Hey guys,

I picked up a Jaycar Response AA-0428 monobloc amp a little while ago and have had it hooked up to my subs since.

It was purchased from a fellow AMC member and did not have the manual.

However, after questioning how loud my subs should be, i think something is not kosher?

The amp, even though its a monobloc, has a 'speaker A' and 'speaker B' output and this has questioned how the subs should be wired.

I have 2x SVC 4ohm subs. Currently i have them wired parallel (to present a 2 ohm load) going into only "Speaker A" channel. I have since read on the jaycar forum that i should be running each sub to its own channel as to present the 2 ohm load.

But i have nothing to verify this.

So, I'm looking for info from anyone who owns a Jaycar monobloc running subs.

Essentially - IF ANYONE HAS THE MANUAL FOR THIS AMP - I would love to get a copy of it please?

Thanks guys.

Hi mate,

I have the same amp (without a manual!). If you open the amp up, you can see that the 'Speaker A' and 'Speaker B' terminals are shorted together. By this I mean the +ve of 'A' is the same as the +ve of 'B' and similar for the -ve signal. They do this to make parallel wiring of subs or voice coils easier.

So in your case of wiring the subs in parallel, simply wire one sub to 'Speaker A' output and the other to 'Speaker B' output.

The only advantage of this is ease of wiring so you don't have to fit 2 lots of cables into the same hole (i.e. both into 'Speaker A' like you currently have).

Hope that helps!

Cheers
Pete

Oh and if it ever stops, let me know, I have several of the FET driver ICs. I got mine for $30 from eBay not working. Tested all the FETs and they were fine, ordered a few samples of the driver IC, replaced it and it worked :facejump:

So if I have the subs wired in parallel from the sub box, then running a single speaker cable back to the 'speaker A' terminal, its the same as running each sub to its own channel on the amp?

In this case, I'm already showing a 2 ohm load to the amp...

So why are all my amp settings so fricken high?

The subs are pioneer subs rated at 350w nominal and the amp should be putting out 700w @ 2 ohm...

But i need to have the amp gain almost all the way up, and the bass boost almost all the way up...

I still think something is not quite right.

If your subs are wired in parallel in the box and then one cable going to the amp then that is correct.

Other things to check:

Do you have the remote sub volume control? What volume is that set on?
What is the sub volume on your headunit (providing it has that option)
What are your crossover levels set at?

I have a Vibe Blackair II DVC 12" sub and I wired it in series to give me a 4 ohm load and its running great... The amp is 2 ohm stable though so you shouldn't have a problem.

My settings:
Level: 4V (sets the voltage level coming from you pre out from the Headunit)
Subsonic: Min
Bass Boost: Min (Both Dials)
LPF: 80Hz (the dial is not linear, so I set mine with a signal generator)

I didn't fiddle with the Subsonic or Bassboost as I would rather it just played what was sent to it rather than add extra to the music.

Cheers
Pete

I wish i didnt need the bass boost, but it wouldn't be audible in the car otherwise?!

The headunit has the subwoofer set to 0db... and the low level filter on the H/U doesn't change anything really.

I dont have the remote sub volume control.

I am really confused... I'm sure i shouldn't need all these settings turned up with this amp!

Very frustrating... :(

Try changing to head unit settings so that the sub crossover point is medium and the sub volume control (on the HU) is full.

Try changing to head unit settings so that the sub crossover point is medium and the sub volume control (on the HU) is full.

Tried many settings on the headunit... to no suffice...

EDIT: do you think it is worth running each sub to each 'channel' on the amp?

What kind of headunit do you have mate?

With everything happy I had:
Pioneer deck - 6.5V outputs
Volume at 35/40
Bass 0 both in EQ and sub control
bass boost on amp and deck off
BBE off
ASL off

and to make full power the gains where set to a quarter.

