Amplifiers / Head Units / Processors / Electrical

Ok, so lets take for example the Sundown SAE-1200D. 1200W @ 1ohm and an input sensitivy ranging from .153V to 5.6V. For everything in this post lets assume no clipping of the audio signal from the source unit and say the source unit is putting out 3V from the pre-outs. What is going to happen if you turn the gain knob "up" (as in toward the .2V) after you have matched the gains of the amp to the sensitivity of your source? I assume it will not put out more power. Will it begin to send the amplifier into clipping?

Another great read that I felt was worth having here also: Anatomy of the Power Amplifier Dissecting the Modern Audio Power Amplifier and Power Supply By Robert Zeff With the Proliferation of Different Amp Types, Which is the One for You? In the past we had essentially two types of amplifiers to choose from: Class "AB" and class "A". Today we have AB, A, D, G, H, & T, in addition to some that do not have a class name. New technology brought down the size and price while improving performance and efficiency. We'll review the various topologies of the modern amplifier, spending extra time on the aspect of efficiency (as the quest for smaller, more efficient designs have…

Found this guide on another forum, and given the slew of recent threads on troubleshooting noise, thought I would post it here. One word of warning is that some HU's and/or processors nowadays have a zero bit mute, which essentially cuts off the output during low signal passages to reduce noise.....so be aware if this is a feature your unit has. Onward to the guide; How can you eliminate alternator whine in a car audio system? If you have alternator whine in a car audio system and want to get rid of it, there is only one sure-fire way to do it. David Navone and Richard Clark from Autosound 2000 in the USA developed the following step-by-step instructions. If you follow th…

Most audio equipment dies for one simple reason. Most people push their equipment beyond its limits. Whether it is the amplifier, subwoofer or full range speakers, clipping is the number one cause of failure. To prevent clipping, use this tutorial. To figure out what voltage you should set the gains to, multiply the RMS power of the amplifiers output by the impedance of the speaker, then find the square root of that number. If you are using an amplifier that has an RMS rating of more than your speaker(s) can handle/rated for, then use the RMS rating of the speaker (instead of the RMS of the amplifier) to determine the voltage to set your amp to. This is also referred to a…

I am not a Crescendo rep, I am just totally stoked about their new amps!!!!!!!!!!!! :morepower1: :morepower1: :morepower1: I love my Crescendo gold bricks and I can not wait to get these :jump: :jump: (USA 48 States) BC2000D (+2000wrms)$299.99 shipped BC3500D (+3500wrms)$579.99 shipped BC5500D (+5500wrms)$879.99 shipped BC2000D BC3500D BC5500D

I recently bought a 3000 watt audio pip class d mono amp and running it for less then 45mins destroyed my stock alternator. i currently have a 130amp alternator two normal car batteries one in front and in the trunk. every thing hooked up with cheap 0 gauge wire (its not ofc), and i don't have a big3 upgrade. clearly i need to do something before i hook my amp back up. i was thinking either a big3 and big xs battery like a 4k watt one, or a high output alt and a big3, or something. What would you guys suggest? Thanks in advance for any replies i dont know if it makes a differnce but i plan on running either a ssa zcon or a sundown z series 15 in a home built 3cubic feet …

Here's my alpine 9857. Very nice and the display is sweet.

Just recently i have experienced some problems with my system. 15" diamond audio hex pro & audioque 1200 (witch use to be a diamond audio 1200). At first i was experiencing a slight smell after a minute or so at loud volume. A friend of mine told me the capacitors in my diamond audio amp were frying. I then purchased a audioque 1200 and swapped it out with the diamond amp. At the first install the ground was bad so i moved it and scraped the paint. The slight smell came back even after switching the amps. I then started to experience the subwooofer fading in and out at times. One time it went completely silent and after turning the car on and off the sub came back on.…

What are the pro's and cons of Korean built amps compared to Brazilian and Chinese. And for daily spl builds which is better.

Hi guys, had this question in my head for a few days now so I thought I would just ask. I was wondering what the difference is(if any) between a standard bass knob or a bass processor such as an epicenter from Audio control. More specifically, a potentiometer vs. a parametric eq. How do they work? Do they increase voltage? What exactly is going on when you crank on that knob? Thanks

I picked up a 125.4D from my repair tech..never heard one but he said it puts out more than rated and sounds pretty clean. I will soon find out. Just curious the deal on the amps and company., Most of what I have seen is not that favorable but I dont know if that is the owner or the product. my tech is a engineer and he reverse engineered the amp and had good things to say about it. better quality that he has seen in a while.

