You might be wondering what all the switches and dials on your subwoofer amplifier does, and how to tune a subwoofer amplifier is what this post is going to address today. You can now know what function the switches and dials serve, and this is the right page for you to read if you have been searching for answers. In this article, we will also be discussing the various adjustments that are made when installing a subwoofer amplifier.
You might have purchased a new amplifier for your car’s stereo system, but you still do not get the type of sound you want despite installing everything. Don’t go about letting out so much rage yet, because there is nothing wrong with the amplifier you just purchased. The only problem i see here is you are dealing with an amplifier that isn’t properly tuned yet, and that is exactly what this post is here to talk about. How To Tune A Subwoofer Amplifier.
How To Tune A Subwoofer Amplifier
Tuning and adjusting your subwoofer amplifier is what is required if you are not getting the sounds you desire, and this is required when you want to make use of so many car speakers today. In order for you to obtain the right radio quality, you have to do some bit of tweaking, and trust me when i say getting the right sounds you want will make listening to songs pleasurable.
Just because we mentioned tuning and adjusting an amplifier doesn’t mean you should get scared, because it isn’t as difficult or scary as it sounds. One of the the core things you must known before going ahead to tune an amplifier are the right terminologies you are likely to come across. Without wasting further of your time, let us show you some of the terminologies you are bound to come across when dealing with a subwoofer amplifier.
Car Amplifier Terminology
The following words we want to show you are words you are likely to hear when you encounter a car amplifier, and let us check them out right away. It is very crucial that you familiarize with all of these terms so you do not seem lost when you encounter them.
Gains – The gain is responsible for adjusting an amplifier’s sensitivity, and this simply means the gain is responsible for setting the amount of power coming out from an amplifier. Adjusting this setting means you are going to cut down or reduce the amount of distortion an amplifier will produce, and this also makes sure sounds from the amplifier are crystal clear and clean.
Frequency – The pitch of the sound emitted by speakers is what frequency refers to, but you should have it in mind that finding out about a speaker’s frequency is such an easy task. You will easily see the frequency of the speaker clearly written on the speaker’s outer casing, or you can go ahead to find the frequency of every speaker behind them. These numbers are very important as they play a significant role when it comes to tuning a subwoofer amplifier.
High Pass And Low Pass Filters – This refers to inbuilt frequencies that allow maximum and minim range of frequency pass through the output when turned on. Take for instance you are making use of a small speaker that uses tweeter in handling high frequencies, it is necessary that its HPF on corresponding channels gets turned off. However, the case is slightly different when making use of a medium sized speaker.
Using a medium sized speaker that doesn’t come with subwoofers or tweeters means all the filters have to be set to the “full” option. Setting it to the “full” option means a full range of frequency will be allowed to pass through the output channels.
Now that you are familiar with the terms you will come across when dealing with a subwoofer amplifier, it is time for us to show you the steps involved in tuning a subwoofer amplifier.
Steps Involved In Tuning A Subwoofer Amplifier
Step One – Gain And Volume Adjustments
Turning everything off and unplugging the RCA cables is the first step you need to take here before turning your stereo system back on, and turning up the head unit volume all the way should be done without playing any music. You should keep an eye on the number the head unit displays, and dial the maximum volume of your system back to eighty percent since you have an idea of its maximum volume already.
After doing this, place the equalizer at the flat setting then set the bass boost and gain to zero. You can go ahead and play any song right now while increasing gain slowly to see if you can get a little bit of distortion coming out from the speakers.
Step Two – Individual Frequency Tuning
After setting your bass gain and volume, switching filters and crossovers back on is what you must do next. Choose low pass filters when tuning a subwoofer, and high pass filters when dealing with a speaker. However, you can disregard this step if you are making use of a mid-sized speaker that is already set to handle all frequencies, so it is okay for you to leave the filters and crossovers in an full or off position.
The maximum rating of a subwoofer should be checked when tuning a subwoofer then proceed to set the frequency dial to the same number. Search for the lowest frequency rate and set the frequency to the same number if you intend tuning the rest of the speaker system.
Step Three – Bass Sounds
If you love loud thumping and window rattling bass sounds then increasing the bass boost of your amplifier is what you must do. One thing you need to know is doing this can be very tricky, and it also has the ability to place a lot of stress on the subwoofer. Set the gain down first before going ahead to turn up bass boost, and these two setting needs to be adjusted at the same time. The goal should be obtaining bass without distortion.
Step Four – Gains
You can return to set your gain now that you have set your bass boost and speaker frequency, and you can also put on the radio and set it back to eight percent maximum. Remember to turn gain up slowly till distortion is produced, before dialing down the setting for the distortion to finally disappear.
Step Five – Fine Tuning
This is the final step we will be talking about when it comes to tuning a subwoofer amplifier, and this step involves reconnecting of every amplifier and taking the volume back all the way to zero. After doing that, slowly turn the volume back up to the eight mark till you hear a distortion, and it is possible for you to hit the eight percent mark without hearing any distortion if you correctly carried out all of the tuning steps we have discussed already.
You can go ahead and find out which of the speakers produced a distortion and reduce their gain till you no longer get a distortion from it.
Conclusion – How To Tune A Subwoofer Amplifier
Make sure the eight percent setting is exceeded when tuning your subwoofer, and using the subwoofer for long at maximum setting is likely to cause a wear and tear on the part of the speaker. You also know that there is a risk of your eardrum tearing up if you exceed the eight percent setting, and you should also have it in mind that you cannot use the same amplifier tuning setting for all genres of music.
This is why it is very crucial for you to tune your amplifier settings to a point that will be suitable for all of them.
