Scientific approach to setting amplifier gains

[mmandley]

Thanks David. I do have a more complex system with three amps and three amplification "zones" - sub, towers, and cabins. So I guess the JL method will not be good enough in and of itself. But at least it will tell me where the max gain setting is of each amplifier and then I can work down from that.

Al

Al why not just take the boat down to Brian and let him have a listen? Also honestly bro if the system is tuned correctly with the gain and cross overs you wont be adjusting the EQ at all. In my boat everything is set Flat, even my IPhone the EQ is Flat and all the sound i have is dynamic and straight off the music track.

I know we tried to tune it a couple weekends ago and ill admit my ears arnt as sharp as Brians but i can tell if your clipping sound.

I can also say it took a couple trips to Exile to really dial in my system and hence why i never touch my amps now lol.

[lewisb13]

I wish we had some support like this in the DEEEP south.

[cab13367]

Al why not just take the boat down to Brian and let him have a listen? Also honestly bro if the system is tuned correctly with the gain and cross overs you wont be adjusting the EQ at all. In my boat everything is set Flat, even my IPhone the EQ is Flat and all the sound i have is dynamic and straight off the music track.

I know we tried to tune it a couple weekends ago and ill admit my ears arnt as sharp as Brians but i can tell if your clipping sound.

I can also say it took a couple trips to Exile to really dial in my system and hence why i never touch my amps now lol.

I do plan to do that but I was just curious about learning more about the voltmeter way of doing it.

[Brianinpdx]

Al-

Intersting post. I would echo many of the same comments David brings up.

On some of the higher end Exile gear we have added post gain clip indicators to help the installer properly set up the amplifier.

Al - not sure what your schedule is tomorrow, but we are giving the Samson sports installers a training at noon. They are bringing over a Malibu 247 with a full blown system for final tunning.

Your welcome to join us if you'd like... Maybe we could video the thing for the benefit of the forum. Doing so would probably bring up more questions than answers but would still be beneficial to all.

Let me know if you can join us.

Brian
Exile audio

[cab13367]

Brian,

Thx for the invite! My day is pretty open tomorrow so I'll come on over. See you at noon.

Thx.

Al

[jmvotto]

I wish i could be there. as Ed says wish we had an east coast custom shop..

brian, dumb question, but i heard of samsons before exile, do you guys make the samson speakers?? they look alot alike.

thx

[kaneboats]

I would echo many of the same comments David brings up.

I caught that one. Nice!

[mmandley]

I wish i could be there. as Ed says wish we had an east coast custom shop..

brian, dumb question, but i heard of samsons before exile, do you guys make the samson speakers?? they look alot alike.

thx

Exile makes the speakers Samson is selling and Samson makes the clamps Exile is using. Nice little marriage. Also both owners are in Portland area and both are very nice guys.

[Brianinpdx]

Kane - chuckles... Last night I was on my iPhone and thought oh brother how can I type all these thoughts out. After I read davids comments I nodded my head and said... Yea I agree. See the thing is, tuning stuff is all based on scientic fundamentals but after that, you have to take into account many many real world situations with gear, speaker heights, locations, amp power and the list goes on and on.

So has been said before there is no right or wrong way to do this. The proof is in end result. Can you gain match levels with a volt meter, yup. But that's just one ingredient in the pie. Makes sense?

Jmvott- mandley has the Samson relationship pretty close. They used to be a customer of mine way back in my pg days. They make awesome wake towers. They used to do like many others and bolt speakers into cans and sell them. Fast forward ten years and i sat down with them and we created the backbone of a great collaboration whereby exile would design and engineer a new tower speaker and Samson would be the tower experts. Originally we intended to use the Samson collars and such but when we got deep into the project we opted for a completely new reinforced design which meant more costs and new "tools" yada yada... The good news is that the new design was based on the same concept and patent that Samson had used for the previous 3 years. So, yes, we make the speakers for both brands. We are both NW companies. The combined effort has really helped both companies be successful.

Al - see you at noon today.


Brian
Exile Audio