Tuning help

[Pak713]

Hey everyone I just want to say I realize that you all have probably gotten this topic about a million times but I wouldn’t be here if I could figure it out. 
 

System is in a extended cab truck so minimal space to work with. 
-power wire is 4 gauge ofc back to a distribution block with 4 gauge going to sub amp and 8 going to 4 channel. All other wiring is ofc wire. 

-pioneer hu mvh av251bt

-4x400 taramps for mids and highs set with hpf on

-bass 1200 2 ohm taramps sub amp

- 2 alpine s-w10d2 subs 600 rms a piece in a sealed downfire box each chamber being .60. 
- Pac lc1 level control


The taramps sub amp has a clip light which I use to tune with using a 40hz -3db test tone. I have tried setting the lc1 to max and half while tuning. My head unit has subwoofer level output in the settings and I’ve tried at all different settings. It goes from -10 to 10. I use the hpf and lpf on my head unit. All of them are set to 100hz. I have tuned with everything off as far as loudness, bass boost and eq set flat. My head unit goes to 40 on the volume. So when I’ve been trying different ways of tuning I’ve set it at 30. By different ways off tuning I mean I’ve tried tuning with volume at 30, lc1 at max, sub level output at 4,5,6, and 10. I’ve tried tuning also with loudness on low and doing the tuning all over again because I know you’re supposed to tune with that stuff on. The only way I can get good bass is with loudness on low. I haven’t tried any higher loudness setting because it’s just too much for me. I’m wondering if part of my issue is having my 4 channel amp set to high as far as gain. I’ve also read if I’m using the crossover on my hu to set the crossover on my amp to open. Does that mean to set it all the way to 200hz? I don’t use bass boost on my amp either. I do however use subsonic filter. It’s set about 25. My current tune was with sub level output at 5, volume set at 25 because I normally wouldn’t listen to it any higher than that,  loudness low, lc1 at max subsonic at 25 using that same test tone and gain is about 3/4. I backed it off a hair to get the clip light to go off. It sounds good but still lacking a bit. I’m maxed out at my subs rms as well and I know my box is a bit small so I figured to feed them all they could handle but I’m expecting more out of them. Any suggestions would be great.

 

I’ve been back through my whole system checking and re checking everything in the last couple weeks. I’m not a professional when it comes to car audio but not a novice either. I did however run the taramps bass 800 2 ohm before the 1200 and with the same tuning procedure gain was just a tad higher than 3/4. I don’t have any electrical upgrades and with the bass 800 and the 400x4 I was only dropping to about 13.80-13.90 on music peaks. I have no light dimming or anything and my alternator is a 145 amp. I did however plan on doing the big 3 because I thought this was a lot of power to be running on a stock charging system. 

[Never Enough Bass]

Turn your low pass down to like 80

[Dafaseles]

So, try this. 

Torn the LC-1 all the way up. 

Put your volume on your head unit to 30.

Is your enclosure sealed? If it is, at the subsonic at 0.

Your LPF at about 80 hz. 

And turn your boost all the way down. 

Make sure all EQ settings on the head unit are flat, and all boosts on the head unit are off or at 0. Then don't use them because they can introduce distortion and clipping into the frequency. 

The sub level I'm a little foggy on. If it's on 0, it's it off? Does it go into the negative numbers? If 0 is off, turn it all the way up. If it goes below 0, just set it at 0.

Tune your system with a DMM at -5 db, if you listen to nothing but regular music (no test tones, no bass music like decaf or anything, just regular stuff) you can get away with -10 db.

Do your big 3

If you're not getting enough bass from that, you just want more than you've got. You can get a little more powerful of an amp and still be safe, like say a 2000 or so, but that will only give you minimal gains at best. If the clip light flickers every now and again, that's fine. That won't hurt anything. Usually, that clip light is just a type of voltage meter anyway and not truly detecting clipping. Just assuming drastic changes in voltage above what it's set at, is clipping. It's a great tool to have, don't get me wrong, but it's not the end all be all. You don't want that light going crazy, but a blink here and there is fine. 

