Help in Tuning the AMP

[outatime]

i'm getting excessive treble at the front speakers and splits. not enough bass. What i want to do is to trick the ears so that it feels like the bass is coming from the front but the rear is helping too

i'm looking at the amp and I see a knob for Bass Boost, Frequency, and Input. there's also a switch LP, HP, FLAT. both front and rear are currently set to HP.

what's the ideal setting? do i turn the knobs using a philips head screwdriver? the rear speakers are JL Audio 6x9 and the front speakers/splits are Kevlar Response.

thanks!

[--drew--]

Well seeing as though you said you have no sub, im assuming that you don't.
So the best way for you to get more bass out of the speakers would be to set the speakers to FLAT so they get all the ranges of frequency but the tweeters still do get the high frequencies as you have them set through the crossover.

[outatime]

oh really.. what about LP? what do they mean anyway? HP, LP, and FLAT? is it safe to toggle the switch to any of those 3?

i'll post a pic of the amp shortly..

[Mugen Civic]

LP means Low pass
HP means high pass
and flat means full range

since you had it on HP thats why you only had treble playing back.

[outatime]

so what do you reckon? shall i put both front and rear to FLAT?

[Mugen Civic]

yes

because ur not running any subs, so your surround speakers should put out all frequency's

personal choice thou

[outatime]

okay i'll try that. leaving work now so i'll see when i'm driving home.

[CRXDEL501]

well
i got 6x9s in my rear, running them on hp, with the bass set to just under half, and have the filter set to about 90hz i think off the top of my head.
my splits in the front i have set to hp, and set at nearly full hz, they still sound great with the 6x9s in the back. just have to play around with it champ and see what you like really!
everyone likes different sounds

[outatime]

well
i got 6x9s in my rear, running them on hp, with the bass set to just under half, and have the filter set to about 90hz i think off the top of my head.
my splits in the front i have set to hp, and set at nearly full hz, they still sound great with the 6x9s in the back. just have to play around with it champ and see what you like really!
everyone likes different sounds

oh i see.. what bass setting did you put on your front splits?

when you say 90hz, is that the frequency setting? how does it affect the sound by having it to high compared to having it to low?

well i play mostly RnB, HipHop, and Rock music. So i think having a reasonable amount of bass and clarity is what i really want.

[CRXDEL501]

oh i see.. what bass setting did you put on your front splits?

when you say 90hz, is that the frequency setting? how does it affect the sound by having it to high compared to having it to low?

well i play mostly RnB, HipHop, and Rock music. So i think having a reasonable amount of bass and clarity is what i really want.

yep thats right.
i listen too prety much the same thing, but like i said, its pretty much just trial and error, and deciding what you like.

my splits bass is set to nothing, most the bass comes from the rears, but my fronts still dont sound too trebley. i have jbl front splits, they are pretty good.

what amp are you running?

[outatime]

the amp is JBL. the front speakers and splits are kevlar response top end model. and the rears are the 6x9 JL Audio top end model. so i think these speakers can handle a pretty good beating..

i'll try your settings and see how it goes.

[CRXDEL501]

well I got pretty much same stuff let me know but like I said everyones ears like different sounds

[outatime]

played with the settings..your settings are pretty good the 6x9 are producing enough bass.. at one point the sound was getting cut off.. could that be the INPUT setting in the amp too high?

here's a pic of the amp btw..

http://home.exetel.com.au/fw_aris/OZHonda/amp.JPG

[CRXDEL501]

could be possibly..
they are set just below half way?
maybe just adjust the bass or freq level a bit till it stops.

[CRXDEL501]

turn down the input level just a tad to begin with.

[outatime]

yeah the input level was over half lol!

now i set it 1/4.. see how it goes tomorrow..

by the way what does the FREQUENCY knob do? if i set to low does that mean i hear more bass?

