Amplifiers / Head Units / Processors / Electrical

I would like to know what makes a alternaor company good verses a crappy one? What makes it charge at 14.4, what determines amps at idle, etc etc. etc.? Basically the innerworkings of a alternator. Would a rebuild kit be better?

here's a few pics of a power 1000 im trying out... looks awesome! Im using it to power the midranges and midbasses at the moment and using one of the ppi a600s for the center channel. I'm truly amazed. idk what it is but man the center channel just makes it sound better... normally im pretty good at putting my finger on why it sounds better worse ect but i honestly cant hear it playing when i have it on it sounds like perfect stereo. but i flip the switch to turn it off and you can tell right away its just not the same. crazy... anyone (m5) have an explanation or advice... i have alot of tuning to do i should get some videos of the spectrum analyzer up soon. sadly this …

Okay, i've been reading up on head units for quite some time, some of you know this from older threads. I was going to go with the flip out they have, but then decided not too because of the bad reviews i've read. Then i was going with the iDA-X305S Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. but i don't/won't use Pandora, and it seems without it.. it's useless Let me know if you run it and don't use Pandora, tell me how it is. BUT, now i'm planning on the IDA-X303 Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. because it's not all about Pandora. Does anyone on here run this head unit? If so, how do you like it? I only use my Itouch for music, no CDs.. keep that in mind. Side note, check …

Here are some brand new pictures of a Soundstream XXX-6500. I noticed it can be hard to find non-"stock" pictures of some amplifiers and I know some people were interested, so here ya go. They were on my eBay listings for this amp, but not all search on there. PS - Don't Mind the watermark, that's so other stores and what not don't steal them. Most people who carry these do not stock them and that's why they use generic pictures. Enjoy

im interested in some opinions on the best option for 7000 rms, looking for a good balance of power requirement and price, any other suggestions welcome, this is what i have come up with so far... stetsom 7k - 1700 dual sundown 3500's - 2000 american bass vfl 500.1 - 1600

Hey guys. once again i'm having another problem..my head unit isn't getting any power. I went to instal my voltage meter that i got today and then the no power problem started. I finished installing the voltage meter and everything was working fine. I pulled the head unit back down to put the RCA cables back in and it seemed like the music volume started to get lower and lower. I finished everything and picked the HU back up to put it back into the dash and everything just quit working. I thought that maybe some wire just came loose so i checked everything and it all looked fine. I just cant figure out what it is. Everything is wired together just like it should be, exce…

SparkFun Electronics - DSO Nano - Pocket-Sized Digital Oscilloscope seems pretty decent, not sure if it covers the ranges needed to detect clipping from HU and also to set my gains properly...Any input? Thanks.

So i went to my local shop and had them do the big 3 for me, yeah i know i should of done it myself lol. Used that Knuconceptz 0 gauge wire. A buddy of mine told me that I will need to add an additional fuse to put between the alternator and the battery, but the shop said that it wasnt needed. I think my alt is like a 130amp on my scion tc, and the extra fuse i bought says 300A. Big 3 helped the voltage a bit, but it still drops right away if im giving a demo or just bumping it loud to the upper 11's. Check the pics here, ImageShack Album - 7 images All i see is the alt to the battery, then the battery to the ground. Is it done right or do i need to add that fuse that i…

So who has a new aq3500d.1 and how do you like it? i cant stop drooling over it and for the price i want it. Does it do rated or more? I just need some more power... welll.... not neeed but i sure want some hahaha

Just wondering how many of you guys actually use these things..

i have been looking between two hifonics amps a bxi 2608/2610 Hifonics BXi 2610D 2600W RMS, Brutus BXi Series Class D Monoblock Amplifier (BXi2610D) and a hifonics xx colossus 2 HIFONICS XX-COLOSSUS-II MONOBLOCK/2-CHAN AMPLIFIER AMP: eBay Motors (item 290460649039 end time Sep-02-10 13:47:47 PDT) (only link with all stats i will prob buy new)

Need help figuring out where the knob should be for SSF on a saz 3500d with an enclosure tuned to 32hz..Pictures would be nice too.

