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Arno Ferero

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About Arno Ferero

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  • Real Name
    Arno
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    Brisbane, Australia
  1. Hdrox88, It's actually a bit hard to say. I was very happy with the system at first, and then slowly got more and more disappointed with it, however, I can not confirm if the amp was clipping yet at that stage.... On the hu I have, you have the ability to to run an active crossover network on your front speakers (so my 4 channel amp used 2 channels for the mids, and 2 for the tweeters, crossed at the head unit). Anyway, that is not how I had it set up initially. After a while I decided to give it a try, and rewired the front speakers. It was then that I decided to set the gains again, and that's when I noticed my Sub amp was clipping. After I turned the head unit down to a point where I was able to set the gain at all, that is when I noticed a night and day difference. So basically, I think it happened gradually, but I can't be sure, as I never checked the gains up until that point. So that was the only thing I changed at that time, though I would not think that would have an effect on the sub? The only other thing I changed since I first set it up was the time alignment settings and crossover settings, but I doubt that would have an effect either. The grounds are all brands new, but it is very possible that there is a bad connection somewhere, so that is a great suggestion of something to check! Thanks for your reply mate! Tc300, thanks for your input also. That ia20.1 looks the goods! It's a bit of a stretch for my budget, but im sure it would be worth it. Glad to hear that your Fi handled that power! I have a lot of confidence that mine would too, the build quality is amazing. Mine is in a 2.3cuft box tuned to 32hz atm
  2. Thanks for the reply mate! Makes sense! I'll make sure to check everything again over the weekend, because I might be jumping to conclusions here. Out of the 4 people who bought an OA1200D with me, mine is the only one that lasted more than a year (mine's lasted 5) so I've always been waiting for it to let go, Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to get a new amp . 1200watts drove this set-up very well when I installed it initially, and the difference between 1200 and 1500 on the output of the sub would be quite small anyway. But my assumption here is that my amp is faulty, and is not putting out full power any more. So my main reason for looking at a new amp was not because I was after more power, but because I needed a new amp and since I have to buy one anyway (if my assumption is correct), I might as well get a more powerful one. But I'll check everything first before I pull the trigger. On a side note from this reply (but in line with the topic). How do you find you BC3500D? as I am also considdering the BC2000D. Thanks
  3. Aaah! that would be it, I was reading peak to peak, and I was assuming that was what the input sensitivity of the amps where rated at as well. I might just give some more info here. The sub is running at 1 ohm, in a 2.3cuft ported enclosure tuned to 32hz (i'm pretty sure you helped me in a previous post 95honda, so you might remember this). After I had some bugs fixed initially I was very happy with my system, It was more than loud enough and sounded great. Anyway, like I said before, a couple of weeks later it did not sound right, and the sub was getting hot even though it was not as loud as it was initially. that's when I realised it was clipping, even with the gain all the way down, like I said in my first post that was not the case when I installed it originally and is not happening to my 4 channel amp (eclipse XA4200). Anyway, that is the situation. In terms of the new amp, I'm not looking at necessarily giving the sub more power, I just figured while I am upgrading, I might as well get me something that leaves me a bit of headroom. Both in terms of not running the amp right at clipping point to supply the necessary power, and for a future system upgrade (where i can run either more power, or run at a 2ohm load instead of 1 etc etc) 95honda, could you be able to explain to me how my amp could be putting out 2400w? I'm not arguing, I would just like to know. Thanks
  4. Thanks for all the replies! those all look like nice amps. The mike looks really nice, and I like that the ampere has an adjustable phase setting. Just curious to know if anyone has any opinion on the input sensitivity? Most amps I have looked at, including the ones you have mentioned, and the IA20.1 have an input sensitivity of 0.2v to 6v. Since my head unit puts out more than that @~6.5, that would mean that these amps would be at clipping even with the gain all the way down? Am I right? I would love some info on that (maybe from someone running a DEH-80PRS like me) Thanks once again! Arno
  5. Arno Ferero

    What software is this??

