So this weekend I installed my new Alpine amp and component speakers up front. When I finally fired everything up, the speakers were much quieter than before (without the amp) :o . What could be causing the amp to make the music quieter or to at least make them sound quieter? Any ideas on what I should test for are very much appreciated. This is my first amp install, so anything that could go wrong, probably has. I'm not sure if this made any sense, but thanks for any help guys!
#5206, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 0
have the same speakers been there all along? or did you replace those at the same time you added the amp? from your wording, i cant really tell. if you DID replace the speakers at the same time, there is most likly a problem there (especially if you upgraded from stock). if you simply added the amp to existing speakers, theres a different set of problems. one question: whats the rest of your system like? do you have an aftermarket headunit? how is the signal delivered from the headunit to the amp....via RCAs or speaker wire (through an inline low-level adapter or a built-in one on the amp)?
sorry for all the questions, but i could write several pages discussing the possibilities.
#5211, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 1
Here's the situation...I replaced my door speakers with a pair of alpine components and moved the pioneers that I had there to the back. I'm using RCA's from my head unit to the amp. Should I try a different pair of speakers up front to see if thats the problem here? Thanks for your help, any more is appreciated!
#5212, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 2
what do u have the gain control on the amp set to?? turn it all the way up and see what happens and also if you cross a wire for the speakers the pos. and neg. wires the speakers sound very distorted and dont play loud at all
Mods: CAI, OBX exhaust, Grillcraft grills, altezzas, ard ryver g6 17's wrapped w/ falken's, VIS racing c.f hood, 2 12" kicker comp's w/pioneer h.u, streetglow blue undercars, red dash kit, indiglo guages, n other shit
#5213, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 2
what do u have the gain control on the amp set to?? turn it all the way up and see what happens and also if you cross a wire for the speakers the pos. and neg. wires the speakers sound very distorted and dont play loud at all
Mods: CAI, OBX exhaust, Grillcraft grills, altezzas, ard ryver g6 17's wrapped w/ falken's, VIS racing c.f hood, 2 12" kicker comp's w/pioneer h.u, streetglow blue undercars, red dash kit, indiglo guages, n other shit
#5214, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 2
what do u have the gain control on the amp set to?? turn it all the way up and see what happens and also if you cross a wire for the speakers the pos. and neg. wires the speakers sound very distorted and dont play loud at all
Mods: CAI, OBX exhaust, Grillcraft grills, altezzas, ard ryver g6 17's wrapped w/ falken's, VIS racing c.f hood, 2 12" kicker comp's w/pioneer h.u, streetglow blue undercars, red dash kit, indiglo guages, n other shit
#5217, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 6
2gnt.com has gone cooky, theres double and triple + posting everywhere.
back to the question.... if the volume difference is not dramatic, its probably a result of the fact that the alpines are meant to "take" more power, so thier sensitivity is lower than the pioneeers, meaning they wont get as loud with the same amount of power. also make sure the speakers are sealed well to the door (use a couple layers of sound damping material as a "sandwich" between the speaker and mount if necissary). if you want to get the best sound, seal off all the holes in the door frame so that the re-waves of the speaker are completely sealed off from the front waves. this will make a noticable difference in improving the sound quality, but is not necissary and may not solve your situation. first just make sure the speaker is sealed well at its mounting location.
naturally check your gain levels etc. make sure there arent any filters turned on. it seems that 75% of the time its somthing simple like that.
if the volume decrease was dramatic, and you run more than one set of RCA inputs to the amp, its possible that you have incorrectly installed the amp (ie, not grounded it well) and burnt out one of the RCA outputs on the headunit. try this: with the system off, remove the RCA inputs at the amp, then turn the system on again. did the amp turn on? another quick way to check is with a multimeter. test across the + and - power terminals on the amp. make sure its at least 12.5-13 volts. BUT...if the other speakers sound fine and you are only running one set of RCAs from the headunit to the amp, ignore this.
#5219, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 7
Thanks for the help SPL and python. How would I go about testing to see if a speaker is bad? When I give the front speakers just a little of volume they seem to distort pretty terribly. Maybe this would be why they don't sound as loud? The rear speakers seem to sound okay, but they still seem drastically quieter than they did when I had them powered by the head unit. Could my amp not be getting enough power or grounding? Again, thanks for the help and putting up with me being a newbie!
#5220, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 7
>try this: >with the system off, remove the RCA inputs at the amp, then >turn the system on again. did the amp turn on?
How would the RCA's effect the amp powering up? The RCA's are only signal wires. Not trying to call you out, but maybe there is something that I am missing. I think you have a bad ground somewhere, or the speakers aren't wired correctly. Use the process of elimination to find the source of the problem.
Allan 2008 Magnetic Black 350z NISMO /1976 Austin Mini 1098 Special (export)
#5222, "RE: Frustrated!!! Amp question" In response to Reply # 9
^^^^ sorry, i need to explain more...i just re-read it and it was confusing to me too.
inside 90% of the amps out there, the signal ground (the RCA ground) and the amps power ground are not isolated. if an amp is incorrectly grounded (or not grounded at all), its still possible for the amp to power up and work (although not to full potential) because it uses the RCA ground as its main ground wire. unfortunatly, the RCA ground is also not isolated in many headunits, so the ground signal travels through the RCAs, beck through the headunit, and "out" of the headunit ground. naturally, the headunit is not designed to carry this much amperage, which can lead to all kinds of chaos and usually results in destroying the headunit output stage.
somthing EVERYONE installing an amp should do is this: before plugging the RCA inputs in, just connect the +, -, and remote connections to see if the amp turns on. if it does, then you can be sure you have at least a decent ground. if it does not, you need to find a new grounding point (assuming the + and remote wires are OK). many people end up grounding through the RCAs and think everything is fine till they turn on the stereo one day to find out it only hits 45 dbs. by first isolating the "power" section of the amp and making sure it functions, you can alleviate yourself of trouble down the road.
