system with your HU.

What HU are you using?

Spelling out the words a little better would help us to read your posts as well .

1996blackmax

The gain contols are not volume knobs, they are there to match the output of your HU. If you turn them past the point where they match the output of you HU, you will greatly increase distortion, and run a high risk of clipping your amp and frying your speaker's voicecoils.

brandnew1482

i have an alpine cda 9856 i believe is the number...

MacLeod

Um...no.

The gain is NOT a volume control nor is it a power level controler.

ALL it does is match the output signal of the HU to the input of the amp.

In other words, say your head unit is at 50% volume with the volume knob set to 10. Well youll want your amp to be set so that its at 50% at volume 10 as well. Now if you crank the gains too high, then the amp will be at 100% when your volume is at say 5. So you turn the volume up to 15 and your amp is now being pushed beyond its limits which makes the amp clip. When an amp clips, its signal is horribly distorted AND it sends out about 180 watts per channel to your speakers. So not only is the amp sending out distorted signals but your speakers are being fried and pushed beyond the limits of their suspension.

So before you destroy all of your speakers, go back out there and set the gains NO higher than the "noon" position!

The best way to set the gains is to turn them all the way down and then turn up the volume on your HU to about 75%. Now turn up the gains of the front speakers til you hear them distort slightly and then back it down a bit til the distortion goes away. Now set the rear gain to a level that best blends with the front speakers.

brandnew1482

1996blackmax wrote:

The gain contols are not volume knobs, they are there to match the output of your HU.

well my head unit has a thing u can turn off the internal amp...so if i turn that off will the amp sound clearer

1996blackmax

Basically what I said Mac......








Guess we are just typing the same stuff at the same time

MacLeod

No. Thatll just keep the HU from running as hot. Wont make an audible difference.

MacLeod

1996blackmax wrote:

Basically what I said Mac......








Guess we are just typing the same stuff at the same time

LOL! Ya beat me to the punch. But I said it "better" tho!

1996blackmax

brandnew1482 wrote:

well my head unit has a thing u can turn off the internal amp...so if i turn that off will the amp sound clearer

It will lower the internal heat within your HU, which may help some. I would not expect it to make an audible difference.

1996blackmax

MacLeod wrote:

LOL! Ya beat me to the punch. But I said it "better" tho!

No x's infinity .... one of your lines

MacLeod

1996blackmax wrote:

It will lower the internal heat within your HU, which may help some. I would not expect it to make an audible difference.

Wow!! Thats a brilliant statement. I wish I was smart enough to think of that. Oh wait.....

brandnew1482

alright so...my head unit goes up to 35 so 26.25 is 75% of that so this i what i do...

turn my gains all the way down
put my head unit on volume 26
turn my front channel gain up until i hear distortion
turn it down until the distortion stops
then do the smae for the rear channel?


after the gains are set right i should be able to adjust the high/low/full pass the way i want and it will still sound fine without distirtion right?

MacLeod

Pretty much.

You still could get distortion if you cranked the volume up too high because some CD's are recorded more dynamic than others. The only "right" way to set the gains is with an O-scope but that stuff is over my head so I stick to the easy way. So make sure you use a CD that is very well recorded and best represents the majority of the type of music you listen to.

brandnew1482

whats an oscope...and should i use a burnt cd since thats what i usually listen to or a real cd since it is obviously recored better

MacLeod

Osciliscope. Its a real techincal thingy. I know what one looks like and thats about the extent of my expertise with one.

I do know that the signals your amp is getting are AC (alternating current) signals and an O-scope measures AC. So one of those will show you when an amp is sending out clipped signals.

MacLeod

Id use real CD's instead of a burned copy. Real CD', like you said, are recorded better.

brandnew1482

do u think the store used an oscope...it was circuit city

MacLeod

Doubt it.

brandnew1482

so the 75% technique will make it sound good....

and anothe question


when i picekd up my car everything sounded maybe just a little louder than it didn without the amp..obviously the amp made everything sound good at loud levels as well as low levels but it didn't sound much louder...once the gains are right...how cna i make it so it slouder...i was expecting it to me like 4 times as loud since its an 80x4 amp and my deck is 17x4

joeaudio26

MacLeod wrote:

Im not going to be able to tell you how to tune it over an internet forum cause I cant hear it.

I say take it back to the shop and tell them your stupid little brother was messing with the settings and its screwed up now. Im sure theyd re-tune it for you. It shouldnt take too long.

Best advice ive ever heard for REAL...:D

MacLeod

Invest in a sub and a 500-700 watt amp. That will make it louder.

Doubling your power wont double youre volume. Doubling your power will only increase the volume by about 3 db. And since 1000 watts of mids/highs will make you go deaf in a couple minutes, putting that wattage in a sub is a lot better and it will go a lot further in making sure youre the loudest guy in the high school parking lot.

brandnew1482

ill try it myself first and if its not good ill go back eventually

brandnew1482

will the sub make everything sound louder

MacLeod

Yes. Plus it will make it sound more musical as well. You gotta have a sub or else youre missing out on a lot of the music. Even tho the sub only plays gerneally 60 of the 20,000 frequencies, its what gives music impact and feel.

1996blackmax

If you have a multimeter you can adjust your gains with that...

This site makes it very easy. Just plug in the output of your amp and the ohms for your speakers and you are there. Just turn the gains until the magic voltage number is reached.

http://www.subwoofertools.com/forum/setgain.asp

1996blackmax

Forgot one thing..... you will need to download some test tones recorded at 0db to set the gains. For a sub 50Hz will do and 1KHz for your mids/highs.

MacLeod

1996blackmax wrote:

If you have a multimeter you can adjust your gains with that...

This site makes it very easy. Just plug in the output of your amp and the ohms for your speakers and you are there. Just turn the gains until the magic voltage number is reached.

http://www.subwoofertools.com/forum/setgain.asp

Very cool link!

I may have to try that.

brandnew1482

after that it will be easier to go to circuit city and say "hey my genious brother thought he could make this sound better and tok my keys and messed with it you wanna re tune it for me....after all i did pay u 198$ for installation"