Stupid question about setting gains.

[Foxmoto 0]

Having troubles setting the gains on my SAE-1000D, i'm hooking it up to an SSA Icon 15" into a 1ohm load and am not quite sure that the DMM should read. I've visted a couple of sites and one person said that the volts should be at 31.6 but that is way to low. Was wondering if anyone could give some incite into this.

Thanks.

[JimJ 11]

Don't use a DMM, find someone locally with an oscilloscope and do it correctly

[Foxmoto 0]

Don't use a DMM, find someone locally with an oscilloscope and do it correctly

Ok, do you know how many volts there should be to produce 1000W?

[SUNDOWN/FI BEATIN 0]

www.subwoofertools.com read the little amplifier gain article then use this http://www.subwoofertools.com/forum/setgain.asp also on that last link there was a link to a JL audio tutorial its actually failry informative for the newbie

Edited May 6, 2008 by SUNDOWN/FI BEATIN

[JimJ 11]

Don't use a DMM, find someone locally with an oscilloscope and do it correctly

Ok, do you know how many volts there should be to produce 1000W?

Who cares. Doesn't matter for the purpose of setting input gains.

[Foxmoto 0]

hrm I see. Sorry for the stupid questions. Just trying to do it right

[Foxmoto 0]

Thanks for the input guys.

[JimJ 11]

Not stupid, just a little ill-informed

The voltage by itself doesn't tell you a whole lot.

[KU40 173]

I just do it by ear. Sure my ear isn't quite as precise about getting max power before clipping like an o-scope, but...... Haven't had any problems.

[valladon 4]

did you disconnect the subs from the amp when setting it with the dmm?

[todd.brust 29]

Don't use a DMM. All a DMM is going to do is a give you a average AC voltage value and isn't going to whether or not you are clipping your signal. You'd be better off setting it by ear like KU said.

A scope is going to show your actual output signal so you can see where it clips. But even then some people still manage to overdrive amplifiers and fry speaker coils. Just use some common sense with the volume knob and set gains accordingly and you will be fine.

Edited May 6, 2008 by todd.brust

[Foxmoto 0]

Don't use a DMM. All a DMM is going to do is a give you a average AC voltage value and isn't going to whether or not you are clipping your signal. You'd be better off setting it by ear like KU said.

A scope is going to show your actual output signal so you can see where it clips. But even then some people still manage to overdrive amplifiers and fry speaker coils. Just use some common sense with the volume knob and set gains accordingly and you will be fine.

Thats what I ended up doing. Sounds good. Another stupid question though, what does a speaker sound like when its clipping? mine sounds normal but I would like to see how I can set it before it begins to clip.

[todd.brust 29]

Not a dumb question. I don't know how to explain it. Distorted is about the only word I can think of. I've heard it when I was setting up my subs before with test tones. I'd be looking at a scope and when it started to clip, there is an audible difference.

[KU40 173]

sometimes there's a bit of a tapping sound, sometimes it starts sounding flat, it usually stops getting louder. you can also watch the excursion. when it stops increasing, that's as much as it'll go. But if you sit in front of the sub and start turning up the gain you'll be able to tell the difference in sound when it starts distorting.

[Foxmoto 0]

Thanks for the help guys, just set the gain by ear and it sounds amazing. Just before clipping I belive, if not oh well. Sounds awesome anyways

[///M5 2,833]

The only problem with using your ears is that by the time you hear clipping you are well into it. In particular for an untrained ear as you might easily not tell the difference between a pure sine and 20% distortion on a sub.

[TRZ 0]

The only problem with using your ears is that by the time you hear clipping you are well into it. In particular for an untrained ear as you might easily not tell the difference between a pure sine and 20% distortion on a sub.

X2 : Scope is the best way.

[todd.brust 29]

audible clipping