How To Set Amplifier Gains & Get MAXIMUM Output w/ NO Clipping | Tuning BASS AMP w/ Oscilloscope
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
- Here's a quick video going through the basics of setting up your aftermarket bass amp with a handheld oscilloscope to monitor for clipping. Thumbs Up For MORE Videos & Thanks For Watching Everyone! • FRANKENSTEIN LIVES! 6 ...
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/ exocontralto
/ exoabigdeal
/ exocontralto
0db Bass Test Tones (pure sine wave)
www.mediafire.c...
-2.5db Bass Test Tones
www.mediafire.c...
-5dd Bass Test Tones
www.mediafire.c...
-7.5db Bass Test Tones
www.mediafire.c...
-10db Bass Test Tones
www.mediafire.c...
Link Provided By: Autruche from SMD
Tools Used To Find MAX Clean Volume:
TPI Tru RMS Scope & Meter // Oscope Plus 440
Klein MM2000 Digital Multimeter w/ Peak Hold
Klein CL2000 Current Meter w/ Peak Hold
No Distortion & I'm a Happy Camper :)
Test Tone Used: 40hz @ -5db (because I listen to modified songs)
Pioneer Head Unit Voltage: 2.7v
Processor Output Voltage: 5v
Amplifier Output Voltage: 47.0v
Single Cerwin Vega Stroker 1000 Watt Mono Block Amp
Clamp Wattage Results: 42.3V x 10.58A = 477 watts
Do you tune your music by ear? Let me know in the comments!
Also ...Testing My Analog FLUKE on The Stoker Next WEEK!
NEW BASS ENCLOSURE FOR SISTER EXO COMING TOO!
Also... More Clamping with LOWER Coil Impedance!
Music By: Kevin Macleod "Firesong"
www.incomputech.com
EXOcontralto
Bassheads Unite 2014
been searching everywhere for an explanation on the negative db tones, you literally answered every question i had on it lol thank you sir
This is a great video. 5 years old and better than anything else I've seen on youtube. I was watching another video where they were just measuring the output of the amp and matching that expected output or the subs rated output... I was like that's not how it works!
There has to be a better way, and here it is. Thanks!
I swear watching your videos made me forget the time of day my fiance was in labor and before I knew it I was holding my baby girl. Thanks man ! Good stuff here.
the best guide on youtube... all other forgot to specify the tone test explication. well done!
Crazy to reference this video for my setup and you were on 448w....and now you're over 30k W! Love it
Hey Exo if you ever get the time I'd love to see you bring back the old Q and A vids you used to do, and loving the small builds you've been doing and finally getting back on franky
Thank you so much for this video. I just got an O-scope and was about to start setting my gains. Completely forgot about different recording levels. My music collection literally varies from Rock to Heavy Bass, even some Jazz and Classical. The recording levels and quality are all over the place- can even vary on the same exact song on different albums. If I set my gains for the album Woofer Wrecker, then a lot of other music has too little Bass. I guess it's hard to find a happy medium. Anyway, thanks for all your videos.
P. S. As far as loud commercials- yes they are designed to get your attention. Originally though, before DVR when we had to watch LIVE TV, people would get up during commercials to get a drink or use the bathroom, etc. The commercials were louder to make sure you still heard them even while you were out of the room. Sneaky huh?
VERY sneaky :p Thanks for watching the videos!
Hey Exo. Just wanted to thank you for this video. While i didn't have access to an adjustable TPI-oscope I did have access to a manual scope that ended up working well. With your helpful knowledge on deck and gain matching i was able to tune my system far better than i ever could have by ear.
Thanks. Keep up the great work.
THANK YOU EXO, i swear like the vast majority of people, especially the people that follow SMD hard, think that setting their gain will always prevent clipping, even steve replied to one of my comments a while back saying clipping indicators were worthless, COME ON NOW, and one thing i can tell you is that the DD1 is not worth $150 i can go put a small opamp notch filter together (filters out 40hz with a very sharp attenuation and allows the harmonic distortion frequencies to pass right through), and it will do the same thing that the DD1 does... for around $10-20 lol
Excellent video as always exo, i wish i had an o scope. Hey maybe you can come out to Salem next weekend for Oktober fest? heh? well if not maybe i could just drive up to maine and check out franky up there. Talk to you soon brother.
That would be awesome! im from Boston - Party at EXO's?! :D
he moved to Macon co. TN
wtf are you talking about?
^me?
