JL Audio 500/1 and Boost
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=81367
Printed Date: April 25, 2024 at 10:55 PM
Topic: JL Audio 500/1 and Boost
Posted By: intargc
Subject: JL Audio 500/1 and Boost
Date Posted: August 08, 2006 at 5:01 PM
Click here for a layout of my AMP
It's a new JL Audio 500/1. I have 2 12W3v3's hooked up to it (which are 300w RMS each, so this amp is a tad under as far as power is concerned...)
I'm curious if I messed with the Boost knob if it would cause any problems? I'd like my subs to be a bit more boomier at lower volumes and I didn't think that touching the gain would be a good idea?
Should I adjust to my preferences with the Boost knob, or should I do it with the gain?
Replies:
Posted By: customak47
Date Posted: August 08, 2006 at 5:11 PM
JL has an interactive tutorial about how these controls work. Goto www.jlaudio.com/tutorials and try it.... they also show you how to tune the gain with a multimeter, but you do need a specific cd to do it correctly, this is also in there. Good info in these tutorials if you take the time. Otherwise, I would go about 2/3 with the gain and tune the boost until it sounds better or the subs start bottoming out, one or the other. ------------- My rifle is my friend...
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 08, 2006 at 5:59 PM
I'm not even sure if this is what I need. I just figured it may be the only way...
My problem is that the subs are barely noticeable with some types of music and EXTREMELY noticeable with others.
Some dance, some hip-hop and definitely rock/metal, you can hear the subs, but they're very light sounding. However, I put on an old 2-pac track and all the of the sudden I thought I was going to get blown out of the car! It's just such a dramatic difference...
For instance, the drums and bass throughout a Pantera song aren't are noticable as they were they were on my old system (a single 10W3v2!), but the 2-pac track was very apparent and very loud and used the subs very well. I was scared I was going to blow a sub it was so loud (but didn't hear any distortion)!
Is there a good way to kind of even this out?
Posted By: Flakman
Date Posted: August 08, 2006 at 6:02 PM
Good call customak...I think they changed their link to https://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=127. There is no general setting for gains. Please read this thread https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=79611&KW=setting+gain. I like that amp, there's a lot of great power and control over the signal. Even with your subs rated at 300 Watts, that setup should sound great! I don't tihnk you'll have any problems powering those subs. ------------- The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
Posted By: customak47
Date Posted: August 08, 2006 at 9:35 PM
Sounds like you need to turn your crossover point up to probably 100-125htz during that song and see if you get a better response. Try a 24 db slope too. I think the main issue is that you went from a 10 that responds to higher bass better to 12's that respond to lower bass better. This doesn't mean you can't tweak it to get the sound you want out of them, its just a natural tendency that smaller speakers respond to higher frequencies better. great rule of thumb....if there's no distortion..........................................TURN IT UP! jus kidding, hope this helps
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My rifle is my friend...
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 09, 2006 at 8:22 AM
Thanks guys! Those tutorials are very helpful! I was reading some on there about making a box, but I never saw the amp ones!
customak47: I'm already at a 100Hz crossover on the amp. However, I believe I'm at a 12db slope. I'll try bringing it up to 125 and putting it at a 24db slope. Thanks.
Posted By: jvillefinest
Date Posted: August 09, 2006 at 9:49 AM
i understand where your coming from. listening to different types of music myself i encounter this alot. you can try what they are saying above or try the bass knob. or do both. its funny whenever you plug that bass knob into the slash seires amps they get louder! (wierd, huh?) so try it they arent that exspensive. then retune your amp and go with it.
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2007 Acura TSX
SQ setup in the works
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 09, 2006 at 9:59 AM
My head unit has a subwoofer controller on it. It goes from 0 - 15. Is that similar? I thought the bass knob that you can plug into the JL Audio amp basically controlled the "Boost" knob remotely?
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 09, 2006 at 6:26 PM
i have a multimeter with dcv and acv sections. do i use the acv?
Posted By: steezs
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 9:03 AM
Get an epicentre :D
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THE DUCE
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 9:48 AM
customak47 wrote:
....I think the main issue is that you went from a 10 that responds to higher bass better to 12's that respond to lower bass better. This doesn't mean you can't tweak it to get the sound you want out of them, its just a natural tendency that smaller speakers respond to higher frequencies better. great rule of thumb....if there's no distortion..........................................TURN IT UP! jus kidding, hope this helps
^^ That's totally not true. Just because a sub is larger dosn't mean it can't play higher frequencys as well. And turning the gain up to 2/3 of the way and messing with the boost is not a good idea. Like someone said above, turn the crossover point up a little, and set your gain like the tutorial suggests. The way the JL tutorial says to set it just gives you a good idea where it should be, and you might need to turn it up or down a little after setting it that way though. It's also ok to use your bass boost control at lower volumes, but don't over use it (I probably wouldn't turn it up past a quarter of the way or about 3-6 db of boost).
Posted By: coppellstereo
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 9:55 AM
I'm willing to bet that the recordings are on a burned disc. Most likely with a crappy bitrate.
