i have the dual 12" box from kicker which are rated at 300W RMS@4ohms. i recently upgraded from a Coustic Audio 300W AMP to a Kicker ZX350.2 . But right away i noticed that i had to have my gains set very high and was wondering if that would screw with it?
also, whjat is the best way to tune a system? eg.LPF/HPF/Bass Boost? HU treb/bass/mid
I Listen to all kinds of music, i have AMP'ed 6x9's, 2x12's and 6.5's fronts runnning off the HU. The 6x9's and subs run off the L and R out of the HU. Gains for the sub's are currently set to almost 75%!!!


edit: Q2. should i get a spoiler for my car?

well it would depend how many db gain the volume/gain knob is on the amp and what signal voltage it's looking for on the input, so it may vary between different amps. i've got a single 12" sub and amped 6x9s (350watt RMS each). you should set the sub amp to Low-Pass (unless your HU does it already) and probly do a HPF on your 6x9s. cut off anything below, say, 100hz because the sub can reproduce those bass frequencies much better than the woofers on your 6x9s. also means more power available to the higher frequencies on the 6x9s!

for a start, i would probably leave the 6x9s running off the head unit and amp the fronts. reason behind this is that with the subs in the boot, the 6x9s should really only be a bit of fill, the main sound should be your fronts and your subs.

u can amp the fronts but the 6x9s are bigger and more efficent plus they have the boot space volume as a speaker box rather than the door. in my case my 6x9 rears are 10 times the RMS wattage of the fronts so i amp them of course, not fronts. depends on ur system.

^^ get better fronts then.

The answer to both these questions are the same:
Q1Do you sit in the back to drive your car?
Q2Do I need to amp the rears over the front?

The answer is no.

As for your gains, if you have a headunit that only has 2V outputs, that is possible that it may need 75%. To tune:
*turn your gains right down!
*turn OFF any bass boost, loud, etc. EQ flat.
*on your deck turn it up to about 3/4 of its maximum volume
*start with your fronts, slowly turn the gain up until they distort, then turn the gain back a bit.
*If you have rears amped, do the same.
*repeat with your sub, when it distorts turn it back. If you then have sub control, your can cut the woofer to blend in with the fronts if it overpowers. If you have an Alpine deck, turn the sub control up to about 6 and tune it from there ( gives you the ability to turn it up and down then ).

From there you can then fine tune your EQ.... sounds easy :D

Mr C, i have a question...

My amps are in front of my subs.

How do you tune it while NOT going deaf...

']Mr C, i have a question...

My amps are in front of my subs.

How do you tune it while NOT going deaf...
turn the music down?

turn the music down?
Umm....i thought going by what Mr C says your turning it up pretty much full blast trying to find the utmost limits of the speakers....

']Umm....i thought going by what Mr C says your turning it up pretty much full blast trying to find the utmost limits of the speakers....
dam, guess thats what i get for trying to be a smartass and not reading the long post before it.:cry:

']Mr C, i have a question...

My amps are in front of my subs.

How do you tune it while NOT going deaf...

get someone else to do it for you :P

or ear muffs :doubt:

my hearing is shot anyway so i just suck it up lol

']Umm....i thought going by what Mr C says your turning it up pretty much full blast trying to find the utmost limits of the speakers....
It'd be no different to how you usually listen to your system lol

Wouldn't everyone have that problem? I'll be doing that soon, so no doubt I'll be having some fun with that. Question: Should I tune with the sub volume on the headunit, or the gain on the amp first?

']Mr C, i have a question...

My amps are in front of my subs.

How do you tune it while NOT going deaf...

God get a mate to wear ear muffs to tune it while you sit in the front seat. Turn the gains up a bit at a time till you get the desired result or your start maxing out ( you will need to shut the boot ). Tuning is not a 5 minute job.

Dude unless your running DD9918's and 10kw you are not going to go deaf.

It'd be no different to how you usually listen to your system lol

Wouldn't everyone have that problem? I'll be doing that soon, so no doubt I'll be having some fun with that. Question: Should I tune with the sub volume on the headunit, or the gain on the amp first?

You set your gain to 0 and turn your headunit up to 3/4 volume. So you are tuning the amp to match your headunit. Slowly raise the gain on the amp until you get it how you want.

You set your gain to 0 and turn your headunit up to 3/4 volume. So you are tuning the amp to match your headunit. Slowly raise the gain on the amp until you get it how you want.
What if your speakers can't handle 3/4? They start to lose clarity once you exceed 20/34, they are factory speakers running off the deck after all. I spose just put it on 20 and tune the sub till its at its peak or as loud as I want it, whatever comes sooner?

Cheers man.

What if your speakers can't handle 3/4? They start to lose clarity once you exceed 20/34, they are factory speakers running off the deck after all. I spose just put it on 20 and tune the sub till its at its peak or as loud as I want it, whatever comes sooner?

Cheers man.

Every system is difference, but I am talking about one that has at least the front and sub amped. In this case you fade the rears out not the play as loud.

20/34 is still 60% so yeah if thats all it can do, tune the sub amp to suit.

']Mr C, i have a question...

My amps are in front of my subs.

How do you tune it while NOT going deaf...

turn the sub off while you are tuning the speakers..

turn the sub off while you are tuning the speakers..

Yeah front, rear then sub. Easy.