A viewer asked me for some help -- he lives on the other side of the globe and does not have access to the tools available in the US. But he does have a DMM. You can do a lot with a DMM, get one if you don' t have one. Multi-meter (inexpensive option): amzn.to/3exHjiD
Very simple easy to understand tutorial for setting the amp gain. Now my problem is this. I used a 50 Hz test tone to set my subwoofer amp gain to 31.62 volts ac with head unit at 75% volume. Amp is similar to the video, RF prime 500 watt rms monoblock, pushing a 500 rms 12” d4 sub wired parallel at 2 ohms. but now I have almost no bass? What am I doing wrong? I believe the issue is the test tone vs playing music where the rca signal voltage varies and is generally much lower on average vs the max signal voltage using the test tone. That’s my guess anyway.
I have been watching a crap load of videos all day on setting up amp gain on my amplifiers. I had watched several that were great, and some that should not even be allowed to be watched. I had came across yours and your video was THE BEST of all of them. Not only did you explain the why and the reasons, but also for if one had speakers that were rated lower than their amplifier, which was one of the things that I was looking for. Explaining the target voltage was clear and understandable. Even though I understand electricity, your explanation was direct and to the point. Thanks for a great video!
I just set my gains with this method, I’ve previously always used the “by ear method” and my system is somehow louder and clearer than it was before. Thanks DIY Audio Guy
Super easy to understand video and a solid full-proof way for anyone to set gains without spending a bunch of bucks. We need more useful videos like this in car audio. Thumbed up and subbed!
Last week I tried tuning my setup by ear like I have done since 1993. Well, I am using a Taramps hd3000 which is notorious for clipping with weak electrical. Long story short I over estimated my ear and clipped the sub to death. Ordered another sub and today, after watching this video, I set the gain with my multimeter and man that was easy. Thank you DIY Audio Guy
Just the other day I was helping a friend set gains with my O-scope. He has a buddy that used to work in a shop and his buddy set it by ear. Dude did not trust the ear method, but according to the O-scope it was dead on perfect.
So I used your method when using an amprobe. Worked great. Also found a few interesting things. There's voltage loss when using a bass remote. A significant amount. Also that my amp voltage doesn't hit the desired voltage for a 1 ohm setup. The only way I could achieve the 36.4 volt output was to adjust the bass boost to 6db (which I did not and will not use). I setup my LPF to 80hz and was able to do so by toggling my head unit crossover on and off at 80hz. My gain is setup to 3/4 and pulling 30 volts. My Subsonic is set to 35hz based on the box tuning... My shit pounds! But I still need to hook up a capacitor and replace my door speakers for better overall sound quality. I took your advice about exceeding the 75% volume setting when setting the gain as well. I have a 16 year old son that's becoming a bass head and figured he may exceed the volume limit! So, thank you for all your knowledge and putting in layman's terms! Thank you sir!
That's going to depend on the amp and how the knob operates. But, if the goal is to prevent clipping then you will want to turn the bass knob all the way up before you set your gains. That way you will not clip with the knob all the way up.
New Sub!!! Thank you so much for this video, just installed a complete Timpano system and no one could tune it; thanks to this vid I could finally tune it myself and now it sounds great and it’s not clipping at high volumes! 🙌🏼🔥
This wasn’t mentioned at the beginning of the video where he talked about meters but I did notice he is using a TRUE RMS meter. You need a meter that is true rms. They will be accurate at many different frequencies. A general meter that is not true rms will only be accurate at 50-60Hz since they are made to measure wall voltage in a home, and that is what frequency 120-240 volts AC is. But an audio signal will go from 20Hz to 20kHz, and playing a test tone frequency of 1000Hz is going to generate a voltage that a standard meter will not be able to read accurately, but a true rms meter will. The free one from Harbor Freight will NOT read accurately for full range 20Hz-20kHz signals. If this is just a sub amp, then it might be ok, because you could simply use a test tone frequency of 50-60Hz and get an accurate output reading.
Great video. Setting up a system. Amp at 240 RMS bridged to 250 RMS speaker. 4 ohms. (240×4=960) square root 30.98... that will be my max voltage on the multimeter. Other speakers: 100 RMS amp to 150 RMS speaker. 4 ohms. (100 x 4 = 400) square root is 20. So multimeter AC volts should be max of 20. Hope this looks correct. Your video was amazing!!! Huge help and so simple! Thanks!
Great information thanks. One question I have is should I use the amp's quoted "RMS" wattage or the quoted "MAX" wattage? And the same for the speakers.
Because people trust and like you... We need you to do this same set up... But on a head unit with a subwoofer channel.... And a amp with a bass knob... So people understand that the subwoofer channel level is not a volume..it works like a fader in can be at max 10 when you set up your deck and amp... And people need to know that a bass knob needs to be in full before you set your gains.... These these are two very important factors... That have only caused arguments on Facebook groups... Why I'm asking you is Cause I've taken electronics.. and You speak my language
Awesome video I used my liumy O-scope to set the gains on mine and I made sure to write down the voltage I was getting on each one since it shows it to the side👍
You can check the preout voltage of the head unit through the rcas Set multimeter to ac Play a 40hz tone with the rcas unplugged volume max(whatever it is for you probably 3/4 like he said in the video) Probe the male end with positive and the shielding with negative Boom preout voltage, look online to figure out how many v of clean preout yours is and match from there turning the volume up or down if needed
I have a question for you. I always run my head unit bass setting at negative 4, so that my dash and door speakers don't get too much bass. Those all run off the power of the head unit, no external amplifier. Even at negative 4, the door speakers are plenty loud and have plenty of bass. When I set the input gain on my subwoofer amp, would I want to leave the head unit's bass setting at negative 4, being that's how I always run it? Everything I've read says that you want to set everything to "flat", which doesn't make sense to me if that's not how it's normally ran.
You have to set everything flat to get an accurate reading, and a lot of times people will turn on their bass boost or crank their bass up causing clipping and distortion. If you're trying to shape the sound it's always better to cut instead of boost. Since you are cutting you're probably not going to do any damage. but you're not going to get the best possible sound either. If your head unit has a crossover then you can use the crossover to pull the bass out of your door and dash speakers. In the end always remember that it's your gear and you can set it up anyway that you like.
Before adjusting gain, where should my bass boost , LP and HP filters be set at? Other videos have mentioned to set the bass boost at 0 and the LP and HP filters to highest before setting gain. What’s your opinion on this? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Actually no, you want to hit maximum voltage with the bass boost set where you plan to use it. If you plan on adding some boost to certain music, turn it on to the highest setting, set your gain using this method, then turn the boost back down, now you know you can add some boost without clipping. It’s worth noting that if you use boost on your head unit, the max volume you can set it to may be lower. Instead of 75% volume you may be limited to 65% volume. You won’t know actual volume until you use an oscilloscope.
Its called source level and in aftermarket head units can be found in settings. Eave though if you are using an good quality amplifier it doesn't matter if the head unit is clipping. The singnal going in the amplifier is going through a procession that removes clipping from the input. That's why it's so important to adjust gain correctly
@@andreasbongdacity2854 well, the subs are going to amp, but .....4 door speakers are feeding from the Sony head unit. 55x4 Im gonna look for sourse level this evening, if I find it I will bump it down just a hair. thanx
1000% agree with you mainly for customer to keep them from blowing up equipment when they play some trash quality file over bluetooth. Personally i could care less as long as the knob adjustment is fine enough and doesnt have massive jumping in level each number. Since the numbers to me are worthless i use my ears.
@@andreasbongdacity2854 This is completely false. There’s no way to remove clipping from a signal. You can counteract it by turning down like how a compressor works but it’s still going to be a distorted wave.
just a question, to find my target voltage am i taking my: *RMS power of amp and Ohm rating of amp* (RP1200.1D) OR *RMS power of amp and Ohms my speakers will be wired to*(RP1200.1D x Speakers wired to 2 ohms) Other than this question pretty straight forward video!
After watching all your videos , I installed my amp and speakers. sounds great. The only question I have is that the voltage per channel is 16.12. The rear speakers have a volt of 24.5, do I setup the amp for the per channel voltage 16.12 or for the rear speakers to 24.5. Note. the front speakers and a voltage of 14.14 Thank for all the information
You typically have a separate gain control for front and rear, set them both either based on the power rating of the amp or the speakers, whichever is smaller. Another trick, if you want to emphasize the front stage you can reduce the gain on the rear channels.
