Power Amp Settings for Dummies

[xalmanreyaz]

Quick Amplifier Tuning for Dummies.

Well not really, but this is a quick and easy way to tune and calibrate your car amplifiers.

Once you have all your speakers, amplifiers, radio, and whatever else installed into your
Car
, set your equalizer to flat. This will be done differently on different radios, but basically you want the Bass, Mid, and Treble levels set at 0.

(This tutorial is not specific, but any aftermarket stereo system in any type of vehicle.)

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Files

First you need to download these two mp3 files and burn them onto CD. (MP3 or regular audio will work) There is a 60Hz and a 1000HZ file. The 60HZ file will be used to tune your subwoofer amp. The 1000Hz file will be used to tune your mids/highs.

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Radio Calibration

Let's start with radio / head unit level adjustment. Turn the Gain on the Mids/Highs Amp almost all the way down (~1/4). Set your amp OR headunit output to high-pass filter which will filter off any subwoofer signals so you do not have bass going to your regular mids/highs (Ignore this if you do not have a subwoofer installed!!!) Unplug your subwoofer amp (or turn it off).

Load in the CD that you burned with the two test-tone files. Play the high pitched tone (1000hz) and begin increasing the volume on the head unit steadily. At some point you will hear it "clip". This will be a noticeable difference in the sound of the tone (the pitch will change). Once you have found the point where you hear the clipping, turn the radio down 2 notches and leave it at this level. Now pause the CD. This is the maximum level your radio will output without distortion. It will vary from radio to radio. Some brands have very bad output and will begin clipping very early, while others may not clip until the very end (if at all).

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Mids/Highs Amp Adjustment

Now let us move on to the Mids/Highs Amplifier. Since we already know where the head unit clips, this part is easy. Make sure the head unit is still at the previous max level we found earlier. You may need some ear plugs for this one because it is going to get loud (especially if you are pumping some mean juice into those speakers ) Make sure you have quick access to the Amp's Gain (or level) adjustment. Play the high pitch tone (1000hz) again, but this time begin increasing the Amp's Gain. Increase it until you hear the same "clipping" or tone change you heard earlier. Now turn the amp level down just slightly under the clipping level. Done! Pause the CD (unless you want to go deaf). Your Mids/Highs Amplifier is now calibrated to your head unit.

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Subwoofer Amp

Now to shake the house and piss off the neighbors.. The subwoofer amp! Make sure you turn the sub amp on and the mids/high amp off (or unplug the RCA cables). Just as we did before, turn the Amplifier Gain almost all the way down. Turn the bass boost down to 0 (both on the head unit and the subwoofer amp. You should also turn on a low pass filter either on the head unit or on the Subwoofer Amp so that you get only bass tones going to your subwoofers. Make sure you can easily access the subwoofer amp's Gain level quickly. Turn on the the low pitched tone (60hz) on the CD. Begin steadily increasing the Amplifier Gain until you audibly hear distortion and/or a tone change. There are two things going on here:

If you do hear distortion do not exceed that level or your speakers may blow.

You have now found the optimal subwoofer level for your system. Eject the CD and apologize to anyone you woke up in the neighborhood.

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Finishing Up

Make sure you hook everything back up and turn your head unit back down to a normal level. Now each of your stereo components are calibrated to each other. Go ahead and listen to your favorite music and tweak the head unit settings to your taste. If you want a little extra thump, increase the bass boost on the subwoofer amp slightly. Again this is a way of calibrating your system to reproduce music as it was recorded!

Some people enjoy hearing nothing but bass so they should not follow this guide and just crank up the bass boost to +100. Everyone will look at them like they are idiots, but thats ok because that is how they enjoy music.

[scorpion80]

nice and informative !!

[xalmanreyaz]

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I am Also Adding some other issues despite posting a new thread

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How To Troubleshoot Car Amplifiers

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You are driving down the road listening to some sweet Yanni tunes when all of a sudden his awesomeness is disturbed by scratchy pops and hisses! Well this simply will not do. Now, the problem could be a couple of things but for the sake of this article, we need to find out if the amplifier is to blame. The amplifier in your
car stereo
system performs a basic function. It takes whatever signal your stereo unit is putting out, be it a radio signal or a CD or whatever you are playing and boosts the signal going out to your speakers. There are usually two major problems that effect power amps so I've split the troubleshooting up accordingly. The power problems might require the use of a voltmeter. You can find these at your local Radio Shack or electronics shop. Be careful working around you car's power, it can jolt you good.

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Power Problems

-- If your amp is not powering up or is in some sort of standby mode, check these things first.

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Check your amplifier's grounds. Number one on the list is to make sure your amp's ground wire is attached tightly to bare, rust-free metal in your car somewhere, probably the chassis. If the ground does not look good, then detach it, clean the area and the ground wire with a metal brush and secure it again. Any of your amplifier's problems could stem from improper grounding.