    Do any of you know what software 'HexiBase' is using to make his enclosures? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VFx37kz5Ww It would be awesome to have a bit of a play around with it to see how my current system stacks up. Thanks in advance
  6. Hi guys, my current amp is starting to give me some issues (well I think it is). It is an option audio OA1200 powering a Fi Q12 at 1ohm, and I have had it for about 5 years now but I don't think it's dealing too well with a 1ohm load (it has been running at 2ohms till now when I got the Q). When I initially hooked everything up I set the gains using my oscilloscope, the HU did not clip even at full volume, and the amp started clipping at ~1/3 turn using both a 60hz and 30hz sine wave. Anyway, a couple of weeks later I noticed the sub was getting hot, which should not really happen on 1200w,so i decided to inspect the system again. I checked my 4 channel amp, and that was still fine, but when i got to the OA1200 it was clipping severely (starting to resemble a square wave), even with the gain all the way down it was still clipping quite badly and it is putting out considerably less power because of it. All EQ, loudness, level, etc settings are off/set to zero, and the only thing I have changed is the time alignment settings (but that should not have an effect). The headunit (DEH-80PRS) is not clipping either, however, according to the oscilloscope it is putting out about 6.5v at the pre outs which is quite high but probably no different from when I installed it originally. That amp did not supply quite enough power anyway, so unless someone has some other ideas as to how I could fix my problem, I am in the market for a new amp. The Q is rated at 1.5k rms, and I have also added the cooling option so it will probably be able to take a bit more. I'm looking for something: - between 1.5k rms and 2.5k rms (some headroom would be nice, so I don't have to run the amp right up to clipping, and for possible future upgrades) - something that is absolutely 100% 1ohm stable - a fairly low input sensitivity (so it can handle the 6.5v output, and leave me some room to adjust the gain) - a small form factor would be nice, but is not a deal breaker - budget wise, my absolute top end limit would be around $750. That being said, I would prefer to spend less if I can get a quality product, but i'd rather buy right and buy once and get something that I know will last me many years. Some I have looked at so far: Crescendo s1500.1 - I like it's small form factor - Does more than rated power (according tom youtube around 1800w) - Looking at the pictures, it looks like it has a setting for high and low input voltages (though there's no info about that on the specs sheet) - and it's cheap!! I'm not 100% sure about the quality though, and I'm not a fan of it's looks. Incriminator Audio IA20.1 Don't really know that much about these but damn, just look at that thing http://www.incriminatoraudio.com/index.php/products/amplifiers/ia20-1-mono-block.html The only thing I am unsure about is it's input sensitivity of 6v - 0.2v (would like some opinions on that) I've also always been a fan of Sundown also, what about Zapco Some opinions on these would be awesome, as well as any other suggestions you guys have. (I have literally not looked at amps in 5 years) Thanks in advance!!
  7. Arno Ferero

    Not happy with sub stage. Need some help.

    Thanks for all the help guys, I managed to find the issue (though I'm a bit embarrassed about what it ended up being, haha). It was a combination of utter stupidity and the sub needing more break in time. In my old car, I set my low pass filter to exactly 80hz on that amp (and it took me a while too). So when I set the gains this time around, I didn't even bother looking at it again. Turns out I must have turned it all the way down when I took it out of the old car, as it was set to 30hz (so basically filtering out most of my Sub stage). Hahahahahahaha. I'm over the moon with this sub now! Though it definitely needs to be broken in. It's literally getting louder by the hour (I've had to re-tune my system twice now as the sub just keeps getting louder). Anyway, thanks for all the help, I'm glad it ended up being just an error on my end. I'm heading on holiday tomorrow, but i'll put up some build pics once I get back.
  8. Arno Ferero

    Not happy with sub stage. Need some help.

