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Thread: Why not turn up your gain more than half way? |
    
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| Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 09:35 pm: |
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hi i was reading a thread and some one said your not supposed to put the gain up more than half way, i have my gain all the way up for both i have a 4 channel amp, i have the gains all the way up and i dnt get no protection light or anything why not turn the gain all the way up? |
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Gold Member Username: Glasswolf
NorthWest,
Michigan
USA
Post Number: 6305
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 09:51 pm: |
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most input sensitivity dials are set to handle input voltages from about 250mV to 4 V.
most head unit pre-outs are in the 2V to 4V range. Rarely less.
The "gain" or more correctly tcalled the input sensitivity setting for the amp is strictly used to match the line voltage to the input stage of the amplifier.
by turning the gain up too far, you overdrive the input stage of the amplifier.
this causes the amplifier to clip, sending DC voltage to the speakers as the peak and trough of each sine wave signal is clipped or cut off, turning the signal sent to your speakers into a square wave, or close to it.
DC voltage sent to a speaker causes distortion, and turns the voice coil of your speaker into a heating element to put it in layman's terms.
In essence, you're frying the coils of the speakers by having the gains set too high.
This distortion will in time destroy your speakers. The typical symptom is a frozen cone or scratching or popping sound in the subs that results after enough abuse.
make sense?
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Gold Member Username: Glasswolf
NorthWest,
Michigan
USA
Post Number: 6306
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 09:53 pm: |
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by the way, the reason people turn the gain up all the way on an amp is due to the amp not having enough power to meet their needs.
they try to compensate for a weak amp by abusing the gain settings, and end up destroying speakers.
This is the most common cause of blown speakers there is.
For more on underpowering speakers, read this article:
http://www.bcae1.com/2ltlpwr.htm
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| Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 09:59 pm: |
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thank you a lot that really helped but then how much gain should i have up on my amp then half way or more than half way? |
Gold Member Username: Glasswolf
NorthWest,
Michigan
USA
Post Number: 6312
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 10:07 pm: |
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depends on the amp and the head unit's pre-out voltage.
half way is a good starting point.
that's usually about a 2 volt pre-out level.
that's standard for most head units unless they specify 4V pre-outs or more.
If so, try a quarter way up for gain.
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damastaplanna Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 11:10 am: |
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If you have a 4v preout HU, where would the gain be set compared to a 2v HU? Right now on the 2v I have it just a bit under half. |
Gold Member Username: Glasswolf
NorthWest,
Michigan
USA
Post Number: 6383
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 05:09 pm: |
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totally depends on the amplifier.
different amps have different input ranges.
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| Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 05:22 pm: |
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thanks a lot glasswolf ur a real big help here but i dont know if my headunit gives output on 2v or 4v beacause i use converters that are from out of state. |
Gold Member Username: Glasswolf
NorthWest,
Michigan
USA
Post Number: 6388
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Monday, December 13, 2004 - 05:26 pm: |
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there are ways to set input sensitivity yourself.
www.bcae1.com has guides.
so does www.jlaudio.com under "tutorials"
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