2 gauge power supply and 4 gauge earth maybe?

seems like it.... either that or the amp is going into protection... maybe the gains arent quite set right and its clipping..

your headunit will have been clipping at max anyway, so its best not to do it again.

it was probably clipping at half.....

it is a Sony after all

acky you got a sony??? what the hell are you thinking?? get a better one, now!!

Whats clipping, I can get it to max and its as clear as a summers day.

Whats clipping, I can get it to max and its as clear as a summers day.

Clipping is when the audio waveform "flatlines" for whatever reason. Most people are aware that sound travels in waves right? Well the shape/height of these curves can determine the frequency and volume of the audio being produced (stick with me here- I'm going somewhere with this!!)

a normal healthy wave:

A clipped waveform:

whats the problem between the two? well theres a number of issues, one of the main ones being that its the easiest and most common way to kill a speaker by underpowering and clipping it to death.

imagine for a moment that the path of the line in the first wave represents the physical movement of a subwoofer cone where the top peak of the wave is the cone when its fully out and forwards of the box and the bottom end of the wave representing where the sub is fully backwards. The movement is smooth and fluid and more to the point, while it has current going through it, the cone is always moving.

Now imagine the clipped signal represents same movement. we have a problem. The minute the sub gets to the point where the clipped signal is, it actually stops moving for the whilst there is still going through it. result? No movement on voicecoil to keep it vented, Current still going through heats up the voicecoil and voicecoil burns out from lack of cooling. Not because the subs crap, but because the signal that it was supplied with is a pile of pants.

now the clipped signal above is pretty bad, but it could be worse:

This is called a square wave. The clipping effect is much harder and would be even more detrimental to the drive unit and obviously the SQ of the system.

soft clipping cannot be heard by most people. when a sub clips most people cant hear that either. For the most part people can pick out flaws in the higher end of the frequency range of human hearing rather than the lower. It IS however possible to train your ears to detail music over a period of time.

average range of human hearing is approx 20htz-20Khtz. I can hear from 18htz all the way up to 21Khtz but thats only after years of specifically trying to hear certain things in a given scenario. I'm convinced its self taught rather than a natural born trait as a lot of people who are heavily into ICE are like this.

its nice to know someone is can actually be bothered to type long winded answers coupe of lines and thats me.

Ok cool cheers for that.

I'm not sure what my figures with regards to hearing are, but I have had several hearing test and all have said I have exceptional hearing. But if you dont know what your listening for you cant really tell can you.

HU will get replaced, but first its a new gearnox, insurnance, tax and service.

Ok cool cheers for that.

I'm not sure what my figures with regards to hearing are, but I have had several hearing test and all have said I have exceptional hearing. But if you dont know what your listening for you cant really tell can you.

HU will get replaced, but first its a new gearnox, insurnance, tax and service.    

ouch. I just had a new gearbox put into mine- cost me £465 all in including parts and labour.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

Sounds cool as sin!!!! Obviously I cant put it to loud just yet, but where I have taken it to is loud as hell and there is loadds of volume left to go.

Bass is cool too, defo not to loud and not to quite.

'I'm loving it'

Good to hear you are happy with it.

Now this bit is VERY VERY IMPORTANT.

GO VISIT A SHOP OR A FRIEND THAT HAS AN RTA MACHINE AND GET THE WHOLE LOT SET UP PROPERLY

If the system was set up by ear (which I'm guessing it was) then your gains will be reasonably accurate but not spot on unless you had someone who has been doing this for years set them. (I know people who have been setting up audio for 20+ years and still refuse to go by ear as RTA's are always more accurate)

more importantly an RTA machine will also display where there are flaws in the system. It will give you the specific frequencies that are "out of line" with the rest of the frequency range. It works by placing a microphone in the listening position of the drivier and playing a number of test tracks to project a visual image of the audio in the form of a frequency curve.

some examples:

This curve shows a system which is overboosting on the bass end of the scale and not producing any high frequency. It would sound bloody awful! No detail in sound and would be quite hollow. Its also severly lacking in midrange between 200htz and 5ktz which means all instruments like snare drums, oboes, cellos, acoustic guitars, pianos - near enough EVERYTHING would sound muddy and incoherant.

This is a "flat" curve. (ignore the facts its not level with the white line- it actually is but the control simply hasnt been centred on the unit) Better than the one above but would sound completely lifeless. Some people beleive this is perfect as it is supposedly a true representation of the recording but 80-90% of the time it lacks colour and warmth in the sound. you need a little lift in the music with a gentle roll off.

An Ideal curve would be somewhere in between those two. not completely flat but with a gentle slope and a smooth roll off at the end of the high frequency range.

Best bet is to get yourself to a local high quality audio shop and ask them to RTA the car and then you can see if it needs EQing or not. shouldnt cost more than £20 or so :)

With all respect the top curve is not that far off what a car should be.

A FLAT curve as you SHOULD know if you are on ICE cavern where you linked the photo's from will sound terrible.

I would go for the Audiocontrols recommended curve - which is the A curve (but with the peak lower - maybe 35hz) and dropping off at about 3db per octave above 1k to remove harshness and standing waves.

If you are going to tell someone something - then please dont tell them total bollox.

Luv and hugs.

VD

i dont know what i am talking about and u r saying alpine is shit??? u should hear my system it been checked at 187decibells and at that volume it is not even distort it sounds mint

really sir.

behave.

that volume level has NEVER been achived in ANY car.

EVER.

The Fin's extreme class Volvo has not yet done a proven 180dB.,,,,,,,,,,,,and just look at it.........

You see that - on the last pic...........175.3 db

and you are telling me you have a system capable of 10 TIMES the acoustic output of that.

You silly little child. Go home and grow up!

OO my thread has been pinned! haha

Oh and dont been nasty to Bass Mekanik - as the starter of this thread I'm saying its not allowed.

I and alot of others value his comments and knowledge. So far I have done what he has advised and its all turned good.

That volvo is a beast though, feel free to abuse Polo Mad thought, I'm a noob and I know for a fact his system will not be 187 DB hahahahah

Acky, beleive me when i say i know f**k all compared to this guy- he has a hell of a lot more practical experience than I do - listen to him. (even if he is an SPL hooligan and not a SQ bloke :p )

Although VD I still stand by the ideal curve sitting somewhere in between the two in the pictures. neither of them are perfect i say! (as already stated above- said they should be somewhere in between the two- which would probably be close to the slope you described anyway :p)

since when did you join on here anyway???

(faz@bbg)

Edited 9 January, 200719 yr by bass mekanik

since i told him about the guy reaconing his car did 187db........

I didnt know this was still going but as it is... All this equipment is now for sale