audiofanaticz

Realistically even with the 2 d3400s under the hood and adding 2 more in the back isn't enough voltage for a Salt 8k when you consider that amp can do 11,000 watts rms if voltage is held in the high 13volt range. Voltage/current is going to come from the path of least resistance, so even with triple runs of 1/0, a 400amp alt, and 2 D3400s under the hood that amp is going to pull most its power from the rear power bank of the vehicle first. Since you said this is for Demos and not playing a 3 second long test tone you will want your voltage stout. So I would go with 2 D3100s if you can fit them not D3400s and 2 Super banks to start. Id also do a couple runs of 1/0 for negative wire front to back as well if you have not already.

How much for all 4, I need to get rid of my bucket sub! haha

I understand what he wants to do, and he is correct this wouldnt work due to the bridge on the one side of the fuse. He wants to use the one fuse for the main power going into the back battery. He wants to use the other fuse on the same fuse holder coming out of the back battery that goes to his amp.

Did it work? Chances are a lot of these LOC boxes just add constant distortion right off the bat to the signal with minimal to no volume and no matter what level you have the gains adjusted on the LOCs so you will never get a clean reading. Your best bet would be to find the maximum volume level of the factory radio using the speaker wires you will use to tap into the LOC with (without the LOC hooked up) just so you know you have a solid accurate reading. Then go ahead and hook up the LOC and use the DD-1 on the rca outputs of the LOC, turn the radio up to the the volume that you just previously found with 0 gain settings on the LOC and slowly turn them up until distortion is reached (that is if it doesn't show instant distortion). If all is still good with no distortion find the max on the LOC, then hook up the DD-1 to the amplifier and slowly turn the gain from 0 up to distortion. This is really the best way to go about it, sure it is a few more steps but this way your checking all the bases to ensure it's a good signal at every step of the line when you have multiple adjustments that can be made. If you have distortion right away from the LOC then I would invest in a better LOC, not all of them are poor quality but a lot of them are. I know Meade has done a few videos on the cheap ones that just constantly output pure distortion making the DD-1 useless because there is no way around it, but he also done a video on quality ones that are good to use. I think Kicker made a halfway decent one that was under $30. I personally love the AudioControl LC2i and are my gotos for simple single sub amp installs as they offer a little more adjustment and the ability to run a remote bass knob on the newer ones but they are typically $90-120

There wont be really any bad that can happen from using them, I would just do an actual load test on them with a load tester. You can buy them fairly cheap from Harbor Freight, like this https://www.harborfreight.com/135-amp-612v-battery-and-system-load-tester-58944.html just so you know that something like a 100amp load wont bring the battery down to like 9 or 10 volts because if thats the case they are junk. If they load test fine you can try and buy a charger that has a reconditioning mode like a Noco Genius or CTEK, XS Power also offers the PSC series chargers iirc that have a recondition mode too, so you maybe able to bring some of the health back to them. Steve Meade also sells XS Power batteries too on his store/site wccaraudio.com but as long as you go with his site, JPs site down4soundshop.com, or even skyhighcaraudio.com where stock is constantly being rotated so you'll get a fresh new battery that hasn't sat for years youll be good.

Usually the negative speaker wire output is fine to use, however on some amps if it don't work then the negative battery terminal will work as well. Most amps the negative speaker terminal and the negative battery terminal are tied together, but thats not always the case and thats really the only time you need to use the negative terminal or vice versa.

So those are dirtier than I figured they where, but I was hoping that was the issue. It sounds like the batteries have acid stratification meaning that the batteries sat at 80ish percent or below of a full charge for some time (who knows how long they sat in Amazons warehouse before being shipped. This basically doesn't allow the cells to be fully charged even when placed on a charger and the charger just stops when it thinks its charged because the upper part of the cells are damaged due to sulfation. At this point if its not already too late I would return them to that seller on amazon and buy from a store that rotates stock out a lot more frequently, or contact XS Power first and go from there. https://4xspower.com/warranties/ or reach out to both. If contacting XS Power directly link to this thread so they can see first hand that you charged and tested the batteries prior to installing them like their directions state. Edit: I will forward this thread to Scotty @ XS Power to see if he has any idea in the meantime but he is a very busy man.