First video I’ve watched on this channel. Once I heard that noise at the end I was like okay. I’ll subscribe...
nice video man, but i want to mention that in volts x amperes is for dc voltage, for AC voltage you have to know the power factor because the voltage usually is slightly out of phase with amperes, so you multiply volts x amperes x power factor= watts. :)
Thank you sir. You provide excellent information, clearly. I'm an electrical engineer. I will investigate how my amplifier behaves under load though...as someone suggested.
It don't matter how old this vid is it still is a helpful ass video yessah! 🤘🏽🤙🏽
I finally found something that explains the db overlaps!! Thank you EXO!!!
LOVE Your videos. A few things I noticed from a Pro Audio Perspective:
Behringer is junk. I get this is car audio vs pro audio, but in the end.. it's junk when compared to other units such as Ashley.
I'm guessing you have a DC to AC converter for the Behringer? Almost every unit runs on 12V. Open it up, chase the leads from the IEC in and you'll find the AC to DC converter built into the unit.
Once you find the output to the board, confirm it's 12V and bypass it.
Alas- less energy being wasted!
Dude I love you! Awesome video and great attitude. Keep the videos coming. My daughter said are you watching big city greens? I was like no it’s a UA-cam, she said you sound like cricket green, lol. Thought that was funny coming from a 4ur old. Keep up the vids! Thanks for the help!
Good video EXO. Certainly helps to understand the testing process.
One note however is that the system should be set with the equalizers set at the normal listening position. If you run the head unit eq flat, that is fine but many don't. The problem is that once they boost any signal in the eq, they will clip the signal at full volume if they follow your instructions to a T.
Another note it that modern EDM music and many other genres are hard limited at 0dB so it would be much safer to use the 0dB test signal than the ones noted.
I have a kicker Comp R and kicker 800.1 mono block amp, 4 alpine 6-1/2 front and rear, 4 tweeters placed up high front and back. 2 Memphis 3.25 midrange in front doors and a 150 watt x4 channel amp with low and high pass filters. JVC double din head unit and kicker bass knob on my dash in my Jeep Cherokee Sport. It's all set up perfectly no clipping and no distortion. Every kind of music sounds perfect no matter if I'm listening to Metallica, Notorious BIG, or whatever music. I have setting presets so all I have to do is play a song, find what preset sounds the best and crank it up. No problem. 👍 as long as you have the right sounds and tones playing through the right speakers you'll get clean sound from just about any decent system. 🤷♂️👍
Wish I can afford those tools !! I been adjusting my amp by ear but I can't ever get it the way I like. I don't care for how loud it can get I just want that chest pounding feeling. I have a Skar zvx 15 wired 1ohm to skar skv2 1500 amp.
me too bro i have it on a 2000 sundown SAE at 2 ohms giving it like 1300
Real shit I kno the feeling 🤕🤦🏽♂️
You can you can pick a oscilloscope for under a 100
The sound he made at the end killed me. Thumbs up for that alone 😂
love this video! I'm doing an install soon and wanted to know how to properly tune my system. great information thanks!
Hey EXO your head unit only hit 2.74 volts because of the -5db track. If you were using a 0db track, you would have gotten the full voltage your head unit can put out. I used a 0db track to find the maximum clean volume and voltage on my head unit.
Back when 1000watts was considered a decent amount of power
Still is
I have 800 - 1000 watts now on my sub and 150 -260 watts on my 4 - 6-1/2 + 2 midrange and 4 super tweeters in all 4 corners of my Jeep. 👍 hits pretty hard and sounds loud and clean as can be. So I'm satisfied. As long as I can play it loud as I want and my music sounds the best it can I'm happy. 🤷♂️👍
I know this video was from a while ago Bruce, but the reason why your rca pre out voltage on the scope was less than you thought it should have been at 2:58 was because you were using the -5db tone.
When I check for my max undistorted head unit volume I always use the 0db track (=
Ahh yes! Thanks, Braxton!
EXO did explain that he was setting the gains for dynamic range.
You always check for clipping level on the head unit with a 0 db tone.
Then set sub amp gains with the appropriate tone based on music preferences.
Nowadays most bass music ends up between -3 and -7 db
@@SigmaBallistics well you'll be further below clipping then you might want then. If you're using non boosted music I'd do -5 if you're using all boosted maybe -3 to 0 really depends. Saying "always" set it to 0 is kinda silly.
Whoah whoa buddy slow it down but guaranteed ExO is comin threw knockin pictures off the wall 💪🏾
Hey! Big fan of your videos and just keep it all up! Your the reason i want a huge system when i get the money XD
RIGHT?!?! lol he just knows wuts up
So I have to find the oscilator immediately! Thank for the video guide!
I love how you go in depth on things 👍
As soon as i seen you put the first Frankenstein video i was like WOOOO!!! ahahah good job EXO keep it up thanks for the info also!
