Question about my setup

[rummy]

Last year I put in a new sound system in my Taco... amp and components in the front and amp and sub in the rear. I bought a DD-1 because I was tired of blowing amps and speakers in my ignorant youth. My Deck clips at 58 of 60, so I set both amp gains to match.

I don't ever play my deck past 35 or so because I like my ears in workng order. The thing is, I don't think I'm getting the bass that I should be from the sub compared to what is output by the components. Would it be ok for me to set the amp gain to clip at say 40 safely with out changing anything else?

Oh, the sub is a dvc 4ohm - 300 rms (I have the sub wired to 2 ohm) and the amp is 500 rms @ 2 ohm.

Any other ideas would be welcome.

-Thanks-

[Weigel21]

Yeah, if you never dial the volume past 35, by all means, set the sub amp gains with the volume at 40, you'll gain more output from the sub throughout the volume levels you listen.

Edit

You said you have a DD-1, which only allows for one to set the gain for maximum clean output. Your sub is rated for 300RMS, so may want to limit the output to around that. You could set the gain with the DD-1 with the volume at 40, then go back and measure the output with a DMM and see what the AC voltage is, then limit that down to 24.5VAC

[rummy]

I have a multimeter around here somewhere. Adjusting the gain, raises or lowers voltage?

[Phaeton]

I have a multimeter around here somewhere. Adjusting the gain, raises or lowers voltage?

it would lower the voltage, just turn your headunit to 40 and set the gains like you did before.

[rummy]

Will do, thanks.

[rummy]

I went ahead and reset the gains on both amps just to make sure I didn't make a mistake when I installed them last year. Deck clips at 48/50 so I set the component amp to clip at 48/50 and the sub amp to clip at 40/50. I am getting considerably more thump from the sub but, when testing with the dd-1 at 35/50 I do get a large number of distortion blips during music playback. Also, checking with the multimeter I'm getting at most 16.5vac during these distortion blips (was 3 or 4vac before resetting gains).

Of all the videos I watched of Steve setting gains like a pro, he never shows dd-1 readings playing music after the gains are set so I don't know if this normal? I'm afraid I blow the sub. Other than that, it sounds great..

[Weigel21]

Intermittent distortion is fairly common, music tends to have distortion in it naturally. However, I must ask, what test tone did you use? I'm curious about it's level, was it -5dB or what? Some music has recorded frequencies stronger than -5dB, I've seen as high as -2DB using Audicity to analyze songs. Granted, majority of the music tends to be recorded at a much lower strength, like -20dB.

So, you could set the gains with the DD-1 using a 0dB test tone, this should ensure you'll never have such an issue, but the output would be much weaker as the gain would ultimately be set a good deal lower.

I am going to ASSuME that Steve avoids using the DD-1 with music playing as it would indicate distortion like crazy and put forth much doubt in his product. At least that's one hunch I have. I've never used or even seen a DD-1 in person, nearly bought one a year ago, but dubbed it a complete waste of money in my case, as I have always set my gains low using a 0dB test tone and DMM.

Now am I claiming I have dodged inducing any sort of distortion? NO. But I'm damn sure I'll never have equipment fail due to clipping or distortion and I've been fairly content with the level of output I get. Guess I'm easy to please. LOL.

[rummy]

I used the 0db 1khz tone for the component and the -7db 40hz tone for the sub. I initially tried 0db for the sub but the output was near what I had previously (3-4vac) versus (16-17vac) now. Another thing, I have the component amp first in line and it passes to the sub amp. Should I set the component amp to HP AP or LP? The dd-1 booklet says HP but I somehow feel that's incorrect.

[bbeljefe]

There is no -7dB track on the DD-1 CD. There are 0, -5, -10 & -15 for both 40Hz and 1kHz. That said, if you found a -7dB track somewhere else, how do you know it's a clean recording?

As for setting the crossover on the full range amp, it should be set to high pass and the starting frequency should be 80Hz. You can adjust it up or down from there. Likewise with the subwoofer amp. Starting crossover frequency should be 80Hz.

[rummy]

Apologies, I used track six...-10db. I have full range set to HP and 125hz and the sub to 100hz as the dd-1 booklet suggested. Thanks again for the help guys.