How reliable is setting gain with a multimeter?

[Miguels]

If you guys wish to suck Meade's cock and bloat about the DD-1 so much, go for it. There are much cheaper ways to effectively detect distortion.

looks like Steve's dick left a bad taste in your mouth

i own a DD1 and its not to kiss ass, i also own the CC1 to calibrate the amps and im not sucking his dick. if there was other companies that would make the tools at the same price or cheaper i would own them.. didnt know owning a brand meant you was sucking on the owners dick.. so out off all your equipment you own, how many of the manufacturers dicks did you suck?

youre just a stupid little kid or an immature man that needs to insult people to get your point across. we dont need your shit here. no one was insulting you so why insult others here? grow up and act like a civilized adult

the thing with setting by ears.. even if done right you still dont know the HU limit.. lets say the head unit dont clip at all but since you dont know you play it safe and set it at 20 out of 30 clicks. well now you have to set the gain higher on the amp to compensate which will now introduce noise and not sound good..

[Weigel21]

Get you move volume range/control and allow the amplifiers to work less hard, which MAY result is slightly cleaner output as heat build up degrades the output quality of amplifiers. It won't get you more power from the amplifier and the output quality isn't likely to be an audible difference to most in terms of how clean it sounds.

For argument sake, say someone actually uses a DD-1 or O-Scope to set the gain on the amplifiers, however, first they set the HU's master volume for 80% when the unit actually can play at 90% without clipping. They set the gain for on the amplifier for maximum clean output. Say the measure it with a DMM and it says the output is 38.34VAC. They then go back and set the master volume to 90% and reset the gain on the amplifier. The end result should still be 38.34VAC from the amplifier, though the gain will be set slightly lower, which will result in the amplifier working less hard. This may provide cleaner output over time than the slightly higher set gain as the amp builds up heat throughout the duration of use.

So really, the most noticeable thing you'll gain is less audible output change with each click of the volume knob. For example, you may have found volume level 17 to be lacking but volume level 18 to be too loud before. Now with the lower gain setting but the HU's master volume having been set higher initially, you find volume level 20 to be just perfect.

And to address others, my system being more than I need, I'm merely running a 50x4 and an 800x1. For me, it's more than enough. Would HU power and a 200x1 amp work for me? Maybe, but I doubt I'll go back to HU power and I've not ran such a small amp for a sub sub in 11 years.

And I don't refuse to believe an O-Scope or a DD-1 can be more accurate, I just see no need to buy such when I do maybe a handful of installs a year, most of which are merely HU and speaker installs, no external amps. I probably average two amplifier installs a year. I can't justify an O-Scope for that, not when I merely ask to be reimburse the cost of any installation gear I buy, which is usually just the cost of solder and heat shrink or Posi-lock connectors. a DD-1 would be cheaper, but again, don't do enough installs to warrant the purchase. I seem to do less and less installs anymore, seems those I know are growing more and more content with the OEM systems in these newer cars.

A Nano pocket O-Scope I once looked into around 5-6 years ago, their display appeared to be too small and lacked enough detail to be able to accurately use for setting gains, I highly doubted I'd get a more accurate setting with them, but who knows for sure. I'm sure my hearing is degrading naturally, as everyone's does, so give it another 10 years, my ears could well be tone deaf to where I would be doing nothing but harm by setting gains as i do now. Then again, in 10 years, I may well not be among the living and even if so, I may have finally grown out of having a desire to do installs of any sort.

Those of you who can afford such tools, can use them properly, and do so, I'm happy for you. For those of us too broke to do such, alternate means will have to do and I guess we are left to pray our luck holds out.

[philrab]

If you guys wish to suck Meade's cock and bloat about the DD-1 so much, go for it. There are much cheaper ways to effectively detect distortion.

You can always tell when someone is losing an argument when they resort to this.

Your ears are not able to detect the beginnings of distortion to the degree of accuracy an Oscope or DD1 is able to.

By your own admission, you're trying to justify not purchasing the correct tool to set your gains by the fact that you have "more system than you need".

You're still dodging my point; how much did you spend on your equipment that you will bitch about $150 tool to properly utilize it? It's a ridiculous argument.

[Jessica]

1v or 5v has nothing to do with how hard an amp works.stop spreading that bullshit. There is a circuit that takes care of that before the amp actually does any "amplifiing".

Higher voltage on a hu means higher voltage.

It can sometimes mean more signal in the rca cables that will cover up noise in the line after the head unit. That is all it is good for.

[MrSkippyJ]

Get you move volume range/control and allow the amplifiers to work less hard, which MAY result is slightly cleaner output as heat build up degrades the output quality of amplifiers. It won't get you more power from the amplifier and the output quality isn't likely to be an audible difference to most in terms of how clean it sounds.

