Planning new system - Need advice!

[kko]

Kko if you upgrade amps for your Rev 8s get a syn 4 or something similar. If you think they sound good on a syn 2 wait until you hear them on a syn 4!

Noted! Thanx may just do that!!

[mdk681]

[QUOTE=chpthril;635194]Im wondering about how your current tower XS-650 are tuned. These should sound good near field. It sounds like yours may be crossed over a bit too high. I would also pull one from the pod and see if it has any poly-fill in there. This pods are small, which robs the mid-bass. The un-dampened aluminum pods will also give off a "tinny" sound. Adding some poly-fill will help here also.

So I spent some time yesterday playing around with the tower speakers - I added some Poly-Fil to each of the cans. WOW, what a difference! This really helped mellow out the highs and gave the speakers a much softer sound when cranked up. Thanks for the suggestion chpthril.

I currently have the gain about 3/4 of the way up on the ZX6000 which is basically a guess - is there a better science to setting up gains? I played with the frequency and am getting a lot more out of the woofers on the 650's which also helps. I do notice that when I really crank them they seem to distort and the woofers really pound.

Is this a gain/freq issue, or more of a lack of/too much power...?

[dingleberry]

I currently have the gain about 3/4 of the way up on the ZX6000 which is basically a guess - is there a better science to setting up gains?

Here is a simple way of setting gains by ear - provided by Phil with Kicker. There are other ways to be more precise and scientific with the gain settings, but this will work pretty well and doesn't require any tools or instruments. http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...=setting+gains

[chpthril]

[QUOTE=mdk681;637668]

Im wondering about how your current tower XS-650 are tuned. These should sound good near field. It sounds like yours may be crossed over a bit too high. I would also pull one from the pod and see if it has any poly-fill in there. This pods are small, which robs the mid-bass. The un-dampened aluminum pods will also give off a "tinny" sound. Adding some poly-fill will help here also.

So I spent some time yesterday playing around with the tower speakers - I added some Poly-Fil to each of the cans. WOW, what a difference! This really helped mellow out the highs and gave the speakers a much softer sound when cranked up. Thanks for the suggestion chpthril.

I currently have the gain about 3/4 of the way up on the ZX6000 which is basically a guess - is there a better science to setting up gains? I played with the frequency and am getting a lot more out of the woofers on the 650's which also helps. I do notice that when I really crank them they seem to distort and the woofers really pound.

Is this a gain/freq issue, or more of a lack of/too much power...?

Glad the poly-fill helped.

Yes, there are some basic steps to setting the gain. Having the gain set correct is essential, in order to prevent distortion, while getting the most out of the system.

Even with every thing set correctly, the typical max volume on the head-unit dial is going to be 3/4 of wide open. After the 3/4 point, the signal to the amp(s) begins to clip. This is then amplified and sent to the speakers. We hear this as distortion.

I see Dingle has already pointed you to Phil's gain setting tutorial. Use that. If its not pointed out, pull the RCA cables from the in-boat and sub amps when setting the towers. Same when doing the others, leave the towers out. Much easier to set effectively when you are only hearing the ones you are trying to set.

That ZX6000 needs to have the cross-over filter set to "Hi-Pass" This will more likely be a 3 position slide switch labeled: Off or Full, High Pass and then Low Pass. Make sure its set to High-Pass. I would set the frequency no lower then 100Hz and no higher then 125Hz and see how it sounds. If you get a little distortion at the upper volume levels, like the speaker is bottoming out, then go up to 150Hz.

These 3 adjustments, as well as having the head-units internal EQ flat, should get those speakers sounding right. At that point, you can reevaluate thier output.

[mdk681]

[QUOTE=chpthril;637676]

Glad the poly-fill helped.

Yes, there are some basic steps to setting the gain. Having the gain set correct is essential, in order to prevent distortion, while getting the most out of the system.

Even with every thing set correctly, the typical max volume on the head-unit dial is going to be 3/4 of wide open. After the 3/4 point, the signal to the amp(s) begins to clip. This is then amplified and sent to the speakers. We hear this as distortion.

I see Dingle has already pointed you to Phil's gain setting tutorial. Use that. If its not pointed out, pull the RCA cables from the in-boat and sub amps when setting the towers. Same when doing the others, leave the towers out. Much easier to set effectively when you are only hearing the ones you are trying to set.

That ZX6000 needs to have the cross-over filter set to "Hi-Pass" This will more likely be a 3 position slide switch labeled: Off or Full, High Pass and then Low Pass. Make sure its set to High-Pass. I would set the frequency no lower then 100Hz and no higher then 125Hz and see how it sounds. If you get a little distortion at the upper volume levels, like the speaker is bottoming out, then go up to 150Hz.

These 3 adjustments, as well as having the head-units internal EQ flat, should get those speakers sounding right. At that point, you can reevaluate thier output.

With a freq. dial ranging from 100hz to 1.2khz on that amp, I think it will be difficult to zero in on those freqs in particular. You mentioned in an earlier post about using test tones - any quick overview how to tune using that method and maybe where to fine some decent quality tones?

[chpthril]

[QUOTE=mdk681;637901]

With a freq. dial ranging from 100hz to 1.2khz on that amp, I think it will be difficult to zero in on those freqs in particular. You mentioned in an earlier post about using test tones - any quick overview how to tune using that method and maybe where to fine some decent quality tones?

You can google test tones and download them to a CD or MP3. With the Switch set to Hi-Pass, and tone lower then the point the dial is set to will be blocked from being sent to the speaker. Since 100Hz is the lowest setting, you're safe with starting a few clicks above it to start with.

Another way to find a ball-park starting spot is to do a little math with the lowest setting and the highest setting and determine the incremental increase of each hash mark. Just keep in mind that the number on the dial does not always correspond exactly with the actual frequency. Its just a starting point.

If the speaker distort, then you need to up the frequency cutoff. If the speakers do not distort and you want a little more mid-bass, then dial it down a little at a time.