Sony made their mono blocks like that as well, didn't matter how you wired them up but just made it easier to hook up multipule subs without messing around with the wiring. Don't Jaycar have an online manual? I would go into a store and have a quick look. :D

You havent accidently HP the sub from the deck have you?

What kind of headunit do you have mate?

With everything happy I had:
Pioneer deck - 6.5V outputs
Volume at 35/40
Bass 0 both in EQ and sub control
bass boost on amp and deck off
BBE off
ASL off

and to make full power the gains where set to a quarter.

Sony made their mono blocks like that as well, didn't matter how you wired them up but just made it easier to hook up multipule subs without messing around with the wiring. Don't Jaycar have an online manual? I would go into a store and have a quick look. :D

You havent accidently HP the sub from the deck have you?

Something is certainly wrong then... :(

Bass boost and eq is all flat on the headunit - there is no highpass filter for the sub on the headunit.

However, amp settings are just about turned all the way up.

I need to test different subs with the amp, and my subs with a different amp i think... Process of elimination.

What model headunit you got?

Might be worth trying hooking each sub up to their own output on the amp :D

I know their is not HP for a sub on most headunit but you may have hook up the wrong RCA's or forgot to change the rear from speaker to sub mode, hard to know without knowing what kind of deck you have.

Poita might be right about the remote sub control if it is hooked up. Just be very careful adjusting anything, everytime you try something be sure to turn the gains down again just in case something wasn't wired right.

I have a pioneer DEH-P6850MP h/u.

It has 3x preouts - & I am running all three.

The subs are definitely connected to the sub output, cause i can still turn them up and down from the h/u sub level.

I don't have the remote sub control for the amp - considering i bought this second hand, what if the amp was turned down using the remote sub control?

As far as I am aware that should only work while the remote control is plugged in. Headunit should be fine.

You should try hooking each sub to their own output and see if that works :D

you need the remote control, thats your problem

and it needs to be plugged in all the time

best bet is to BUY one off someone that has a 2 channel jaycar amp that is not running it in mono (cause the remote only works on the 2 channel amp when running in mono)

or hit up jaycar and see if they will sell you one on its own

you need the remote control, thats your problem

and it needs to be plugged in all the time

best bet is to BUY one off someone that has a 2 channel jaycar amp that is not running it in mono (cause the remote only works on the 2 channel amp when running in mono)

or hit up jaycar and see if they will sell you one on its own

REALLY???

Why do i need it?

Shouldn't EVERY amp come with it then?

Can you explain more please?

cause the remote controller is the gain control for the amp

the signal/sensitivity is used to match the HU RCA output voltage to the amp (sort or works like the gain but isnt)

Hmm that is odd that you need to remote plugged in but I guess that is how the Jaycar ones work.

All it does it allow to reduce the output ( a bit like gain control ) from the front of your car. Perfect for those who do not have sub control or want a quick and easy way to adjust their output. I guess for the Jaycar amps, once adjusted the settings are saved in the amp or set of zero if not controller is present.

I'm not 100% sure how they work in the amp as I have always used amps that allow to turn the controller function on/off.

100% agree

no idea why they have set it up that way, i just know that it needs it lol


Hmm that is odd that you need to remote plugged in but I guess that is how the Jaycar ones work.

All it does it allow to reduce the output ( a bit like gain control ) from the front of your car. Perfect for those who do not have sub control or want a quick and easy way to adjust their output. I guess for the Jaycar amps, once adjusted the settings are saved in the amp or set of zero if not controller is present.

I'm not 100% sure how they work in the amp as I have always used amps that allow to turn the controller function on/off.

cause the remote controller is the gain control for the amp

the signal/sensitivity is used to match the HU RCA output voltage to the amp (sort or works like the gain but isnt)

The amp has its own gain settings on it!
I'm sure there are plenty of people who use this amp without the bass remote.