I stumbled on this video looking at one of your other videos and this answered a question I've been having for a while. I assume this would be a good way to match the outputs of two similar but not identical amps. Thank you very much for making this video!
Do you multiply the rms by the lowest ohm the amp is rated or by your speaker impedance? My amp is 40wrms@4 or 60@2. My speaker final impedance with a tweeter is 2.66ohms. What do I multiply 2.66 with?
You're not the only one recommending to do the set-up with the volume at 75%... Please explain this fine audience what the down-side of tuning a stereo for 100% volume. We are talking about cars and they should be functional, regardless if the one and only driver is using it, the one who knows about a 75% limit... I would hate to get into someone's car (for various reasons, including emergency situations) and brake something... So what';s the downside of doing all the adjustment to accommodate 100% volume? Thanks!
It's just a rule of thumb. Like all rules of thumb they don't always work. There are better ways to set up your amplifier, but those methods require more tools.
I have set my gains according to your video and now I have no problems on my amplifier. Thank you. My subs pumps hard and it never did clip. Again thank you.
Back in the day the old school shops would set them all by ear. Even now there are some people who swear that the ear is the only tool you should use when setting up your system.
How do we deal with roll off from the factory unit when trying to set using a test tone. 3/4 way up on Ford B&O with a 40hz test tone and the factory system compensates with rolling off the bass once you crank it up. Should I use a -5 or -10 40hz test tone instead?
W x ohms. I have a 4 channel amp, each channel gives 50rms. Do I use 50w rms for W or should I use all the channels rms together for W? Or peak power output for each channel? And also, If I run two 4ohm speakers, do I just use 4ohm in the equation or should I add the two speaker together and use 8ohm?
That is based on the amount of power that you plan on using, or the amount of power that your speakers can handle. Whichever is lowest. So if you have a 75 watt per channel amplifier going into speakers ready for 75 watts per channel then you want to set your gain so that you get 75 watts per channel. I've got a couple more videos on the process. This one shows a cost-effective alternative and gives you some more examples of how to use the multimeter correctly. ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.html
@@DIYAudioGuy Indeed. Mine was pushing my Ultimax 10 for a while with Channel 3 & 4 Bridged. Didn't complain one bit. Now I have a dedicated amp for the sub though.
This is a good rudimentary way to set gain without DD-1 or O scope. The only issue i see is you don't account for attenuation when running signal via Bluetooth. Most people run their phone volume to max when running BT and that can dirty your signal for sure.
I might also add. I like how you recommend the kicker audio files for test tones. I'd rather point someone that route than to play a random tone generator. The files from kicker are setup with different recording levels 0db, -5db and -10db to help tailor your gain matching even further. Again in addressing attenuation I've always downloaded these files to either a CD or zip drive. You know 100% your signal is super clean that way. I do have a future video idea if you haven't done one yet. A full front to back gain matching. I.e. from the source unit to a DSP, EQ, ect. Showingthe importance of adjusting your gain from the source unit at every piece of gear in the line and ultimately at your amp. Great videos as always and your edit is coming along nicely btw. Keep up the great work.
Every 'pro' audio guy I have ever talked to has these 'hard limits' like you just mentioned (3:13) but I firmly believe it is 100% because of how you guys learned to do stereo stuff. Everything I learned was from practical application or self taught and I'll admit I have blown some equipment, but the limits you guys mention are hilarious and the things you think will happen if you go above/beyond those limits are wholly comical. 99.9% of the time, unless you have wired something very, very wrong or have gone hilariously above the limit (on purpose a huge majority of the time), you're probably just going to get protection mode constantly, distorted sound, or overheat your equipment over and over. Unless whatever you are using is old or was beat to crap/put over it's limits consistently for weeks or months, you're more then likely ok to prod those limits with trial and error.
Sub woofer is 600w rms @ dual voice coil @ 4 ohms, i wire it to produce 2ohms, monoblock is rated at 500w rms @ 2ohms, which rms should i use to calculate the voltage? Amplifier or subwoofer? Does punch equaliser have effect on this process? If yes shoul it be at min level or maximum level while setting up the gain? Does cabinet tuning affect this process in any way? Thanks great video learnt alot.
Always go with the lower number, so 500 watts in your case. I don't recommend using any kind of bass boost. If you have the amp tune so you're just on the edge of clipping turning on the bass boost will cause clipping. ua-cam.com/video/KSdnrBI7a90/v-deo.html The box tuning doesn't matter, but you may need an infrasonic filter. ua-cam.com/video/iWRoIho7A7c/v-deo.html
If i have component speakers that run at 150rms and 40rms, would I just add those two together at 190? So 190rms @ 4ohms would be 760 and my target volts would be 27.5?
Great Video, wondering if you could answer some questions, when you say speaker can only handle 150 watts of power at 2"22", is that RMS or Peak Power ? And in bridged mode like you did with the 75W per channel amp, Will it be louder than having it wired as normal? Cheers Mario from Australia.
I have a 2000 watt mono block amp. It puts out 2000 at 1ohm. I have 4 8s that are 400rms a piece. Thats 1600watts, There wired down to 1 ohm. If I was to set my gain would it be 2000 x 1ohm or 1600 x 1ohm to find the voltage. Thanks
Good day can you help me adjust my crossover which has a built-in line driver if 5v to match my mids and sub amp and what can I use if I don't have a DD1 available... Can a multimeter be used...?
My amp is a 2000 watts. My voltage output is very low and idk why. It was in this truck before attached to the same battery and not just isnt pushing power. I need it at 44 volts and with the gain all the way its only at 10volts. Any ideas on my problem?
Great video. I have a taramps hd3, 1 ohm, 1 channel. I will wired (4) speakers with 350 rms ea total of 1400 watts rms. So if i understand correctly (taramps said the amp whired at 2 ohms is 2000 watts) 2000 x 2 = 4000 sqr is 63.2 volts. But since i need only 1400 watts then it be 1400 x 2= 2800 & sqr is 52.9 volts is this correct?
You can use a DMM to find your head unit clipping by figuring out what your preouts voltage is from the manufacturer and then use a 0db 50hz test tone,turn the head unit volume all the way up as well as the subwoofer volume on the head unit,then run your test tone and attach the ground of the dmm to the outer pins on the rca and the positive to the center pin on the rca,say your preouts are 2 volt preouts. The dmm should read around 2.8 volts not the dmm,turn the volume knob on the receiver down till it hits the target 2 volts 😎
If my speakers are 4ohm but it’s paralleled to 2ohm, do I use 2ohm in the equation? Or 4ohm? I’m using 2 250rms subs with a 500rms mono amp. I set the V to 31.6, using the equation with 2ohm, but it doesn’t sound like it’s loud enough. They can def go higher on the gain without distortion. Should I be using 4ohm in the equation instead or is that as loud as 250rms go? I also have a sealed box.
If your speakers are wired to a 2 ohm load then use 2 ohms in the calculation. If it's not enough bass to satisfy you then I recommend upgrading rather than turning up the gain. But, it is your gear If you want to turn the gain up just a little bit you can do that. Just be careful with it. Clipping can kill subwoofers.
75 watt amplifier, 200 watt amplifier When you set the same speaker for two amplifiers Is it correct to set the gain value to the same voltage since the rms power and resistance value of the
I have a kicker cxa400.1 says on the sheet for 1ohm I'll get 400w and the volts should be 20.00v I'm running two 10s 200w dvc 4 ohm each I set my gain at the 20.00v am I right?
I have a question. What settings do I put my head unit on as far as bass / treble / mid before I set the gain with the multimeter? Also does this mean that I can't use bass boost on the amplifier itself? Thank you and great video as well!!!
Set everything flat, I do not recommend using bass boost. If you can turn up the boost without clipping then you could have just turned the gain up instead.
