# setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp



## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

i've been trying to set this stuff, but can't really tell where to set them.
i've listened by ear, i can't really tell if there's any clipping or whatever.
can someone tell me what to set these settings for best bass?
the amp is alpine mrd-m605 and the sub is alpine type r 12".
the gain goes from like 0.1 to 4.0 i think and the bass boost goes from 0 to 16.
and i listen to rock music!
thanks!


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## baseballkurt (Feb 7, 2005)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (Rub a dub dub)*

Does your HU have Sub controls? If it does, then turn them up on the amp and just control everything from the HU.


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (baseballkurt)*

here's my hu:








it has an equalizer (eq3), i don't think it has sub controls..


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (Rub a dub dub)*

bump


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (Rub a dub dub)*

oh god dont listen to the other guy!
set your gains to 2v, which is the usual output for sony. you can check your owners manual though.
if you dont mind the one-note-ed-ness of it you can 3-4db of boost.
thats it.
if you run your gains too high (a small number) or your boost too high (a big number) that is when you start blowing speakers.
also, cross no higher than 80hz.


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## baseballkurt (Feb 7, 2005)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (afinley)*

I'm sorry, my HU has sub out rca's that I can control gain, cross over, boost point and boost curve. I think it's easier to control it from the HU on the fly. If you don't have all this control then I can understand why you would need to limit settings on your amp. 
Why/howcould you would blow a speaker that is within it's rated design?


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (baseballkurt)*

you still have to set the gain on your amp correctly. the sub volume on your cd player is volume, not gain. gain is like a power knob, not a vloume knob, it is to be set to correspond with the output voltage on your deck. the boost on your deck is way nicer than the boost control on the amp, because you can adjust. if the original poster had a 2005 alpine HU, you can get the amp-link where i can control all the amp settings from my head.
the reason you blow things up by cranking the gain and turning down the volume is then everything is saturated. you amp is working doubletime and everythig is distorted. one of the reasons i got an alpine amp is so that i could set it correctly with the digital gains so this would never be an issue again.
do you play guitar? if you do, take your amp, turn the gain down, and the volume all the way up. hear the distortion and how easily it feeds back? same thing only more blow-up-y.


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## mtltdi (Apr 10, 2003)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (afinley)*

I bought an old oscilloscope off ebay for $30, got a good voltmeter, and a couple of test tones.
No more worries about clipping, and I know all channels are equal.
If you have acces to this equipment post and we can get you some directions on how to set everything up.


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## xXGti2006Xx (Feb 14, 2006)

i put my gain at like .4 - .5 and the bass boost at like 4. Basically the gain is all ur choice, the higher u go the slower it takes to get to full bass, like if u have the bass on .1 you will have all bass and no music on like no volume, if i put it on 1.0 you will have a gradual increase in bass as the volume gets louder. Bass boost is all your ear if u crave more bass bump it up. I dont have ur sub or amp, i have a type x 12" with a mrd-m1005 but they are definetily similar. Do u have any pics of your setup?


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: (xXGti2006Xx)*

ok, "what the gain knob is"
the gain knob is not, as two people have suggested, a volume knob. It labelled confusingly to most people. Different head unit's pre-out put out different voltages, and your gain is to match the out put voltage of your HU.
so by turning "up" your gain, from 2v to 4v, you are actually turning down the amount of gain your amplifier aplies to your signal. so if you turn "down" your gains from 4v to 2v, and you have 4v pre-outs, you are really applying an extra 2v over line-level to your signal. 
so if you run a 4v signal, with your amp set on .2v of gain, you are more than doubling your input signals distortion. you run nothing but a square wave, and sooner or later you will destroy your sub, your amp, or both.
the point of digital gains on the alpine amps is to be able to set them correctly with your HU. setiting your gains to the proper level will be quieter, but it also will be far less distorted, it will not make your head lights want to shut up everytime the bass hits, and your whole setup will last longer. if you really want a clipped signal, get in inline preamp like the soundstream stuff.
gain is not a volume knob. it is gain. your volume knob is a volume knob.


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: (afinley)*

set the gain too high and it ruins the ****, set it too low and it also ruins the ****, can i go somewhere like bestbuy and maybe they can set it really fast?


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: (Rub a dub dub)*

do you have the digital amp? just set it to 2v.


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: (afinley)*


_Quote, originally posted by *afinley* »_do you have the digital amp? just set it to 2v.

yes, it's digital and bass boost to....


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: (Rub a dub dub)*

yeah, 2v, and 3-4db boost


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: (afinley)*

alright GREAT, thanks


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## xXGti2006Xx (Feb 14, 2006)

i have a 12"type X with a mrd-m1005, stock head unit, is 1.5 gain and 4 db of bass boost aright? idk what it should be at


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: (xXGti2006Xx)*


_Quote, originally posted by *xXGti2006Xx* »_i have a 12"type X with a mrd-m1005, stock head unit, is 1.5 gain and 4 db of bass boost aright? idk what it should be at

that's what i set mine to











_Modified by Rub a dub dub at 12:34 AM 5-8-2006_


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## BikeBoy24 (Jun 10, 2001)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (Rub a dub dub)*

There's a good tutorial on setting gains on the sounddomain forums. Using a voltmeter would be a good starting point.
And just say NO to bass boost


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (BikeBoy24)*

sometimes i wonder why some of you post and give someone advice, when you yourselves don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. 
just listen to what afinley said, and ignore the rest of the nonsense in this thread.


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (1sik95jetta)*

yeah i think the volt-o-meter is overkill. anyone reading this _without_ alpine digital amps can just find a heavy bass track, turn down your gains all the way, crank your HU to 2/3 volume and slowing turn up your gains till the clipping light comes blinks, then back it off a hair.


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## Rub a dub dub (Sep 8, 2003)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (afinley)*


_Quote, originally posted by *afinley* »_yeah i think the volt-o-meter is overkill. anyone reading this _without_ alpine digital amps can just find a heavy bass track, turn down your gains all the way, crank your HU to 2/3 volume and slowing turn up your gains till the clipping light comes blinks, then back it off a hair.

wait a second... the clipping light comes blinks


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## afinley (Dec 29, 2004)

*Re: setting gain and bass boost on my alpine amp (Rub a dub dub)*

i was deciding between saying "comes on" and blinks. so i wrote both i guess. yours shouldnt do either, its digital.


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