Hardware Review: JL Audio CL-RLC volume controlled preamp

Hardware Review: JL Audio CL-RLC volume controler with built in 7.5 volt preamp

What it is/does: allows remote volume control of stereo equipment

Reviewed by: Soundman98
Manufacturer : JL Audio
Model: CL-RLC
Specs: 7.5 volt preamp, linkable, remote volume knob
Price: MSRP $60, i paid $55 w/ free shipping on ebay-- seller was dimensionaudio
Rating: 9/10
Manufacturer website: www.jlaudio.com
Purchased at: www.ebay.com
Pros: great if you need a volume control and a preamp even better if your need both for a multichannel system
Cons: rj-11 phone plug for volume knob wire connector might be very touchy- one defective unit--later found unit is defective, not connectors.
Pictures:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...CLRLC-f_mt.jpg
file photo courtesy of jlaudio.com


i purchased 4 of these to control my entire setup-- 3 are used to control my actively crossed-over speakers(meaning that the audio signal is divided for the proper speaker before it enters the amp), one for my tweeters, one for my mids, and one for the sub channel. the one for the sub loops into the 4th unit to serve as a independant subwoofer level control.

overall, i was inpressed by the construction of the units. they are built very sensibly, with fused power inputs, and a range of options for connecting them to your stereo.
the power and input rca connectors are on one side, with the other having a variable output pair of rcas- controlled by the volume knob, and a pair of fixed output, or pass-through rcas, which are not affected by the volume knob. they just pass the input signal on, without changing it.

i connected them with very little problems, using 2 phone jack splitters, and small phone extension cables, to allow one volume knob to control 3 units. the fourth unit was connected to its own volume knob, so subwoofer volume is controlled by the main units, but is also independantly variable.

after installation, i was finally able to turn my amp gains down(previously, all my gains were set to max-- about 0.2volts..) and fired up the carputer for some subjective listening.

as expected, going from a very poor, low level signal to a higher level input signal has resulted in much better dynamics across the board-- the subs hit much stronger and fuller, the mids, and tweets sound a lot more natural.


i have now had them installed in my car for about 2 weeks now, and have been very pleased with the result--while they are more expensive than what i would prefer to pay for something like this, there are very few solutions for multichannel volume controls, and preamps, but it has definatly increased the enjoyment i get from listening to music in my car-- i can actually turn it up now! and having a physical knob makes volume adjustments that much easier-- no more waiting for the computer to adjust the master volume.

but i have been having problems with one of the units cutting in and out-- at random, it will just stop working, and then all of a sudden start working again. at first, i had problems with all 3 of the units, and had poor connectivity over the phone connectors. after making my own phone cable jumpers, it seems to be doing better, except for the one unit.

EDIT:just a small update for those of you who might have been concerned about the issues that i said i was having with one of the units---i recently swapped it with the one that was my sub volume control(one single, dedicated knob, no other units connected to it), and it has since worked flawlessly. i have had to re-adjust the knob for the correct amount of bass though--it seems that it was expecting a different level of resistance from the knob, and linking it to the other units was enough for it to get confused as to what level it sould be outputting, so it would cut in and out as it figured out the correct resistance...

since the swap, it has worked flawlessly (i did't even think about it on the way into work today, which is amazing in itself)

edit2: it worked flawlessly until i made the post, it turns out it is still up to its old shenanagins-- ordered a replacement

Whoa!! Great review!! I'm using 2 of these, didn't know you could control multiple units with one knob!....cool!!, that's got me thinking now...

Does this allow you to adjust the volume from silence to deafening? Or does it just adjust a certain percentage of range?

Also is the adjustment very fine and detailed or does it jump up the volume range quickly?

It really depends on how your amp gains are setup. When I first got them, I had left all of my gains cranked- so it was extremly touchy. After I readjusted the gains for a 5volt input, it is a lot less touchy.

For when they are turned all the way down, they are not completly silent. But thy are very quiet- kind of like listening to a RCA cable with a non powered speaker. Or like 1%volume in a front end

So you leave the front end volume way up? And then all the volume control is done with the Jl ?

That is how I have been using it.

I try to be courteous to other drivers and at least turn down the volume at lights, and the fe control always took forever- by the time I got it to a "old fart tolerable level" the light would turn green :)

edited

Thanks for the review, very interesting, didn't know you could use RJ11s! Does it come with a faceplate for the button? Or you just make a big hole for it?

no, it doesn't include faceplate(thats fine for me though-- i don't want people knowing what it is), you really just need to make a large enough hole and then bolt it up(it has a threaded stem for that).

I realize that this post will be only semi-related to the topic but maybe someone can give me a pointer if this is what i need in my setup.

I have a 4 channel amp that pushes about 240Watts powering 2x12" subs. I've got the outputs on the amp such that all the output is going to the subs. The input sound comes from my xenarc that has a sub output.

When I turn the input sensitivity up all the way on the amp, i get good power from the subs, but the sound is distorted at times and soemtimes, the amp shuts down (assuming overheating issues??). So i turned the input sense down and now I get hardly anything out of the subs.

Will this pre-amp help? Or should I get a more powerful amp?