Am I right?
This will drastically affect your system's performance.
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Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 10:05 AM
coppellstereo wrote:
I'm willing to bet that the recordings are on a burned disc. Most likely with a crappy bitrate.
Am I right?
This will drastically affect your system's performance.
I've noticed this before. Some of my burned discs have softer bass than CDs I bought. BTW here are the direct links to the JL tutorials you should look at. https://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=144 https://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=143
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 10:07 AM
coppellstereo wrote:
I'm willing to bet that the recordings are on a burned disc. Most likely with a crappy bitrate.
Am I right?
This will drastically affect your system's performance.
All recordings are on my iPod in AAC format at 128kbps bitrate. All tracks bought from iTunes.
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 10:10 AM
Also, does anyone have an answer on the multimeter question I asked? Should I use the ACV when doing what JL Audio suggests on setting the gain?
Posted By: modena0
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:01 PM
if i am recalling JL's tutorial corrrectly you want AC volts cause speaker level audio signal is AC, hence why the Voice coil changes polarity.
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2000 Chevrolet S10
Premier DEH-P860MP
JL Audio XR650-CSi components
Boston 4x6 splits
JL Audio 10W3v2
Alpine MRP-M350
Clarion APA-4162
Posted By: Flakman
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:22 PM
I believe that there is still bit loss using AAC simply due to the nature of iTunes and the way the music is transferred. This should not, however make a drastic difference in the amount of bass coming through. Here's a good thread to read https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=54671&KW=dynamic+range might be more information than you are looking for, but what the hell. ------------- The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:25 PM
Ok, so I guess the V in ACV stands for volts? :) I'm a newbie here...
Also, in JL Audio's tutorial, they say to turn your head unit up 3/4 of the way. Which, on my Alpine headunit is around the 25 mark. The problem is, if I can't turn it up past 20 without blowing my ear drums from the door speakers. It's a Bose setup and I'd rather not go in and try to figure out how to disconnect these speakers to venture on this gain setting thing.
Is there any way around this? Would it be OK just to set it at 1/2 the volume instead of 3/4? My radio RARELY goes above 16. I had it up to 18 last night playing a track that was light on volume... But, typically, 16 is REALLY loud to me.
Posted By: steezs
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:25 PM
ok if you have the money to buy jl's just get an epicentre it will add all the bass you need enough to blow your speakers. since you listen to all kinds of music not all music has a lot of bass like rap and dance music have a lot more than most rock music just go look at what an epicentre is :D
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THE DUCE
Posted By: intargc
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:33 PM
steezs wrote:
ok if you have the money to buy jl's just get an epicentre it will add all the bass you need enough to blow your speakers. since you listen to all kinds of music not all music has a lot of bass like rap and dance music have a lot more than most rock music just go look at what an epicentre is :D
How do you know that I didn't save up for 2 years to get the JL's? :)
Point me to where this Epicentre thing is... I googled it and like 20 different things have come up. Some about DNA testing, which I doubt is what you're refering to.
Posted By: steezs
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:37 PM
rgo here or https://www.mobilcaraudio.com/catalog/item/895089/466660.htm type the eppicenter audio bass maximizer try using yahoo search too cause google is doodie soemtimes ------------- THE DUCE
Posted By: steezs
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 1:42 PM
Oh ya forgot just get some pro to tune it if you dont know how to do it and becareful with it they can blow your subs if you get knob crazy i dont tihnk they are that expensiver anymore 200 bucks or less really good when listening to songs with no bass easy install similar to an equalizer enjoy.
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THE DUCE
Posted By: Flakman
Date Posted: August 10, 2006 at 2:32 PM
intargc wrote:
Ok, so I guess the V in ACV stands for volts? :) I'm a newbie here...
Also, in JL Audio's tutorial, they say to turn your head unit up 3/4 of the way. Which, on my Alpine headunit is around the 25 mark. The problem is, if I can't turn it up past 20 without blowing my ear drums from the door speakers. It's a Bose setup and I'd rather not go in and try to figure out how to disconnect these speakers to venture on this gain setting thing.
Is there any way around this? Would it be OK just to set it at 1/2 the volume instead of 3/4? My radio RARELY goes above 16. I had it up to 18 last night playing a track that was light on volume... But, typically, 16 is REALLY loud to me.
Typically, you turn up your HU until you start to hear distortion, and then back off on the volume until the distortion goes away. You can use earplugs or other ear protection if you like, you can still tell when the distortion starts. Then adjust the gain on the amp the same way. You should be able to turn it up to the loudest point that you care to listen to and then adjust the gain on the amp. Depending on the HU you are running (forgot to look) it probably has sub out level control built in. You can then turn the volume on the subs down or up depending on how you like it. My preferrence would be to adjust to distortion and back off to clean sound. That way, if you want to crank up the subs a bit more without having to blast the highs and mids, you have the headroom to do so. That's my opinion...and I'm sticking to it. (unless someone has a better idea  ) ------------- The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
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