Aftermarket Amp input sensitivity

WiND DANCE

WiND DANCE

Member
Hey guys, I'm about to tackle a sub/amp install and ran into a question..
what should I set my input sensitivity at? My new amp goes from .2 to 5V
I saw some videos of people using a multimeter to "tune" the gain on there amp. Is this the same?

I'm going to tap into the wires in the back before the bose sub amp for the low level signal.

thanks
 
You can adjust input sensitivity? I thought it was pretty much determined by what inputs you fed it. ie, if you're running speaker level inputs, it's at the higher end of the range and if you feed the amp a proper low level signal it's lower voltage. The 5V limit should just mean that your amp can accept speaker level inputs without the need for a converter, lots of older amps won't take those inputs.
 
You adjust input sensitivity according to how much volts you feed the amp. Some people use a dmm and some (like myself) adjust it by ear. What you can do is turn your head unit up 75% and go to the amp and turn the gain up until you hear distortion, then turn it down a little. Input sensitivity is the sane as a gain. Are you going to use a LOC or are you going to cut your rca's and connect to existing bose wires. I personally recommend getting a LOC. The gain is set by the voltage going through the rca's to the amp
 
I am going to cut a set of rca wires and tap into the sub harness. I plan on using a multimeter and a CD with 60hz track on repeat to get the voltage. I watched a few videos about tuning an amp this way except they were using a gain knob.

250w rms x 2ohm = 500
500 square root = 22.3v is what I'm looking for on the multimeter



"Clarification of Terminology:Generally, when someone says that you need to 'turn the gains up', you need to make the amplifier more sensitive. When you make the amplifier more sensitive, it will take less input signal to to produce a given amount of power. The confusion comes in when you look at the gain control markings on the amplifier. If they are marked in volts, it's generally the amount of input voltage that it takes to produce full power. When you turn the gains 'up' you turn the gain control to a 'lower' (smaller) number. For example, the gains are higher at 2 volts than they are at 4 volts." (http://www.bcae1.com/gaincon2.htm)


So since this site says 2v sensitivity is higher gain than 4v, I should start @ 5v and work it down to a smaller number?
 
Last edited:
I am sorry, i just find it ghetto (not dissing anyone) to cut rca wires, surprised so much do it here when they drive a luxury vehicle. The correct way is to get a LOC, more flexibility and you'll know what volts are going to the amp. I run a audio control lc2i, paid less than $100 and it has a built in line driver, so i know i'm sending 9.5 volts to the amp. My gain on the amp is around 1/4 which is high but i have a remote gain that i have at half. What amp are you installing? gains are turned up from left to right, So at the bottom on the left is where it would be if sending the amp more volts. I assume through the oem wires you'll be sending the amp 2 volts therefore you'll probably need to have the gains a little high. If the markings on your amp say 5 volts then i would start there and turn it up to a lower number. Was never a fan of the dmm style but i'm old school but it does work.
 
While I agree cutting rca's are kind of tacky, but I'm soldering my connections and hiding everything under a sleeve to hide everything. It's not like this luxury car doesn't have its issues. It's like when I took apart the oem sub to solder in a new relay...(door locks, dash, oem sub cutting in and out)

I have a -8" shallow 2ohm Kicker sub in a slim box with .40 volume (250rms)
-JVC amp 250rms @2ohm
-PAC Tr4 low voltage going to the pink remote wire
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top