Help with tuning new system
08-24-2009, 04:11 PM
#1
0 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 12
Help with tuning new system
Ok, here are the details for the new system. Thanks to those who commented prior to buying, very helpful.
Vehicle:
2008 Dodge Ram Q/C
HU:
JVC KW-NT1 (DVD Nav unit) 4 x 22w RMS
AMP:
Alpine MRP-F600 2 x 100w RMS + 1 x 300w RMS
Speakers:
front: Alpine SPS-609 powered by F600 amp
rear: Alpine SPS-500 powered by rear channel of HU
sub: JL 10w3v3 in 0.6cuft sealed enclosure under drivers side rear seat
What I need help on is to tune the system for optimum sound and performance. New to this stuff. I am specifically looking for suggestions on crossover frequencies, how to properly set gain on amplifier, etc. To my amazement, without really touching anything it sounds surprisingly good but that is no surprise when you compare it to the crappy stock system it used to have.
Vehicle:
2008 Dodge Ram Q/C
HU:
JVC KW-NT1 (DVD Nav unit) 4 x 22w RMS
AMP:
Alpine MRP-F600 2 x 100w RMS + 1 x 300w RMS
Speakers:
front: Alpine SPS-609 powered by F600 amp
rear: Alpine SPS-500 powered by rear channel of HU
sub: JL 10w3v3 in 0.6cuft sealed enclosure under drivers side rear seat
What I need help on is to tune the system for optimum sound and performance. New to this stuff. I am specifically looking for suggestions on crossover frequencies, how to properly set gain on amplifier, etc. To my amazement, without really touching anything it sounds surprisingly good but that is no surprise when you compare it to the crappy stock system it used to have.
08-27-2009, 06:22 PM
#3
nope thats how i run. powered front with decked rears. i can switch the rear on or off by the deck.
one way of tuning is bring your gain all the way down to 0. the deck HPF set to 80 and same for LPF ( 80 hz ). bass boost off, bass at 0 and treble at 0. now play a darn good cd. ( good quality ) and crank till it sounds like crap in the speakers. when thats done now you know how loud the cd player can go till it distorts. bring it down a few notches then bring up the gains on the amp till the speakers distorts. then bring it down a hair. then the same with the sub... that should be it unless someone else has a better way.
one way of tuning is bring your gain all the way down to 0. the deck HPF set to 80 and same for LPF ( 80 hz ). bass boost off, bass at 0 and treble at 0. now play a darn good cd. ( good quality ) and crank till it sounds like crap in the speakers. when thats done now you know how loud the cd player can go till it distorts. bring it down a few notches then bring up the gains on the amp till the speakers distorts. then bring it down a hair. then the same with the sub... that should be it unless someone else has a better way.
08-27-2009, 08:32 PM
#4
I'll toss the long-winded version in here....just cuz I saved it for these occasions.......
This process is a lot easier to do with 2 people....you will also need a source for the cleanest music you know well....ie. original CD....anything ripped and saved as MP3 or WMA may suffer some loss of quality during the conversion process.
In as few words as possible.....
1. Check deck and amps, ensure all boost, EQ and gains are set to minimum.
2. Plug in RCA for front R speaker only. For 5.25" HP starts at 120hz, either in deck(preferable) or on amp. Using music you know well, raise volume on deck until it starts to clip, back it off till distortion is gone. Raise gain on amp very slowly until distortion is heard again, back it off. Lower volume on deck, lower HP setting 1 step (or approx. 100hz if variable). Repeat this process until you find the setting that gets you the most volume without distortion.
3. Repeat process for front L.....if you are using rear speakers I usually leave them out of the process until later.
At this point you have as much sound from the front end as the equipment can handle.
4. Plug in sub RCAs.....set Xover at approx. same value as HP minus 20 hz. Unplug front RCAs, raise volume at deck until distortion is heard, back it off until distortion stops. Try raising gain to see if there is any headroom left in amp, after fiddling, sub should be getting as much clean power as possible.