This is doing my head in!? :tired:


DOES ANYONE ELSE HERE HAVE THIS EXACT AMP?

i dont know why you dont believe me

i have the amp here setting right in fornt of me new in a box, the manual doesnt tell you anything more than what i have told you already. But im telling you from personal exp use to have 2 of these amps in the car

cant scan it for you cause my scanner not working

ON this amp the level control (rca voltage) is different to the remote control (gain), they do different things



The amp has its own gain settings on it!
I'm sure there are plenty of people who use this amp without the bass remote.


This is doing my head in!? :tired:


DOES ANYONE ELSE HERE HAVE THIS EXACT AMP?

Yeah but if the Jaycar amp saves the settings in the amp and doesn't have a defeat function then you will not be able to increase it without the controller. The controller will over-ride the main gain setting but up to 50db on some controllers ( like the VSR for my Audison ) by reducing the signal strength of the RCA.

Maybe you could borrow one, turn the controller to full and see if the settings are saved when you un-plug it? As I said though, be careful with your gain curently set so high, turn it all down first and turn bass boost off. Megatron will know more about this than most.

it doesnt save it resets to zero when not plugged in


Yeah but if the Jaycar amp saves the settings in the amp and doesn't have a defeat function then you will not be able to increase it without the controller. The controller will over-ride the main gain setting but up to 50db on some controllers ( like the VSR for my Audison ).

Maybe you could borrow one, turn the controller to full and see if the settings are saved when you un-plug it? As I said though, be careful with your gain curently set so high, turn it all down first and turn bas boost off. Megatron will know more about this than most.

it doesnt save it resets to zero when not plugged in

Ha that kinda sucks, but for the price of them you can not really complain.

Sorry onkytonk everyone I know with a Jaycar amp either has a mono and it is plugged in or has the bigger 4channel which is run in 3ch mode and the controller is in use ( often off stock headunits ).

Okay... I need to get my hand on one of these controllers...

I have since tested my subs with my 4 channel amp - Cadence Q4000.

Running one sub through a bridged channel, im getting 200watts into that single sub.

The bass its producing is already much better - not as loud as it could be, but tighter, cleaner bass.

So somethings up with the Jaycar...

Ha that kinda sucks, but for the price of them you can not really complain.

Sorry onkytonk everyone I know with a Jaycar amp either has a mono and it is plugged in or has the bigger 4channel which is run in 3ch mode and the controller is in use ( often off stock headunits ).

So why is the remote 'optional' ???


Just called Jaycar - apparently the remote is only used to adjust volume level, just like the subwoofer fader level in a headunit.

So the remote does not affect the overall output gain of the Amplifier.

So why is the remote 'optional' ???


Just called Jaycar - apparently the remote is only used to adjust volume level, just like the subwoofer fader level in a headunit.

So the remote does not affect the overall output gain of the Amplifier.

That is right, the remote gain effects the input signal not the gain. This would mean that a typical 4V headunit will do 1V continuous and the controller will reduce that signal to say 0.5Vwrms or 0.2Vwrms etc so your original gain is no longer producing the same amount of power to your speaker.

Fade works the same way, fading to the front doesn't make them louder, it reduces the rear. It might seem that they get louder as you are reducing cancellation caused by the rears if it is not set up properly.

That is right, the remote gain effects the input signal not the gain. This would mean that a typical 4V headunit will do 1V continuous and the controller will reduce that signal to say 0.5Vwrms or 0.2Vwrms etc so your original gain is no longer producing the same amount of power to your speaker.

Fade works the same way, fading to the front doesn't make them louder, it reduces the rear. It might seem that they get louder as you are reducing cancellation caused by the rears if it is not set up properly.

Okay, well, if this is the case, then the Bass controller level is not required as my headunit has built in subwoofer control.

I have turned bass boost off from the amp now. There is still bass coming through, but nothing like it had before. The subs can obviously play louder, but the amp seems to not be pushing enough power.

With bass boost off on the jaycar, i got practically the same amount of bass from the Cadence Amp @ 200 watts - and that was only with one sub firing!

