jellymonster

I really don't want to buy a new amp!!!
As I said before I don't want to put any more strain on my alternator.

This is the amp: http://www.caraudiowarehouse.co.uk/p...-BL-1000G.html

I have now got my sub bridge over 2 ports. And the 6x9's connected in series in another port. And finally the 5.25" plugged in series into the remaining port.
The sound sounds a bit wierd now :S
I've tried messing around with the low/high pass knobs and switches, but not knowing what I doing, I think I made it worse :S.
Can anyone tell me what to set the switches and knobs to to get the best (or better) sound? There are 2 rows of switches and knobs, both rows contain, a gain, bass boost switch 0db/6db/12db, LPF, LPF/All/HPF switch, HPS.
I think that one row is for my sub, and the other row is for the other speakers :S

Thanks

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jellymonster

Ok, in that case, until I get another amp or something, I'll disconnect the 5.25" speakers. It was running fine without them.

Thanks

soundman98

from the way you explained the new setup, it sounds like you have the 5-1/4's on one channel, and the 6x9's on another channel, so for instance: your front speakers will only produce the left channel, and rear speakers will only produce the right channel. this will produce a weird sounding system. the original setup was ok in the way that you had one 5 1/4 and one 6x9 on each channel, but needed to be setup in series to maintain the proper resistance on the amp. the parrallel setup dropped the resistance too low, and caused the amp to shut off.

Jelly, what else do you have in/on your car that would stress your alternator any more?

under normal circumstances, one or 2 amps, each with a 30 amp fuse is not going to put extreme stress on any electrical components unless: the gains are all the way up for all channels, you have the volume all the way up, and/or are using a very thin(higher gauge #)/cheap amp wiring kit.

for the knobs, it really depends on the overall install as to how they would be set. For your installation, start with these settings and work from there:

sub switch should be set to LP(stands for low pass--only allows lower frequencies to pass through)if there is a freq knob, turn that to around 80-100 hz for starters.
6x9+5-1/4 speaker switch should be set to HP(stands for high pass-- only allows higher freq. through) if there is a freq knob, turn that to around 80-100 hz for starters.

the bass boost is not recomended, and should be left at '0' as it only boosts one freq. for the sub (extremely simplified, i could make a couple of pages about how bass boost can ruin a system, but help others).

jellymonster

Ok thanks soundman.
I did originally have it set up so the left speakers in left amp port and vica versa. But it made it sound wierd and I thought it was because of the different type/power speakers in series. Shows how much I know lol.

I will put it back to how it was in series, I still haven't sorted out my other problem of having the left side really quiet :S yet so atm there is pretty much no sound on the left.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/car-...left-side.html

and as the the amp switches and knob stuff. I will give that a go when I've re-wired everything.

Btw, is there an easy way to check the polarity of the speaker wires? it's easy for the 6x9's and sub because they are in the boot. But the 5.25"s are in the front doors. I think I know which way they are, but just want to double check. Either way this is not the reason for the wierd sound because I've tried them many ways, even disabling them all together.

The only power consuming things in my car are the amp (1000W peak, 30A) and my PC (M4-ATX, 300W peak, 25A)

Thanks again
JM

jellymonster

Yay, I have sorted out the dodgy sound . It was actually from when I updated the sound driver because of my other post, it had put it onto some wierd speaker setting environment. So I put it back and the quality is better than before thanks to your advice soundman. Don't suppose there is anywhere that I can read that explains in more detail why bass boost is no good, I think that I will find it interesting .

Thanks again soundman, hopefully when I get my other problem sorted, it will sound like the business :P

WuNgUn

...I'm sure your FAR from stressing out your altenator with just that amp...lol
I have a 400W Alpine for my sub, and two TRU T4.65's for my two-ways, AND a dualcore, water cooled PC...
With the 'Big 3', I don't even get any dimming at idle under heavy 'load'...

Soundman has some good advice...

