i need help from a stereo expert
 

My old amp in my truck got fried I am guessing I think it was due to a "friend" messing around with the gain, I had a brand new amp laying around the house so i put it in and the sub works great again I am just wondering where the gain should be set at right now it a hair off center towards the + side is this ok I only ran the stereo about 2 minutes to make sure i didnt blow anything up if it helps its only an 8 inch rockford

Re: i need help from a stereo expert
 

The gain knob will introduce more distortion the louder you turn it up. I suggest keeping it as low as possible to prevent damage to the speakers. I usually don't tweak mine over the 2-3 mark (20-30%)....if I need louder, I buy an amp with more wattage.

As for your old amp - take the heatsink cover off. Most amps come with an external fuse (car type fuse plugged into the chassis or an inline fuse on the power line) and often times will have an internal fuse on the main board - typically a glass fuse. Look to see if it's blown and replace.

For more info to understand gain, here: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...499581,00.html

I've found blown fuses in lots of home stereos that people have given me .... 35¢ and I have a working stereo. :)

Just as a note - turning the gain up too loud will lead to "clipping" which is a term used to describe overload on an amplifier - it clips on and off, causing interruptions in output. I would never pump the gain over halfway.

Re: i need help from a stereo expert
 

if ya want, ya can set your gains properly with an oscilliscope or a multimeter, your gain is there to match the "signal strength" of what the radio is putting out/producing, what is meant by signal strength, is more the line output voltage, its hard to describe in words, but as i could put it best in my words would be, say your radio puts out 7vDC for line voltage in the preouts, well the gain would be adjusted to match that 7vDC , but if you had another radio (say a low end pioneer) it may only put out 3vDC, and so the gain would be matched for the 3vDC output

my quick technique if in a hurry is to adjust the gain at listening level to any audible distortion can be heard and then back off 1/4 turn, its only best to do with a trained ear, if ya know what i mean, but if you really dont know what your doing, take it to a car audio shop and they may do it for you for free or maybe a $5 tip to the guy

Re: i need help from a stereo expert
 

thnaks guys the trucks in storage and i only get to work on her on weekends but im definately gonna try and lower the gain next weekend can you think of any idea why the gain wouldnt move for me this weekend tho? i couldnt turn the knob at all

Re: i need help from a stereo expert
 

Can't say anything more than what's been said already ;)

Re: i need help from a stereo expert
 

Never heard of a gain knob not moving. Won't move either way?!

Re: i need help from a stereo expert
 

nope i was only trying to use a little flat blade screwdrive tho maybe i need a bigger one