AQ 2200 Clipping Led

[wof131s 10]

Am using this amp currently with a 15" Fi Q with BP Power in a 4cu.ft box @ 30Hz and it sounds pretty good. What i need to know is, how precise is the clipping led on the bassboost knob? I set my gain the way that it was explained in the "How To" section of the forum but anytime i turn the volume to about "half" (20/40) the clipping light being to blink. The Q is wired to 2 ohms and the 2200 does 1300 watts at that rating whicn means a gain setting of 50.9 volts. To be on the safe side, i set my gain to 47.5 volts with a DMM at 3/4 volume with all my current setting. Am not sure of what am doing wrong. Any help would be great, thanks.

Edited January 27, 2010 by wof131s

[///M5 2,833]

Clipping lights are basically useless; however, I would requestion exactly how you set the gains and triple check.

[wof131s 10]

Clipping lights are basically useless; however, I would requestion exactly how you set the gains and triple check.

This is the link explaining the steps i took setting my gain: How To: Set your Amplifier Gain - SSA Car Audio Forum.

I listen to a lot of old reggae so sometimes the bass is lacking so ill use the bass boost. I dont use more than half turn of the knob because with any more i still dont get any extra output. So to set the gain i had it turned 3/4 of the way up just to be on the safe side and i dont used it when am listening to any type of bass heavy music (rap, new reggae). Does this sound about right. Using a DMM is the only way i can set it, because i dont have a o-scope handy. Is there another way you would suggest? Thanks

Edited January 27, 2010 by wof131s

[jcarter1885 995]

I would suggest you dont use the bass boost if that is when your getting clipping regardless if your not getting the bass output you want from that song since it seems the reason why you could be clipping early. If you do use it you have to incorporate that into setting your amp and not set the gains so high so it will allow for some bass boost use if you feel the need be.

[wof131s 10]

I would suggest you dont use the bass boost if that is when your getting clipping regardless if your not getting the bass output you want from that song since it seems the reason why you could be clipping early. If you do use it you have to incorporate that into setting your amp and not set the gains so high so it will allow for some bass boost use if you feel the need be.

From earlier post

I listen to a lot of old reggae so sometimes the bass is lacking so ill use the bass boost. I dont use more than half turn of the knob because with any more i still dont get any extra output. So to set the gain i had it turned 3/4 of the way up just to be on the safe side and i dont used it when am listening to any type of bass heavy music (rap, new reggae).

So did i do it the incorrect way? How should I do it? Some old reggae music have very little bass unleast i use a little bit of bass boost. On other music like rap, its all that way down and am still clipping. Should I just disreguad it?

Edited January 27, 2010 by wof131s

[jcarter1885 995]

Here's the million dollar question, what does your electrical consist of?

[///M5 2,833]

That tutorial REQUIRES that you have some background. You MUST know that your amp will do the power that you set it at with the voltage you are supplying it. Regularly that isn't the case which could mean you are clipping all the time. I'd expect you to clip before the clip light comes on, well before, but am not sure of the algorithm being used by AQ.

You should NEVER use the bass boost. If you ever do, you have to have it on to the highest setting when you set your gains via the method above. On top of that you need to use either the centered frequency of your boost to set your gain or at least test it with multiple frequencies since the boost isn't linear.

From your posts I am sure you are overdriving the potential of what you have. You need to turn your gain down.

I'll also add that I can tell you should have bought the BL instead of the Q. No way, no how are you a standard Q buyer. Don't mean to harp on this, but it drives me nuts that all sorts of people come on the forum and buy something with a Q in it implying "SQ" when they have ZERO idea what that means. If you truly wanted a semblance of SQ then you would have your gain turned WAY down from where it is and would be asking all sorts of questions about how to make your front stage have midbass and never anything about bass.

Really the 2200 isn't the amp for you either. You would be better off with something more matched to the sub....or changing your subs to match your amp.

