All things considered, this should be a pretty simple question, yet all my resources and hours of searching on the internet have turned up nothing.
What does "gain" do?
On my amp (MTX Thunder 4405) I have Front gain, Rear gain, and both Gain and "EQ" for my sub. The gain seems to increase the amount of bass travelling to the sub and the "EQ" seems to just amplify that. Either way, I really can't seem to find a happy medium where it's not too boomy and not too soft. When I got it back from car toys (where I had everything installed) they had the gain turned all the way up and nearly as much so for the EQ. Needless to say, that got turned down pretty quickly. :)
Is there any rule of thumb you can use to guesstimate where the settings should be?
MTX 4405
Xtant 12" Z124 (ported box)
JVC KD-SX835
Alpine SPS-100A
Alpine SPS-170A
Replies (8)
uochronos on 02/25/2004 02:17:24
gain basicaly is how much power its putting in if you turn up the gain too far you well get alot of distortion from the speaker which is bad usauly half gain is ok after that it well get more distortion. basicaly turn al eq's and bass inhancement off and then turn the gain till you just start to get distortment and turn it back just a bit and then go back till its gone. there is a whole FAQ on here writen by swez for tweaking your system to its peak performance...
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t3
swez on 02/25/2004 03:11:03
Set your gains to match the output levels of your HU. Some newer models are 4.0 volts while most are 2.0 volts. Match the HU and you'll be in the game.
Also, your LP filter to subs should be set to ~80 Hz. If much higher then that, you get muddy and boomy, poorly defined bass.
Swez
metroid23 on 02/25/2004 03:38:54
Wow! Thanks for the info- this definitely helps!
Much appreciated, guys :)
swez on 02/25/2004 04:12:15
Glad to help and welcoe to our forum!
Swez
metroid23 on 02/25/2004 06:06:11
Just playing with the numbers here, can you give me an idea as to what I might expect as far as quality is concerned?
I read the manual and the specs it gave were:
-Subwoofer Fixed lowpass 18dB/Octave 85Hz crossover
-Bass EQ centered at 40Hz
Common sense tells me that if the crossover is fixed at 85Hz then everything 85Hz and below is being sent to the sub, which, like you said, is a little high. I suppose there isn't anything I can do about that since it's fixed?
What threw me off was the other spec about being centered at 40Hz- what in the world does that mean? :)
If it helps any, it says that my HU is 4V so how can I go about matching that to the gain?
Sorry if this is too much to ask- finding help in laymens terms online is tough! :)
swez on 02/25/2004 10:17:58
No problem, we were are new at one time or other! That's why we are here.. to educate the new consumer.
1. LP filter: 85 Hz. is very acceptable, good slope on that filter too 18db...
2. BASS EQ Centering: @ 40Hz means your bass boost looks like a bell curve. The peak of the bell is 40 Hz and the slopes on either side are reduced in some logrithmic curve. That's not a bad place to center at all... just use a small amount of boost, if at all.
3. Gain settings: most amps have a range with numbers at the dial. If yours does not, you have to go back to the amp specs to figure out what position the gain knob should be at, for a 4.0 volt input.
NOTE: On gain settings, if you read the FAQ/DIY article called Basic Tweaking for subs... this will show you how to do it without a whole lot of guessing
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t3
Swez COFFEE
ttocs on 02/25/2004 10:49:38
swez bustin it out............
welcome friend. This is a great place for learning....
swez on 02/25/2004 14:28:44
Yeah, I have some extra time this week.... but when we need your expertise, am glad you are here to clear matters up!
Hey, How's Teal's project and health coming along? Any news?
Swez
What does "gain" do?
On my amp (MTX Thunder 4405) I have Front gain, Rear gain, and both Gain and "EQ" for my sub. The gain seems to increase the amount of bass travelling to the sub and the "EQ" seems to just amplify that. Either way, I really can't seem to find a happy medium where it's not too boomy and not too soft. When I got it back from car toys (where I had everything installed) they had the gain turned all the way up and nearly as much so for the EQ. Needless to say, that got turned down pretty quickly. :)
Is there any rule of thumb you can use to guesstimate where the settings should be?
MTX 4405
Xtant 12" Z124 (ported box)
JVC KD-SX835
Alpine SPS-100A
Alpine SPS-170A
Replies (8)
uochronos on 02/25/2004 02:17:24
gain basicaly is how much power its putting in if you turn up the gain too far you well get alot of distortion from the speaker which is bad usauly half gain is ok after that it well get more distortion. basicaly turn al eq's and bass inhancement off and then turn the gain till you just start to get distortment and turn it back just a bit and then go back till its gone. there is a whole FAQ on here writen by swez for tweaking your system to its peak performance...
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t3
swez on 02/25/2004 03:11:03
Set your gains to match the output levels of your HU. Some newer models are 4.0 volts while most are 2.0 volts. Match the HU and you'll be in the game.
Also, your LP filter to subs should be set to ~80 Hz. If much higher then that, you get muddy and boomy, poorly defined bass.
Swez
metroid23 on 02/25/2004 03:38:54
Wow! Thanks for the info- this definitely helps!
Much appreciated, guys :)
swez on 02/25/2004 04:12:15
Glad to help and welcoe to our forum!
Swez
metroid23 on 02/25/2004 06:06:11
Just playing with the numbers here, can you give me an idea as to what I might expect as far as quality is concerned?
I read the manual and the specs it gave were:
-Subwoofer Fixed lowpass 18dB/Octave 85Hz crossover
-Bass EQ centered at 40Hz
Common sense tells me that if the crossover is fixed at 85Hz then everything 85Hz and below is being sent to the sub, which, like you said, is a little high. I suppose there isn't anything I can do about that since it's fixed?
What threw me off was the other spec about being centered at 40Hz- what in the world does that mean? :)
If it helps any, it says that my HU is 4V so how can I go about matching that to the gain?
Sorry if this is too much to ask- finding help in laymens terms online is tough! :)
swez on 02/25/2004 10:17:58
No problem, we were are new at one time or other! That's why we are here.. to educate the new consumer.
1. LP filter: 85 Hz. is very acceptable, good slope on that filter too 18db...
2. BASS EQ Centering: @ 40Hz means your bass boost looks like a bell curve. The peak of the bell is 40 Hz and the slopes on either side are reduced in some logrithmic curve. That's not a bad place to center at all... just use a small amount of boost, if at all.
3. Gain settings: most amps have a range with numbers at the dial. If yours does not, you have to go back to the amp specs to figure out what position the gain knob should be at, for a 4.0 volt input.
NOTE: On gain settings, if you read the FAQ/DIY article called Basic Tweaking for subs... this will show you how to do it without a whole lot of guessing
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t3
Swez COFFEE
ttocs on 02/25/2004 10:49:38
swez bustin it out............
welcome friend. This is a great place for learning....
swez on 02/25/2004 14:28:44
Yeah, I have some extra time this week.... but when we need your expertise, am glad you are here to clear matters up!
Hey, How's Teal's project and health coming along? Any news?
Swez
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