No Distortion with Gain at full tilt...

[carlosg_313]

do it the right way. even if distortion and gain is set at 47/50, the gain on the amp will not be set too high where it can be harmful to your set up. then you can listen it at 27/50 all you want knowing that your set up is clean......but not going to be loud unless you crank it up to 47

[bbeljefe]

The level you want to listen at has nothing at all to do with setting the gains for safe use. Connect the DD-1 to his head unit outs and find its max undistorted volume and then set the gains at that volume level.

That is how you calibrate the amplifier's preamp inputs with the preamp outputs on the head unit and it has nothing to do with the volume level you enjoy listening at. It might be that once the system is properly calibrated, he listens with the head unit at a higher volume setting but if that's the case then so be it. The DD-1 is a distortion detector, not a preference detector.

Another thing with the method you used that's dangerous is that if some nitwit hops in his car and cranks the volume all the way up.... voice coils on the barbee. Especially since you were setting with a (correct me if I'm wrong) -15dB track.

Personally, I would recommend that unless you're very well versed in electronics, you should never use the DD-1 on anything other than the first two tracks. And that's not an insult, just a comment meant to help people save blowing up their equipment.

[sprkn_ranger]

Am I wrong with my theory Kyle? I'm not 100% sure of it, but it makes sense in my head lol

NO..

You need to have a CLEAN source,.... that starts at the HU.... your correct

Ok I gotcha...yea I knew you are supposed to START with a clean source...I was just trying to help him make sense of why he couldn't find distortion on the DD-1 at such a low volume.

Glad to see I'm not TOTALLY fucked up in the head lol

[Karkov]

I understand what you want to do to man, wasn't coming down on you like maybe it appeared. Makes sense what your reasoning was but it just doesn't work that way with the equipment. Oh well, now you know. find distortion level with HU and then move on to amp like you did previously and you are done, easy mode. =)

[b0r]

The level you want to listen at has nothing at all to do with setting the gains for safe use. Connect the DD-1 to his head unit outs and find its max undistorted volume and then set the gains at that volume level.

That is how you calibrate the amplifier's preamp inputs with the preamp outputs on the head unit and it has nothing to do with the volume level you enjoy listening at. It might be that once the system is properly calibrated, he listens with the head unit at a higher volume setting but if that's the case then so be it. The DD-1 is a distortion detector, not a preference detector.

Another thing with the method you used that's dangerous is that if some nitwit hops in his car and cranks the volume all the way up.... voice coils on the barbee. Especially since you were setting with a (correct me if I'm wrong) -15dB track.

Personally, I would recommend that unless you're very well versed in electronics, you should never use the DD-1 on anything other than the first two tracks. And that's not an insult, just a comment meant to help people save blowing up their equipment.

Right, and I appreciate the honesty, no feelings hurt here. I have to learn somewhere. I used track 7, which is -15db, because the manual said (and not verbatim, going from memory) Use track 3 for a sound quality setup, 5 for a in the middle and 7 for a louder setup". Naturally my buddy said "louder please".

[meade916]

find the maximum non distorted output of the deck. You can do this right at the RCA's OR you can leave the gain on the amp all the way down and test THROUGH the amp itself. Once you know that number, use the gain overlap tracks to set the amplifiers to your desired levels. If your deck goes to 47 out of 50 before it distorts (for example), there is no way that it should be screaching in your ear at 25 when you are done. Jump over to the -5db track or even the 0db track if the tweeters are that overpowered. If the woofer is going buck wild @ 25 out of 50 AFTER you set the gains "properly", then you are probably overpowering it or it is in to big of a box. Consider dropping down a track on that as well. When it is all said and done, you should be able to take that thing to at least 45/46 even 47 if you wanted to without harm. If you have a deck that goes up to 47, there is no way 25 should be the threshold where things screech and get hot. Not if set right. Also, you need to consider your eq and crossover settings too.

[meade916]

i missed the part where he said -15 track....start by dropping that sub down to -10 for sure. If its still to wild, too soon on the volume, then use the -5 track.

use 0db on the source(s) (anything in FRONT of the amps), and i usually use -5 on the mids/highs and -10 on the subs.

[bbeljefe]

The level you want to listen at has nothing at all to do with setting the gains for safe use. Connect the DD-1 to his head unit outs and find its max undistorted volume and then set the gains at that volume level.

That is how you calibrate the amplifier's preamp inputs with the preamp outputs on the head unit and it has nothing to do with the volume level you enjoy listening at. It might be that once the system is properly calibrated, he listens with the head unit at a higher volume setting but if that's the case then so be it. The DD-1 is a distortion detector, not a preference detector.

Another thing with the method you used that's dangerous is that if some nitwit hops in his car and cranks the volume all the way up.... voice coils on the barbee. Especially since you were setting with a (correct me if I'm wrong) -15dB track.

Personally, I would recommend that unless you're very well versed in electronics, you should never use the DD-1 on anything other than the first two tracks. And that's not an insult, just a comment meant to help people save blowing up their equipment.

Right, and I appreciate the honesty, no feelings hurt here. I have to learn somewhere. I used track 7, which is -15db, because the manual said (and not verbatim, going from memory) Use track 3 for a sound quality setup, 5 for a in the middle and 7 for a louder setup". Naturally my buddy said "louder please".

Track one would be for pure SQ with little or no distortion, depending on the head unit's capabilities. Track three should be -5dB, which isn't so bad because it can help make up for music that has little bass or that has been recorded below flat.

Just remember to use the tool at max undistorted volume and you'll be helping yourself and your buddies to have good sounding systems that can be played safely.

[b0r]

Yeah, I'm gonna go track 5 on the sub and turn down the mids/highs at the headunit so he can get to a louder subwoofer volume. He didn't like my sub in my car because my LISTENING volume was 32, but 32 was no where near the DD-1 setting of 47, so the sub was getting no where near all of it's power because I was comfortable where I was at with the bass and the mids/highs.

[Pro7]

And you're sure it wasn't the songs you were playing that were clipped? Gains could be set clean as a whistle but if you start with a dirty song that clipping just gets amplified.

And I really don't see the problem with him making sure his signal is clean from his deck with a 0db tone at 25 volume

Then setting his amp gain when the deck is set to 25 volume and set it with a -5 dB tone.

If someone can tell me how this would lead to distortion I would love to learn because I've set my friends system like this since his stock speakers couldn't handle >30 volume out of 38. And I definitely don't want him to blow his shit and blame me.

Edit: And I understand that set this way you can NEVER turn it over the specified volume

Edited August 30, 2013 by Pro7