I'd also like to add, re: "the bass boost"...if you WANT more bass, then add more subs/amps...
For a well rounded system, a single, quality, 10 or 12" sub is ample for 30 to 80Hz frequencies in a car...

jellymonster

haha, ok wungun, I blame my Dad the mechanic for getting me worried about my alternator. I can't really compare to your system as you probably have a better alternator.
But I bet bass boost is alot cheaper than a new amp and sub lol.

Naa my bass is plenty now

I would like to see your water cooling though, have you got any pictures?

Thanks

WuNgUn

There is this...
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...c-95-done.html

A lot of images have been moved though, so they won't show up...

(I have a job interview Monday and I wanted to create a picture/portfolio of my handy work, so those images got moved to a new 'album')

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jellymonster

Dammit, protection light came on today on the way to and from work.

Looks like putting the speakers into series didn't work.

Dunno if this is relevant, but after changing the HU, i went from the high level input to low level input.

What I might do is dis-connect the 5.25"s because it was working fine before I plugged them in and changed the HU. This will also test if I'm overpowering it i guess.

I dunno if any of you guys can answer this, but how much power do you think I could pull from my alternator? I have a X reg UK edition fiat brava.

Thanks

jellymonster

Very sure that the amp is overheating now. Thinking back to when it didn't do this, it was winter/spring. Now being in the prime of summer, it would make sense that it will be hotter. Also, this morning on the way to work, the weather was fairly cool and didn't die on me. However, on the way back, it was very hot and did die .

Thanks for your help everyone,my solution is going to be to get another, more expensive amp, and when i get more money replace my current cheap amp with the same one.

Anyone got any ideas of a good value amp?
Also what I need to look for in buying one?

soundman98

look for something name brand, and make sure that it is easy to find a full spec sheet-- that includes a rms wattage per channel, both in stereo mode, and bridged mode. this is the quickest way to determine the quality, becasue low quality amps usually don't include this info.

the more info you can find on the numbers, usually, the better.
whatever amp you narrow it down to, just do a search for magazine reviews, and see what unbiased sources have to say about it.

thewizard

Brother you will never ever resolve all of your issues until you break down and buy a second amplifier. Also there are very few bargain amplifiers out there that will carry a 2ohm load for very long without heat and shutdown issues (and yes that is what you have). You need to run your speakers at 4ohms with one channel per driver, and pick up a bass amp to drive your sub. You will not believe the difference in your overall system when you have done this. Also be aware that you are very close to killing your existing amplifier as it has already gone into protect several times. It is roasting itself every time it happens and the internal damage has already began. Two moderate amplifiers will not hurt your electrical system if you run an adequately sized power wire.

jellymonster

Ok, by bass amp, is this just a mono amp?
I was looking at this one:
http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/pro...s_id/8101.html
or
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/car_entert...iers/kac-8104d

There is about 200W difference and about £20 price wise. Is this ok with my KFC-W3011 (edit) sub. I figured it peaks at 1200W so it would but you can tell I'm not great at this :P.

One thing that I couldn't find is how many channels they have, if multiple, will I need to bridge them or are the 500W per channel or am I talking crap again.

If anyone has any other suggestions, please link . Around that price mark is what I'm looking at, and I've been carrying on with my kenwood theme but I really don't mind changing brand (as long as it's not Blaster lol)

Thanks

thewizard

I can't find any info on your sub (at least in English anyhow). Is it single or dual voice coil and how many ohms is it? Either amp that you have listed would likely drive your sub just fine but post the specs anyway and I'll have a closer look, at which time we can also decide how it should be wired and so on for best performance.

jellymonster

Just realised why you couldn't find anything, I said the wrong sub. it is actually the KFC-W3011.

Here are a few sites I found:
http://www.justkenwood.co.uk/speakers01/kfcw3011.asp
and
http://www.alphacaraudio.co.uk/ViewP...0Box&Cat_Code=
just without the amp (which I believe is the KAC-8104D amp).

Thanks for your help, for the sake of £20 I might just go for the more powerful one if you think it will be ok.

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