Excellent video footage two thumbs up in the air for you Exo as always a well done good job .
I cant thank you enough for the media fire hz link!!!!!!!!....i started downloading them off youtube but i know the ones you posted are safe
Hey Exo nice vid!! I love it. Super helpful!! Can you do another video on how to tune mids and highs? I assume it's very similar but I'd still like to know every step and how to properly do it! Thanks!!!
thanks dude i have been hunting high and low for a decent set of test signals. no pun intended XD.
How do you do you answer all these questions??? Thank you and please never stop making these amazing tutorials or lose your obvious passion.
It gets to be VERY difficult, been replying for about 6 hours today so far :x
Ty on the video EXO. Just need those two instruments to get it right
Cool video.I liked the explanation of -db’s , but I wanted to see how to connect probes to rca’s
It would have been a lot more helpful if you showed where to touch the oscope to RCAs
the outer "collar" is the Negative (black lead), the center piece is the positive (red lead)
When adjusting the gain on the amp do I have the knob on the lc-1 completely turned up or in the middle? That’s where I get confused. I have loc converter tapped into a rear speaker and have the lc-1 going from the loc to the amp? Would appreciate the help. Btw keep up the great content. I’ve learned a lot watching your videos.
ALL THE WAY UP!!!
Man, you know your audio electronics!! Awesome.
hi EXO i watched all of your videos and i really like them. but can you make a video show how to connect two or more amps to bass knob,head unit. i dont know for a pre amplifier. thanks
You need to test distortion at load. Oscilloscopes have a high impedance input so there's no load on the outputs. The behavior at load will be very different.
How do you do that?
Glad you provided a technical approach to adjusting gain by using an oscilloscope. I can work with that!
No prob, glad you enjoyed!
Can u meter your amperage coming out of the amplifier speaker outputs without the speakers hooked up?
So COOL ! I want those exact same kinda tools. To bad there probally outta my price range. I c in my fav video of u'rs U have a Kubota hat too, Cool Man.
hey one thing I always wondered is do you normalize your music etc, because i listen to modified music and normal music and have no clipping indicator on my bass knob yet so i set my gains with a -5db test tone and a lot of the music today varies some the bass is as high as -1.5db and sometimes -3db, and sometimes -8db, so i adjust my bass knob on the fly to compensate but ive also heard that the music will effect the voltage on rca differently? i just feel like im always readjusting man, id love to pick your brain about it.
I am pretty sure you should have an load of a given ohms to be sure the amplifier will actually put out a clean wave form for that given amplitude/voltage range. The load resistance will change your readings. Just saying.
My head unit is set to 0db ,front and back amps -10db that's because at -5db it didn't get load enough. Sub amp-5db just to get a better balance. Love to hear from car audio junkies like me (cheers from Australia 🇦🇺 👍).
How the hell did you hook that Behringer up to your car stereo system?
Nice video Exo. Explained very well.
Good job EXO !
And here i am still setting my gains by ear. Sure my H/U only clips at 40/40 but i can't seem to get things set up sounding as good as 32-36 volume. Some tracks are just louder than other, while some are not as loud. I guess this is why i don't want to go all the way to 39/40. Because there are times where i HAVE to go to 39/40. Like when listening to Pandora over blutooth. I keep the volume on my phone one notch from max volume.
Very helpful, thanks EXO!
If you have your head unit on 80 hz do you set your amplifier the same 80hz subwoofer
Set 80hz either on head unit or amp.
Mine LPF on amp is turned all the way up, and on HUD I set LPF on 70hz with
-24db slope
Appreciate this upload. It helped me alot.
Great vid EXO. the LC-1 has to be maxed out when setting the amp gain, correct?
hey @EXOcontralto i have steve meads distortion meter what do u think about that & have u used it before?
Thank you for posting this video. Where would I get that ociliscope?
Nice job man!! Very helpful video
Nice editing exo
Oscilloscopes are crazy expensive. Makes perfect sense to have one if you run a car audio shop or you participate in competition and spend a lot of time swapping out equipment. However, for us average guys there's no way we would spend cash on something like this that you would only use once every blue moon if that. Instead we would likely use that money to buy better gear. This would be one of those things where it would be cool if you knew a friend that had one you could borrow.
buck seventy five and free shipping, not crazy expensive at all: www.parallax.com/product/32220
+Wesley Jackson
thats still expensive , for a 40hz sine wave you only need a hand held nano or even one from sainsmart would work... they run about 70 - 100 bucks orso..
They have them at my library rent them for free lol they are like the $1000 ones too lol
looking good EXO.
