Headunit gives fairly quiet signal to sub amp.. Line driver??

[wms004]

My amp has plenty of power for my 12 kicker. the amp is tested at 382rms. I've got the remote bass knob turned up all the way and gain on the amp turned up all the way, so would a line driver of some sort make it louder? If so, how much and where to buy.

thanks

-wade

 

[DJsZincGT]

My amp has plenty of power for my 12 kicker. the amp is tested at 382rms. I've got the remote bass knob turned up all the way and gain on the amp turned up all the way, so would a line driver of some sort make it louder? If so, how much and where to buy.

thanks

-wade

If you have to have all of that stuff turned all the way up then I'd be trying to figure out what is wrong with the headunit. You are only producing more distortion and you are gonna burn that amp up leaving that gained cranked up that high. You shouldn't have to have the gain on the amp turned up past half way and when you say bass knob I'm assuming you have some sort of crossover where you can adjust the bass from the drivers seat and that shouldn't have to go up past half way to 3/4 volume for it to be loud. Even if your sub output on your headunit is only putting out 1 volt (which isn't good) you shouldn't have too much of a problem making the system loud. If your headunit has more than one set of outputs, first check to make sure that you are running the subs on the sub output wires (if it has this...not all headunits do) or the rear outputs. If you already have it hooked up that way, then switch to another set of outputs because one side of the outputs you are currently using could be bad, which will cause your line level to be insufficient. If you are still having a problem, I would make sure the subs are wired correctly. I have no idea of how much experience you have with wiring a system, so I will assume you are fairly new to it. Check to make sure you are running the amp at the correct ohm load to get the maximum power from the amp. If you don't know how to do this, you may need to check with someone with more experience than you or with a stereo shop. Also check to make sure your power and ground wire connections are good and that you are getting good voltage to the amp. If none of these are the problem then you have a couple options. One option is to get a line driver, which will boost your line level. However, a common misconception with a line driver is if it's a 10 volt line driver and I put it inline in my system, I will have 10 volts of input going to my amp. This isn't true. It has the potential to produce 10 volts, but the amount it produces is controlled by how much is coming in. It's hard to take a headunit that produces .5 volts to the outputs, run it through a line driver and get 10 volts from it. Another option is to look into purchasing a new headunit that produces a higher line level than what you have. Check the specs of your current headunit to see how much line level you have before you purchase anything. You don't wanna waste your money. There are a few more things you can check that can cause this problem, but this will give you a good starting point.

 

[wms004]

thanks for the reply.. So if i'm having to turn up my amp that much you think it could be a problem with my headunit. I had a 2 channel amp hooked up before this mono amp and it was the same way with the new headunit.. hmm
thanks again, i'll try to figure it out

 

[grodgers]

More info needed...

My amp has plenty of power for my 12 kicker. the amp is tested at 382rms. I've got the remote bass knob turned up all the way and gain on the amp turned up all the way, so would a line driver of some sort make it louder? If so, how much and where to buy.

thanks

-wade

What head unit?
What modelKicker sub?
What is the final impedance of the sub load (how do you have it wired)?
What brand/model sub amp?
Do you have an amp for your front/rear speakers or are they powered off the head unit?

It sounds like a gain imbalance (between front/rear signals and sub signals) - but it could be many other things as well.... Provide answers to the above questions and we can help.

 

[wms004]

What head unit?
What modelKicker sub?
What is the final impedance of the sub load (how do you have it wired)?
What brand/model sub amp?
Do you have an amp for your front/rear speakers or are they powered off the head unit?

It sounds like a gain imbalance (between front/rear signals and sub signals) - but it could be many other things as well.... Provide answers to the above questions and we can help.

Headunit- Clarion 336 MP3 (50x4) (only one RCA outlet set)
Sub- 12" Kicker Solo Baric (circular) (single voice coil- wired the only way it can be going to the mono amp- max wattage for my box size is 400rms)
Amp- Rockford Power series 351m (tested at 382rms)
Front and Rear speakers are powered off the headunit at the moment until I can get a new amp for components i want to put in front

Hope this helps.. thanks for the reply- i want to figure this thing out!

-wade

 

[grodgers]

Headunit- Clarion 336 MP3 (50x4) (only one RCA outlet set)
Sub- 12" Kicker Solo Baric (circular) (single voice coil- wired the only way it can be going to the mono amp- max wattage for my box size is 400rms)
Amp- Rockford Power series 351m (tested at 382rms)
Front and Rear speakers are powered off the headunit at the moment until I can get a new amp for components i want to put in front

Hope this helps.. thanks for the reply- i want to figure this thing out!

-wade

Which Kicker SoloBaric? is it 2ohm, 4ohm or 8 ohm?

Your amp is rated at 382w RMS with a 2-ohm load. If you have a svc with a 4-ohm impedance, your only maxing at roughly 1/2 of that number - or around 190 watts... that will NOT be enough to sufficiently drive that kicker.

I have dual polk momo's in my car wired in parallel to 2ohm load - I run 600 watts rms to them (rated at 300w rms each). They pound and shake... If I take that same box, and hook it up to my son's system - he has a 300w rms at 2 ohm amp - his amp will barely even move the momo's - I believe your kicker is rated at 600w RMS - if you'r only throwing 200 (or less) watts at it (if it's a 4-ohm speaker)... well, it ain't gonna work.

 

[DJsZincGT]

Which Kicker SoloBaric? is it 2ohm, 4ohm or 8 ohm?

Your amp is rated at 382w RMS with a 2-ohm load. If you have a svc with a 4-ohm impedance, your only maxing at roughly 1/2 of that number - or around 190 watts... that will NOT be enough to sufficiently drive that kicker.

I have dual polk momo's in my car wired in parallel to 2ohm load - I run 600 watts rms to them (rated at 300w rms each). They pound and shake... If I take that same box, and hook it up to my son's system - he has a 300w rms at 2 ohm amp - his amp will barely even move the momo's - I believe your kicker is rated at 600w RMS - if you'r only throwing 200 (or less) watts at it (if it's a 4-ohm speaker)... well, it ain't gonna work.

Agreed.

 

[wms004]

alright guys here are the specs

"Sub Model- S12d
Impedance- 2, 4, 8
The S12d will handle up to 425 watts in the .88 cubic enclosure; if more power (up to 600watts) is available, the box size should be reduced to .66 cubic feet."

Amp- 351m
RMS Power at 2 Ohms 350 W x 1

RMS Power at 4 Ohms 175 W x 1

If i was running at 4 ohm how would i switch to 2 ohm? cuz the manual claims my sub can run at 2, 4, and 8 ohm right?

 

[grodgers]

no, not right...

alright guys here are the specs

"Sub Model- S12d
Impedance- 2, 4, 8
The S12d will handle up to 425 watts in the .88 cubic enclosure; if more power (up to 600watts) is available, the box size should be reduced to .66 cubic feet."

Amp- 351m
RMS Power at 2 Ohms 350 W x 1

RMS Power at 4 Ohms 175 W x 1

If i was running at 4 ohm how would i switch to 2 ohm? cuz the manual claims my sub can run at 2, 4, and 8 ohm right?

The sub is either a 2-ohm, a 4-ohm or an 8-ohm sub. You can buy it in any flavor, but it's not "all 3"... You'll either have to pull it out of the box, or unhook it from the amp and put a dmm across the inputs and measure the resistance (we can tell from that which speaker you have).

Ya gotta know what ya got before anyone can help you.