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Check the power going to your amp. Use a voltmeter to see what kind of juice you've got coming into your amp. It has to be at least 13 volts. If it isn't, then you've got yourself a low battery or a bad power cable. There also could be a problem in your amp's power supply. A great test is to hook up your amp in another car and check the voltage. If you've got power going into the amp, but it is not powering up, then the amp's power supply is fried. While you are at it, check the inline fuse. Make sure the fuse is good and if it is, make sure it is the right amp rating.

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Check your gains/input sensitivity. Gain input controls allow you to match the output voltage from your head unit to your amp and then on to your speaker. If your gain inputs are set too high, your amp might just shut down on you. It basically overheats if it is up too high, and will automatically shut off. Another symptom of this problem is if your volume seems to get lower. You want to match as closely as possible the gain of your head unit and all other components in the system. Check out all the components' specifications for their optimal levels.

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Check your speaker's impedance. Impedance is basically how much current flows with a specified voltage across resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc. It is measured in ohms. Make sure your amp and speakers are working in the same impedance range. If not, you could be screwing both of them up royally and the amp will go into "protect" mode. Use a voltmeter set to ohms and see what it says.

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Sound Problems --

If you are experiencing sound problems, check out these things in addition to the above.

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Use a different set of car stereo speakers. Hook up a speaker that you know works well to your amp. If you still have a bunch of noise, it's the amp.

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Use different cables. Remove the RCA cables that are attaching the head unit to your amp, and replace them with ones that you know work. If there are still problems, then you know it's the amp. If not, replace the cables.

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If you have a power antenna, listen closely when you turn the radio on. If you hear an audible pop from the speaker, then the antenna might be interfering with the amplifier. Check all the wires leading to and from both and make sure they are intact and not crossed.

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Again, make sure your grounds are all good. This could cause all sorts of different problems.

[geforce]

appreciated

[geforce]

the way to tune system is different

Your amp will be stronger than your subs and will cause the speaker to over extend. (distortion)

it will push woofer to its mechanicl limits

Your subs are stronger than your amplifier and the amp will clip way before any damage to your subs will occur (tone change).

Cause we need power to run that ,forcely getting power from amplifier , the amplifier will lack the required power , this will cause clipping

[xalmanreyaz]

^^^
Agreed Paanther

[geforce]

i have the picture , how to tune system , from that point i can tune it
but it requires digital multimeter

, BUT now i have an idea to tune ur system properly
i am sure it will work out , so today i am going to test it
, if my theory`s work perfect i will let you know , how to get clear signals without clipping

U know Oscillo Hand Held is the best device to tune audio system ,
it can 100% solve clipping problems ,

[xalmanreyaz]

^^^
u can get this meter in Pen shape from Co operative market
within 300 rs

[Maggi]

^^

nops

not less than 4000...it shows the wave shape too.

[xalmanreyaz]

^^^
Ayo re ayo

acha

then it must be some other one**** ma bad

[geforce]

yes its cost over 4000

[geforce]

believe me one you got that device , u will forget verbal tunning , like 60hz playing , gain setting etcc bass boost

[xalmanreyaz]

@geforce

u can still do that with ur tongue connected to wires

[geforce]

LOLZ
i use hands to connect wire

[xalmanreyaz]

hands for connecting and tongue for checkin the volts

[smartboy_am]

nice topic.....keep it up salman....

[geforce]

hands for connecting and tongue for checkin the volts

i can even check over thousand volts by tongue , if you let me stay away from ground or negative any how so far away , they no electric jump goes on (spark )

[xalmanreyaz]

^^^^
hahah

o so ur the superman hun

bhai to tum phir aankhon se welding bhi kartay hogay

faster then the speeding train

ok GMAN

neways wat is ur opinion bout the topic can it proves to be helpful in some way.

if not than doctor sahab aap bhi apni rai likhain
or woh doctor maggi nahi arahay aaj kal meray khayal mein woh

surgeon hogai hain

[geforce]

i am telling you serious , you can even hold 220000 power lines , if you are not grounded or having no negative connection
serious
this is why crow even sits on 11000V wire they dont dies

and the normal human resistance is 50000 OHMS , its estimated

khair choro , yaar i think its time to change amplifier again
i cant decide any thing on this current situation

i dont know why engine is making sound , like it have got fracture in cam shaft ,soon after gas welding , the iron support under radiator , it started making such sound which seem like , its now engine repairing turn

Maggi is busy in his project with FC stuff , its going to be banging system of FC

[xalmanreyaz]

@Gforce

yeah u car need some serious attention as u hav mentioned above.

and maggi is preparing to bang FC