Stereo settings

[Darkness 77]

Hi Guys
I needed a few pointers on tuning my stereo in the VS. When I bought the car it was fitted with a sony deck (nothing fancy) 2 amps, both sony(a four channel running the 4 speakers and a 2 channel running the 12" Kikker subs). The front speakers are Pioneer splits and the rears 6" of the same brand.As it was the sound was pretty ****. No lows in the front and all sub. The other day i had a look at the amps and the one for the speakers had the lows filterd out.(a small switch near the pots.) Mucked about a bit and got it sounding much better. What I wanted to know is if there are any hard and fast rules to tunning systems or is it done by ear. Thought you people would be the ones to ask, rather than go to a shop.

[kniever]

i always turn the subby down and tune the speakers in so they sound nice then i tune the subby in to add bass to the speakers i just set and it always ends up sounding good

[Darkness 77]

Yeah thats what I needed a bit of direction. I might get a chance to fiddle around a bit tomorrow while the wifes not watching.

[bezz]

i have my lpf set to around 85Hz for the sub and hpf around 125Hz-145Hz for the speakers. Remember filters aren't perfect so you dont need to have them both set at the same number, just close enough so they either dont overlap or overlap just slightly. To set the gain I initially set all gain knobs to zero. As I don't run any speakers from the h/u I set the volume on the h/u to close to max. This way you can have complete control over your volume settings. Next, slowly bring the gain up for the front speakers until you hear them clip, then back them off slightly. Repeat with the rears and finally the sub.

If you find the music way too bassy after this which is almost always the case, just dial the gain for the sub down until its at an acceptable level (head unit still at its highest volume).

With a bit of fine tuning you should get it sounding pretty sweet. You shouldnt really need to touch any of the settings on the h/u at all, unless a recording is to heavy in bass or treble or something. As I haven't deadened the doors yet in the VT the mid bass normally lacks, so the h/u equaliser comes in handy there.

Hope that helps.

[| evaN |]

Tutorial - Amplifier Gain & Crossover Adjustment - Mobile Electronics Australia
that link should tell u everything you need

[Darkness 77]

evaN Thanks dude that should cover it. Back to work tomorrow so i'll let you know how I go early next week. Cheers.

[fazz1977]

All excellent points. Crossovers are wonderful things. EQs are just as good, as long as you're not boosting frequencies. Work from the flat setting, and cut what seems harsh or boomy. You'll keep your amps headroom and avoild distortion, and have a system that sounds like a recording studio, always a bonus.