Which test tone to use for setup

[SoTHavok]

i have Hifonics Brz 1700 watt mono D sub and 2 rockfordfosgate p3's2d12 at 2 ohms
my subs are 500 watts rms each

im setting all my gains currently with a DMM

couple questions

i have a line driver i set that independently the same way as amp correct?

as for my amp does it matter where i set the x-over freq. i know not to have any bass boost
where should my bass dial be?

Which test tone should i use for my subs and which tone for my tweeters that are JL C5 tweeters

and finally from my calculations i got 31.6 AC volts (for my sub) i want to read correct?

[kiteman]

man you should really research this kind of stuff on google, not on a camaro forum.

but...subs usually less than 80hz, components 80hz and above. bass boost should not be used. get an amp powerful enough to not need a boost if you must use a boost with your current setup.

[SoTHavok]

i found most of the answers myself and i posted on car audio forums and not many responses either.... and i already know not to have bass boost i posted that on the 1st post...

i was asking where to have my bass dial (gain)

i think im just gonna tune it to recomended volts and leave bass dial at half way and if i want more bass and want to push the limit, ill just the turn knob up now and then

[kiteman]

yeah, halfway to a maximum of 60% should be fine if you don't have an oscilloscope or audio test cd to check clipping levels with.

[dmwhiteman]

Here is a video that was suggested to me on how to tune your amps. It has some good info in it. It also led me to several other videos on how to setup your gains.

I was told my a local audio shop to turn your head unit to 75% of where you would like it, then adjust the gain until you start to hear some cracking (clipping? not sure of correct terminology) and then back off just a bit. This worked wonderfully for my subs, but I am not sure how it will work for components though.

[kalimus]

Have you checked the manufacturer website? I know companies like JL tell you exactly how to tune their amps. Which test tone, what settings on the head unit, and what voltage you should read coming out of your amp.

[scuba264]

Somewhere around 70 is where you want your crossover. The ideal is that your ears can't localize the sound of the subwoofer. So many people think that because their subs are slamming that it is awesome, but its not really "correct" In a great system, you really have no idea that the bass is coming from the trunk, it just mixes into the sound up front.

Your ears can't locate where frequencies are coming from around 80hz and below.

To tune your stereo, find a CD with different frequencies on every track. I have one that goes from like 10hz to 16000hz. Then play through it and adjust your levels at each frequency to that they are relatively close in volume. Thats a good baseline, then you need to just tweak it to your liking.

Best case, you'll have your sub playing up to 70 or 80, then have some minor overlap and high pass your components up front from 70 or 80 up to the high end. You want a smooth coverage of frequencies, with the fronts really creating the punch and clarity, and the subs filling out the whole sound without being obvious.

[scuba264]

Best source of tuning is diyma.com, people on those forums know everything.

Heres a link to the download of the test tones I use:
http://caraudioforum.com/showthread.php?t=319138

[SoTHavok]

Im using a cd tone and a DMM not my ear, i dont hear clipping even when i max my gains.. So that worries me, that its not that reliable by ear

Ill look into JL

Also i fixed my calculations to 58V AC

[kiteman]

Originally Posted by dmwhiteman

I was told my a local audio shop to turn your head unit to 75% of where you would like it, then adjust the gain until you start to hear some cracking (clipping? not sure of correct terminology) and then back off just a bit. This worked wonderfully for my subs, but I am not sure how it will work for components though.

seriously that is a really dumb audio shop if that is what they told you. clipping usually occurs well before it is audible to the human ear. you need an oscilloscope or an audio test cd to properly set gains, otherwise if you are just listening for "crackling" and then reducing the volume/gain slightly, you have probably already damaged your subwoofers (and continue to do so).

[dmwhiteman]

Originally Posted by kiteman

seriously that is a really dumb audio shop if that is what they told you. clipping usually occurs well before it is audible to the human ear. you need an oscilloscope or an audio test cd to properly set gains, otherwise if you are just listening for "crackling" and then reducing the volume/gain slightly, you have probably already damaged your subwoofers (and continue to do so).

I did use a test cd. I do not have an oscilloscope, and I don't think it would be very financially responsible to invest in one for only a few uses. I guess I was just lucky then. I can max out my amp on my subs and still not even a hint of distortion.

[scuba264]

Yeah not everyone has access to all the gear most of the time. Multimeters, RTAs, and Oscilloscopes are great but the majority of hobbyist stereo people just do everything by ear, eventually with tone and pink noise CDs once they get into it more.

The ol' 75%, up the gain till distortion then back it off is the generally accepted easy way that I always hear suggested.

[kiteman]

Originally Posted by dmwhiteman

I did use a test cd. I do not have an oscilloscope, and I don't think it would be very financially responsible to invest in one for only a few uses. I guess I was just lucky then. I can max out my amp on my subs and still not even a hint of distortion.

100% gain on your amp? there is no way you aren't clipping at that level.

[dmwhiteman]

Originally Posted by kiteman

100% gain on your amp? there is no way you aren't clipping at that level.

I guess I should say my old amp. Orion 8001. Probably not the best quality. I don't know how they will act on the MTX 5601. But, yes the gain was the whole way up, subs were flopping like crazy and the bass sounded muddy, but I couldn't hear anything that sounded damaging. I never ran them for more than the 8 seconds that I turned the gain up though. Usually around 60% gave the best sound.