Hello diy audioguy. Thanks for your videos. The gain is adjusted for both subwoofers and mid and high speakers with the same Output Power (14.4 V) @ 4 ohm. This is the Output Power specification for the Powerbass Amp ASA3-700.5
By the way if your amplifier is in a hard to reach spot or you can’t get to the speaker terminals of the amplifier, you can measure at the end of the speaker cable where it connects to the speaker. Just make sure to disconnect the speaker and measure the speaker leads.
For those fine adjustment knobs drill a hole in a ruler big enough to jam the screwdriver in. Then you have an adjuster with a wider arc and you can hit those mv numbers.
I tried this but my there’s no voltage at my speaker outputs, RCAS are in, ive got 12v at supply of the amp, when I put the speaker cable on the terminals the speakers play the tone, and My multi meter is on AC, but I’ve got absolutely nothing coming up on my multi meter. What could be going on here? Also great video, cheers!
I’m setting gains on a 6 channel amp with the multimeter. 4 of the channels are going to be 4 ohm @165 watts The other 2 are parallel at 2 ohms @290 watts. When setting volts do I count both channels when finding voltage square root or do I do a single channel in the math equation. 4ohm x 165 watts\ 25.69 volts All the way count both channels in the math equation 4 ohm x 330/ 36.33 volts
@@DIYAudioGuy Yes, older ones are good. Just dont get this new trend, how they kinda cheat the rms power even it is the cheaper series of amps but it just makes Alpine look cheap
@@DIYAudioGuy Quick question sir. I’ll be setting up a 5 channel amp in my 4Runner. -Let’s just say on one of my channels, I have a door speaker and a dash speaker wired in parallel. -both speakers are 4 ohm, and rated for 100 rms each. …I’d be running a 2 ohm load. So what is the equation for that?
Does input voltage to the amplifier matter? I am running an Exile Javelin and 15.4 on my boat. I set my gains per your instructions (really well done btw) with the boat off, where my dash was reading 12.6V. When my boat is running the dash reads somewhere in the mid 13s for voltage. Do I need to consider this when setting my gains, or does the amp or boat adjust for this change in voltage?
For setting gains it is not terribly important. But it will make a difference in your actual power output. When voltage drops you will clip earlier and make less power. So you will make less power with the motor off. The bigger concern is draining the batteries and getting stranded on the water.
Thank you for this video! Question, I have a 4 channel Amp with an RMS rating of 100 watts per channel at 4 Ohms. I'm connecting each speaker to its own channel so 4 speakers total. According to your calculations, target voltage should be 20. When testing the voltage, should 20 volts be tested on each channel (all 4)?
Well a 4 channel only has 2 gain dials, 1/2 and 3/4 channels. You put the meter on chan 1+ and chan 2- and move dial till 20.0v. Repeat for other as well, chan 3+ and chan 4-. (Correct me if im wrong)
Also I tried to do channel 1+ and -. And 20v wasnt even reading no matter where the dial was. Like for ex, at the lowest it read 1v and at the highest it read 15v. Obviously thats not the right numbers but you get the point. Thats why i say chan 1+ and chan 2-
That is correct, but you only need to test one channel on the front and one on the year since most amps don't have gain controls for left and right, just front and back.
Thank you, this is what I did and speakers now sound to their potential! I always relied on my clip indicator on the remote but this method is so much better!
You should be able to find the clip point by testing the voltage @ your rca outpout. If the headunit specs call for 4v preouts then youd look for that AC voltage testing the center pin and outer shell of the rca.
Do I have to turn up my lpf when setting my gains because when I do it messes with the voltage, so should I leav it at 80hz and get my target voltage while leaving it at 80hz
I tried this method with a multimeter and the readings are low. I played test tone and need a 24.49 (600watts) volts and only getting about 10 volts with the gain turned all the way up. Am I doing something wrong? Played music afterwards and it plays with very low output... not sure whats going on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Hello, I'm trying to adjust gains for 4 channel amp And on each side I have a 75w midbass and 50w tweeter installed (4ohms) For the voltage calculation do I use 50/75/125w? Thanks in advance
I answer that question in this video: ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.html It is worth watching, as there are some helpful tips and tools for setting your gain.
What if i need to get 34.6v from amp. But i can get only like 14-15v max even on full volume? Amp is rated to 1000w" and my sub for 300rms 900wats. What can be wrong?
I have a 3300 watt hifinics gamma amp pushing 2 15in 4ohm DVC P3s and have them wired to 2 ohms. With those being 600RMS each, could I use my "max power" number as 1200watts and then multiple that by 2 then instead of doing full 3300 (which is actually like 2700) times 2?
Yes, if the amplifier can put out more power than the speaker can handle then it's smart too use the RMS rating of the speaker when doing the calculations.
Hi, thank you very much for this video. Literally the most useful one on UA-cam. Keep it up. Quick question, can this be applied to underseat sub ? If not,is there anyway to set the built-in amp on underseat sub. Thanks
Not unless you remove the subwoofer or the amplifier from the enclosure. Honestly the best way to do one of the other seats subwoofers is to just set it by ear. It sounds like crap turn the gain down.
So you said your tutorial speaker could handle 125W, and you gave it 150W, making it a 25% increase. Do you recommend this percentage increase for most speakers to stay safe and not clip them ?
how would I test voltage for a 4 channel amp? I want to have my amp running at 100w per channel x 4 at 4 ohms. Would I calculate the voltage by taking the square root of 4x100 or 4x100x4? You can only put the testing probes on a single pair of + - terminals on an amp. Would testing a single terminal pair at 20 volts (square root of 4x1000) work for this? Or should is test them at 40 ( square root of 4x100x4)?
most four channel amplifiers will have a separate set of gain and crossover controls for the front and rear channels. so you will need to do the process twice. Once for the front channels, once for the rear channels. So in your case it's four ohms per channel and 100 watts per channel. So four ohms * 100 w = 400. The square root of 400 is 20. So pick one of the front channels and set the voltage at 20. Then pick one of the rear channels and set the voltage at 20.
Hi there, great video and super helpful! I have a question tho... I have a 5 channel Alpine amp XA90V and everything is wired up to the speakers and sub and the install is complete. I have it tuned what I believe to be reasonably well be ear, but want to fine tune with a multimeter to get the maximum benefit out of the amp. Because of the location of the amp, I can access the controls but cannot remove the amp to plug the Multi meter directly into the terminals. However I can access the speaker terminals... Could I do the same process with multimeter at the speaker terminals and get the same result? Cheers.
Hi quick question I just picked up an SMD DD1 I disconnected the speakers to the amp and I hooked up the unit and I played kicker test tones 50 Hz And I also played Amazon Music 40 Hz sine wave. Neither of them picked up the 40 Hz on the DD1 light. And showed nothing once I turned the gain up. I also tried to multimeter and I’m getting no volts out of that. What could I possibly be doing wrong?
I have a problem. So I play a 50hz test tone to set my voltage, but every time I turn the test tone off and restart it, I get a differnt voltage reading that is either higher or lower than what I had originally set. It's the same test tone. What could be the issue here?
Hi there , thanks for reply. I have focal flex evo p20 fse subwoofer with focal FDS 1.350 And also focal flex evo ps165 f3e 3 way component speakers Also hertz for back doors mpx 165.3 pro With two amps from focal fpx 4.800 for midwoofer and hertz spekers FDS 4.350 For mid speakers and tweeter Can have set volume for all these please. Thanks
I'm not familiar with the gear so I can't tell you how to set it up. I would advise you to reach out to the dealer that sold you the equipment or reach out to focal customer service.
So I did the 75% of the volume, I’m running a 1 ohm load, my amp is 2500 watts that’ll put me at 50 volts, connected the multimeter probes and it sent my amp into protect mode while trying to set my gains. What did I do wrong???
@@DIYAudioGuy I wasn’t able to measure it honestly. I’m having an issue where my inside speakers cut out at high volume regardless if I set the gains. Someone suggested it might be an electrical issue. I have an extra battery for my 4-channel but didn’t upgrade the alternator, so hopefully that solves it
So if I have dual 12in speakers wash 300watt rms and a 2000 watt amp 2ohms. What would my target voltage be? Do I add both speakers and do the square root of 600x2? Or 300x2
If I have MTX TNA251 250 Watt RMS Mono Car Amplifier Amp, 150 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (250 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms) running two mtx 12s what would be my target voltage?
