Ok to set my amp gain on max?

[scypher]

i have a mono amp that gives 400rms & a pioneer sub that can handle 400rms , does this mean to get full potential out of my sub amp should be at max to give the full 400rms to sub? & also does max gain & max bass boost means its now sending 400rms or bass boost is another story by itself?

[- Rovin's car audio -]

http://www.glasswolf.net/papers/whatisgain.html

[nigel1977]

does this mean to get full potential out of my sub amp should be at max to give the full 400rms to sub? & also does max gain & max bass boost means its now sending 400rms or bass boost is another story by itself?

No, No, and Yes.

[spam]

^^^ explain nah

[kurpal_v2]

does this mean to get full potential out of my sub amp should be at max to give the full 400rms to sub? & also does max gain & max bass boost means its now sending 400rms or bass boost is another story by itself?

No, No, and Yes.

For spam:

No because the gain setting does not control the amps power output(nor the power input). The gain is to mach the output voltage of your deck to your amp to make it as efficient as possible.Your amp will only put out so much power, if you have the gain set too high it will max out before the deck does and begin to clip.To get the full potential of an amp external factors such as impedence rise and voltage have to be considered.


No also again because like gain, bass boost has no control over the external factors.


yes because Gain and bass boost are different tools, the gain basically adds gain across the entire spectrum (to put it shortly) where as bass boost does it (most times) at one frequency, (like an EQ would).

[3stagevtec]

i have a mono amp that gives 400rms & a pioneer sub that can handle 400rms , does this mean to get full potential out of my sub amp should be at max to give the full 400rms to sub? & also does max gain & max bass boost means its now sending 400rms or bass boost is another story by itself?

you need to match the gain on your amplifier to that of your deck.

so basically, if you have a 4V deck, you have to set the gain to 4V on the amp.. setting it 'higher' will cause the amp to reach max capacity quicker..

the higher you set your gain, the more chance there is for noise to enter your system, for the amp to clip (distort) under high listening volume, damage your speaker etc..

less gain does not mean less power.. the easiest way to set your gain is to begin by turning it all the way down, then turn your deck up to ~80% of it volume capability, then raise the gain slowly while carefully listening to the sub.. stop as soon as the sub begins to distort..

bass boost sucks, don't use it..

(is that 400W amp an Audiopipe mono by chance?)

[TobagoAK]

Gain shouldnt be set past the "9 o clock" mark. The gain knob is not a volume knob

[FD3S]

No because the gain setting does not control the amps power output

I don't agree. If my amp gain is set to a very high voltage (very low gain) compared to the the output voltage of my preamp, wouldn't I be limiting the output of my amplifier?

Gain shouldnt be set past the "9 o clock" mark

Very interesting. Why is that?

[kurpal_v2]

Im not sure how you would be limiting the power (wrms) output there?


Are you saying if you set your gains matching the Pre-amp rather than Headunit you would be limiting the power (wrms) output?

[scypher]

^^^ explain nah

tnx eh spam, same ting i waz gona ask

[scypher]

(is that 400W amp an Audiopipe mono by chance?)

nope....is a soundstream mono

[scypher]

ok i think i understand now,i have a pioneer deck , its a 2.2v deck so i set my amps to 2.2v gain, & all bass boost is at min,though i feel like the bass is too low when deck volume isn't raised very high...

tnx for all replies

[FD3S]

Kurpal, what i am saying is if you set your amplifier gain too low, you will not be realizing the full output power (wrms) from your amplifier. So in that way you can control the power output of your amplifier.
Of course if you set it too high, you will have issues with early clipping, noise etc.

[3stagevtec]

ok i think i understand now,i have a pioneer deck , its a 2.2v deck so i set my amps to 2.2v gain, & all bass boost is at min,though i feel like the bass is too low when deck volume isn't raised very high...

tnx for all replies

I would recommend a decent preamp in your case.. It would help maximize the signal to noise ratio and help keep your gain settings at a minimum..

If you buy stuff online, Amazon has the RF Line driver at a pretty good price..

http://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-Balanced-Line-Driver/dp/B001P86SJ8/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2VABTXUDWESS6&colid=1Q3ZH28WFW3OE

$70USD

[TobagoAK]

Unless your headunit has super low voltage like .1V, then I guess it would be ok to crank on the gain, most decks these days are 2v+. The higher the voltage on your headunit the less you need to up the gain.

Think of the gain as a variable resistor, the more you turn it clockwise the more current you allow to pass through, but you dont want too much current to pass through or you will start cooking your gear.

Tomayto, tomato

"the gain adjusts the input sensitivity to match the pre-amp voltage of the HU.

If your HU is 2v, then somewhere in the 1-2v range on the gain will get full power out of the amp (1-2 because the HU won't actually produce 2v until it's at or near full volume). If your HU is 4v the gain should be at the 3-4v range.

Setting the gain "louder" (lower voltage) won't produce more power. The amp will just reach full power at a lower volume setting on your HU, and going above that will only clip the amp and sound awful"

[5forward]

less gain does not mean less power.. the easiest way to set your gain is to begin by turning it all the way down, then turn your deck up to ~80% of it volume capability, then raise the gain slowly while carefully listening to the sub.. stop as soon as the sub begins to distort..

real helpful info in here...but what if the gain is very close to max when the speaker now starts to distort ? what then? (mids or sub)

[nigel1977]

effects of too much gain.
http://www.mktrinievents.com/forum/phpB ... f=26&t=149

[3stagevtec]

less gain does not mean less power.. the easiest way to set your gain is to begin by turning it all the way down, then turn your deck up to ~80% of it volume capability, then raise the gain slowly while carefully listening to the sub.. stop as soon as the sub begins to distort..

real helpful info in here...but what if the gain is very close to max when the speaker now starts to distort ? what then? (mids or sub)

simple, you need more line drive..

[5forward]

ok(thats not an option for me right now)...but if at 3/4 gain im not gettin any distortion (jus sayin),is that ok? an can it be left there?

[3stagevtec]

ok(thats not an option for me right now)...but if at 3/4 gain im not gettin any distortion (jus sayin),is that ok? an can it be left there?

and if your system not picking up any noise, I don't see why not...

[5forward]

alrite.the gain for my sub somewhere between 3oclock and 4oclock but it sounds normal and plays well.the gain for my mids a little before half an they play well to.maybe i jus dont cross the volume level on the deck which would cause the amp to clip...but im gona set them over

[kurpal_v2]

Kurpal, what i am saying is if you set your amplifier gain too low, you will not be realizing the full output power (wrms) from your amplifier. So in that way you can control the power output of your amplifier.
Of course if you set it too high, you will have issues with early clipping, noise etc.

Huh. never thought of it like that, good point



Whats a pre-amp btw

[3stagevtec]

Kurpal, what i am saying is if you set your amplifier gain too low, you will not be realizing the full output power (wrms) from your amplifier. So in that way you can control the power output of your amplifier.
Of course if you set it too high, you will have issues with early clipping, noise etc.

Huh. never thought of it like that, good point



Whats a pre-amp btw

un huh..

go buy a damn preamp!

[kurpal_v2]

To do what?


Ive never had the use for such a device in any of my installs..