I have a feeling the jaycar has some technical issues.

I have exactly the same amp.

Just did a couple tests with the remote volume control thingy.

With it not in, the amp automatically sets itself to about mid level (of the remote control). With it plugged in you can adjust from min to max. So no you don't need it.

Have you got someone elses system you can test the amp on?

Maybe your FET driver IC is cactus...

I have exactly the same amp.

Just did a couple tests with the remote volume control thingy.

With it not in, the amp automatically sets itself to about mid level (of the remote control). With it plugged in you can adjust from min to max. So no you don't need it.

Have you got someone elses system you can test the amp on?

Maybe your FET driver IC is cactus...

Yeah, i thought as much.

I don't have access to someone elses system atm, no.

You said something about the FET driver IC earlier. How the hell do i go about getting this checked, or even fixed?

The reason why the bass is tighter with the cadence....

You are putting bass boost up on amp and deck (which, is a very good way to destroy a sub, and an amp).

What this effectively does is boost roughly your 50hz mark signal.

If your amp gains are on full, and you use bass boost - you are actually trying to force the amp to create more power at 50hz.

If the amp doesnt clip, your bass will probably sound rather meh at best too. As you will have a big 'peak' response right at 50hz, just imagine a bell curve - this is what your response curve will look like. You want this as flat as possible.....

Anywho.....

The other things I can think of:

Are you sure they are wired in parallel? not in series?

Is one sub out of phase?

Sealed boxes or ported? custom or off the shelf?

Yeah, i thought as much.

I don't have access to someone elses system atm, no.

You said something about the FET driver IC earlier. How the hell do i go about getting this checked, or even fixed?

I have several (there is only one in amp). If you want I could send you one, but the 1st point before the driver would be checking the MOSFETs, but you need some electronics knowledge to do that...

If you want, you could post it to me, I can have a look at it and see whether any of the components are faulty.

If you could though it would be good to test it on someone else's system 1st. Do you go to any weekly magna meets or anything?

I have several (there is only one in amp). If you want I could send you one, but the 1st point before the driver would be checking the MOSFETs, but you need some electronics knowledge to do that...

If you want, you could post it to me, I can have a look at it and see whether any of the components are faulty.

If you could though it would be good to test it on someone else's system 1st. Do you go to any weekly magna meets or anything?

I'm borrowing a friends Response Mono over the next few days and will test it with my system.

This will certainly eliminate any questions i have about my amp.

Then, we'll see what happens... :think:

Also still welcome to hook it up to my system if you want when I see you in the next few days and see how they go :happy:

Dropped off my jaycar mono and remote control unit to your mum today dude. Dont scratch it :P

']Dropped off my jaycar mono and remote control unit to your mum today dude. Dont scratch it :P

Alrighty...

So, nothing wrong with my amp... Output from my amp and TUFF's is exactly the same. Bass boost kept off, but levels turned almost all the way up.

Bass level controller - does NOT make any difference to the maximum volume. The controller pretty much gives the ability to TURN DOWN.

So, that leaves one of two things -

1) My subs aren't performing as they should.
or
2) I'm expecting too much from the amp + subs.

I'm at least glad there is nothing wrong with my amp.

Glad to hear it :)

Well I am running a Vibe Blackair II (12" 2ohm DVC 550Wrms 89dB) and the amp powers it no worries at all. The gains aren't very high...

I am thinking maybe its your box design holding you back...

Glad to hear it :)

Well I am running a Vibe Blackair II (12" 2ohm DVC 550Wrms 89dB) and the amp powers it no worries at all. The gains aren't very high...

I am thinking maybe its your box design holding you back...

Could be... could be...

Will try get my hands on another set of subs, and see what happens... ?

Just remembered My two JBL GTO's are in the box still, saw them yesterday while grabbing the amp and totally escaped my mind. Wanna pop over tomorrow night and give em a shot?