What if my amp is rated 75rms but the voltage of the channels wont go above 11? Could it be a faulty DMM? Or should I uograde the power cable? Also, if my speakers are only 50 rms should I calculate the voltage based on 50?
What am I doing wrong? No matter how much I turn up the gain I can’t reach the target voltage. In my set up I used the wires from a factory sub and put them into a line out converter. And that goes to my amp. Should I have come from the door speakers to my line out converter? Thank you
Hiya, great video. I did the same steps as in the video, but I'm only getting 1.63v from the speaker terminals when the gain is at its max. Any suggestions as to why.
I will be adding a sub to my Jeep soon with a mono or Class D amp. When I run the tone though the head unit the sound will still play through the door speakers since they aren't amped. Do I really have to pull them all out and disconnect them at the speaker? Or is there another way to keep the tone out of the door speakers? Thanks!
That makes things a little more complicated. You can use a digital multimeter to test the voltage on the RCA output of the head unit and the EQ. Most of them should pump out 2 to 4 volts maximum. If I were you I'd pick up in a siloscope so that you can test for clipping. ua-cam.com/video/oBNETr9AHwA/v-deo.html
@@DIYAudioGuy come payday that's definitely on the list. from reading manuals i know the deck puts out 2v, and the eq can put out as much as 7v, and the amps input sensitivity max out at 4v, so ideally i'd want the eq to bump up the 2v from the deck to the 4v the amp can take correct?
I have a phonics digital amp 1,000 watt model pd-2610 I have level, hpf, life, dials and also I'm powering it with a xbox brick it's details is input: 100v-127v~4.8A, 50/60Hz output: 12v-16.5A, 5vsb-1.0A but I don't know how to set the settings correctly?
Does this NEED to be done while the engine is running? I'm in my heated garage right now, it's -15 outside so I really don't feel like going outside to do it but I got some time to do it today so that's what I planned on doing. Just got an oscilloscope too so gonna try that out
Ok so this video has helped me a lot but I’m not doing 4 ohm or 2ohm setup with my sundown SALT 4k rms amp. On the dyno it’s doing 5-6k watts and I’ll be running the amp at .5ohm final load. So since the amp says it’s 4k but on a dyno it puts out 6k what voltage should I use to set my gain on the amp then? 🥴 I’m trying to learn day by day! Again great video and subbed!
I've got an Alpine KTA-450. It all goes to one plug, and so you can't disconnect the speakers at the amp and have it powered on too. Would it be fine to set the gains via the multimeter at the amp while the speakers are connected? Or would that throw off the volts? I could disconnect the speakers and connect to the speaker wires at the speaker. Though removing the speakers is kind of a pain. So I guess I'm asking, is if I'll get the same voltage reading regardless if the speakers are connect to the amp or not?
@@DIYAudioGuy Okay, I guess I'll unplug the speakers. and then clamp my meter to the pos/neg of one of the front speakers wires. and then do the same for the rear. I assume you do the front by themselves, and then do the rear by themselves? Thanks
@@colt5189 Yes, do the fronts and the rears separately. I Google the amp because I wanted to see what you were talking about. I see the problem now the power wire, the ground wire, the speaker wire, everything goes into one plug. I don't like that design. I'm assuming that you have the wires from the harness soldered into your speaker wires? another option might be to cut the wires and crimp on some waterproof connectors just to the speaker wires. It sounds like a pretty big hassle, you might just want to set your gains by ear. If you think your current setup sounds good (no distortion, levels are matched well to subwoofer...) you might just want to leave it alone.
@@DIYAudioGuy The speaker output wires on the amp wiring harness are butt connected to my speaker wires. Can you not instead just disconnect the speakers and connect the DMM to the positive/ground speaker wires that plug into the speakers? My amp isn't setup yet as I just got done connecting all of the wires and doing a check to make sure they all were connected correctly a couple of days ago. I may look for some kind of music like maybe acoustic guitars or something that I think would be easier to pick up distortion on compared to playing hard rock or something.
Question from a new audiofile! So I'm using two subs to a mono amp. They handle 500w RMS and they are 4 ohms resistance each. So I'm wiring them in parallel to the outputs on the amp so they are now 2ohms of resistance total, and the amp is capable of 600w RMS at 2ohms. So would my equation would be square root of 600x2? Which results in 34.64v
A viewer asked me for some help -- he lives on the other side of the globe and does not have access to the tools available in the US. But he does have a DMM. You can do a lot with a DMM, get one if you don' t have one.
Multi-meter (inexpensive option): amzn.to/3exHjiD
Where'd you get the Blaupunkt? The memories...
Thanks for the video,wasn't sure if I had my gains right and only had a multi-meter. Kudos!
Amazon: amzn.to/2YDhqXM
They are not what they were back in the day, but they are cheap and they work.
@@DIYAudioGuy Should i set my gain before or after setting crossovers?
Very simple easy to understand tutorial for setting the amp gain. Now my problem is this. I used a 50 Hz test tone to set my subwoofer amp gain to 31.62 volts ac with head unit at 75% volume. Amp is similar to the video, RF prime 500 watt rms monoblock, pushing a 500 rms 12” d4 sub wired parallel at 2 ohms. but now I have almost no bass? What am I doing wrong? I believe the issue is the test tone vs playing music where the rca signal voltage varies and is generally much lower on average vs the max signal voltage using the test tone. That’s my guess anyway.
I have been watching a crap load of videos all day on setting up amp gain on my amplifiers. I had watched several that were great, and some that should not even be allowed to be watched. I had came across yours and your video was THE BEST of all of them. Not only did you explain the why and the reasons, but also for if one had speakers that were rated lower than their amplifier, which was one of the things that I was looking for. Explaining the target voltage was clear and understandable. Even though I understand electricity, your explanation was direct and to the point.
Thanks for a great video!
Glad to be of help!
I just set my gains with this method, I’ve previously always used the “by ear method” and my system is somehow louder and clearer than it was before. Thanks DIY Audio Guy
I'm glad it worked for you!
@@DIYAudioGuy now to save up for an oscilloscope or maybe even an SMD
Hands down the BEST tutorial on UA-cam for this. Answered every question I had -- when other tutorials didn't. Thank you so much!
Thanks!
Super easy to understand video and a solid full-proof way for anyone to set gains without spending a bunch of bucks. We need more useful videos like this in car audio. Thumbed up and subbed!
That's what I was shooting for.
Fantastic video! Didn't get snarky with viewers who complained. Didn't try to sell an overpriced in house product. This guy, is subscribed!
You are far to kind. Thank you.
This guy is the best. Unlike most other channels this guy explains things very well.
You are too kind.
Great way to set gains without breaking the bank on single use tools. Thanks DIY Audio Guy!
I have some more short videos like this on the works.
I like you guy, pretty cool how you shouted out all the other channels I been watching
Yea, there is so much great info on UA-cam. Not like it was when I was a teenager. You just had to trust the shop selling the gear.
@@DIYAudioGuy I have found the issue. It was something with the rca but it is all fixed now👍Thanks.
Last week I tried tuning my setup by ear like I have done since 1993. Well, I am using a Taramps hd3000 which is notorious for clipping with weak electrical. Long story short I over estimated my ear and clipped the sub to death. Ordered another sub and today, after watching this video, I set the gain with my multimeter and man that was easy. Thank you DIY Audio Guy
Just the other day I was helping a friend set gains with my O-scope. He has a buddy that used to work in a shop and his buddy set it by ear. Dude did not trust the ear method, but according to the O-scope it was dead on perfect.
Bravo! This is your best video to date
Thank you!
So I used your method when using an amprobe. Worked great. Also found a few interesting things. There's voltage loss when using a bass remote. A significant amount. Also that my amp voltage doesn't hit the desired voltage for a 1 ohm setup. The only way I could achieve the 36.4 volt output was to adjust the bass boost to 6db (which I did not and will not use). I setup my LPF to 80hz and was able to do so by toggling my head unit crossover on and off at 80hz. My gain is setup to 3/4 and pulling 30 volts. My Subsonic is set to 35hz based on the box tuning... My shit pounds! But I still need to hook up a capacitor and replace my door speakers for better overall sound quality. I took your advice about exceeding the 75% volume setting when setting the gain as well. I have a 16 year old son that's becoming a bass head and figured he may exceed the volume limit! So, thank you for all your knowledge and putting in layman's terms! Thank you sir!
