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ou812

Question for those running ESX amps

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Like the title says....I have a question for those running or have owned an ESX amp. ESX Q275.2 is on my Icon 10. The Icon is d2 and wired for 4 ohms in bridged mode at the amp. The bridged mode is rated at 800 watts.The hu is an Eclipse CD8454 with a pre out voltage rating of 8 volts.

My issue is setting the gain. With well recorded media ....(No Ipod) Only high quality cd's....I feel my gain is too high to obtain the right output. Yes I fully realize that the gain is not a volume knob. I also realize that I could get my answer with a dmm but I don't have one at the moment.

So my situation is...8 volt hu....Amp gain is at 3/4 of the dial. I have been playing music at 70-74 max out of a volume scale of 0-80 on the Eclipse. that doesn't make me warm and fuzzy. I haven't heard any distortion at all at 74 but I'm not sure I'm crazy about going that close to max volume. I realize that every hu will clip eventually. Shouldn't I be hitting my gain sweet spot at a much lower gain setting? Any thoughts on the issue would be greatly appreciated.

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You need a DMM for testing. Could be as simple as turning up the sub level on the head unit.

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You need a DMM for testing. Could be as simple as turning up the sub level on the head unit.

I think i will try a dmm. My eclipse actually doesnt have a sub level that i can turn up. It has a level adjustment for each output but you can only decrease the level. Not increase.

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I finally found my answer....Thought I would update this in case anyone was wondering. My hu....Eclipse cd8454.....In pro mode....Active...there is no actual sub level adjustment. There is however sub level in non pro mode. I would have never guessed this but by switching to non pro mode I went to the sub level. It was at 5 of 15 I believe. I bumped it up to 8 and went back into pro mode. Apparantly that setting sticks so to speak when changing modes. When I turned up the volume I instantly realized what I found on DIY was correct. I now have my gain turned down slightly above half and I'm in my glory.What an odd feature or should I call it a glitch within these Eclipse hu's.

BTW....Macs over at DIY is a freakin genious.

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