I thought that is what the menu function did on this HU. What is the point of separating the frequencies if you cannot boost them differently? I thought that when you boosted different frequencies under this menu, you could create your own Q curve (boosting 7.5-10 more than 12.5-15). When I hit the "Menu" button there are the "Treble" and "Bass" sub-menu's. If you enter those menus, it will break down into frequencies and the boost assigned to each frequency (7.5, 10,12.5, and 15 for treble), up to level +7 boost. I am looking to boost 7.5-10, and leave 12.5-15 alone (to take the brightness and airy sound out, and to sharpen deeper vocals). If I try this under these existing menu's, if I boost ANY of the frequencies, they all get boosted equally. I realize that if you boost one, it will affect the others to some degree. I am looking to isolate the 12.5-15 khtz frequencies and take the boost off. If this is not an option on my HU, why are the frequency breakdowns with the corresponding boosts displayed (If changing 1 changes them all, why not just list "treble" boost instead of the individual boosts and the individual frequencies, as it does now). Seems kind of redundant.

I called Alpine, but they were closed (at 2pm PST). I think I might have some sort of Macro selected that pre-selecting the boost levels (BBE or something like that).

Also, what is the "Defeat" option? Owner's manual says nothing about it.

John

 

Phil or MacGyver-

Just to clarify my above post (sounds kinda jumbled when I read it again), I thought the frequencies listed in the "menu" option was a sort of "Q" setting.....allowing me to custom curve the gains for each frequency. Apparently, it is as you stated above....just letting me shift the "peak" of the gain to a specific frequency. I have toyed with it some, and have found what Nicotunes said was the best advice.....you do not need a positive gain on everything. I have the bass set to +1 (80 HTZ) and the treble set to -2 (7.5kthtz peak to take the darkness away and to brighten up the sound a bit). So now that is outta the way...I have one additional question. My HU has a "subwoofer" option under the main menu (press the function button past "bass" and "treble" and "subwoofer" is the next option. It ranges from 0 to +15. The thing is that, as of now, there is NO difference in the sub output at 0 and at 15. I thought this was an individual gain for the sub-bass frequencies selected on the amp crossover (currently at 80HTZ). What will I need to do to make this "subwoofer" function operational? Or is it even intended to be a big deal (instead of just another selling point to market)?

thanks

John

 

Mac -- best i recall, that HU has a Q for the bass, but none for the treble adjustment.

John,
i think the problem you're experiencing is that you've misunderstood what that menu is offering you as an option. when you dial up the 'treble' and look at the different frequencies, you are NOT adjusting all 3 together. you are only increasing 1 of those frequencies. when you page thru the 3 listed frequencies, you're choosing WHICH frequency is the CENTER of the boost or defeat. you're NOT setting a level for each frequency. the other frequencies will be boosted somewhat less, depending on how wide the curve you choose is... 1 is the narrowest, and 4 is the widest.
(bass - you can choose a curve, treble - you cannot.)

when you set the defeat on, this function disables all bass, treble, fader, balance, and BBE settings.
imo - leave BBE off all the time.


the best way i know to help illustrate this for you is here:
http://www.alpine-usa.com/support/i-person...ersonalize.html
go to this site, go to 'sound tune parameter setting', register (don't worry, i've been registered for a while and haven't been spammed at all), then go in and choose the 9855.
open up the EQ adjustment screen. you'll notice there are 5 bands that you can adjust. tinker with these settings and see how your adjustments affect the curve. now, the 9851 only has 2 of these bands. the upper one, and the lower one... so, when you're playing w/ the 9855 settings - keep in mind that you've got 2 of 5 of those settings.
hopefully that will help you see what adjustments you're making.

"I have the bass set to +1 (80 HTZ) and the treble set to -2 (7.5kthtz peak to take the darkness away and to brighten up the sound a bit). "
this actually shouldn't brighten your sound, but up the bass and kill some of the highs. it could bring out the midrange a bit better. i'd actually say you've 'warmed' up the sound a bit.



i'm going to pull your manual real quick to make sure i know what this does.... this SHOULD be your subwoofer level control. it should be a direct gain control for the sub, not just a 'boost'. and it should make a very obvious difference in how loud the sub is...

first -- are you pretty sure you've got the sub RCA's plugged into the subwoofer output of the HU?
second -- go to the setup mode for the HU. page through until you see SUBW and make sure that the sub is set for 'ON'
third -- in the setup mode of the HU, page through till you see the SUBW SYS option, and make sure it's set to SYS1

that should fix your sub up....
(assuming you're running a single sub).


let me know if all this helps.

 

I am going out to check and make sure the RCA's are in the right place now.....they seem to be tied to the rear channel (when faded rear, sub gets louder...as it is now). The defeat is off now. I thought that if I had a negative boost at 7.5khtz, the 7.5khtz would take the greatest hit, as it would be the peak of a negative curve. I am looking to mainly run the sub as my sub bass and bass frequencies. The door and S-pod drivers as the mids, and the tweeters for the S-pods and the A-pillars as the highs. I am trying to make a light overall sound, and let the sub take care of making the sound warm. As it is now, you are right....it is a warmer sound....almost flat sounding. I am going to tinker some and will be posting in a hour or so. Also, how should I set the gain on the amp? I remember reading something on here about turning the volume up as loud as I am going to ever listen to it, with the gain ALL the way up, and then turn the gain down at that volume leve until there is no more distortion. I have a test bass CD, so that should help out....if I can find it. I listen to stuff like Maroon 5, U2, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, stuff like that....I am looking for a good balanced sound. I like crisp highs, but not "bright". The bass should be taken care of by the sub (what frequency in the x-over will sound best with this type of music? (bass guitar and bass drums)

I will visit the alpine site.

