I have 2 questions:
1) Ive seen ppl say that bass boost is bad and not worth it and i should never use it. Is this true?
2) When I use my remote bass and turn it all the way down, the protection light comes on on the amp with the power light on at the same time. Whats up with this?
if you are not happy with your bass it's time go bigger and better or you can get a sound prosesor epic160 that will do the trick
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bass it to bits baby
Here's are some of the issues Fat.
Bass boost can lead to:
1) Clipping of the amplifier AND
2) Excursion problems with the subwoofer.
Bass boost isn't necessarily bad - but it is abused like crazy. People must know that gain needs to be reset every time bass boost is turned up. They need to know the physical limits of their drivers. Most people don't even know what gain is - let alone how to set it correctly. Most people have no idea what the physical limits of their subwoofer are. Many folks out there don't even know what distortion sounds like.
In limited circumstances, and with the right equipment bass boost can be great. However, I think boost over 6db is too much in almost all situations. If you need more than a 6db boost there's something else wrong or you just need better equipment.
Also, most folks interested in sound quality will never use the regular bass boost (~45hz) on most amplifiers. Reasons? 1) They usually don't need a boost at that point. 2) Sound quality is about music sounding good AND accurate reproduction of source material. Too much editing and the reproduction becomes untrue.
The only situation in which I would use bass boost:
1) The boost was sufficiently low to extend the bottom end (~30hz)
2) The Q was adjustable as to not grossly effect the sound above 50hz
3) I had a high excursion woofer that could handle this type of boost
4) I had sufficient power to handle this.
5) I had tools for accurately setting gain after boost was set
In this situation you could turn a sealed box system into roughly the response of a ported box. This would be desirable. I believe haemphyst does something like this. However, please note this is an expensive solution for those that know what they're doing.
Most of the people talking about bass boost come on here asking questions like, "my amplifier is distortion .. gain is 3/4 and bass boost is 3/4 ... what gives?"
A good starting point for someone like that is for them to turn bass boost off and learn how to set gain.
Anyway, I've rambled, but hopefully I've introduced the issues and the one situation where I think it would be appropriate.
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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder
They should both be used together. Either use no boost and set gain properly or use the boost and compensated the gain. Either way they are both being used together. I prefer no boost. But boost cannot be used without gain. The amp itself should not be used without the gain properly set.
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Nik
Jeeputer Progress
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Check it out.Ok, I think I'll try to turn my boost off on my setup.
Edit:I see that it is 50 posts to be a standard member. I'd like to celebrate my new standard member status.
Most people don't realize that the "bass boost" feature requires a massive amount of increased power from the amplifier.
A 6dB bass boost as kfr01 suggested would require the amplifier to produce quadruple the normal power output. Remember that a #dB increase = double of power. So, 2^2 = 4 = quardruple.
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Gain and bass boost isn't an either or thing. They are not interchangable. Gain is NOT a volume control. Gain is to MATCH input voltage. Gain increases the ENTIRE frequency band. Bass boost (eq) boosts and alters only a limited band. Again - they are not interchangable. Learn to set your gain correctly. JL Audio has a decent tutorial on their website.
The alternative to bass boost (or any eq for that matter) is in changing the application or the hardware. Want a natural bass boost? Port your box. Increase your sealed box's Q. Use a larger, more efficient driver. etc.
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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder
Thats what I was tring to say but you worded it better.
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Nik
Jeeputer Progress
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Check it out.