setting hi/lo converter with dd-1?

[08tahoe]

I hope this isn't a stupid question but here it goes, so I have my stock h/u in my car and I get everything else on how to measure the h/u and how to set the gain on the amps with the dd-1. But how would you go about setting the gains knobs on a hi/lo converter with the dd-1? I have an idea of how to do it but I don't know if its right or what track to use.

I have this one

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_4994_Scosche-LOC-80.html

[tacomabanga1986]

i got somewhat of an idea on how to do it but i dunno if the dd1 can check speaker leads as well as rcas, cause most people with smaller setups run there speakers off the deck and subs from an amp

so how do u check that ur speaker outputs are not clipping?

and with this being said, if ur car has a amp off ur stock deck, how would u find the clip in that?

im not downing the dd1 by any means, but some cars that ive delt with had these issues and mine also so would be good to figure this out also, im more concerned on how to use it properly rather than how close it is to an actual scope

i would like to find this out befor i buy one

im not bashing anything, just trying to learn all i can befor u pick up one

Edited August 14, 2011 by tacomabanga1986

[08tahoe]

So does anyone know the answer to this cause I got my dd-1 and I'm stuck on that part. it doesn't say anything in the manual about setting a converter if u have a stock head unit.

[kickass audio]

The dd-1 im 99% sure will work with this. If you have that exact high-low converter simply do this to get around it...

First you need to find out what volume your headunit clips at.

1.) Set your eq settings to 0, turn off any bass-boost, loudness, crossover settings, anything like that.

2.) If you have any speakers connected to the headunit, you MUST disconnect them or you can take the risk of blowing them when you play the frequency tone.

3.) Disconnect the high-low converter just temporarily so you can test the speaker wires on the headunit to see where they clip at.

4.) Once you have the high-low converter disconnected take the positive test lead of the dd-1 and clamp it around the positive speaker output of your radio's wire, and take the negative test lead of the dd-1 and clamp it around the negative speaker wire. (note: you want to make sure you are testing this on the same channel, for example if the positive lead is on the positive wire for the front driver speaker, make sure the negative is on the front driver speaker as well)

5.) Insert the cd that the dd-1 comes with into your radio and play the 1000Hz test track, set your radio on repeat (idk how long the tracks are on the cd so just do it so it doesnt skip to another track on you)

6.) Start to slowly turn up the volume on your radio until the clip/distortion light illuminates on the dd-1.

7.) Turn the volume down one click at a time until the clip light goes off. Once you do this write down the volume your headunit got to. This is the max you can turn your headunit up to so that you dont send a clipped signal or have distortion either.

Now that you found out where your headunit clips at, you need to set the gain adjustment on your high-low converter unit.

1.) Connect the high-low converter back up to the speaker output leads of your radio.

2.) Make sure once again you dont have any of your speakers hooked up to the system before you start to play the track.

3.) Turn your radios volume up all the way to the volume level you marked in step 7 above.

4.) Keep the radio at the volume level and Continue to play the 1000Hz test track you previously used (set the radio on repeat for the track to make it easy too)

5.) Get a small screw driver you can use to get inside the screws that are on the high-low converter unit itself as you will be playing with those.

6.) Connect a small and short RCA wire from the output of one of the connectors on the high-low to the RCA input on the DD-1.

7.) Turn the screw all the way to the left and slowly turn the screw to the right until your clip/distortion light illuminates.

8.) When the distortion/clip light is on turn the screw back just a little until it turns off.

9.) Repeat steps 6-7 for the other rca connector on the high-low connector.

__________________________________

Notes: From the last time i recall the dd-1's negative conductor is supposed to be connected to the ground of the device you are testing when you test at the amp. For the test of when to see if the h/u clips at, you DONT ground to the negative terminal of your battery.

edit: if you read page 6 in your DD-1 manual it says how to perform this test.

Edited August 15, 2011 by kickass audio

[Mario928]

The dd-1 im 99% sure will work with this. If you have that exact high-low converter simply do this to get around it...

First you need to find out what volume your headunit clips at.

1.) Set your eq settings to 0, turn off any bass-boost, loudness, crossover settings, anything like that.

2.) If you have any speakers connected to the headunit, you MUST disconnect them or you can take the risk of blowing them when you play the frequency tone.

3.) Disconnect the high-low converter just temporarily so you can test the speaker wires on the headunit to see where they clip at.

4.) Once you have the high-low converter disconnected take the positive test lead of the dd-1 and clamp it around the positive speaker output of your radio's wire, and take the negative test lead of the dd-1 and clamp it around the negative speaker wire. (note: you want to make sure you are testing this on the same channel, for example if the positive lead is on the positive wire for the front driver speaker, make sure the negative is on the front driver speaker as well)

5.) Insert the cd that the dd-1 comes with into your radio and play the 1000Hz test track, set your radio on repeat (idk how long the tracks are on the cd so just do it so it doesnt skip to another track on you)

6.) Start to slowly turn up the volume on your radio until the clip/distortion light illuminates on the dd-1.

