[RubiconSS]

I'm not going to spend a couple grand on a piece of equipment that I wouldn't know what to do with anyway, I'm axing Yoos' Guys.

Settings on my Alpine 5 Channel Amp (front and rear channels) HP/LP, crossover,gain.

I now have the 5.25 front and rear Soooo... I will want to run them full range.

Suggestions on a starting point for settings.....

I'm currently at (on the AMP):
Front- 85hz/HP/mid-way on gain
Back- Same
Sub- 70hz/LP/+0.5 gain

The Alpine HU has settings choices too. BBE, cross-over, etc. The Cross-over is the one that is confusing, gives the choices of: Off,80,120,160,

[SirGCal]

Since you have a sub, I'd leave the crossover on about 80-100Hz high-pass for the fill speakers and the same low-pass for the sub. Actually, your settings now are pretty good. (the small valley between 70 and 85 Hz is fine.)

The gain however you can not tell just by where it is on the dial. You actually have to set it up via measurements with either a DMM (cheap and pretty effective) or preferably an o-scope (way pricy though). Doing it by ear is not very effective and there are only a few people in the world that can accurately do it that way. Although, newer alpine amps have a clipping notification system and as long as it isn't showing then you should be ok.

Also, don't use multiple crossovers for the same functions. If the amp is doing the crossover, leave the head unit's turned off or visa-versa. Otherwise you can compound the effects and get unwanted results.

[RafaelSmith]

Using the DMM to se the gain is easy, cheap and very effective. It really made a nice improovment in my system when I finally got around to setting my SUBS AMP gain properly with a DMM.

[RubiconSS]

Is there a grossly simple explanation of the step by step. No acronyms, no letters, assume nothing.
"setting gain for Dummies" Vol.1
????? (picture of me when I start messing with my little yellow meter)

That's a good question, Will my little yellow meter do this?? I forget, I need to know some things as well.

[SirGCal]

Well, the simplest DMM method would be

1. Make a test CD with a 1kHz tone (for 5-10 seconds) for fill speakers and a 50Hz tone for subs. This must be a true dB tone (no attenuation up or down. Some generators naturally attenuate the signal one way or the other)
2. Disconnect the speakers from the amp.
3. Set all sound effects to off, eq's to flat, and bass/treble controls to 0 (middle).
4. If you know the max non-clipping volume of your head unit, use that, otherwise go to about 3/4 of the max for a guestimate. Make sure you remember this number or volume setting.
5. Now you need to know the power of your amp (RMS) and the wiring method you're using for it per output (2-ohms, 4-ohms, etc..). Then figure out the expected voltage RMS using the following formula; Vrms = Sqrt(Power * Impedance) (for example; 50W RMS using a 4-ohm speaker, the output voltage should be right around 14.14Vrms using the 1kHz test tone or 200W and a 4-ohm sub and you should see 28.28Vrms using the 50Hz tone) (50 * 4 = 200; Sqrt(200) = 14.14 ..and.. 200 * 4 = 800; Sqrt(800) = 28.28)
6. Now set the DMM to measure AC Vrms and put the leads on the amp outputs as the speakers will be wired and start the tone you need for the application (1kHz for fill speakers, 50Hz for subs). Adjust gain until you are at the voltage. (if it's a digital gain setting and not a rotorary, adjust to the closest match)
7. reinstall your speakers and adjust eq for sound and enjoy.

[RubiconSS]

The horse left the gates and was shot dead. I have no way to burn the test tone.

You big brains scare me. I don't have an Ipod, Mpeg, HorseLeg, or a burner.
No Icat, Mcat or IP3, CP3O or R2D2.

What about Celine Deon's voice?? That sounds like a test tone! No. If I had to listen to that ***** I'd have to hook my nads up to the Jeep battery and keep turning the key.

Guess I'm S.O.L.

[SirGCal]

No burner? Ok... Then for you, step 1; Head down to the nearest cheap computer store and pick up a $10 CD-R drive for your computer. Then proceed to the rest of the steps..

Or get a friend to burn it for you...

Or worst case, there are some test CD's you can buy (I'd have to look, havn't bought one in years...)

[RubiconSS]

Wait. Just remembered. I just bought a brand new LapTop for my Oldest. That has to have a burner right??? Assuming it does, Where do I obtain a tone??
Don't be hypnotizin' my A$$ either. If I end up in bed with Farm animals I'm coming lookin' for you.

[TXST8tj]

If I had to listen to that ***** I'd have to hook my nads up to the Jeep battery and keep turning the key.

hahahahaha.....you have the same feelings i do.

[SirGCal]

Originally Posted by RubiconSS

Wait. Just remembered. I just bought a brand new LapTop for my Oldest. That has to have a burner right??? Assuming it does, Where do I obtain a tone??
Don't be hypnotizin' my A$$ either. If I end up in bed with Farm animals I'm coming lookin' for you.

ROFL!

Seriously.. All you need to make the tones is a tone generator (or frequency generator) which you can download free versions all over the net. I have professional software for stuff like that so I don't know which free one is top dog right now but you should be able to find out doing a simple search.

[Giviner]

Did a quick search and found this site.......it's got pre-recorded test tones you can download. doesn't say if they are recorded at 0db though..........

http://www.eminent-tech.com/music/multimediatest.html

[SirGCal]

Originally Posted by Jeepguy81

Did a quick search and found this site.......it's got pre-recorded test tones you can download. doesn't say if they are recorded at 0db though..........

http://www.eminent-tech.com/music/multimediatest.html

Good example. Those will probably work good. If not let me know... I have some links somewhere.. I'll have to dig...

EDIT: I think these are attenuated down a few dB.. Maybe designed for other professional uses (-12dB down is popular in home setup tones).

Anyhow, I made a few and made a how-to page: http://www.sirgcal.com/audio/input.html

[RubiconSS]

JeepDude, U Da Man. Does that have the tones I'll need. I think SirG said 1khz and 50hz.
The other question, I have a pretty good ear you guys sure this is worth doing. I can tell the system is currently clean, balanced and not stressing. I'll do it if it's worth it.

[Giviner]

You'll need the 50hz for the subs and the 1khz for the mids. If you've spent the cash to install a quality system you might as well be sure you're using it to it's full potential. The cost of a few minutes and a couple of burnt cd's is well worth it IMO. Good luck!

[SirGCal]

After some checking I think the files from that link might be attenuated down some. I made some and a whole how-to: http://www.sirgcal.com/audio/input.html

Also updated my last post with this info...

EDIT: confirmed; from the cheap software I have here at work the ones from that site are not at 0dB. The 50Hz seems to be down about 2.6db and the 1Khz is down about 0.75dB. Strange that they would be off like that but... Plus the software here isn't uber quality so it might also be mistaken (if so then the one's I posted will be off some too...) If I remember I'll update mine from home... (that's a big if...)