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Set the gain of Taramps Smart 3 with Subw connected!


erne_spl

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Hi, I will soon order a taramps smart 3 for my subwoofer, I wanted to know what was the best method to adjust the gain on this amplifier, that is with the subwoofer connected / disconnected, with a multimeter or simply using the clip LED on the monitor of the 'amps. Thanks to all bassheads!

 

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Connect that clip indicator to the amp and leave it beside the amp and turn the gain all the way down and then go to your head unit and turn the volume to the highest volume level that you listen to and then play a 40 hz test tone off your cellphone and then go back to the amp and creep the gain up while the tone is playing until you see the clip indicator go off and when you see it go off, turn back a hair until it goes off. Then your amp’s gain is set. And remember that any volume over the volume that you set the gain will have clipping. Some people set their amp’s gain with the head unit all the way up, full tilt, but I don’t see why because unless you’re gonna be listening to your head unit full tilt then it’s pointless. So tune it at the highest desired listening volume and don’t play it over that volume. Clipping (distortion) is the number one culprit of blowing subwoofers. Some people think they blew their subwoofers from feeding it too many watts when truly it was fed too much distortion aka clipping. 

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Just as I thought, the only thing I don't understand and if the subwoofer should be connected or disconnected, as on yt also big D who reviewed this amp said that the gain potentiometer will have a different position according to the load . If I adjust the gain with the sub connected and a frequency of 40hz, will I have overheating or other similar problems?

 

---> Big D video at the point where he talks about gain <---

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pretty sure that video is talking about adjusting the gain to get the same power output at different "loads". in other words, if you want 3k at 1 ohm you would set your gain at a certain level. If you want 3k at 4ohms you would have to increase the gain, that would put you well into clipping though. Max clean output setting of an amp doesn't changed based on the impedance of a subwoofer. The wattage output does change though.

 

Keep in mind, that clipping indicator is probably ok for checking the output of the amp but does nothing to validate how clean the input is. The best tool to check that is a DD-1 since it does much more than just check clipping, it actually checks how much the signal is distorted. You might have an unclipped signal that is distorting and the DD-1 is by far the easiest tool for catching that. I'm not sure how well the DD-1 works with those amps though. 

 

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18 hours ago, MrSkippyJ said:

pretty sure that video is talking about adjusting the gain to get the same power output at different "loads". in other words, if you want 3k at 1 ohm you would set your gain at a certain level. If you want 3k at 4ohms you would have to increase the gain, that would put you well into clipping though. Max clean output setting of an amp doesn't changed based on the impedance of a subwoofer. The wattage output does change though.

 

Keep in mind, that clipping indicator is probably ok for checking the output of the amp but does nothing to validate how clean the input is. The best tool to check that is a DD-1 since it does much more than just check clipping, it actually checks how much the signal is distorted. You might have an unclipped signal that is distorting and the DD-1 is by far the easiest tool for catching that. I'm not sure how well the DD-1 works with those amps though. 

This I knew, I just wanted to understand if adjusting the gain with a connected subwoofer and a 40hz track, I would have had problems with the coil overheating during the adjustment. Thx

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Yeah, if your head unit is sending off a distorted signal then you would just be tuning a distorted signal. I forgot to say something about that. Most good head units can go full tilt with no distortion. So you would have to find the distortion point, if any, on your head unit by using a dd-1 or oscilloscope. Or just tune the amp at 3/4 volume. You won’t be sending any distortion at 3/4 volume. I tune mine at highest listening because I know my head unit doesn’t distort at full tilt on flat. But I have tuned amps at 3/4 volume on the same head unit and been fine. And make sure the head units EQs are at flat “0” and the loudness and bass boost and that other equip stuff are OFF when you tune your amp. The easiest thing to do to get the head unit back to flat factory settings is to disconnect and reconnect either the head unit or the battery.