Does it really matter what RCA cables you use from your headunit to your amp?

so i got my 200amp alt from db and installed it and started up the car and hear this zzzzzzzz sound check the output with my dmm and reads 11.8v man what a joke

Ok I got some new Knu Konceptz battery terminals with 4g outputs and I'm assuming I will need to cut the stock terminal out. So soldering the wires will be the best option right? Now I know with smaller wires you usually just twist them together and then solder but thats not really feasible with 4g, or is it? If anyone has tips on doing this it would be greatly appreciated. This is the terminal I will be using.

Ok, I got my new replacement amp back finally. Amp has a sensitivity switch between .1-2 volts and 2-8 volts. My new headunit has 4 volt preouts. When I try to set the gains using the 2-8 volt setting I max the gain and never reach 40 volts (1600 rms). I get around 12 volts on the dmm. When I switch it to the .1-2 volt setting gain goes about 1/3 of the way up and hits 40 volts. Will I damage the amp if I just leave it at the .1-2 volt switch position? And any idea's on why if I have 4 volt preouts I can't reach 40 volts on the 2-8 volt setting? Right now everything is hooked up but I have the amp off on the headunit. Waited 3 weeks to get the new amp back so I am really …

Hey guys i have a question. i searched around (and having fun learning) in the amp section and only found one person having the same issue as me but the problem was not resolved. so i will try to give as much info as i can so there will be no confusion. First off, i am very mechanically/electrically inclined but for some reason this problem has me stumped which usually calls for faulty equipment. second, this thread here is the problem i am having. it is on another forum but it is exactly what mine is doing. http://www.*****.com/board/topic/61561-amp-problem/page__hl__m1000%20hot so first off, my electrical. Big 3 soldered with 4 gauge Deka intimidator battery 9A78DT und…

My voltage is dropping down to 12.4 at high volume this is off an 180 amp alt with three battery in the back (kinetik 2@2400 & 1@1400). The 12.4 is at the amp and my voltage at the front battery drops to about 12.9 & 13. Would i gain any dbs if i upgrade to a bigger alt? I have been thinking about upgrading for awhile now just wanting to know if I'll see any diffference to justifly the upgrade. I am running an audioque 3500d (the old one) @ 1 ohm.

Do pretty much all head units send out a clipped signal at 3/4 volume? I remember reading something about 3/4 volume and never pushing the head unit to 100% volume... Also, if that's the case why don't manufacturers limit how much you can crank it (if possible?)

Okay guys i ran into a problem, i called DC Power and they said they DO NOT have a dual alternator kit for me and without one i WILL have major voltage drop. (I TOLD THEM MY SYSTEM HAS 10,000 WATTS ~ rough estimate) I DO NOT want to drop really low because this system will be a DAILY DRIVER, so i will be playing a lot and i don't want to limit the usage or anything of the sort because of voltage drop. The biggest alternator DC Power had for me is a 320 Amp w/ 180 idle. (I'd really like to go with this company) The Sub Stage; (2) 15" AA SMDs (3500W power handling ~per sub) (2) AQ3500D.1 (1 ohm power @ 14.4V @ < 1% THD 4300W x 1 ~per amp) (4) XS P…

So awhile ago I had a battery isolator installed on my tahoe and I'd like to remove it...It's bolted onto the plastic fuse housing, as in inside the fuse housing there's nuts securing the bolts... Any idea how to get to those nuts so I can remove it and put a fuse holder there instead? Thanks

Well i sent the piece of junk db electric alternator back and went for a dc. cant wait for it to show up ill be sure to get pictures and even a video. from everything i see it should be awesome cant wait.

So I in the market in buying a 4 channel amp I need about 100 rms per channel going cheap on the amp crunch or MB quart. But my question was if i buy the amp i can use 2 channels for my front stage and can I leave the other 2 for a sub? And most amps are only bridgeable at 4 ohms so this means it is 20 ohms each channel? And my sub is a 4 ohm DVC so if i wire it 2 2ohms it going to be at 1 ohm? So what I'm saying is will I be able to run a front stage and a sub together?

Here is my progress of the Big 3 on my Sentra. http://i35.tinypic.com/5flyyu.jpg Now here is the stock grounding point for the battery/engine chassis. (That little screw back there) Since it is in the most extremely awkward position, can I instead ground to here with the new cable?