Thanks for the link.

I know there have been threads on this in the past, but the search is down now.

John

 

agreed. you want those on the sub channel so the sub out level works.

that is correct.



the FAQ has all kinds of info on gains, but here's the post on how to set gains:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=305506
you don't need to run the gain all the way up, just until you hear distortion, then back it off. the post linked above should have you covered.
be sure to set the sub's gains at +15 dB on the Alpine, once you get the sub hooked up to the sub RCA outs. (even if it makes things sound boomy or too bassy)
you can then use the sub level control to dial back to tweak the sound quality. doing it at the max figure reduces the chances of over-powering the sub.

based on what i can tell, i'd try to cross the sub somewhere around the 80 hz range. if it's too boomy or muddled, cross it lower, but i wouldn't go much below 60 hz. i also wouldn't cross it high much above 120 hz.
of course, i can't hear your car from here (turn it up please ), so i'm just shooting from the hip w/ best guess figures here...
it really depends on how much bass/midbass the front speakers are covering.

 

Phil-

I just finished. The sub was in the wrong RCA jack. I tuned the amp gain to +12, the signal input about 1/2 way, and the frequency to around 100HTZ. If I turn the amp gain down, and the HU gain up to +15, there is not much bass. This way, with it at +12 on the amp, and +7 on the HU, I can adjust up and down from the HU. I was experiencing some minor clipping earlier. I just turned the input down until the "clip" light stopped flashing. (Accidentally sent it into "protect" initially...oops!) I have the "Bass" setting to 100HTZ in the menu option, and at -4 on the main bass adjustment on the HU. The treble I have at 10khtz, and have it at +1 on the adjustment. This way, I can adjust the treble volume up and down with the gains, and have the additional bass flexibility there to compensate.

What exactly is the "input level" adjustment? That seems to have the greatest effect on the amp clipping. I cannot get it past 50% without the amp clipping out. Well, I can, but the gain will have to go down....is it better to have higher input and lower gain, or vice versa?

Thanks

John

 

i'm confused here.... you mention an amp gain and an input level.

there really should only be 1 gain on your amp. so, one of those isn't the gain.
maybe it's a bass boost or something? or are you talking about an outboard 'volume' control for the sub?

what amp is this again?


[QUOTE]I have the "Bass" setting to 100HTZ in the menu option, and at -4 on the main bass adjustment on the HU.

 

. I am trying to unload some bass onto the sub. If I run anything over +3 to +6 on the bass control on the HU, at loud volumes (25ish) the speakers start to distort and the bass gets ugly. I am trying to mainly keep the mids and highs in the cabin and let the sub handle the sub bass and bass stuff.

I have the Infinity 7820 (i think)....big, silver, and blue.....283wrms bridged @ 4ohms. There is an "input level", "frequency", and (as you stated above) "bass boost." I tuned it like this....

1. I turned the "input level" as high as it would go. Put in the Gorillaz CD (clear bass and defined highs).
2. Turned up the volume to what i would listen to it at its max (25ish). This immediately sent the amp into "protect" mode.
3. I turned the input signal down until the amp stopped clipping.
4. I turned the "subwoofer" control on the HU up until it clipped out again.
5. I turned the "input level" on the amp until it was no longer clipping.
6. I turned the "bass boost" up until the volume was good enough.

I figured this was good, because since the "subwoofer" control on the HU is in the middle, I can afford to adjust a bit either way without clipping / distortion setting in. The bass is set to -3 now, so the cabin speakers are not distorting at high volumes. If I turn it up, it sounds better, but only at lower volumes...higher volumes and they get outta control. Is there a way to get more bass to the cabin speakers without them distorting / vibrating like hell?

The frequency x-over on teh amp is not an exact thing on this amp. a 270 degree turn changes the frequency from 32-320. I estimated what approximately 80-100htz would be, and put it there. Anything higher, and it clips and sends nasty bass.

Also, the amp got pretty hot over the course of this tuning (I am assuming because I sent it into protect twice and clipped for several minutes before tuning it out). It is only running a 4-ohm load...or at least it should be. I have a SVC 4-ohm sub that has the amp bridged in mono. If I am correct, this is a true 4-ohm load, it would only be less if it were a DVC sub (wired the same).

The treble in the "menu" I have set to 10khtz....that sounded like the best blend of "warm" (flat) sounding and "bright' (sharp) sounding highs.....sounds good. The bass is set to 100htz. I set it to this, because I figured teh amp x-over is set close enough to that setting as well, and I would not want the HU to boost a bass signal that the amp x-over will cut out.

What is your email? I will email you some photos of the dials and their positions. It may not be til late this weekend, as I am traveling to Tampa, FL to see family.

thanks

John

 

yup -- i'm not going to have time to hit this one either till later this weekend. i'll try to respond more then (i'll probably edit/add to this post)

 

Phil-

I am back from Tampa and am trying to put the final tuning on the amp/sub. It sounds great with some kinds of music, but is lacking bass with others. I have downloaded the NCH Tone Generator and set a 30 sec test tone at 100HTZ. I cannot tell when distortion is setting in. It just sounds like a deep HUMMM to me. There is a point in the frequency adjustment where it gets really loud, but then, at a certain point, it levels off. Am I correct in assuming that this leveling off point is the 100 HTZ level? As far as the input signal is concerned, I can turn it all the way up and it will not clip....maybe it is not strong enough. How long should the note be held for to properly test? I have another one set for .3 secs per hit.

How much would it be to have someone professionally tune it for me? This is kinda a trial and error type process now.

John