4 year old video and still the best out there! Thanks again!
Great information. What if I have a bass knob (I do)? What do I do with that?
That's going to depend on the amp and how the knob operates. But, if the goal is to prevent clipping then you will want to turn the bass knob all the way up before you set your gains. That way you will not clip with the knob all the way up.
@@DIYAudioGuy Thanks for the response!
Finally!! Not some over complicated bs that suggest you buy $200 meters. Thank you!!
Glad to help!
@@DIYAudioGuy do you have a video on setting the LPF at exactly 80 hz for a sub amp?
ua-cam.com/video/bNauOkzdTRM/v-deo.html
New Sub!!! Thank you so much for this video, just installed a complete Timpano system and no one could tune it; thanks to this vid I could finally tune it myself and now it sounds great and it’s not clipping at high volumes! 🙌🏼🔥
Fantastic I hope you get a lot of joy out of your system.
This wasn’t mentioned at the beginning of the video where he talked about meters but I did notice he is using a TRUE RMS meter. You need a meter that is true rms. They will be accurate at many different frequencies. A general meter that is not true rms will only be accurate at 50-60Hz since they are made to measure wall voltage in a home, and that is what frequency 120-240 volts AC is. But an audio signal will go from 20Hz to 20kHz, and playing a test tone frequency of 1000Hz is going to generate a voltage that a standard meter will not be able to read accurately, but a true rms meter will. The free one from Harbor Freight will NOT read accurately for full range 20Hz-20kHz signals. If this is just a sub amp, then it might be ok, because you could simply use a test tone frequency of 50-60Hz and get an accurate output reading.
Thank you for this comment. More people need to know this, as I rarely hear it in amp communities and such.
Directly to the point, I subscribed!!! T.y
Welcome to the adventure!
So why did we get a square root for the amp Nd subs??confused
Great video. Setting up a system. Amp at 240 RMS bridged to 250 RMS speaker. 4 ohms. (240×4=960) square root 30.98... that will be my max voltage on the multimeter.
Other speakers: 100 RMS amp to 150 RMS speaker. 4 ohms. (100 x 4 = 400) square root is 20. So multimeter AC volts should be max of 20.
Hope this looks correct.
Your video was amazing!!! Huge help and so simple! Thanks!
Looks right to me.
Great information thanks. One question I have is should I use the amp's quoted "RMS" wattage or the quoted "MAX" wattage? And the same for the speakers.
RMS, for both.
Never EVER go by "Max" or "peak". These are pretty much meaningless ratings
Because people trust and like you... We need you to do this same set up... But on a head unit with a subwoofer channel.... And a amp with a bass knob... So people understand that the subwoofer channel level is not a volume..it works like a fader in can be at max 10 when you set up your deck and amp... And people need to know that a bass knob needs to be in full before you set your gains.... These these are two very important factors... That have only caused arguments on Facebook groups... Why I'm asking you is Cause I've taken electronics.. and You speak my language
That video is definitely on my list. Just waiting for a good chance to make it.
Awesome video I used my liumy O-scope to set the gains on mine and I made sure to write down the voltage I was getting on each one since it shows it to the side👍
I do it the same way.
You can check the preout voltage of the head unit through the rcas
Set multimeter to ac
Play a 40hz tone with the rcas unplugged volume max(whatever it is for you probably 3/4 like he said in the video)
Probe the male end with positive and the shielding with negative
Boom preout voltage, look online to figure out how many v of clean preout yours is and match from there turning the volume up or down if needed
I have a question for you. I always run my head unit bass setting at negative 4, so that my dash and door speakers don't get too much bass. Those all run off the power of the head unit, no external amplifier. Even at negative 4, the door speakers are plenty loud and have plenty of bass. When I set the input gain on my subwoofer amp, would I want to leave the head unit's bass setting at negative 4, being that's how I always run it? Everything I've read says that you want to set everything to "flat", which doesn't make sense to me if that's not how it's normally ran.
You have to set everything flat to get an accurate reading, and a lot of times people will turn on their bass boost or crank their bass up causing clipping and distortion. If you're trying to shape the sound it's always better to cut instead of boost. Since you are cutting you're probably not going to do any damage. but you're not going to get the best possible sound either.
If your head unit has a crossover then you can use the crossover to pull the bass out of your door and dash speakers.
In the end always remember that it's your gear and you can set it up anyway that you like.
@@DIYAudioGuy Thank you!
Before adjusting gain, where should my bass boost , LP and HP filters be set at? Other videos have mentioned to set the bass boost at 0 and the LP and HP filters to highest before setting gain. What’s your opinion on this? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
This is correct. I'll make sure to include that information the next time that I make a video on setting gains.
Actually no, you want to hit maximum voltage with the bass boost set where you plan to use it. If you plan on adding some boost to certain music, turn it on to the highest setting, set your gain using this method, then turn the boost back down, now you know you can add some boost without clipping. It’s worth noting that if you use boost on your head unit, the max volume you can set it to may be lower. Instead of 75% volume you may be limited to 65% volume. You won’t know actual volume until you use an oscilloscope.
I wish the headunits had a lock point for the volume knobs on the units so that you can turn it wide open to 100 & its fine.
Its called source level and in aftermarket head units can be found in settings. Eave though if you are using an good quality amplifier it doesn't matter if the head unit is clipping. The singnal going in the amplifier is going through a procession that removes clipping from the input. That's why it's so important to adjust gain correctly
@@andreasbongdacity2854 well, the subs are going to amp, but .....4 door speakers are feeding from the Sony head unit. 55x4 Im gonna look for sourse level this evening, if I find it I will bump it down just a hair. thanx
kenwood has a volume offset setting so you can set your max volume setting
1000% agree with you mainly for customer to keep them from blowing up equipment when they play some trash quality file over bluetooth. Personally i could care less as long as the knob adjustment is fine enough and doesnt have massive jumping in level each number. Since the numbers to me are worthless i use my ears.
@@andreasbongdacity2854 This is completely false. There’s no way to remove clipping from a signal. You can counteract it by turning down like how a compressor works but it’s still going to be a distorted wave.
just a question, to find my target voltage am i taking my:
*RMS power of amp and Ohm rating of amp* (RP1200.1D)
OR
*RMS power of amp and Ohms my speakers will be wired to*(RP1200.1D x Speakers wired to 2 ohms)
Other than this question pretty straight forward video!
Me useing the exact amp he said not to use
That Alpine is okay bro
One of the best illustrations of gain settings, out there! Easy subscribe!
Thanks for the sub!
After watching all your videos , I installed my amp and speakers. sounds great. The only question I have is that the voltage per channel is 16.12. The rear speakers have a volt of 24.5, do I setup the amp for the per channel voltage 16.12 or for the rear speakers to 24.5. Note. the front speakers and a voltage of 14.14 Thank for all the information
You typically have a separate gain control for front and rear, set them both either based on the power rating of the amp or the speakers, whichever is smaller. Another trick, if you want to emphasize the front stage you can reduce the gain on the rear channels.
I stumbled on this video looking at one of your other videos and this answered a question I've been having for a while. I assume this would be a good way to match the outputs of two similar but not identical amps. Thank you very much for making this video!
Yes, this is a great way to gain match two amplifiers.
Do you multiply the rms by the lowest ohm the amp is rated or by your speaker impedance? My amp is 40wrms@4 or 60@2. My speaker final impedance with a tweeter is 2.66ohms. What do I multiply 2.66 with?
You're not the only one recommending to do the set-up with the volume at 75%... Please explain this fine audience what the down-side of tuning a stereo for 100% volume. We are talking about cars and they should be functional, regardless if the one and only driver is using it, the one who knows about a 75% limit... I would hate to get into someone's car (for various reasons, including emergency situations) and brake something... So what';s the downside of doing all the adjustment to accommodate 100% volume? Thanks!
It's just a rule of thumb. Like all rules of thumb they don't always work.
There are better ways to set up your amplifier, but those methods require more tools.
