4 down

[inferno]

well im having an issue where i keep blowing subs. i dont know what it is its started in my GA when i blew 2 L7s and 1 pyramid sub. and now i blew one of my new pioneer premier subs. ive gone over the wiring a bunch of times when i was trying to find out why i couldnt power 2 subs. everything is fine. but for some odd reason i burnt another coil.

my hunch is the amp. ive had the same amp with every speaker ive blown. Hifonics bx1500

this sucks :( im tired of spending money

[tubpub11]

what model of pioneer subs were they? maybe you got your gains set too high and you are turning up the volume to high for what the gain is set for.

[Lash]

You suck at setting the gains!

Get a digital multi-meter and do it the RIGHT way.

Classic example of what guessing the settings can do.

[nineteen88ga]

you mean you don't just crank the gain, and x-overs?

[MantaGreen97]

You blew two L7s? That isn't easy in normal situations. All [the L7s and the others] on the HiFonics amp? When you say "blew" them you mean you burned the coils on all these drivers such that they smoked/did not work again?

If that's the case, and you actually do have everything set up properly, I'm wondering if there isn't a problem with the amp itself perhaps?

[inferno]

my gain is not turned up all the way. which for some reason i have to repeat all the time.

one of the L7s blew because the bass boost was accidently turned up to max (+18db)

i dont know why the second one blew.

the pyramid was on purpose and only lasted about 30 min

the Pioneer Premier 3004spl well that i dont know what happened. after it blew the amp was really hot.

mantagreen yes they all smoked and didnt work again

[Lash]

after it blew the amp was really hot.

Clipped signal...nuff said.


They dont have to be turned up all the way to send a clipped signal!!!! You can even have them less than 1/2 or even 1/4 and it will still clip depending on the out-put voltage of your headunit.

Quit wasting money and learn how to set gain correctly!!!

FYI.....I know how to set them correctly...I have NEVER blown a sub that I didnt want to blow. ;)

[nineteen88ga]

I don't have everyones systems memorized here so In order to help I'll need to know what all you have.

What type of headunit are you running? Like it was mentioned the amp could be clipping from a low pre-out voltage from your deck.

I'd almost want to say that there's a problem with the amp. Since your not abusing it (cranking gains etc) Its nearly impossible to blow as many(pretty beefy) subs as you are. Of course if your puching the volume on the head unit to the pont where the subs are distorting. Alot of times bass and distortion are hard to tell appart..if you don't know what your listening to.

[inferno]

i have a pioneer HU it has the indash tv i dont remember model number 4 volt pre out.

the volume on my hu was slight less then half.


lash tell me how to set it correctly and ill go do it now.


edit* my HU in the GA was a clarion with 2v preout

[inferno]

hey do you think 100' of 1/0 wire is enough for my car?

[Lash]

Tuning your amps

The simplest and easiest way to get your amps tuned is to follow these simple instructions. Grab your digital multimeter and a calculator.

output = square root (watts * ohms)

First, take your amp's wattage at load. For example, let's say your amp does 300 watts rms at 4 ohm. That would be 1200. Take the square root of that and you'll get 34.64101615137755, so let's say 34.64. Take your multimeter and set it to AC volts. Disconnect your speakers from the amplifier. Grab this file here - http://www.realmofexcursion.com/audio/testtones/20Hz_to_120Hz.mp3 - and burn it to a cd. Turn your eq's off (ALL OF THEM!!!YOU DONT NEED THEM), turn your volume to 3/4 of the way up, hook up your multimeter to the + and - of the speaker outputs and play the sine wave. Your peak voltage should hit at the beginning of the cd - adjust your gain till it reads the voltage you figured out earlier, then leave it. Hook your speakers back up, and your gain is set. Don't turn your volume up above this volume or else you'll clip.


Set voltage with ALL bass levels at ZERO on the deck....and all EQ setting off (like rock/pop/ or any other setting) and keep them that way after setting the gain. You want the music to be flat when adjusting.

[inferno]

so i want them to stay flat after i adjust too.

[Lash]

Have bass levels at zero...and keep them there. Raising them or turning on any eq settings only increases distortion. Loudness control should alos be off.

[inferno]

this sucks. so i cant use eq after everything is set?

o and setting this thing sucks. the numbers dont stay still :(

[Bumpin1OHM]

would probably be better to play a 50hz sine wave instead of a sweep lash =)

[Lash]

oops...LMAO!! My bad!!!
Copy/paste > Me

Go to www.realmofexcursion.com

Click "downloads"
Grab a 50hz sine wave (0db)

[GreenGA98]

Originally posted by Lash
Have bass levels at zero...and keep them there. Raising them or turning on any eq settings only increases distortion. Loudness control should alos be off.

why would the eq and loudness controls distort the subs? Mine are on custom ( with the treble and bass a lil up) and loud

I hear no distortion and was told that these controls would not affect the subs in a negative way

What is your reasoning behind your theory?

[GreenGA98]

FROM caraudiohelp.com

Mytth#8. Turning up all of the frequencies on an equalizer will increase the system volume

The system volume is based on many factors including system power and speaker sensitivity. The purpose of an equalizer is to compensate for vehicle specific problems and not as a general volume control. Boosting all of the frequencies won't make your system louder, only more distorted.


Ok so i understand that all the eq controls should not be up all the way, but why should they be flat?

[Lash]

What is your reasoning behind your theory?
Theory? lol.....it's not a theory. It's been proven.


Whenver you boost the sound beyond it's natural level...there is always a chance that it will add distortion. When you keep it flat (all settings at zero)...that is when the music is being played at it's natural level. It's o.k. to bump them up 1 or 2 notches...but I usually dont go any further than that.....usually it's not even needed. NEVER use the loudness control.... BAD BAD BAD!!!

[nineteen88ga]

yup...the loudness feature on your deck is your enemy if you plan on playing it at high volume. At low volume it doesn't hurt, but when your palying it loud, turn it off.

[GreenGA98]

Originally posted by nineteen88ga
yup...the loudness feature on your deck is your enemy if you plan on playing it at high volume. At low volume it doesn't hurt, but when your palying it loud, turn it off.

"Remember, all the "loud" button is, is a preset EQ setting which boosts certain frequencies, including bass. Because of this, your amp will begin to clip sooner and thus begin to distort your subs sooner, but this is all dependent on the volume you are playing them at."

My friend told me this,
i never go past 30/50 on my pioneer hu anyways, so why does it matter if loud is on? as long as i don't crank the volume:)

[inferno]

dude i dont go past that either but my pioneer goes to 60 so i play music 20/60 - 30/60

[Lash]

Meh....I take my pioneer all the way up to 44-45/60.

[inferno]

u need to come over and set my gain

[Lash]

lol....I think you live a little far away. Otherwise I would. :)

Just give it a try the way I told you...with the 50 sine....no eq's., deck at 3/4 volume (or 45 for you). It should work alot better with playing a sweep...lol.