I get that same voltage with a negative 5 db tone as well most of them give you that same voltage. I use and active equaliser and boost to 4 volts and set my gain to suit.
Thanks for the videos
HOLEY SMOKES! MAN it is 25 through here! 😄
thanks for the videos. when tuning the audio, you set all eq flat and no boost. wouldn't the system clip sooner when you change your eq in head unit?
Love your videos ! Upload more how to videos :D
Exo, my question is, how do I do this with my stock radio? I have a epicenter micro as my line output converter and then rca to amp. Can you provide any guidance please?
You have to read the voltage output of your HU at the highest volume before clipping/distortion. That will be the best clean signal to your LOC. BTW go to Steve Meade and D'amore's YT channel and watch their videos on LOCs. Audio Control, Wavetech, and Kicker were the ones I remembered that actually worked. I would think Epicenter is one of the best top shelf as well.
My audio control LOC shows my max output from my HU before distortion. I just adjusted the HU by my LOC.
Nice BFG All terrain t/a KO's. I'm sure those babies set you back a little. I sell them a lot at my job so I know they did lol.
you the best
One of my faves very informative
awesome videos man keep it up
Exo what do you recommend for editing videos?
“Holy smokes, man it’s 25 through here”. As he breaks the law with his subs every day! Lmao
Subwoofers don't break the law everyday LMAO ;P
Subwoofers don't kill animals and children.
EXOcontralto actually they do, most cities have a noise ordinance, been busted for my subs bumping myself. Luckily the cop didn’t give me a ticket, he just told me to turn it down. Then again you did say “they don’t do it every day”. Mine do though! Lmao
EXOcontralto by the way, I’ll admit I break the law in my car everyday. It doesn’t have subs but it does have 500+HP! The subs are in my truck. lol
Lol you still live in your mom's basement. Shutup
Can I set the head unit up to my preferences say powerful eq and loudness on mid then set it up from there?
Radio = UnModified? I'd have thought they compress the shit out of everything :)
Maybe have a look at the audio signal processing dept. at any broadcast station..
salat Radio has always been more quiet than bluetooth or aux to me
Awesome vid Ex......I'm really starting to understand how input voltage and gain setting works and also how important it is to tuning a full sound system.
So after you got the processor to pump out 5v unclipped you still turned the gain on the amp up slightly.If an amps input sensitivity range is 5v max wouldn't that be grounds to not turn the dial at all if your giving it 5v? In other words,how are you able to give it 5v and still crank the gain a little without clipping?
Some amps can handle 8v+ input voltage. This case was likely that
Can you do a tutorial with the DM? Digital MultiMeter on your second chanel please.
Nice job. Thanks a bunch!
I really enjoy your videos Thank You I hope this is not one of those repeated questions you’ve answered before if so sorry.
I want to buy an oscilloscope and I was wondering which one would be the most updated and best version. I was looking at the TPI 440 or is there an equivalent with more channels which one would you recommend if needed I’m willing to pay a little more if for a good reason.
If anyone has an opinion I’d greatly appreciate it thank you in advance
If you tune -5db and play a 0db track would it clip?
Yes
thank you for this video
That's a great funny great informational video.
all the institutions i do with amps and head units are all balaced out by ear and it is really easy you just have to have a good ear for the diffrent frequency and the ohms u run at
Nice instruction! I have a pioneer DEH-S6010BS and Orion XTR2500.1Dz. I simply need to send a flat signal to the RCA jacks and then measure from the amp output right? I have no signal processor between. I'll be using an auto ranging multimeter and Rigol DS2702A oscilloscope to check.
By "flat signal" you mean not distorted, correct? If so then yes, you're on the right track :)
EXOcontralto by flat I mean the crossover is straight across.
I'm concerned about the fact that the meter read 2.74 volts on the head-unit, but on Pioneer's website it say's that your head-unit, the AVH-P3200DVD is suppose to have 4 volt outputs. I need to know what that's about because I'm head-unit shopping and I want to know the truth about it all. Thank you or anyone in advance.
Hey EXO let me ask you this you had your subwoofer RCA's turned on on the headunit!! But my question is on mine you have from 0 to 15 when you turn it on to set it to, so what did you have yours set at??????
you can have your subwoofer level on the headunit at any number so long as the target voltage is set correctly on the amplifier afterwards.
The reason I'm asking this question is I'm using an Alpine head unit that has an IC chip and it lets you said your RCA levels from 0 to 15 on all three sets of RCA's front rear and subwoofer??