@@DIYAudioGuy OK; I was only curious... Thanks for answering and stay safe!
Thanks very much. Now I can try to do this tomorrow for my 1500 amp RF.
I have set my gains according to your video and now I have no problems on my amplifier. Thank you. My subs pumps hard and it never did clip. Again thank you.
Awesome, glad it worked!
If your amps are very difficult to get to, can you use the wire at the speaker?
I had always done this by ear. Just checked my setup and was within 1v of what it should have been. nice to know im close once in a while.
Back in the day the old school shops would set them all by ear. Even now there are some people who swear that the ear is the only tool you should use when setting up your system.
How do we deal with roll off from the factory unit when trying to set using a test tone. 3/4 way up on Ford B&O with a 40hz test tone and the factory system compensates with rolling off the bass once you crank it up. Should I use a -5 or -10 40hz test tone instead?
W x ohms.
I have a 4 channel amp, each channel gives 50rms. Do I use 50w rms for W or should I use all the channels rms together for W? Or peak power output for each channel?
And also, If I run two 4ohm speakers, do I just use 4ohm in the equation or should I add the two speaker together and use 8ohm?
How to check what gain I need for speakers
That is based on the amount of power that you plan on using, or the amount of power that your speakers can handle. Whichever is lowest.
So if you have a 75 watt per channel amplifier going into speakers ready for 75 watts per channel then you want to set your gain so that you get 75 watts per channel.
I've got a couple more videos on the process. This one shows a cost-effective alternative and gives you some more examples of how to use the multimeter correctly.
ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.html
Thanks for the info, bud. Helped me out when I had no idea.
Thanks for the tip! I appreciate you.
I was going to say I have that same amp... but that's a R400-4D and I have the Class AB R300X4 haha.
Also really clear and on point. Good job!
Both are great amps.
@@DIYAudioGuy Indeed. Mine was pushing my Ultimax 10 for a while with Channel 3 & 4 Bridged. Didn't complain one bit. Now I have a dedicated amp for the sub though.
Hell yeah brother!
This is a good rudimentary way to set gain without DD-1 or O scope. The only issue i see is you don't account for attenuation when running signal via Bluetooth. Most people run their phone volume to max when running BT and that can dirty your signal for sure.
Otherwise great video as always and keep the content coming.
That is a good point!
I might also add. I like how you recommend the kicker audio files for test tones. I'd rather point someone that route than to play a random tone generator. The files from kicker are setup with different recording levels 0db, -5db and -10db to help tailor your gain matching even further. Again in addressing attenuation I've always downloaded these files to either a CD or zip drive. You know 100% your signal is super clean that way. I do have a future video idea if you haven't done one yet. A full front to back gain matching. I.e. from the source unit to a DSP, EQ, ect. Showingthe importance of adjusting your gain from the source unit at every piece of gear in the line and ultimately at your amp. Great videos as always and your edit is coming along nicely btw. Keep up the great work.
What test tune frequency should you use? Or does it matter?
Every 'pro' audio guy I have ever talked to has these 'hard limits' like you just mentioned (3:13) but I firmly believe it is 100% because of how you guys learned to do stereo stuff.
Everything I learned was from practical application or self taught and I'll admit I have blown some equipment, but the limits you guys mention are hilarious and the things you think will happen if you go above/beyond those limits are wholly comical. 99.9% of the time, unless you have wired something very, very wrong or have gone hilariously above the limit (on purpose a huge majority of the time), you're probably just going to get protection mode constantly, distorted sound, or overheat your equipment over and over.
Unless whatever you are using is old or was beat to crap/put over it's limits consistently for weeks or months, you're more then likely ok to prod those limits with trial and error.
Better to be safe than sorry. If you need it louder, buy better equipment.
I constantly blow subs and speakers from overpowering them cause I’m too cheap to have someone with a DD 1 set them and I just set it by ear. 😂🤦🏻♂️
Sub woofer is 600w rms @ dual voice coil @ 4 ohms, i wire it to produce 2ohms, monoblock is rated at 500w rms @ 2ohms, which rms should i use to calculate the voltage? Amplifier or subwoofer?
Does punch equaliser have effect on this process? If yes shoul it be at min level or maximum level while setting up the gain?
Does cabinet tuning affect this process in any way?
Thanks great video learnt alot.
Always go with the lower number, so 500 watts in your case. I don't recommend using any kind of bass boost. If you have the amp tune so you're just on the edge of clipping turning on the bass boost will cause clipping. ua-cam.com/video/KSdnrBI7a90/v-deo.html
The box tuning doesn't matter, but you may need an infrasonic filter. ua-cam.com/video/iWRoIho7A7c/v-deo.html
@DIYAudioGuy thanks very much for you feedback. I really appreciate your knowledge
Great videos. Doing a full install now. Was 2nd guessing my ohm configuration and set gains properly using voltage formulas or DbMv
👍
If i have component speakers that run at 150rms and 40rms, would I just add those two together at 190? So 190rms @ 4ohms would be 760 and my target volts would be 27.5?
Great Video, wondering if you could answer some questions, when you say speaker can only handle 150 watts of power at 2"22", is that RMS or Peak Power ? And in bridged mode like you did with the 75W per channel amp, Will it be louder than having it wired as normal? Cheers Mario from Australia.
1) RMS 2) In theory bridged should double output since you are merging two channels.
I have a 2000 watt mono block amp. It puts out 2000 at 1ohm. I have 4 8s that are 400rms a piece. Thats 1600watts, There wired down to 1 ohm. If I was to set my gain would it be 2000 x 1ohm or 1600 x 1ohm to find the voltage. Thanks
Always go with the smaller number -- if the amp has less power then go with the amp, if the subs are rated to handle less power then go with the subs.
Good day can you help me adjust my crossover which has a built-in line driver if 5v to match my mids and sub amp and what can I use if I don't have a DD1 available... Can a multimeter be used...?
My amp is a 2000 watts. My voltage output is very low and idk why. It was in this truck before attached to the same battery and not just isnt pushing power. I need it at 44 volts and with the gain all the way its only at 10volts. Any ideas on my problem?
Might need to turn the head unit up a bit.
Great video. I have a taramps hd3, 1 ohm, 1 channel. I will wired (4) speakers with 350 rms ea total of 1400 watts rms. So if i understand correctly (taramps said the amp whired at 2 ohms is 2000 watts) 2000 x 2 = 4000 sqr is 63.2 volts. But since i need only 1400 watts then it be 1400 x 2= 2800 & sqr is 52.9 volts is this correct?
You can use a DMM to find your head unit clipping by figuring out what your preouts voltage is from the manufacturer and then use a 0db 50hz test tone,turn the head unit volume all the way up as well as the subwoofer volume on the head unit,then run your test tone and attach the ground of the dmm to the outer pins on the rca and the positive to the center pin on the rca,say your preouts are 2 volt preouts. The dmm should read around 2.8 volts not the dmm,turn the volume knob on the receiver down till it hits the target 2 volts 😎
If my speakers are 4ohm but it’s paralleled to 2ohm, do I use 2ohm in the equation? Or 4ohm? I’m using 2 250rms subs with a 500rms mono amp. I set the V to 31.6, using the equation with 2ohm, but it doesn’t sound like it’s loud enough. They can def go higher on the gain without distortion. Should I be using 4ohm in the equation instead or is that as loud as 250rms go? I also have a sealed box.
If your speakers are wired to a 2 ohm load then use 2 ohms in the calculation. If it's not enough bass to satisfy you then I recommend upgrading rather than turning up the gain. But, it is your gear If you want to turn the gain up just a little bit you can do that. Just be careful with it. Clipping can kill subwoofers.
75 watt amplifier, 200 watt amplifier
When you set the same speaker for two amplifiers
Is it correct to set the gain value to the same voltage since the rms power and resistance value of the
I have a kicker cxa400.1 says on the sheet for 1ohm I'll get 400w and the volts should be 20.00v
I'm running two 10s 200w dvc 4 ohm each I set my gain at the 20.00v am I right?
I have a question. What settings do I put my head unit on as far as bass / treble / mid before I set the gain with the multimeter? Also does this mean that I can't use bass boost on the amplifier itself? Thank you and great video as well!!!