[kirill007 52]

So did i do it the incorrect way? How should I do it? Some old reggae music have very little bass unleast i use a little bit of bass boost. On other music like rap, its all that way down and am still clipping. Should I just disreguad it?

If you're still cliping at the lowest volume, then just turn the gain down a bit till it doesn't clips anymore.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

I have no first hand knowledge of the AQ, but I believe blinking in rythem to the bass is okay. It's when it comes on and stays lit that you are supposed to be clipping. How accurate that is, I have no idea. I had an Infinity bass cube in a compeny car and it had a clipping indicator that functioned the way I described above so maybe your does too. Try turning it up and see if the light stayes on or better yet email AQ and ask them.

I usually just set it by ear with a few heavy bass tunes and then turn it down a little to be safe. That little extra turn is not worth the risk for me.

[RobClay 20]

Ye, never use bass boost. But on the accuracy of the clipping LED, there was a thread about it awhile back and i think someone used an o scope to see how accurate it was. It turned out to be very accurate. Cant find the thread though.

[wof131s 10]

Here's the million dollar question, what does your electrical consist of?

Right now I have a 230 HO alternator, Big 3 done with 0 gauge (double runs), and a 135 AH battey with the stock battery up front. Will I need more?

When i turn the gain down, i can barely hear any type of bass.

And yes ///M5 this I now know and I am getting another sub.

Edited January 27, 2010 by wof131s

[///M5 2,833]

Ye, never use bass boost. But on the accuracy of the clipping LED, there was a thread about it awhile back and i think someone used an o scope to see how accurate it was. It turned out to be very accurate. Cant find the thread though.

NO, you didn't read it It was shizzon trying to say it was accurate but his test method was asinine. They are far from accurate. It is not a trivial circuit to design if you truly want them to be right. Not surprising though considering.

[wof131s 10]

I have no first hand knowledge of the AQ, but I believe blinking in rythem to the bass is okay. It's when it comes on and stays lit that you are supposed to be clipping. How accurate that is, I have no idea. I had an Infinity bass cube in a compeny car and it had a clipping indicator that functioned the way I described above so maybe your does too. Try turning it up and see if the light stayes on or better yet email AQ and ask them.

I usually just set it by ear with a few heavy bass tunes and then turn it down a little to be safe. That little extra turn is not worth the risk for me.

Your right. I just spoke with the guy from AQ and he said exactly that. Blinking in the rythem of the bass is ok, but if its solid then its indicating clipping, and he says that it is accurate. ///M5, not trying to be an a$$hole here, have you done a test with the amp that shows the indicator was off? If you did, how much was it off by? Was as it clipping before or after the light comes on? Does the indicator show clipping anywhere close to the actual clipping point? Just was to know if I can use it for a reference, but ill set them over again once I get back home.

[KU40 173]

If it's blinking in rhythm with the bass but that's "ok," then either the indicator isn't accurate or the guy is lying. Having it turn solid before clipping makes no sense because music is dynamic. The peak that's being clipped IS when the bass hits. So if the light is supposed to represent when the signal is clipping, it would come on exactly when the bass hits. If it stays lit then you're basically sending a square wave because that's the only time a signal could be clipped continuously enough to leave the light on.

[///M5 2,833]

Ah, KU beat me to it. We can have fun with this though.

I think perhaps you should ask him why it IS accurate and I will show you why his statement is wrong. I state what I state since I know what would go into a circuit to actually make one work and it is far from trivial. Here is another thing you can do, since it is accurate ask him how accurate. It has to have some specification of what clipping sets it off otherwise it isn't a valid threshold. Then ask him how they compute clipping. None of the answers will show that it works, that I can guarantee. This surely isn't helping how I feel about AQ.

[wof131s 10]

Ill ask and see what he says. But refering back to my last post, did you do any test to see how far off or how close it may be to the actual clipping signal? 