[CRXDEL501]

might even be a bit low.. just see how it goes. i have mine just below half.
glad you liked my settings!! haha

[outatime]

i'll just turn up the volume from the headunit then..

INPUT is like the volume right? and FREQUENCY is how much treble or bass are heard?

yeah i like it. it's good for RNB beats. it's like there's a sub at the back, but it's just the JL Audio doing its job. though I wonder what if i set the modes to FLAT..

[CRXDEL501]

leave the splits on hp.
can change the rears to flat if you like.
set the input level (on my amp and many others its known as 'gain'), to just below half, and then just increase the volume from your head unit gradually and see if they still cut out. if they are, turn the volume down from your head unit, then decrease the input level, and raise the volume from the head unit again.
frequencys are just the different levels of sound coming thru the speakers.

[outatime]

damn playing with the settings is kinda addictive! lol people walking past my car are wondering what the hell am i doing at the back

+1 for you mate

[arverson]

*shakes head*

no, input level is not like a volume button.
your feeding your speakers lower notes, you said it now cuts out.. say hello to clipping.
you want more music upfront? fade forward, even disconnect your rears.
get a sub to deal with low frequencies instead of putting more strain on your speakers.

you should at least learn what your dealing with before messing around with everything, at this rate i wouldnt be surprised if your system shits itself next week.

enjoy your system while you can :)

[CRXDEL501]

*shakes head*

no, input level is not like a volume button.
your feeding your speakers lower notes, you said it now cuts out.. say hello to clipping.
you want more music upfront? fade forward, even disconnect your rears.
get a sub to deal with low frequencies instead of putting more strain on your speakers.

you should at least learn what your dealing with before messing around with everything, at this rate i wouldnt be surprised if your system shits itself next week.

blah. had a bad day. enjoy your system while you can :)


ive had mine set like that for about 3 years
speakers are still pumping better than anyone elses.

[arverson]

im assuming your speakers dont cut out. op said his did after messing around.

you guys may have different gear so theres different circumstances, or he might have exactly the same as you so itll last 3 years as well. who knows

[outatime]

ok fair enough. what's your recommended setting for the front splits and rear 6x9? i dont wanna put a sub because i need boot space.

what's clipping? what's fade forward?

[CRXDEL501]

mine dont, but outa times did.

man.. jus give the settings i said a go.

your speakers wont blow

fade forward is using the head unit to adjust the amount of sound coming from the front to rears.. so you might want more in the front or rear.

also forgot to mention, while tuning, it may be a good idea to disconnect the rears when doing the fronts, and vice versa.. jus so you can hear them properly!

sorry i didnt mention that earlier. thats just something i do

[arverson]

i wouldnt recommend any settings. i wont even say a general setting guide as theres no 1 setting thats a be-all & end-all that works for ALL systems/cars. thats the point i was tryna get across really. what crxdel likes in his car might not be whats best for yours. you need someone with good ears to help ya tune it in person.

but crxdel explained fading to ya. clipping is basically your system showing signs of extra stress. normally you'd notice distortion first, with clipping being the extreme latter effect. if your speakers are going straight into playing a clipped sound then, thats bad.

im just saying be careful thats all

[CRXDEL501]

i wouldnt recommend any settings. i wont even say a general setting guide as theres no 1 setting thats a be-all & end-all that works for ALL systems/cars. thats the point i was tryna get across really. what crxdel likes in his car might not be whats best for yours. you need someone with good ears to help ya tune it in person.


im just saying be careful thats all

i agree totally that there is no one setting. every car is different yep.

[rahul]

try decreasing the crossover a bit. you will get more bass but it will also decrease the power handling capacity of your speaker

so you have gain to control the right amount of power going into the speaker
LP/HP & flat to control the crossover cut off (ie frequencies played by the speaker). It will still play the frequencies below or above the cross over points but at lower volumes. typically -6db or -12 db for hp, depending on the amp.

your amp has a variable crossover point. so by crossing over at a lower point, you are allowing the speaker to play lower frequencies with out the amp cutting them off. as i said before, this will reduce their power handling capacity because they are playing a much wider range of frequencies. hence you dont have a magical speaker playing everything in high end systems.

typically for 6in splits you can HP them at 60-80 hz
for 6X9's HP them around the same.

so play around with gain and cross over frequencies till you find a sweet spot.