Set everything flat, I do not recommend using bass boost. If you can turn up the boost without clipping then you could have just turned the gain up instead.
Hello diy audioguy. Thanks for your videos. The gain is adjusted for both subwoofers and mid and high speakers with the same Output Power (14.4 V) @ 4 ohm. This is the Output Power specification for the Powerbass Amp ASA3-700.5
OK.
By the way if your amplifier is in a hard to reach spot or you can’t get to the speaker terminals of the amplifier, you can measure at the end of the speaker cable where it connects to the speaker. Just make sure to disconnect the speaker and measure the speaker leads.
Yes, that works.
For those fine adjustment knobs drill a hole in a ruler big enough to jam the screwdriver in. Then you have an adjuster with a wider arc and you can hit those mv numbers.
Clever trick.
I tried this but my there’s no voltage at my speaker outputs, RCAS are in, ive got 12v at supply of the amp, when I put the speaker cable on the terminals the speakers play the tone, and My multi meter is on AC, but I’ve got absolutely nothing coming up on my multi meter. What could be going on here? Also great video, cheers!
Could it be a problem with the multimeter?
DIY Audio Guy well it worked when I tested for power, but it is one of my dads old ones, I’ll try with a better one I have, thanks though xx
how about the subwoofer output level on the head unit would you sent this to max?
I’m setting gains on a 6 channel amp with the multimeter. 4 of the channels are going to be 4 ohm @165 watts
The other 2 are parallel at
2 ohms @290 watts.
When setting volts do I count both channels when finding voltage square root or do I do a single channel in the math equation.
4ohm x 165 watts\ 25.69 volts
All the way count both channels in the math equation
4 ohm x 330/ 36.33 volts
Just a single channel
I was looking at Alpine S-A60M 600W RMS amp, it was measured at 14.4 volts and 1% THD. That's not lying about it I agree that.
I think this is the older version of that amp. Great stuff. ua-cam.com/video/QggLZb77_sU/v-deo.html
@@DIYAudioGuy Yes, older ones are good. Just dont get this new trend, how they kinda cheat the rms power even it is the cheaper series of amps but it just makes Alpine look cheap
Best video on here for setting the gain! Thank you very much!
You are welcome.
@@DIYAudioGuy Quick question sir. I’ll be setting up a 5 channel amp in my 4Runner.
-Let’s just say on one of my channels, I have a door speaker and a dash speaker wired in parallel.
-both speakers are 4 ohm, and rated for 100 rms each.
…I’d be running a 2 ohm load. So what is the equation for that?
Dude. Gonna try and do this right now on my powered kicker 10”
🤞🏼🤞🏼
Does input voltage to the amplifier matter? I am running an Exile Javelin and 15.4 on my boat. I set my gains per your instructions (really well done btw) with the boat off, where my dash was reading 12.6V. When my boat is running the dash reads somewhere in the mid 13s for voltage. Do I need to consider this when setting my gains, or does the amp or boat adjust for this change in voltage?
For setting gains it is not terribly important. But it will make a difference in your actual power output. When voltage drops you will clip earlier and make less power. So you will make less power with the motor off. The bigger concern is draining the batteries and getting stranded on the water.
So if my amp is 800@1ohm that gives me 28.28. So when I got the multi meter on, my gain should be reading close to 28.28 for maximum power?
Love that dude likes your comment and never answered lol
Thank you for this video! Question, I have a 4 channel Amp with an RMS rating of 100 watts per channel at 4 Ohms. I'm connecting each speaker to its own channel so 4 speakers total. According to your calculations, target voltage should be 20. When testing the voltage, should 20 volts be tested on each channel (all 4)?
Well a 4 channel only has 2 gain dials, 1/2 and 3/4 channels. You put the meter on chan 1+ and chan 2- and move dial till 20.0v. Repeat for other as well, chan 3+ and chan 4-. (Correct me if im wrong)
Also I tried to do channel 1+ and -. And 20v wasnt even reading no matter where the dial was. Like for ex, at the lowest it read 1v and at the highest it read 15v. Obviously thats not the right numbers but you get the point. Thats why i say chan 1+ and chan 2-
That is correct, but you only need to test one channel on the front and one on the year since most amps don't have gain controls for left and right, just front and back.
Thank you, this is what I did and speakers now sound to their potential! I always relied on my clip indicator on the remote but this method is so much better!
You should be able to find the clip point by testing the voltage @ your rca outpout. If the headunit specs call for 4v preouts then youd look for that AC voltage testing the center pin and outer shell of the rca.
Correct. I have some RCA to speaker wire pigtails that I use for testing RCA's. Much easier than trying to hold the probes against the RCA wire.
Do I have to turn up my lpf when setting my gains because when I do it messes with the voltage, so should I leav it at 80hz and get my target voltage while leaving it at 80hz
I like the new format, i have a 04 ram ur videos help me a lot, do you going to show the performance of the sound system?
I was hoping to get to a MECA show and enter a SQL competition, but it has not worked out.
I tried this method with a multimeter and the readings are low. I played test tone and need a 24.49 (600watts) volts and only getting about 10 volts with the gain turned all the way up. Am I doing something wrong? Played music afterwards and it plays with very low output... not sure whats going on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.htmlsi=4SMUphcoxeFy-2y7
Hello, I'm trying to adjust gains for 4 channel amp
And on each side I have a 75w midbass and 50w tweeter installed (4ohms)
For the voltage calculation do I use 50/75/125w?
Thanks in advance
I answer that question in this video: ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.html It is worth watching, as there are some helpful tips and tools for setting your gain.
What if i need to get 34.6v from amp. But i can get only like 14-15v max even on full volume? Amp is rated to 1000w" and my sub for 300rms 900wats. What can be wrong?
I have a 3300 watt hifinics gamma amp pushing 2 15in 4ohm DVC P3s and have them wired to 2 ohms. With those being 600RMS each, could I use my "max power" number as 1200watts and then multiple that by 2 then instead of doing full 3300 (which is actually like 2700) times 2?
Yes, if the amplifier can put out more power than the speaker can handle then it's smart too use the RMS rating of the speaker when doing the calculations.
@@DIYAudioGuy Perfect, thanks for the response!
Hi, thank you very much for this video. Literally the most useful one on UA-cam. Keep it up. Quick question, can this be applied to underseat sub ? If not,is there anyway to set the built-in amp on underseat sub. Thanks
Not unless you remove the subwoofer or the amplifier from the enclosure. Honestly the best way to do one of the other seats subwoofers is to just set it by ear. It sounds like crap turn the gain down.
@@DIYAudioGuy much appreciated for the response 👍
So you said your tutorial speaker could handle 125W, and you gave it 150W, making it a 25% increase. Do you recommend this percentage increase for most speakers to stay safe and not clip them ?
No, so many companies lie about their specs that I cannot safely give you a rule of thumb.
how would I test voltage for a 4 channel amp? I want to have my amp running at 100w per channel x 4 at 4 ohms. Would I calculate the voltage by taking the square root of 4x100 or 4x100x4? You can only put the testing probes on a single pair of + - terminals on an amp. Would testing a single terminal pair at 20 volts (square root of 4x1000) work for this? Or should is test them at 40 ( square root of 4x100x4)?
most four channel amplifiers will have a separate set of gain and crossover controls for the front and rear channels. so you will need to do the process twice. Once for the front channels, once for the rear channels. So in your case it's four ohms per channel and 100 watts per channel. So four ohms * 100 w = 400. The square root of 400 is 20. So pick one of the front channels and set the voltage at 20. Then pick one of the rear channels and set the voltage at 20.
@@DIYAudioGuy Alright thank you so much
i have audiocontrol lc 6 1200 provide 125 watts RMS and focal 80 watts RMS 4-ohm impedance what voltages i should keep my amp gain please help
Hi there, great video and super helpful! I have a question tho... I have a 5 channel Alpine amp XA90V and everything is wired up to the speakers and sub and the install is complete. I have it tuned what I believe to be reasonably well be ear, but want to fine tune with a multimeter to get the maximum benefit out of the amp. Because of the location of the amp, I can access the controls but cannot remove the amp to plug the Multi meter directly into the terminals. However I can access the speaker terminals... Could I do the same process with multimeter at the speaker terminals and get the same result? Cheers.