    Thanks for all the replies so far guys. I'm going to have a play with the head unit today, and double check all my amp settings too as soon as I get home (I'm 99.99% sure I've wired it all in parallel but i'll check that too). There we're no visible defects with the sub, and I was very impressed with the build quality (also I'm silently wishing that the sub is fine, because it's going to be rather difficult to try and sort that out from over here). I'm betting that it is the amp though, although mine has served me very well for 3 years, I know 2 people personally who have had issues with option audio. I'll see if I can hook it up to a mate's 1000w jl some time this week. I have the same orientation yes, but it is in a larger car. (both were SUV's though) And yes, that does make more sense on the compound isobaric box, Because that is how I experienced the sound for myself, I must have miss read or misunderstood what I read on it. I mainly built it for the smaller enclosure volume.
  9. Hey guys, hoping to get some help or suggestions here, but I'll just introduce myself a little first. I've been reading this forum for a long time though I have not really posted much, and I've basically used it ever since I did my first system about 4 years ago. Like I said, I've been in to car audio for a while, I've done 4 different of my own installs in that time, and have done and helped with many of my mates installs as well, so though I have lots to learn still, I have a fair bit of experience. I live in Australia, so our set-up here is a bit different in terms of brand availability and what we can listen to at shops etc. So, on to the problem. I recently bought a new car, and finished my install about 2 days ago, using most of the gear I used in my previous car but with a few changes. I'm running: Pioneer DEH-80PRS (New) Eclipse XA4200 4channel (from old car) Option Audio OAK1200 sub amp (from old car but I'm running it at 1ohm now instead of 2ohm with old setup) (option audio is an Australian brand BTW) Alpine SPR-60c in front (from old car) Alpine SPR-60 in rear (from old car) Fi Q12 in 2.25cuft @ 32Hz (New) We don't have Fi in Australia, so I imported my sub purely base on good reviews without being able to listen to it Electrical is up to scratch (HO alternator, dual batteries, etc) and I'm not getting any voltage drop (sitting at 14.3V at full volume). All gains we're set with an oscilloscope. Now I have only had time to listen to it for a couple of hours and I have not even had time to EQ it properly, but first impressions are pretty disappointing. The sub does not hit nearly as hard as I expected it to and honestly seems pretty slow and muddy (completely contradicting pretty much all the reviews I read). Comparing it to a mates 13W7, I did not expect the fi to be as loud or maybe even as good quality as the JL, but honestly, it is not even half as loud and definitely sounds worse. Same can be said when comparing to a 12W6, again,not as loud as the W6 and SQ is not there. In my old system I had 2 12inch polk db's in a compound ported box. For those of you who don't know what a compound arrangement is I'll just explain what it does: Basically you get the extra power handling, and motor force of 2 subs, but with the cone area of 1. So it's louder than 1 sub, but not quite as loud as 2 subs in a normal set up. Anyway. I was pretty happy with that set up, SQ was decent, and it went quite loud (louder than the W6, but still not on the same level as the W7). At the end of the day though, they we're entry level subs so I really expected the Q12 to be an upgrade (even if it was just in sound quality, though i would have liked it to be louder too). At the moment, it is a significant downgrade. I'm just looking at some suggestions or opinions as to where to start trouble shooting (I might have done something stupid, or have an issue in my system). I'll start: It could be the amp, it has always performed flawlessly but I've never run it at 1ohm. It's supposed to put out 1200wrms at 1 ohm which is a little under the recommended 1500w, but even at full blast, the sub is barely moving, so I suspect it might not be putting out claimed power (however I am pretty sure it put out claimed power at 2 ohms). Also, I've heard that the Q's get better as they break in, could this be the case? (though I can't imagine it would make THAT much of a difference) I'm not trying to compete or one up any of my friends, I just build systems for my own enjoyment because I love music. Comparing my first impressions with on-line reviews and youtube videos, there really is a night and day difference. I did not expect it to be better or even as good as a 13W7 (despite some reviews claiming that), but I expected it to be at least in the same ball park... So yeah, it's a weird thing to hope, but I really hope there is something wrong with my system, and that I would be able to get more out of this sub. Anyway, sorry for the long post, and thanks for any help. Arno
  10. Hi everyone, first time poster on this forum. Posting all the way from Australia. Okay, So I'm in the planning stage for a system in the new car, and I've just started doing up some rough design/placement ideas on Inventor, when I ran in to a problem. I'm designing this for a Fi Q12 ported, and I know the recommended enclosure sizes given by Fi of 1.8-2.5 cf @ 28-33Hz. However, that is quite a large margin of variation for a recommended enclosure volume (0.7 cf and 5Hz tuning frequency can affect the sound a fair bit). As I'm not a massive fan of guessing/speculating about the best enclosure volume, I decided to pull out the calculator and the old loudspeaker design cookbook to calculate the volume by hand. This is the method I have used to calculate all my enclosures in the past, and I have always been extremely pleased with the results. However, after plugging in the Fi's parameters into the formula, the enclosure volume I ended up with was around 0.7cf. Now all the ported 12'' enclosures I have built before came in at +/- 2cf (which is in line with the recommendations from Fi), so I immediately thought I had made a mistake. I recalculated it several times, and even ended up trying a few of the on-line calculators available and they all returned around the same value of 0.7cf. I have found that the main parameter causing these rewsults is the vas = 28.3litre for the Fi compared to 66litres for a JL 12W7, giving the JL just over twice the box volume of the Q. Now, it would be brilliant if that 0.7cf enclosure volume is correct, but common sense (and Fi's Recommendation) tells me that it's not. So I'm wondering, if someone (possibly from Fi ) in the know could shed some light on the calculations Fi could possibly have used to come up with their recommendations. I'm not really after a general recommendation/speculation based on power, type of music, etc, etc, as I can do that myself. I'm after a formula, or a precise box volume and tuning frequency backed up by some good old fashioned maths. Thanks.
  11. Hi everyone, first time poster on this forum. Posting all the way from Australia. Okay, So I'm in the planning stage for a system in the new car, and I've just started doing up some rough design/placement ideas on Inventor, when I ran in to a problem. I'm designing this for a Fi Q12 ported, and I know the recommended enclosure sizes given by Fi of 1.8-2.5 cf @ 28-33Hz. However, that is quite a large margin of variation for a recommended enclosure volume (0.7 cf and 5Hz tuning frequency can affect the sound a fair bit). As I'm not a massive fan of guessing/speculating about the best enclosure volume, I decided to pull out the calculator and the old loudspeaker design cookbook to calculate the volume by hand. This is the method I have used to calculate all my enclosures in the past, and I have always been extremely pleased with the results. However, after plugging in the Fi's parameters into the formula, the enclosure volume I ended up with was around 0.7cf. Now all the ported 12'' enclosures I have built before came in at +/- 2cf (which is in line with the recommendations from Fi), so I immediately thought I had made a mistake. I recalculated it several times, and even ended up trying a few of the on-line calculators available and they all returned around the same value of 0.7cf. I have found that the main parameter causing these rewsults is the vas = 28.3litre for the Fi compared to 66litres for a JL 12W7, giving the JL just over twice the box volume of the Q. Now, it would be brilliant if that 0.7cf enclosure volume is correct, but common sense (and Fi's Recommendation) tells me that it's not. So I'm wondering, if someone (possibly from Fi ) in the know could shed some light on the calculations Fi could possibly have used to come up with their recommendations. I'm not really after a general recommendation/speculation based on power, type of music, etc, etc, as I can do that myself. I'm after a formula, or a precise box volume and tuning frequency backed up by some good old fashioned maths. Thanks.
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