[CRXDEL501]

try decreasing the crossover a bit. you will get more bass but it will also decrease the power handling capacity of your speaker



typically for 6in splits you can HP them at 60-80 hz
for 6X9's HP them around the same.



how come you'd wanna play bass through splits? speakers that are generally not designed to play bass?
when you can play 6x9s with bass, and have more treble in the front.
yeah personal preference i spose, but i value the life of my speakers.

[rahul]

how come you'd wanna play bass through splits? speakers that are generally not designed to play bass?
when you can play 6x9s with bass, and have more treble in the front.
yeah personal preference i spose, but i value the life of my speakers.


think your getting a bit confused here...

6X9 bass isnt really bass...you need a sub for that.

to answer your question. treble is term used for higher frequencies, that's what your tweeter is for. your woofer plays midbass. if you have a 6 in woofer.. it can safely be crossed at 60-80 hz dependent of the speaker.

so taking a 6 in spilts for eg...generally the tweeter(treble) is crossed around 2.5-3kz and woofer(mid bass) is crossed at 60-80hz and the sub(bass) is LP'd at 60-80 hz.

incorrect gains kill speakers more than often..if you set the gains right, they'll happily play all day even at higher volumes.

[outatime]

it turns out that the best setting for me is setting the 6x9 rears and front speakers & splits to both FLAT.

but i'm not sure about the frequency settings... should i set the frequencies at the same rate? the rears are at 80Hz and the fronts are about 100Hz.

[CRXDEL501]

Agree with you there about the gains. Understand you can play mid bass but I just got them playing higher frequencies and my 6x9s just a bit more bass so I don't have the extra weight of a sub but know what your saying

Guess I should have explained a bit better. But you did that :)

[rahul]

it turns out that the best setting for me is setting the 6x9 rears and front speakers & splits to both FLAT.

but i'm not sure about the frequency settings... should i set the frequencies at the same rate? the rears are at 80Hz and the fronts are about 100Hz.


when you set both to flat you are not using the crossovers. It doesn't matter where you set the frequencies as it will all sound the same. your speakers are playing full range of frequencies.


try these combinations

front/rear 60/60
front/rear 60/80
or even front/rear 60/50

you will have less bass but the speakers will sound cleaner as they have less to deal with.


btw, what splits are they? 6in should easily handle being hp'd at 80 hz. I hp mine at 60hz, even at 50hz sometimes, but only when i'm listening at lower volumes. it lags a bit at higher volumes.

[outatime]

oh i see. let me try that. actually the bass sounds better if i use flat. It's more of a midbass and it's punchier.

by the way, is it ok to HP the front and FLAT the rear? what's a good frequency setting for that?

the front are kevlar response. rear are JL Audio.

[rahul]

yea, you can do that...try crossing the fronts at 60hz for start and then raise or lower it till you like it.

more bass doesnt mean it sounds better. its just more bass, often at the expense of accuracy cos you are asking the speaker to play a wide range of frequencies. they tend to lag at moderate to higher volumes. play around, you'll hear what i mean.

finally, you cant keep chasing for bass without a sub. if you really dont want a sub and budget permitting, sound deaden your doors. that will dramatically increase the punchiness (made it up) of your speakers straight way with out touching any settings.

[outatime]

i'm still confuse with the frequency.. does it mean the higher the frequency the more treble? and more bass if it's lower?

[rahul]

yea..something like that.

say if you cross the spilts at 60 hz, then all the frequencies below 60hz will be cut by the hp filter. it will play more lower frequencies than it it's crossed at 80hz.