the bolt on sae style posts look very corroded imo, can could be making bad contact on the battery pads, could also be making bad contact on those aluminum bars as well, or one or the other or both could be some what loose. I say this because both testers are showing a tad bit different voltage, cca, and resistance that is about typically double to almost triple of what XS batteries are typically known for they usually come in with a internal resistance of under 2. So this screams poor connection to me. I would take some sand paper and clean up those posts, ensure a proper connection to the battery, and retest without those aluminum bars. No idea on who the seller was from Amazon and if they are an authorized seller but if still testing bad I would try contacting Byron at XS Power.

If Im understanding you correct it sounds like you pressed the "read" button before switching to the 40hz overlap track, if you press read before the proper track (even if its the same freq) you will get a different outcome.

There is a thread, though it maybe buried now that has a bunch of radios that people tested with the dd-1 for max undistorted volume. you will probably have to search for it though. If the radio is not showing distortion direct through the rca's or while attached to an amp with the gain at 0 when you use a 0db tone for 40hz and 1000hz then it is safe to say the radio is distortion free at max volume through the rca preouts. In that case then set your amp(s) using your desired overlap -5, -10, etc db level at the maximum headunit volume. You could use a lower volume if you really wanted but it won't change much except the fact that the radios preout voltages (5 volts as you said in your case) typically wont be achieved unless the volume is all the way up. So if your volume goes to 40 and its clean at 40 you will get 5 volts preout voltage, but say if it goes to 40 but you set it to 20 to tune your amps then your rca preout voltage will only be 2.5volts or there abouts which will require you to increase the gain on the amp to compensate for that lower signal due to having lesser preout voltage. So you should just use the max cleanest volume.

The problem with running only one coil is the BL factor would be about half as less than rated due to only half the windings on the coil being used. The woofer will not only perform worse but could cause overheating issues. 2000 watts rms on a 1200 watt rms sub is fine, even if you set the gain properly for clean output with no distortion and clipping. Most subs will handle more than their rated power IF the power is kept clean and not clipped to death. You run 1 coil you won't get shit for output and will want to turn the gain up to compensate for the low output and introduce clipping and potentially blow your sub. This is one of the leading causes to people blowing subs is due to having too small of an amp and wanting it louder so they turn the gain up like its a volume knob when it's not. Only in your case you will just be pushing your amp and sub at half the rated performance for no reason and won't be happy so you'll turn it up and let the smoke roll.

How about hot pink and Tropicana orange? Compromise is key!

Just wire it to 1 ohm unless you like using only half the performance that you paid for.

The forum was recently updated and all the old schemes don't work with the new layout for the time being.

Some but not all headunits will not distort at max volume when only using rca preouts. Now if you're using the internal amp of the headunit that will usually distort long before the rca preouts will so you will want to use that as your max volume setting.

https://mechman.com/ But this topic is 14 years old so who knows if they still even offer it anymore, or if they could still make one. Probably best to email or call them.

Chances are high that you 3k amplifier is only a 600 watt amplifier too!

the 2 above replies are spam

Well if you compete and depending on the class that you compete in, some classes have a rule that the box must be under the window line otherwise it is considered a wall. The window line rule is based off the front door window line however which can sometimes be a different height than rear windows. Also some people just don't want a tall box sticking up so high that is in plan view for everyone to see, plus in all honesty it can be rather ugly in some cases. Some people with suv's also like to be able to put the cargo cover over the box to hide it if your vehicle has one of those.