Yes.
Awesome! Thank you for responding 👌
Hi quick question I just picked up an SMD DD1
I disconnected the speakers to the amp and I hooked up the unit and I played kicker test tones 50 Hz
And I also played Amazon Music 40 Hz sine wave.
Neither of them picked up the 40 Hz on the DD1 light. And showed nothing once I turned the gain up.
I also tried to multimeter and I’m getting no volts out of that. What could I possibly be doing wrong?
Start working your way backwards, see if you're getting any signal out of the rcas.
Do you use the nominal impedance (z), the actual resistance Re (often 3.5 to 3.9 instead of 4 ohms), or would you measure including your speaker wire?
Nominal impedance.
I have a problem. So I play a 50hz test tone to set my voltage, but every time I turn the test tone off and restart it, I get a differnt voltage reading that is either higher or lower than what I had originally set. It's the same test tone. What could be the issue here?
Okay, that's just plain weird. 😕 I wish I had an answer for you but I just don't.
Your videos are the best. Should I use the test tones you recommend at o db
0db test tones are fine.
Hi there , thanks for reply. I have focal flex evo p20 fse subwoofer with focal FDS 1.350
And also focal flex evo ps165 f3e 3 way component speakers
Also hertz for back doors mpx 165.3 pro
With two amps from focal fpx 4.800 for midwoofer and hertz spekers
FDS 4.350
For mid speakers and tweeter
Can have set volume for all these please. Thanks
I'm not familiar with the gear so I can't tell you how to set it up. I would advise you to reach out to the dealer that sold you the equipment or reach out to focal customer service.
So I did the 75% of the volume, I’m running a 1 ohm load, my amp is 2500 watts that’ll put me at 50 volts, connected the multimeter probes and it sent my amp into protect mode while trying to set my gains. What did I do wrong???
That's not fun -- where you able to get the amp out of protect?
@@DIYAudioGuy I wasn’t able to measure it honestly. I’m having an issue where my inside speakers cut out at high volume regardless if I set the gains. Someone suggested it might be an electrical issue. I have an extra battery for my 4-channel but didn’t upgrade the alternator, so hopefully that solves it
@@flying-fijiantv6282 do you have someone local that can help you? It's very hard to troubleshoot problems in the UA-cam comments.
@@DIYAudioGuy not personally lol buncha shops and I’m not trying to pay 😬
So if I have dual 12in speakers wash 300watt rms and a 2000 watt amp 2ohms. What would my target voltage be? Do I add both speakers and do the square root of 600x2? Or 300x2
Go with the total RMS power of the subwoofers, in this case 600.
If I have MTX TNA251 250 Watt RMS Mono Car Amplifier Amp, 150 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (250 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms) running two mtx 12s what would be my target voltage?
My subwoofer has a 4+4 ohm 500w rms value. Should I set the multimeter to 31 volts or 44 volts?
Assuming that you wire the voice coils in series you will have a 2 ohm final load. So use 31.
What if my amp is rated 75rms but the voltage of the channels wont go above 11? Could it be a faulty DMM? Or should I uograde the power cable? Also, if my speakers are only 50 rms should I calculate the voltage based on 50?
Yes, calculate it based on 50. You may need to turn up the head unit to 80 or 85% to get the voltage you need.
What am I doing wrong? No matter how much I turn up the gain I can’t reach the target voltage. In my set up I used the wires from a factory sub and put them into a line out converter. And that goes to my amp. Should I have come from the door speakers to my line out converter? Thank you
This video has some additional tips that may help: ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.html
Hiya, great video. I did the same steps as in the video, but I'm only getting 1.63v from the speaker terminals when the gain is at its max.
Any suggestions as to why.
You probably need to turn the head unit up a little bit. The 75% rule is usually the problem.
I will be adding a sub to my Jeep soon with a mono or Class D amp. When I run the tone though the head unit the sound will still play through the door speakers since they aren't amped. Do I really have to pull them all out and disconnect them at the speaker? Or is there another way to keep the tone out of the door speakers? Thanks!
. If your head unit has crossover controls you can disable your door speakers from the head unit.
Great stuff! And the Gain knob is not a volume knob! 😁.
Thanks!
so i added an in dash eq between the deck and the amps, it has it's own gain knob, does that get set the same way?
That makes things a little more complicated. You can use a digital multimeter to test the voltage on the RCA output of the head unit and the EQ. Most of them should pump out 2 to 4 volts maximum. If I were you I'd pick up in a siloscope so that you can test for clipping. ua-cam.com/video/oBNETr9AHwA/v-deo.html
@@DIYAudioGuy come payday that's definitely on the list. from reading manuals i know the deck puts out 2v, and the eq can put out as much as 7v, and the amps input sensitivity max out at 4v, so ideally i'd want the eq to bump up the 2v from the deck to the 4v the amp can take correct?
Yep
I have a phonics digital amp 1,000 watt model pd-2610 I have level, hpf, life, dials and also I'm powering it with a xbox brick it's details is input: 100v-127v~4.8A, 50/60Hz output: 12v-16.5A, 5vsb-1.0A but I don't know how to set the settings correctly?
I'm not familiar with that piece of equipment so I really can't tell you much on how to set it up other than the generic advice that in my videos.
Does this NEED to be done while the engine is running? I'm in my heated garage right now, it's -15 outside so I really don't feel like going outside to do it but I got some time to do it today so that's what I planned on doing. Just got an oscilloscope too so gonna try that out
There are some purists that say yes, but that is not very practical. I always to it with the engine off.
Ok so this video has helped me a lot but I’m not doing 4 ohm or 2ohm setup with my sundown SALT 4k rms amp. On the dyno it’s doing 5-6k watts and I’ll be running the amp at .5ohm final load. So since the amp says it’s 4k but on a dyno it puts out 6k what voltage should I use to set my gain on the amp then? 🥴 I’m trying to learn day by day! Again great video and subbed!
I think you are well passed the stage where you can get away with a just using a cheap multimeter. ua-cam.com/video/c-UTA59pfPA/v-deo.html
I've got an Alpine KTA-450. It all goes to one plug, and so you can't disconnect the speakers at the amp and have it powered on too. Would it be fine to set the gains via the multimeter at the amp while the speakers are connected? Or would that throw off the volts? I could disconnect the speakers and connect to the speaker wires at the speaker. Though removing the speakers is kind of a pain. So I guess I'm asking, is if I'll get the same voltage reading regardless if the speakers are connect to the amp or not?
Test tones may damage your speakers. I do not recommend doing the test with the speakers connected.
@@DIYAudioGuy Okay, I guess I'll unplug the speakers. and then clamp my meter to the pos/neg of one of the front speakers wires. and then do the same for the rear.
I assume you do the front by themselves, and then do the rear by themselves?
Thanks
@@colt5189 Yes, do the fronts and the rears separately.
I Google the amp because I wanted to see what you were talking about. I see the problem now the power wire, the ground wire, the speaker wire, everything goes into one plug. I don't like that design.
I'm assuming that you have the wires from the harness soldered into your speaker wires? another option might be to cut the wires and crimp on some waterproof connectors just to the speaker wires.
It sounds like a pretty big hassle, you might just want to set your gains by ear. If you think your current setup sounds good (no distortion, levels are matched well to subwoofer...) you might just want to leave it alone.
@@DIYAudioGuy The speaker output wires on the amp wiring harness are butt connected to my speaker wires. Can you not instead just disconnect the speakers and connect the DMM to the positive/ground speaker wires that plug into the speakers?
My amp isn't setup yet as I just got done connecting all of the wires and doing a check to make sure they all were connected correctly a couple of days ago.
I may look for some kind of music like maybe acoustic guitars or something that I think would be easier to pick up distortion on compared to playing hard rock or something.
@@colt5189 If it's easier to get to the speakers to disconnect them then go that route.
Question from a new audiofile! So I'm using two subs to a mono amp. They handle 500w RMS and they are 4 ohms resistance each. So I'm wiring them in parallel to the outputs on the amp so they are now 2ohms of resistance total, and the amp is capable of 600w RMS at 2ohms. So would my equation would be square root of 600x2? Which results in 34.64v
You got it.