briang77 Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey everyone, I'm brand new to the forum. I have a 2003 Subaru outback , and I installed 2 sets of polk audio 6500 components and I have this boxCar Audio Sound | Subwoofer (Subs), Amplifier (Amps), Speaker, Enclosure | by MTX Audio. I know its kinda cheap and crappy but I got it for free in a trade and its brand new and I wired the car and installed an old school autotek stealth 500.s from 1999 before autotek got bought out by maxxsonics. its in really nice shape and still works fine. I have it bridged into the 2 ohm box so its putting out around 500 watts . My headunit is a kenwood kdc-x789 from a couple years ago it has 5v preamp outputs. Now here's the thing according to the old autotek owners manual the gain, they call it level, is adjustable from 200mv to 4 volts I think. I put a link to it at the end of this post. Right now I have the gain on the amp turned completely down to the lowest setting. It's off completely but, the subs still operate normally, also the gain knob on the amp is not broken. Am I sending a clipped signal to the amp because of the 5v preamp outputs? Should I leave the gain turned off? I tried setting the gain with a voltmeter, but I couldn't get a reading when I stuck the probes from the voltmeter into the positive and negative speaker outputs on the amp. I had it on ac volts and was doing it the correct way.Ya know with all processing effects off on the amp and head unit turned off volume up high and using a 50hz test tone. Bass at 0 on the head unit, and I tried turning the subwoofer level control up and down to see if it made a difference but it didn't. I would also like to turn the bass boost up just a hair, right now its turned off, but, would that be a bad idea? I think because of the age of the amp the preamp signal is out of its range. What the heck should i set my gains at? I don't have the cash for one of the smd distortion detectors, or know anyone with one. Also the headunit has a built in crossover setting for the sub, mids, and highs. Can I leave the one on the amp turned off and just use the one in the headunit? The headunit has a -15 to +15 subwoofer level control. Can i use this as a gain control and just keep the gain on the amp off ? or is it just an attenuation? I would like the bass to be loud but also clean.im going for an sq type of sound but want the bass to hit hard when I turn it up Also right now the polk components are running off the headunit just until I can afford a 4 channel amp to run them. What crossover point should i set them at? Using the built in head unit crossover. there is also a q setting for bass, mid, and highs. They are underpowered, and the head unit is only supplying them with 22watts rms but they sound ok for now. should i set the subwoofer crossover in the headunit to the same frequency to cutoff everything above what i choose for the highs? My headunit also has a setting for what size speakers you are running. I have this turned off right now, and I cant overpower them so I figured leave it off but I'm not sure. Should i turn it on or leave it off? Because the component sets are already underpowered, and here is also a link to the headunit I'm runninghttp://www.crutchfie...n-KDC-X789.html and the old autotek amp http://ebookbrowse.c...-pdf-d303269589 Thanks guys for all your help and advice in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briang77 Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 and I've read the manual for the head unit but its just too vague it tells you how to access the settings but not what they each actually do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrifter Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Where are you located? ~~~~~~~~SAY NO TO PHOTOBUCKET~~~~~~~~ Snow's DD-1 tracks here: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/167433-snows-dd-1-tracks/ My take on OFC vs CCA: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/110381-things-that-piss-you-off-in-the-car-audio-world/?do=findComment&comment=2461444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briang77 Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Connecticut about an hour east of nyc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrifter Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Well, it looks like you have a number of members near you that can help get you squared away http://batchgeo.com/map/93b3e7dfd7ea8496a6f1640587e3e4cf I would leave your head unit "speaker size" setting off as it is just an EQ. The crossover setting is used to block bass, and since you are only on head unit power, set it to ~60-80hz For your sub: We can't tell you what your gain should be at. I know that is a frustrating answer, but we really don't know. That's why gain setting tools such as a DD-1 or Oscilloscope are so popular. Given that you have 5v preouts, it should be set low. But that's about all I can say. For your subwoofer crossover: either set it to 80hz or leave it off, as your amp has it's own crossover that can be used for this purpose ~~~~~~~~SAY NO TO PHOTOBUCKET~~~~~~~~ Snow's DD-1 tracks here: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/167433-snows-dd-1-tracks/ My take on OFC vs CCA: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/110381-things-that-piss-you-off-in-the-car-audio-world/?do=findComment&comment=2461444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrifter Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Sorry.... I'm horrible at reading comprehension... I see more questions every time I read your post. Could you give each one it's own bullet point or number and I'll answer them the best I can? ~~~~~~~~SAY NO TO PHOTOBUCKET~~~~~~~~ Snow's DD-1 tracks here: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/167433-snows-dd-1-tracks/ My take on OFC vs CCA: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/110381-things-that-piss-you-off-in-the-car-audio-world/?do=findComment&comment=2461444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briang77 Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Thanks soo much for your help man , I really appreciate it . your answers are very helpful 1. how does the q setting of the head unit affect the sound? I know it's a parametric EQ but how does this affect the sound? 2. There is a treble frequency setting. On the head unit. The range is 10khz, 12.5khz, 15khz, and 17.5 kHz should I set this to 17.5khz? Only because I have heard that sending too low a frequency to the tweeter will ruin it . 3. Can I, And should I Use the bass boost on the amp at all? 4. I Have the crossover knob on the amp turned down as low as it will go. It's at 40hz but, I have the crossover on the head unit set to 80hz. Is it ok like that? Should I match them? or should I just set it to through on the head unit and use the one on the amp like you told Me? I kind of wanted to use the one on the head unit but, as it is, there is no way to shut the one on the amp off. 5. The preamp outs on the head unit are at 5v. The amp , According to the manual, Which I posted a link for, Says it's input sensitivity is 200mv-4v Am I always going to send a clipped signal to the amp because my pre amp out voltage is 5v according to kenwood ? Or should I not believe the numbers kenwood or autotek rate stuff at ? I know back in the day when these amps were made they purposely under rated them they were known as cheater amps. I could be wrong though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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