The only times I've seen people having issues using a DD-1 or a CC-1 is when they can't read the manual and insist they know what they are doing as soon as they open the package for the first time. These people usually are quick to jump on the forums time and time again asking questions why this doesn't work, or how do you do that, etc and everything they are asking about is clearly written in the manual. Now I'm not saying thats the case with you, but I've never heard of anyone competent having issues using a usb, bluetooth, or an aux in for a source making the dd-1 not work. It's simply not possible because the DD-1 has no idea what source you're using and its completely irrelevant. You could be using a vintage 8-track player plugged in with a 3.5mm jack and as long as there is a 40hz and 1000hz test tone being played on the 8track the DD-1 won't know the difference. Now in the case of a cheap radio with a low preout voltage like 1volt the signal won't be strong enough to detect directly through the rca, however all you do in that situation is test it through the amp, with the amp gain all the way down and crossovers fully open and then you'll get a reading. Honestly this is the best way to test because its a lot quicker and you're not having to unplug and plug in cables, then connect the leads to the amp, etc. 1 hookup and a few different tracks and you're done! You cant set an amp using a multi meter, well you can but you're either short changing yourself or your possibly clipping it. Every amp is not made the same, there are tolerances in components and those tolerance can cause an amp to make more power or less power even though its the same brand and model amp as another. Some of the old Rockford Fosgate BD4000 amps would make 4200 watts rms while others would make 5100 watts rms. Now that I think about it the newer BDCP2500 series are the same way. The problem is say the manufacture says you need 60 volts AC to reach the "rated" output of the amp, but lets say your amp is one that does way more than its rated power and it can easily do up to 76 volts AC clean without distortion, but you have no way knowing that because the multimeter has no way to tell you when you reach 1% THD. The same can happen in the reverse order where said amp doesnt perform as well as the others and at 60 volts AC you are clipping the living snot out of it but once again that multimeter has no way to tell you that you passed the amps threshold. Those 800/8v2's make some serious power, more than what they are rated for, and I know this because besides that JL MM105 that was $750 I picked up the MM40 remote headunit, a 800/8v2, a XDM1000/1, and a few sets of M3 and M6 coaxles, along with a a M7-12 IB sub for this install I've been working on. It's kinda senseless to buy a tool only to not use it for its intended method and use the outdated multimeter method but you do you as long as you're happy with the performance.

Many headunits will not have distortion when using the rca preouts of the headunit. Usually the only radios that will distort on the rca preouts are the cheaper headunits that are like $150, or if you are using the internal amplifier of a headunit. So being that you have a $400+ marine headunit it's most likely distortion free on the preouts. I just installed a JL Audio MM105 with 12 rca preouts and that is clean all the way up as well.

well this is a fairly old topic that got bumped. Wonder how these build is going.....

In all honesty I would wire the amp up at 2.66 ohms. The Salt 8k will still do around 6000watts rms at that ohm load, and even then you are going to be stressing your electrical system with that amp being wired at 2.66 ohms, but its going to be a hell of a lot safer and way less risk of you popping the amp until you're able to upgrade your electrical system to match the amps needs. Besides those MTX 9500 subs are nothing crazy and only rated for 1,000 watts rms, and I'm more than certain that once you upgrade your electrical and wire that amp to .67 those subs will be blown in the first 10 minutes because for all that size and heft they have they can't really take power that great. Just wire two sets of 3 subs in parallel, then take the 2 sets and run them in series to give you 2.66 ohms.

The amp should handle that impedance just fine, however your electrical system is no where near up to par for it, and you will most likely blow the amp because it will be starved for juice. That amp can do just shy of 12,000watts rms @ 1ohm certified on the SMD Amp Dyno (AD-1) so your looking at 1200+ amps of current full tilt. When I was using my 6 XS Power D3100s in the back and 2 XS Power S3400s and 3 DC Power 390XP alternators under the hood of my Tahoe (before swapping to lithium batteries) with 9 runs of 1/0 positive and 9 runs of 1/0 negative wire from the front batteries to the back batteries I was having massive voltage drop into the low 11's when i cracked the volume up with just 2 Sundown SAZ-4500D amps wired at .35 each. That's less potential power than the Salt 8, with like 5 times more electrical than you have.

Can't say I've seen or heard of anyone using them, let alone anyone talk about Stetsom in general in I don't know how many years. I guess it sucks that it doesn't come with that controller though because those are usually handy to turn the subs up and down (at least on my 2 different DSP's it did). That being said though I'm sure its halfway decent and worth while, plus you will be able to toss that cheap LOC in the garbage since that DSP has high level inputs as well. If it's in your budget you I would say it is worth taking a gamble on just because it will give you a bit more control over your system than you currently have as well as hopefully solving one of your problems with the turn on pop.