7.) Turn the volume down one click at a time until the clip light goes off. Once you do this write down the volume your headunit got to. This is the max you can turn your headunit up to so that you dont send a clipped signal or have distortion either.

Now that you found out where your headunit clips at, you need to set the gain adjustment on your high-low converter unit.

1.) Connect the high-low converter back up to the speaker output leads of your radio.

2.) Make sure once again you dont have any of your speakers hooked up to the system before you start to play the track.

3.) Turn your radios volume up all the way to the volume level you marked in step 7 above.

4.) Keep the radio at the volume level and Continue to play the 1000Hz test track you previously used (set the radio on repeat for the track to make it easy too)

5.) Get a small screw driver you can use to get inside the screws that are on the high-low converter unit itself as you will be playing with those.

6.) Connect a small and short RCA wire from the output of one of the connectors on the high-low to the RCA input on the DD-1.

7.) Turn the screw all the way to the left and slowly turn the screw to the right until your clip/distortion light illuminates.

8.) When the distortion/clip light is on turn the screw back just a little until it turns off.

9.) Repeat steps 6-7 for the other rca connector on the high-low connector.

__________________________________

Notes: From the last time i recall the dd-1's negative conductor is supposed to be connected to the ground of the device you are testing when you test at the amp. For the test of when to see if the h/u clips at, you DONT ground to the negative terminal of your battery.

I agree with you its better getting a new head unit.

[kickass audio]

I edited the post btw, i didnt see i omitted that part but it would be better to do that. This is all up to the OP so if they want to keep the stock headunit then just do like i posted and you will be perfectly fine and have a nice distortion free system. There are just some more steps involved since you are using a high-low converter compared to someone who has an aftermarket headunit but its not the end of the world.

[08tahoe]

Thanks a lot kickass audio that's exactly what I was doing, but since it didn't explain it in the manual and since I'm a noob I didn't know if I was doing it right, also I didn't know what test track to use so I was using track 1 wich is 40Hz -0dB. And the reason that I don't want to mess with my stock h/u is because I got a 2007 honda accord withought the navigation and the a/c is conected to the h/u so it shows the temp and stuff on the h/u when you turn on your a/c. Also I never had a problem with hi/lo converters, I always set them by ear and my system sounded just fine but now I'm trying to do it the right way since I got the dd-1. So you say for the hi/lo converters to use a 1kHz test track, and would the -dB be my preferance depending on how loud I want it?

Edited August 15, 2011 by youngsticky

[kickass audio]

youre welcome bro. for the test track you can use, try to use the one that is a -5db tone. If your volume is still very low then use a -10db tone. You still perform the same procedures as noted above but instead of a 0db track, you will use a -5 or -10db track at your discretion. Just note that when you use a -5db track to set your gains, songs that have notes or are recorded above -5db (such as -2db or 0db) you will instantly present distortion and clipping in your system. If you set the gains with a -10db track, you will have even more of a risk than at -5db for distortion and clipping. Also note that with most headunits both stock and aftermarket there are different levels in which each input works at for reproducing volume. One way you can see this is listen to the radio, some stations playback louder than others. You can also listen to a CD and then switch to a MP3 and hear a difference in the volume level. This makes it hard to set the gains since if your cd player has a higher volume than the other sources you can use, your other sources such as your radio will play at low volumes. I have this in my system since as i said before i set my gains with a 0db test track since i didnt want any distortion or clipping at all in my system. What i did though was i created a 0db track on audacity and played it on my radio through my ipod dock and set the gains that way. Because i used my ipod my volume for the radio is a lot lower since they typically play back around -8db in my area. My ipod volume when i play songs with it is loud, clear, and sounds great but the radio as i mentioned before is at a lower volume. So just be advised if you set your gains through the cd player, your radio MAY play at lower volumes but this is just because the radio stations change things when they play music back. Some radio stations change the equalizer settings, volume setting, playback speed, etc to make their station sound better. How i set my system up is fine for me since i hate listening to the radio but for you it may not be the same.

[08tahoe]

I apreciate your help big time kickass audio it was a HUGE help! Now i understand it perfectly. And yes I noticed that my h/u playes the radio stations at lower volumes also, and I also mainly use my ipod in my car. I am going to set all my gains with a 0db track like you did yours cause I don't want to take the risk of having distortion or clipping either.

[kickass audio]

If you mainly use your ipod, just use audacity to create a 0db track and sync it on your ipod. Then if you use your headphone jack on your ipod to play music through turn up the music to the point where the ipod starts to distort, if you connect the ipod to the radio like i do with the cable similar to the USB cable then dont worry about it. Play the 0db track you synced up and then set your gains as above in post #4. It will be perfectly fine.