For argument sake, say someone actually uses a DD-1 or O-Scope to set the gain on the amplifiers, however, first they set the HU's master volume for 80% when the unit actually can play at 90% without clipping. They set the gain for on the amplifier for maximum clean output. Say the measure it with a DMM and it says the output is 38.34VAC. They then go back and set the master volume to 90% and reset the gain on the amplifier. The end result should still be 38.34VAC from the amplifier, though the gain will be set slightly lower, which will result in the amplifier working less hard. This may provide cleaner output over time than the slightly higher set gain as the amp builds up heat throughout the duration of use.

So really, the most noticeable thing you'll gain is less audible output change with each click of the volume knob. For example, you may have found volume level 17 to be lacking but volume level 18 to be too loud before. Now with the lower gain setting but the HU's master volume having been set higher initially, you find volume level 20 to be just perfect.

And to address others, my system being more than I need, I'm merely running a 50x4 and an 800x1. For me, it's more than enough. Would HU power and a 200x1 amp work for me? Maybe, but I doubt I'll go back to HU power and I've not ran such a small amp for a sub sub in 11 years.

And I don't refuse to believe an O-Scope or a DD-1 can be more accurate, I just see no need to buy such when I do maybe a handful of installs a year, most of which are merely HU and speaker installs, no external amps. I probably average two amplifier installs a year. I can't justify an O-Scope for that, not when I merely ask to be reimburse the cost of any installation gear I buy, which is usually just the cost of solder and heat shrink or Posi-lock connectors. a DD-1 would be cheaper, but again, don't do enough installs to warrant the purchase. I seem to do less and less installs anymore, seems those I know are growing more and more content with the OEM systems in these newer cars.

A Nano pocket O-Scope I once looked into around 5-6 years ago, their display appeared to be too small and lacked enough detail to be able to accurately use for setting gains, I highly doubted I'd get a more accurate setting with them, but who knows for sure. I'm sure my hearing is degrading naturally, as everyone's does, so give it another 10 years, my ears could well be tone deaf to where I would be doing nothing but harm by setting gains as i do now. Then again, in 10 years, I may well not be among the living and even if so, I may have finally grown out of having a desire to do installs of any sort.

Those of you who can afford such tools, can use them properly, and do so, I'm happy for you. For those of us too broke to do such, alternate means will have to do and I guess we are left to pray our luck holds out.

You said earlier your ear is just as accurate. So which is it? Your is as accurate or it isn't? You keep changing your story.

[Weigel21]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vH90YMKwQKF/learn/setting-amplifier-gain.html

And with that, I'm done with this thread. I'm sure there will still be many that wish to talk shit on my use of test tones to set gains by ear, but whatever. I'll still stick to my belief that it can be just as effective. Is it quicker/easier? No, I never said such. The DD1 and an O-Scope may have ease of gain setting on their side, not to mention there being no risk of damage to drivers wired up to the amplifiers, not to mention one's ears, though I still say one should wear hearing protection, which isn't claimed in that link above.

IMO, that is proof enough that the method I use is as effective as a DD-1 or O-Scope.

[philrab]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vH90YMKwQKF/learn/setting-amplifier-gain.html

And with that, I'm done with this thread. I'm sure there will still be many that wish to talk shit on my use of test tones to set gains by ear, but whatever. I'll still stick to my belief that it can be just as effective. Is it quicker/easier? No, I never said such. The DD1 and an O-Scope may have ease of gain setting on their side, not to mention there being no risk of damage to drivers wired up to the amplifiers, not to mention one's ears, though I still say one should wear hearing protection, which isn't claimed in that link above.

IMO, that is proof enough that the method I use is as effective as a DD-1 or O-Scope.

#########reposted from the link#################

Part 1: Setting the gain with the oscilloscope

How loud can the receiver play and still play clean?

I started with the amp’s gain set to its minimum, and the speakers disconnected. I played the first tone, 40 Hz, a low bass note, only fit for subwoofers, and set the scope to view the sine wave. Then I turned up the receiver’s volume until I could see something bizarre happening to the wave’s shape. It didn’t “clip” at the top and bottom, it distorted in the middle. But I could see exactly at what volume level the distortion first appeared, and where it disappeared.

I took note of what the receiver’s volume reading was: 52. (The receiver’s top volume number was 62.) That meant the receiver played 40 Hz clean and at its loudest at its “52” volume.

###########################

Did you actually read what you just posted a link to??? Step 1 is to determine MAXIMUM VOLUME THE HEAD UNIT CAN PLAY WITHOUT CLIPPING using an Oscope. A DMM CAN NOT determine if you are clipping a signal the head unit is producing/the amp is receiving. You just disproved your whole point.

I'm done with this thread too. You're wrong. Blatantly wrong. You can't justify what you're trying to, and you just proved it.

[CleanSierra]

The method you use is NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS SETTING WITH AN O-SCOPE in ANY way, shape our form.

The better way of phrasing it would be that it's good enough for YOU. In no way is it accurate though.

Edit- To be clear, this is nothing against you Weigel, it truly isn't.

[n8ball2013]

this guy...... lmaooooo.

[Jessica]

this is still a thread?