Edited January 27, 2010 by wof131s

[wof131s 10]

That tutorial REQUIRES that you have some background. You MUST know that your amp will do the power that you set it at with the voltage you are supplying it. Regularly that isn't the case which could mean you are clipping all the time. I'd expect you to clip before the clip light comes on, well before, but am not sure of the algorithm being used by AQ.

You should NEVER use the bass boost. If you ever do, you have to have it on to the highest setting when you set your gains via the method above. On top of that you need to use either the centered frequency of your boost to set your gain or at least test it with multiple frequencies since the boost isn't linear.

From your posts I am sure you are overdriving the potential of what you have. You need to turn your gain down.

I'll also add that I can tell you should have bought the BL instead of the Q. No way, no how are you a standard Q buyer. Don't mean to harp on this, but it drives me nuts that all sorts of people come on the forum and buy something with a Q in it implying "SQ" when they have ZERO idea what that means. If you truly wanted a semblance of SQ then you would have your gain turned WAY down from where it is and would be asking all sorts of questions about how to make your front stage have midbass and never anything about bass.

Really the 2200 isn't the amp for you either. You would be better off with something more matched to the sub....or changing your subs to match your amp.

Am using the AQ2200 and from my search here, other froums, internet, and other guys running the amp, it does reated power (I personally didnt test it). With my HO alternator (200+ Amps), 2 batts (stock and one in the trunk (135 AH), and the big 3 done with double 0 gauge, my voltage doesnt drop below 14.2 volts at full tilt. Wouldnt my electrical be enough to sustain a steady 2000 watt from this amp?

[mlstrass 1]

clipping indicator blinking is fine, just don't let it go solid red and you'll be fine.

See that m5 is still the resident know it all on this forum...

[shizzzon 461]

the reason why the clipping light flashes with music is because since music is dynamic, when it PEAKs in a split second, that's the clip flash.

That's why it's normal when you are at the threshold of a clean signal to see it flashing like that.

Solid red means the bass line(s) in play are fully clipped and that's not good.

I mean, us, competitors have ran our equipment into full clipping for well over 45seconds straight without failure but as soon as they start heating up.. it's time to give them a break.

When u say you turn the knob up when the bass is lacking...

You do realize that knob is a Gain controller and not a bass boost, right?

[wof131s 10]

So your saying the bass boost knob controls the gain and not the............the bass boost?? So why is it that when you turn the bass boost on the amp down completely and try use the knob, it doesnt work?

Edited January 29, 2010 by wof131s

[shizzzon 461]

what?

I'm saying the remote knob that comes with these amps are GAIN controllers.

You set the maximum gain on the amp itself.

The remote gain is there so you can control how much voltage you wish to feed into the amp and maxing out the knob will only reach the level at which the gain on the amp is set at.

[BanginGMC 23]

Okay.. turn your headunit to the max volume YOU listen too.(Example 23/30) after setting the LPF and Subsonic turn the gain all the way up.. then get the "bass controller" and turn the knob up till you get it a soild red.. not blinking.. solid.. THEN turn it down VERY LITTLE!!! UNTILLL!! It starts blinking. done. BUT watch it so it never turns solid.. OR

[shizzzon 461]

i suggest setting crossover points AFTER setting gain or else the slopes more than likely will bleed into the note you are using to set gain with.

also, if using a 0db test tone, you will want the clip led to be solid red when you are done tuning it because music isn't recorded that high.

Once it goes solid red, just turn it up slightly.

You may be adjusting it for different songs here and there as all music is not recorded at the same level... That's be too easy...

[///M5 2,833]

Ill ask and see what he says. But refering back to my last post, did you do any test to see how far off or how close it may be to the actual clipping signal? 

Explain how that test works on music and you will understand why the light doesn't work on the amplifier.

clipping indicator blinking is fine, just don't let it go solid red and you'll be fine.

See that m5 is still the resident know it all on this forum...

Pull the unjustified internet AQ boner out of your mouth. Electronically you do realize what clipping looks like on a scope right or in the frequency domain right? Picture it for a sine wave first and then think about the electronics required to detect it, now change it to music. Good luck.