:stupid:“How can we help you?”
:guido:
“And don’t forget to tell them that 
the customer isn’t always right.”

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On 6/4/2020 at 4:50 PM, MrSkippyJ said:

Possibly, no need for it to be connected though so just unhook it and you’re good.

In the eleventh topic of this thread, I explain why this method is wrong, and what is the correct method to adjust the gain on this amplifier!

 

This is what I wanted to hear! Under the comments of the video, a guy asked how he should adjust the gain on this amp, and Barevids (the guy in the second half of the BigD video) said to adjust the gain with the subwoofer connected!!


I don't know if they were wrong or not but in my opinion to adjust such an amplifier as "intelligent" would be enough to follow these steps (correct me if I'm wrong):


-1 Connect rca to the amp (WITHOUT SUBWOOFER) and start the headunit with a 40hz track
-2 Raise gain on the amplifier until it starts to clip, and possibly check the voltage at the output with a voltmeter that should be max 78v (since no load is connected, not having a current to limit at the output, the amp will understand that it is dealing with a load from 2 ohm up)

 

At this point the gain should be properly adjusted, as now the amplifier "" knows its limits "", therefore connecting a load from 1 ohm to 2 ohm, he will only have to apply his "artificial clipping" when the current will attempt to exceed that maximum value set by him to obtain 3k rms. From 2 ohm upwards, the amp will not have problems and will not apply any artificial clipping, but will naturally clipping by touching the rail voltage.

 

 

P.S. I contacted taramps support for this and they said to adjust everything with the subwoofer connected!
If ever one day a smart 15k or even a smart 30k will come out, I want to see how they will adjust their amps with the connected sub (the car would blow up for the bass 🤣)

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3 hours ago, erne_spl said:

......I contacted taramps support for this and they said to adjust everything with the subwoofer connected!......

...... 

Well my head unit can go to max without clipping so I would just use a -10, -5 etc... bass tone or is there something else less "hard" on the speakers ? They're brand new and worried about pumping them full of Brazillian juice so soon !!

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3 hours ago, erne_spl said:

This is what I wanted to hear! Under the comments of the video, a guy asked how he should adjust the gain on this amp, and Barevids (the guy in the second half of the BigD video) said to adjust the gain with the subwoofer connected!!


I don't know if they were wrong or not but in my opinion to adjust such an amplifier as "intelligent" would be enough to follow these steps (correct me if I'm wrong):


-1 Connect rca to the amp (WITHOUT SUBWOOFER) and start the headunit with a 40hz track
-2 Raise gain on the amplifier until it starts to clip, and possibly check the voltage at the output with a voltmeter that should be max 78v (since no load is connected, not having a current to limit at the output, the amp will understand that it is dealing with a load from 2 ohm up)

 

At this point the gain should be properly adjusted, as now the amplifier "" knows its limits "", therefore connecting a load from 1 ohm to 2 ohm, he will only have to apply his "artificial clipping" when the current will attempt to exceed that maximum value set by him to obtain 3k rms. From 2 ohm upwards, the amp will not have problems and will not apply any artificial clipping, but will naturally clipping by touching the rail voltage.

 

 

P.S. I contacted taramps support for this and they said to adjust everything with the subwoofer connected!
If ever one day a smart 15k or even a smart 30k will come out, I want to see how they will adjust their amps with the connected sub (the car would blow up for the bass 🤣)

You don’t tune any amp with the subwoofer connected. They misinformed you. People make mistakes. It happens. It’s safest to tune the gain with the subwoofer disconnected. The distortion/clipping isn’t based on the subwoofer or it’s connection, so forget having it connected. Distortion/clipping has to do with the signal the head unit is sending through the rca connection to the amp then through the amp to the subwoofer connection, thus distorting the flow coming out the subwoofer connection or sending a clean signal. 

:stupid:“How can we help you?”
:guido:
“And don’t forget to tell them that 
the customer isn’t always right.”

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