blowing amplifiers

Hey I have blown 2 T10001bd amplifiers and Im trying to figure out if it could be that I have too much power in my Equalizer. it is a Soundstream MPQ-6XO . When i have the Gain on the EQ half way, the EQ Volume knob Halfway, the SUb volume knob halfway, and my T10001bd 3/4... two amps have gone bad. The EQ is 10Vrms. COuld it just be too advance of a EQ? With too many volume knobs to keep control of? thanks

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I can't hear you!

Not likely.  The more important question is what sort of load are you placing on the amp and how did you set the gain?

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Did the amps smoke, overheat, go in and out of protect? Did they
both die the same condition? Did you measure voltage? Amp to ground resistance?

Not a fan of RF after the Power 1000 era. Yes, the 2 foot chrome
beast, not the "25 to Life" door stop. Anyway . . .

I put it on a 1ohm load and the gain on the amp was set to 3/4 At first. Yes i measured the voltage before and it was reaching the 60s volts easily (and could still get higher to the 80s volts). which I thought was too high and so I lowered the gain (2/3) to take it down to about the 40-50's (volts) playing music ( at max volume).

The first amp (EQ gain & volume settings at 3/4) (amp settings same as in introduction) that blew with a Loud Hissing sound like pressure being released, it started smoking badly like a smoke bomb firework was put it in. The thing that bothered me the most was that the 100amp Fuse that is in the amplifier didnt blow. ( never went into protect mode or thermal)

The second Amp (EQ gain & volume settings at 1/2)-(amp settings same as in introduction) went into thermal and was very hot after about 30 min of play (i had it for about a month at this time). After 3hrs of no play i went back out to my truck to try it out and as soon as i turn on the power to my truck and power is given to the amp(HU not playing). you can hear a motor running fast and like a fizzle sound and it gets hott within 30 seconds. and also the 100amp fuse did not blow. SO now that amp is shipped off.  (Went into thermal and never came back on)

Arent these amps expensive so they are able to save themselves at times like this??

Also I play my ipod through the EQ. could that be a problem? would it be better to play it through the HU and let it run through the EQ?

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I can't hear you!

And I'll repeat myself yet again:  anyone who speaks of a relative position on the gain dial, like "3/4" or "halfway" or anything of that nature, doesn't have a clue how to set gain properly.  After setting gain, you really shouldn't even care how little or far the screw is turned...if you have set it right.

You'll save yourself a lot of money if you learn to do it right and then do it the same way every time.  And afterwards if someone comes over to your setup and tells you that you should turn up the gain to make it louder, like, say, HIS combustible soon-to-fail setup, just call him a moron.  Or better, teach him how to do it right!

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

Go to the Hot Topics section of the forum and read "How to set your gain."

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I try to do that until it starts clipping or getting distorted, and then i want to just control the volume from the Equalizer in the range that I have set the gain.. it never starts clipping or sounding distorted. so without that, how am i suppose to guide the gain? By matching with my midrange? My midrange is "loud" and they out do my subwoofers so i cant even go with that.

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I can't hear you!

then on top of that gain I have the Equalizer Gain, then the Equalizer master Volume, then the subwoofer Volume... How do i adjust all these knobs correctly? cause i think i would need a oscillope thing to make sure the signal and everything isnt too high and everything else. *idk if thats how you spell it*

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I can't hear you!

rfhvhtoo wrote:

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then on top of that gain I have the Equalizer Gain, then the Equalizer master Volume, then the subwoofer Volume... How do i adjust all these knobs correctly? cause i think i would need a oscillope thing to make sure the signal and everything isnt too high and everything else. *idk if thats how you spell it*

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First you need to decide if you need all of that in your signal chain... but assuming you do want to use all that stuff, you begin at the head unit.  Turn ALL gains on everything all the way "down" (counterclockwise, usually.)  Then start at the HU and work you way to the amps.  Read the How To in the hot topics section.  Set your HU to the proper volume while playing a test tone.  Set the next item in the chain - like you EQ- then once it's set move on.  It is time consuming (and you should wear hearing protection) but worth the trouble.

And if you can't get it set up right, take the vehicle to a good local car audio shop and pay them to do it for you.

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How about the sub volume knob? because as long as thats all the way down there will be no sound through the subwoofers

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I can't hear you!

What "sub volume knob"?  What is it connected to?

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rfhvhtoo wrote:

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How about the sub volume knob? because as long as thats all the way down there will be no sound through the subwoofers

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if you are talking about the remote bass boost knob that connects directly to the amp, then i would take that out completely. bass boost knobs are a good way to blow your subs if you dont use it right. personally i never use them because if you set your gains the right way you will get good bass no matter what you are playing in the radio. does your EQ have a sub level knob? if it does, just use that and get rid of that bass knob.

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No the sub volume is on the equalizer. Which also has a gain AND a master volume... So I cant do my gaines by ear on the EQ because I would have to have each of the knobs turned up (even if its a little bit) to get a signal to the amps.

so I have the EQ which has: 2 Left and Right Gains... 1 Master Volume... 1 Subwoofer volume knob..

Each knob can turn the signal all the way down until there is no sound, no matter where the other knobs are.(sub volume knob only turns the subs all the way down ofcourse),

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I can't hear you!

The knob is in the Equalizer, Not sepreate.

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I can't hear you!

sic audio wrote:

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...made me and my shop look like idiots...

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Yeah... Rockford Fosgate did that.

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Thanks for that. I kinda started feeling like My setup was all wrong if i was capable of blowing these amplifiers. Though Im still going to upgrade some wiring and Downgrade my Equalizer. If this next T10001bd blows I think Im going to use the warranty and just sell it. Because ive had cheap amplifiers before and I have never blown them. and i treat them horrobly (leftover crunch amps in the garage). thanks alot for the advise everyone

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I can't hear you!