Hey guys

I used to be a mega noob before I came across this site lol! Im still learning as I go but Id like some advice on how to set my system up properly, for the best performance. There must be a happy medium for all the switches and dials as a decent starting platform. Here are my amps and the pictures of the panels:



on the STA's I have them bridged to 2 channel - one amp feeding my clarion SCM300 3 ways and the other feeding my focal V2 S series splits

For both of these the setings are:
input mode 2 channel (rcas plugged into front channels)
level dial two thirds of the way around
both amps on HPF with HPF dial half way

With the sma1-700d its powering an alpine type R 15 inch SWR-1522D in a correct size ported box:



input level is two thirds
sub sonic is half way
LPF is half way
phase shift is on 0 (wtf is this lol)
bass boost is half
bridged mode switch is on slave
bass remote in the car is adjusted as needed (currently a tad off 0 lol - lots of bass)

My head unit is a clarion dxz846mc:



This has a sub level and gain control which both are set to 0 (settings are from -7 to +7)
there is also another feature in setup for the sub that goes 80 > 100 > 120 > thoughput (or something like that lol) I currently have that on throughput.
Trebel is on +7

I think that covers all the settings lol! Id take it somewhere to get tuned but where I am its a fair drive. Any help or advice you can give would be really appreciated as Id really like to get this thing sounding as good as I can.

Thanx again!

All answers are revealed...
http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=36002

thanks ice - where do I get the Oscilloscope from? Are there different types? Ive never even seen one before lol - oh and is there somewhere I can download the 60hz tone? And what do you use the multi meter for?

oscilloscopes start from about 100bux for a cheapy 10mhz single trace unit from DSE(disck smith) anything up to several thousands for quad trace 2ghz units....

most are 200-1000. not needed for a basic stereo.

follow the gains settings tute.

i find it best to start with gains on minimum.... then setup your crossovers. thats the LPF and HPF. as a basic rule set HPF for speakers at around 80hz. u may not actually have a marking for 80hz but u can guess. if min is 50hz and max is 500hz then somewhere very close but not on 50hz is where itll be, it doesnt have to be exact. if u think of the dials as clocks. its normally around the 9-10 o clock region.

now for the sub. u need to set its LPF and subsonic filter.

Again as a general rule it needs to be crossed over at aroudn 80hz(or where ever u have crossed the speakers over at. (i would give u more detail but i can read ur pictures. my screen is very poor)

the subsonic filter is a HPF set very low to stop a sub playing lower than it needs to. set at around 20-30hz

leave bass boosts off as well as the bass eq and levels... or min.


to set gains its best to do it one at a time. since u have 6 channels to contend with. fronts rears and sub...

do 1 set at a time
turn off car and dissconnect all but 1 set of rcas. make sure they dont touch anything...
turn on hu and turn hu volume up. normally to about 80-90% then slowly turn gains up til it starts to distort or clip and then back it off a bit so that it doesnt clip... switch off keys and disconnect rcas and connect a another pair. turn back on and repeat process. always switch off car b4 unplugging any rcas... once thats all done. plug back in all sets of rcas and play a bit with ur fader and sub level control if u have one. to get a balance between sub and speakers and between front and rear. if 1 set is overly loud turn its gains down rather than turning others up.

Mine was a carton of beer for an Army surplus model

Dicksmith electronics have single trace 10Mhz oscilloscopes for $128 and it does the job. Most people are satisfied enough doing it without an oscilloscope, but if you want to be precise, it's a good option.

I have one of the $128 jobbies from DSE. Very good investment IMO. If you dont want to spend that much however, get yourself a DMM for under $20, any cheapy will do. And follow the gain setting tute on the JL audio site. Linky: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=143

For that tutorial you will need to find the vlotage your amp puts out at the terminals, use this calculator. Linky: http://www.caraudio911.com/tutorials/GainSet/voltage.htm

thats awesome guys! thanks heaps - I have heaps to keep me busy now - I might have to go park in the middle of a footy field and tune it all up so I dont p@ss off my neighbours :P:P

The beauty of the CRO is you dont need speakers connected to adjust the gains