5. Hook fronts back up, listen to system at moderate volume....listen for even volume across all freq. If you have a test disc it will help with this part. Try adjusting sub gain and Xover to help the mix if possible, having set the fronts to their maximum output it is generally better to try and match the sub output to that level rather than the other way around.
6. Once you have found the best sounding (to your ears) settings, then hook up your rears. If you have a 4 channel running the mids and highs, unplug the fronts and the subs and repeat the setting process you did for the fronts.
7 Plug them all back in.....at this point you should only have to adjust the fader or the gain for the rears to get them to blend with the other speakers until you are happy with the sound.....
Setting the subsonic ( or infrasonic if ya wanna pic nits..... ) just below Fb is a good way to keep the woofer(s) happy.....it's all about getting the most you can out of what you have.....
You won't need to worry about the rears since they are running off the deck, but the rest of the process should get you in the zone. Once you are comfortable with making these kinds of adjustments you may find yourself fiddling with it......constantly......adjusting levels.....
Seriously, if you use music you listen to on a regular basis to do this, you should be able to do it once and forget about it......
HTH
This process is a lot easier to do with 2 people....you will also need a source for the cleanest music you know well....ie. original CD....anything ripped and saved as MP3 or WMA may suffer some loss of quality during the conversion process.
In as few words as possible.....
1. Check deck and amps, ensure all boost, EQ and gains are set to minimum.
2. Plug in RCA for front R speaker only. For 5.25" HP starts at 120hz, either in deck(preferable) or on amp. Using music you know well, raise volume on deck until it starts to clip, back it off till distortion is gone. Raise gain on amp very slowly until distortion is heard again, back it off. Lower volume on deck, lower HP setting 1 step (or approx. 100hz if variable). Repeat this process until you find the setting that gets you the most volume without distortion.
3. Repeat process for front L.....if you are using rear speakers I usually leave them out of the process until later.
At this point you have as much sound from the front end as the equipment can handle.
4. Plug in sub RCAs.....set Xover at approx. same value as HP minus 20 hz. Unplug front RCAs, raise volume at deck until distortion is heard, back it off until distortion stops. Try raising gain to see if there is any headroom left in amp, after fiddling, sub should be getting as much clean power as possible.
5. Hook fronts back up, listen to system at moderate volume....listen for even volume across all freq. If you have a test disc it will help with this part. Try adjusting sub gain and Xover to help the mix if possible, having set the fronts to their maximum output it is generally better to try and match the sub output to that level rather than the other way around.
6. Once you have found the best sounding (to your ears) settings, then hook up your rears. If you have a 4 channel running the mids and highs, unplug the fronts and the subs and repeat the setting process you did for the fronts.
7 Plug them all back in.....at this point you should only have to adjust the fader or the gain for the rears to get them to blend with the other speakers until you are happy with the sound.....
Setting the subsonic ( or infrasonic if ya wanna pic nits.....
) just below Fb is a good way to keep the woofer(s) happy.....it's all about getting the most you can out of what you have.....You won't need to worry about the rears since they are running off the deck, but the rest of the process should get you in the zone. Once you are comfortable with making these kinds of adjustments you may find yourself fiddling with it......constantly......adjusting levels.....
Seriously, if you use music you listen to on a regular basis to do this, you should be able to do it once and forget about it......
HTH
09-01-2009, 10:06 AM
#6
0 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 12
Thanks for the advice and help. I have tuned the system and it is working great now. The only thing I notice is the fullness of the sound is somewhat lacking at lower volume levels and seems to really come alive once you turn it up. Now I need to decide at what volume level to tune to. It would be nice if the HU had a loudness feature to automatically boost the lower end at lower volume levels.
09-05-2009, 11:33 AM
#7
Thanks for the advice and help. I have tuned the system and it is working great now. The only thing I notice is the fullness of the sound is somewhat lacking at lower volume levels and seems to really come alive once you turn it up. Now I need to decide at what volume level to tune to. It would be nice if the HU had a loudness feature to automatically boost the lower end at lower volume levels.
HTH
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