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I have an audiocontrol overdrive in my car that I was using for my subwoofer and I tried it out today on my front soundstage and HOLEY CRAP it makes everything sound a lot better. The line driver is only turned 1/3 and the gain on my amp (8 volt input max) is all the way down. All of a sudden the JL 300/2 has no problem squeezing everything out of the 6 speakers it's pushing.
If any of you SQ lovers haven't tried a line driver out I recommend it big time. |
great to hear...
regards, Mark |
Line drivers make a HUGE difference...I'm glad your enjoying it!
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what did it cost ?
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I bought mine used for $100. Brand new they are around $180 for the 2-channel and 370 for the 6 chanel. Phoenix Gold also makes a set of line drivers and I think they retail for a bit less. Definately worth every penny.
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Hey Kevin (zzzzzzz)
Phoenix has a 4-channel line driver that will give you up to 11 Volts RMS on the output. (yes your Tantrum amps can handle that) You can get that for around $249 2-Year warranty on that piece too. Talk to CEM if your'e interested. I can arrange for them to get you one. |
Yeah my brother just took one of my line drivers he is running James's(Westec) 3 old Nak's with an XS2300.He is very suprized with the difference.It rips pretty good now.
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Any signal noise associated with the addition of the line driver?
I never had any luck in SPL with boosting the input signal voltage; it always added noise to the system ie, almost faint sounding hum, or on/off pop. This was with a PLD1. |
Pat from our office uses the Phoenix Gold line driver and he has no problems with it.
His car is stupid loud and I think he took third place at the USAC finals. |
Originally posted by ATOMIC NO-WALL: Any signal noise associated with the addition of the line driver? I never had any luck in SPL with boosting the input signal voltage; it always added noise to the system ie, almost faint sounding hum, or on/off pop. [ December 18, 2005, 10:13 AM: Message edited by: fatty matty ] |
A line driver will reduce signal noise significantly when installed correctly because it increases signal/noise ratio. To reduce noise from existing system and to avoid boosting an already noisy signal a line driver should always be mounted near the source unit (usually front of the car - say glove box if it will fit). This gives the signal from the deck the least risk of picking up noise that is usually associated with long lines of cable running from the deck to the amp at the rear of the car. Also, use a 0 noise cable from the deck to the line driver. From the line driver it is safe to run a crappy cable because the signal/noise is boosted so high. If you run regular (even relatively high-end) from the deck all the way to the rear where a line driver is the line driver will boost the noise the system generates to that point so it's ability to improve SQ is limited. Adding equipment to a signal path (equipment that introduces additional noise), can not reduce system noise nor can it improve the fidelity to the recording media. Noise is additive, a line driver boosts signal including system noise. But can a line driver make the system sound better... yes (sounding better does not equal accuracy nor does it equal realism) it simply means it is more pleasant. |
i'm looking into getting a AudioControl Matrix line driver for the spring when I do the install in my acura CL
thinking of picking one up off e-bay or something |
Line drivers with out an isolated psu are known for picking up noise... shouldnt be an issue with a name like phenoix gold, but something everyone else should look for....
Although, If I wanted a high signal level in my car I'd just use the speaker outputs from my deck... [img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img] |
Hey
Of the 5 different single ended line drivers I have used the Audiocontrol Overdrive had the most realistic sound IMO. The best difference I heard was fingers sliding down the strings of a guitar, sounded like a live show. No other line driver I have tried has recreated this sound as well. Both PG models I tried seemed to flatten the sound, male voice especially lacked presence. Balanced line drivers make a different change in the sound, all better but different. The Adcom piece outperformed Soundstream, Zapco and PG pieces but it is hard to find and uses different connectors than the other pieces. Good Luck, J |
that's interesting...
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I am hoping to audition a few here soon [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]
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Originally posted by Jaxom: Both PG models I tried seemed to flatten the sound |
Hey all
All of these were stock units when I listened them. I know the opamps can be upgraded, I tried a few different ones in the PG PLD-1. Of the 15ish other opamps I tried the Analog Devices AD746 dual & OP467 quad sounded smoothest overall. Since there is no pin-for-pin compatible replacement for the 4136 it makes it hard to replace without an adapter or was pin to pad wired. Modifying is fun! Later, J |
Don't drink the kool aid!
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Originally posted by Jaxom: Modifying is fun! |
My two PG ZPA 0.5 amps require line drivers and have a PG PLD-1 running to each... I noticed that the sound was flattened out too. I was told by a PG rep that the reason is that the op-amps are setup for such a narrow bandwidth that the cut-off too much of the frequencies. I've heard that the Crystal Audio Linedrivers were some of the best...I preced them out and they were almost $800 a piece!
BTW, do you guys have any links to how I could modify my PG linedriver to get the more transparent op-amp? [ January 02, 2006, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Grey Z34 ] |
Hey Grey Z34
It's easy, if you want to try different op-amps just remove the existing ones (desolder) and solder a high quality machined pin socket inplace. Then go spend lots of money ;) on a bunch of different op-amps and plug-play. The high/low filtering can be adjusted too but that's more complicated as you may have to start looking at gain/frequency limitations of the op-amps. Look for op-amps that have a high slew rate, typically 10 or better. Also a low noise level is good too, but not necessary (nV/rt(Hz)) If you want something cheap to start with try an AD712 from Analog Devices, I found it a cheap upgrade for the 5532's installed. Or you could send it my way [img]smile.gif[/img] , lol. Good Luck, J |
I tried out the Audio Control Linedriver and all it did was add noise, so I sold it yet the new owner said he loves it. I did originally install it at the front of the car (Fiero). There is only the front in that car.lol
Maybe it has to do with the deck you are using I don't know yet I'm glad I broke even on it. I will be installing my EQT's soon that have a line driver in them so hopefully all will work out. |
Jaxom, thanks for the info. I have no clue what the adater looks like....Do you have any pics of the modified units?
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ive had a chance to try the new line drivers from PG. the sld44. and they are very nice. ultimate control. it seems that the car sounds better. but most importantly it allows for great accuracy with our setting compared to the tld22, tld2, tld66 and pld2. i have not tested it against other brands. but i can only imagine that it would fair well. we got 11 volts out of it rms and it did a 15 volt peak. all previous models only did 10v of less depending on the model.
[ January 06, 2006, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: Team Shadow ] |
When using fosgate amps, I can increase the pre-voltage to 4 max. The amps cannot handle any more-they heat up and distort. Kenwood can handle up to 5+. They seem to handle higher voltages with less distortion.
Till now I used Alpine head units, but recently bought Kenwood Excelon unit- big difference in dynamics, separation, very pleased with sound. |
is it more beneficial to have the line driver up by your deck or back by your amps? i know fatty matty said it was better by your deck but then John Vroom said most of the post was inaccurate, so i was wondering what everyone else thought.
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near the deck... if you put it near the amps it would amplify any noise in your cables, which defeats the main point of a line driver....
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For the record I never said line drivers didn’t sound good, nor did I say they cant make a system sound better. I said they cannot make a system more accurate nor can it make a system with noise quieter... but they could reduce the amount of noise added to the signal path. The noise rejection capabilities of a standard line driver are not profound but it could be enough in some systems (I am backing off my previous statement a little).
Placing the line driver nearer to the source is the common logic, and if there were any noise rejection benefits that would maximize it. The balanced line drivers should be quite good at not adding induced hum/ noise |
BTW I do sometimes use a line driver
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ok thanks guys
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