When trying to set this particular Alpine head unit up with DD.1 SMD tool. I am getting feedback on the tool saying I've got distortion add as little of a volume as 7 on my head unit??? Any ideas?? Anybody else out there any ideas??
JD DD are you talking about head unit speaker outputs or rca cables? Are you testing with no speaker connected? Are all cables you’re using tested and working properly, ie no damage or shorts. Distorted head unit volume at 7 suggests either testing error, or cable damage.
I have 4 channels Sony amp 1200w, 2 speakers 120w rms (each) and 1 sub 380w rms..
How to tune the right voltage with multimeter please!
Depends if your going for max output from your amp
If going for max output get oscilloscope
@@HOHOHOMOFOS
i'm in Yemen.. we can't get that because we're in war 😔.. can I do it with multimeter?
What impedance did you have? And was it going to a cross over or just to one channel of the amp?
Great video 🔥👍🔥👍🔥👍🔥👍🔥👍
EXO, how did you wire your oscilloscope with RCA cables?
great video and cool gadgets
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed watching the video :)
How’s it going brother!
Been learning so much from you and your vids, thank you for your time and effort!
Got a request: I’m someone who has a factory head unit, an Audiocontrol Lc2i, an Audiocontrol bass restorer, and an aftermarket amplifier. I’m sure I’m not the only one with the extra bells and whistles :)
Can you please teach us where to start checking for clipping, and where to go after each step until we’re done tuning for clipping?
Thanks again brother!!
Exo, can you set your lpf and subsonic with an oscilloscope
When I set all the settings of the main unit and amplifier as zero, lowest and video, when I set the speed from the amplifier and the main unit, the volt rises. How to do?
Got a question. Since most people usually get an amplifier with more headroom than speakers.
How do you use the O-Scope to tune if say you are using a 3000W amp on a 2000W subwoofer?
If you tuned all the way through to the amp for unclipped and got 3000W, wouldn't all that power hurt he sub, or from there do you just listen for mechanical distortion? Great video Exo!
Just because the amp says 3000watts doesn't mean its going to send exactly 3000watts to the speakers, if you have zero clipping in the amp it wouldn't matter because the subwoofer/speaker is getting clean power... Lets say you are running a single subwoofer with a RMS power rating of 1000watts, you would want a good quality 1500watt amp to give you 500watts of head room, if you set the amp to have zero clipping and the voltage to back up 1500watts then the subwoofer can take that 1500watts all day everyday, as exo noted music has all kinds of sound ranges so the subwoofer wont see exactly 1500watts every second of the song, so with an O-Scope and amp clamp meter just follow what exo did, if you don't have a sound processor like exo has then you go from the head unit to the amp.
Plus some subwoofer can take more than they write on the sheet of specs ..... they keep a safe zone to be sure you will never blow it if its a clean signal
MazdaBass971 OK, then for example, you have a 1000W sub on a 5000W amp.
Because not ALL subs are underrated, this might be an extreme example. So you've scoped the amp proper, from there you just listen for mechanical distortion once the sub goes beyond it's capability?
***** You can use a voltmeter to find the output voltage of your amplifier. Watts = Voltage^2 / Resistance
So you can take your desired wattage (say 500W) multiply it by nominal impedance (maybe 2 ohms) and take the square root of that product. So, 1000^(1/2) = 22.4V. You just tune the amp to put out that voltage or lower on a variety of tracks. If you trust the RMS rating of your amplifier and keep your head unit volume reasonably low, you can actually do without the oscilloscope or DD-1.
Actually Watts (P) = Current^2 (I) x Resistance (R)
But whatever, my question is you're finding the max clean signal of the amplifier output, but what if that total power exceeds the subwoofer's handling? I guess you just go by when you hear mechanical distortion from there eh.
I don't know the RMS on those subs but judging by the size I'm sure they are well over 1000 RMS. So does this mean your actually only able to hit 448W clean meaning 500W of more potential wattage cannot be obtained?
King 2027 i think it means that amp can only put out 448 watts before it becomes distorted
So I'm guessing it doesn't matter the ohm load ? I mean if u set the gain is it going to be the same "clean signal" whether 4 ohm or 1 ohm?? Sorry kinda new using a tool and not eats to set amps
Still trying to figure this out when you set bass, mid, treble flat in headunit when checking for distortion can we put them back up after it's done or we have to leave them flat?
leave flat
Leave Flat, if you like a different EQ curve set that before doing this testing.
EQ how you like it then tune. But remember it's tuned for those EQ settings...
i see you used the outside speaker terminals on the amp? if my amp has 2 sets should i be using the outsides or the first 2? idk if your amp is ++ -- mine is +- +- though
First two.