Here's the deal, in my previous few installs, I had been using a simple 12$ RCA bass control knob. You run RCA's from the HU to the knob, then from the knob back to the amplifier controlling the input level from the head unit to the amp. Simple. Well I recently got a new amp, which came with a Remote bass control knob. I hooked this knob up to the amp via the telephone jack looking remote cable, while still running my RCA's through the original knob. I've been keeping the RCA knob at 100% and using the remote to control the levels.. My question is, is this a bad idea for any reason at all? Perhaps output voltage from the RCA's or something of that nature? Also, what are t…

So ive had this issue for awhile now. my headunit is Alpine CDE-164BT id say around 4 months ago, i first noticed this issue my headunit would randomly shut off for one second, then power back on. when it would turn on, its as if i just turned my car on, it displays the alpine logo and then starts to work again. the good thing is, its always turned back on right away. but the weird thing is, its extremely random? like when it has this issue, it will normally turn off around 4 or 5 times within 10 minutes. but, these random instances only happen maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks. from what ive been told and heard, it seems i would need to check several thin…

I have seen people talk about their products time to time, mostly the super tweeters, but does anyone have experience with the amps? The website says two year transferable warranty and the amps look similar to sundown, atomic, and a few other brands I have seen. I might look into purchasing two of those 3KWDs considering they are 550 a piece.

I have a Kenwood ddx574bh HU and was just wondering what the bass ext function really does? The manual is pretty vague. I have it off right now just wondering if it should stay off or if I should turn it on.

http://caraudiomag.com/articles/copper-wire-vs-copper-clad-aluminum-wire-wire-warnings

From what i hear the CT sounds amps have made some new changes. Anyone know of what changes were made to the boards? What are some thoughts on these amps.

What is the best way to set your crossover setting on your amp and headunit? Can you leave your amp a little higher, then adjust from your hu when needed or should they both be set on the same HZ? What would be the best frequency for 2 DD350012e in a trunk setup? Currently I am set at 80 hz on my radio and about 90 hz on the amp. Bass boost is at 0, do you recommend using the bass boost or does this do more harm than help to your subs?

So I recently put a pioneer deck in my truck and noticed it has a feature called "Sound Retriever"...Supposedly it enhances compressed audio... Any idea how it does that? And if it's ok to turn on? (What does it do with uncompressed audio?)

Monoblock, two channel, four channel, whatever it may be. If your like me there are some amps out there that you have to own. Let's see em everyone Here are a few of mine.. AQ 20k SAZ-5000D Soundqubed-3500.1 CT Sounds 7000.1 Couple others: Saz 3500d BC 5500D DC: 5k SQ-2200 Now lets see all of yours!

Alright guys! Its time to upgrade to some new power. My 4k's are beast, but old and a bit out dated. So I thought I would change it up, talked to the guys at ESL and hooked up with some new amps!!:nod: So I ordered one up to see how it performs. And I plan to add a second one in the near future.:thumbsup: So it arrived yesterday in the mail. But I had to wait all day to get to see it. But when I got home I was greeted with a nice V-Day surprise. Overall quality and craftsmanship looks nice. Its different then just about every other 5k I have seen (layout wise) and all things look very stout! Large wire beefy power supply torrid's,huge output filters, 24 input FET's. Th…

alrite i got everything hooked up at 5 this morning, i turn the key on, everything powers up, and there is a loud screeching popping sound coming from all my mids/highs, i unplugged the rca's from my mids/highs amp and no more screeching both the amps are ok now and i have bass. so we thought i had a bad pair of rca's so i went to the store this morning and picked a new pair up just got back to the house and hooked it up and same chit... anybody experienced anything like this before im clueless.

hey everyone, i am looking for a alternator for my 02' f150 5.4 v8. atleast 220amp output. i was at my local shop and he told me to check out power bastards alternators. i did and they have nothing but good reviews on them and there very good on price. my question is if anyone here has every used one before.. i really only have $325 to spend (and thats if and only if my alt. from my ranger ever sells..) i will have my AQ3500.1 running at 2 ohms (2600 watts) to a zcon 15 so i really only need around 2200 watts. i will have all 0 gauge wiring and as of now, no extra batteries. if anyone knows of a better deal on a alternator for the same amout of output or better. please lm…

alright, so how would you set up an amplifier to your H/U? thats my main question. if i post a picture of the amp i want, could you tell me what every thing means? i know what low pass is but everything else is confusing, and there is no gain on this amp, at least it isn't called "gain" AMP click that and go to the pictures.

it seems these companys offer exactly what im looking for power wise. im using 14 prv mids 8ohms, my vehicle is at 15.4v and hoping these amps wouldnt go into protect cause too high of voltage. has anyone used these for mids/highs?