Wiring, Stereo & Electronics Audio Components | Radars | Alarms - and things that spark when they shouldn't

amp gain

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 01-28-2006, 12:30 PM
  #1  
On The Tree
Thread Starter
 
dudemandanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default amp gain

i have a 1200 watt rockford amp, two channel. when i turn up the gain on one channel that sub sounds great, but when i turn up the other channel both subs sound like complete ****. whats this? it doesn't matter which channel is up, but as soon as the other is turned up they both sound like ****. and its not even when the gain is turned up all the way, it happens as soon as the second channel is turned up about a quarter of the way. very annoying.
any thoughts??
Old 01-28-2006, 02:41 PM
  #2  
TECH Senior Member
 
2MuchRiceMakesMeSick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 6,157
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

You have two gains for a two channel amp?
Old 01-28-2006, 06:39 PM
  #3  
On The Tree
Thread Starter
 
dudemandanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

yeah, one for the left channel and one for the right.
Old 01-31-2006, 01:25 PM
  #4  
On The Tree
Thread Starter
 
dudemandanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

come on, where are all the audio guru's?
Old 01-31-2006, 03:26 PM
  #5  
TECH Enthusiast
 
HiTechGent's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Georgetown, DE
Posts: 717
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

The problem is not with your amplifier, but with your system configuration.

What your hearing is a classic wave interference pattern. The sound waves from the second subwoofer are cancelling out part of the sound from the first. This is only noticable at low frequencies. This is why most stereo systems have only one sub channel, regardless of the number of subwoofers connected.

The purpose of stereophonic sound is used to provide directionality to the audio. The slight differences between the right and left channels creates an illusion that the sound is coming from a location directly in front of you (or from some other specific location). Low bass frequencies are omni-directional so really aren't enhanced by stereophonic techniques.

If the amp supports it, bridge the 2 channels and run both subs off of it.

Last edited by HiTechGent; 01-31-2006 at 03:46 PM.
Old 02-01-2006, 02:46 PM
  #6  
On The Tree
Thread Starter
 
dudemandanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

wow, you think thats really the problem?
i used this amp before and it seemed fine, but i'm not sure if i had the gain up enough, also it was used with subs in a different box.
pretty interesting diagnosis though.
Old 02-01-2006, 03:40 PM
  #7  
TECH Enthusiast
 
HiTechGent's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Georgetown, DE
Posts: 717
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

The enclosure can make a significant difference as the interference pattern is greatly affected by the relative location of the two sources.




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:07 PM.