The high pass filter on your head unit going to your sub should be set at 0 as well. Going to your 4 channel, 100 hz is fine.

If you're using the crossovers on the head unit, on the 4 channel, you can just set them the same, or set the amp to full. Which means full range, no crossovers. I'm guessing that's what's meant by open. I personally prefer to set the settings on the amplifier, just so that if anything happens that the head unit forgets the settings, you won't damage anything. Don't set it all the way at 200 hz. A HPF of 100 hz should be sufficient. 

[Pak713]

So the sub level goes from -10 to 10. So zero would be I guess the middle level instead of off. Yes it’s sealed enclosure. I would never set a hpf for a sub. What I meant by open crossover was on the sub amp only. If I want to control the crossover  from hu what setting should the crossover be on the amp? That’s for the sub only. Also with taramps you cannot set gains using a dmm. It’s something with them being Brazilian made that’s why I use the clip light to tune off.  So I should use a 40hz tone at -5db to tune with? Also why would I want to set my subsonic at 0? Especially if the enclosure is sealed? 

[Dafaseles]

Your subsonic crossover is a HPF. If you had a ported box, you'd set that a little under the tuning of the box because that's where your subwoofer would start to "unload" and reach its mechanical limits. Being as is a sealed enclosure, you don't need it because your subwoofer cone will never lose that back pressure, adding to aid in keeping the cone under control. Or, you can set it at 20 hz because it's not like the human ear can hear anything below that anyway. 

If you where using the head units crossovers to control the amp, I personally would match the same on the amplifiers crossovers. If you get a dead battery, or something strange happens with the car, and your head unit erases those values, your amplifier is still set to protect your speakers. Or, you can set the amplifier to full range, but being a mono block amplifier made for bass, it doesn't have that option.

Do you listen to things that are considered "bass music" or do you play test tones a lot? If you don't, I think if you tune it to -10 db, you'd be fine. If you do, then -5.

I never heard anyone say you can't use a DMM to tune a taramps. But if you go off the clip light, that's fine as well. It's about the same thing. 

But like I said before, if your listening to music, and that light flickers a little, that's fine. Don't worry about that. But if it's going crazy, staying lit or sending out Morris code, then yeah, dial it back a little on the bass knob. 

[Pak713]

Awesome thanks man. I’ll give it another try when I get home tonight. I listen to hip hop and rock. Switch back and fourth between the two. I’ve tried to set gain using a dmm but on the taramps it doesn’t read right. So I just use the clip light. My head unit saves all the values when I unhook the radio or the battery. I didn’t think it did but it does. I appreciate your help and I’ll post back after I get the chance to re tune. 

[Pak713]

So tried a couple different tunes using a 40hz -5db tone. 
 

First one with everything off on head unit and eq flat, sub level output on hu at 5, lc1 at full, volume at 30, subsonic filter off, bass boost off lpf at 80. 
 

Outcome was too quiet not enough bass. Sounded really light and flat sounding I guess I’d call it. So I tuned again

 

Second tune

sub level output on 5, bass knob at half volume at 27, subsonic at 20, lpf at 80hz, eq flat, loudness off. Sounds great. Listening to hip hop with this tune allows me to adjust a little if need be. I can turn down the sub level output if need be and turn up the lc1 according to the clip light. 
 

Also the reason I did volume at 27 on the second tune is because of the  4 channel amp, there is no way I’d come close to 30 on volume or at least being able to listen to it that loud. It’s just too loud for my ears at that volume. The max I usually listen to it would be between 22-24 and it’s screaming. The 4 channel amp is barely even turned up to maybe a 1/4 as far as gain. That little amp pumps out some power. My door speakers are loud speakers and I have different a pillar pods than have 1 inch tweeters that face at me instead of the windshield. 

 

 

[Dafaseles]

If you have it the way it sounds best to you, I'd say you nailed it 

[Never Enough Bass]

Glad u figured it out

[Pak713]

Appreciate you guys! Thanks for your help!