line drivers

[articacid]

my buddys got 2 12 audiobahns and a sony xplod 1200 watts amp. he wants more from it. i asked him if he even knew what he was running rms. he has no idea, he dont even know what its wired at. hes one of those kids who wont research what hes spending his money on hes juts gets it if he thinks its a good deal. like the 1200w amp which i think is a piece. so any way he tells me hes going to go trade the subs in for newer audiobahns, thinking this will solve his probs. as of now his rear speakers dont work, his fronts have all highs and no lows.

so all he has is ear peircing highs in the front, the subs in the back. so instead of fixing these little things and working with what he got he just goes all out and waste more money.

so he talks to this guy who in his words is a "master at car audio" tells him all he needs is a line driver for his subs. he told him its like nitrous for his subs. said "it will hit 50% harder" so he bought one.

so im wondering what there are and what they can do. im guess as always its not as great as he thinks.

[96firebird311]

A line driver is just an external unit that boosts the voltage on the RCAs. Best used to overcome induced noises between headunit and amp. Yes, his subs will fly... then probably catch on fire because he'll be clipping the hell out of his "1200W" amp. Music is dynamic, but tell him to match the gain setting with the max voltage output of the line driver. Ie. If the LD does 8V max, set the gain to the 8V setting... if it's even marked :rolleyes: ... probably just the min setting.

The all tweeter and subwoofer sound you are describing is all too common. So easy to do too. A set of low quality co-axils and a pair of funky pup subs and there ya go. ;)

[ April 23, 2005, 02:01 AM: Message edited by: 96firebird311 ]

[articacid]

thanx alot! one last question, what do you mean by clipping?

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by articacid:
thanx alot! one last question, what do you mean by clipping?

Clipping is a form of distortion. Clipping occurs when an amplifier is requested (by preamp signal) to produce more output voltage than it has the capability to do so. Here is a pic of an unclipped sine wave:

Now if the input voltage is too high or the gain is set too sensitive, the output voltage will "max out" and clip the tops and bottoms off the sine wave such as in pic number 2:

Keep pushing it and you'll end up with your subs trying to reproduce this:

That, my friends, is what we call a square wave. Notice how it's still maxing out at approx 40 volts? Even though the rest of the "music" is amplified, the request for heavy power (usually bass notes) pushes the amplifier to it's limits.

We(I) could go on and on about the theories and thoughts surrounding clipping and the affects clipping has on speakers, but I don't think it's called for just yet. ;) Maybe at a later date.... or if I could get some direct access to update the damn FAQ section at my leisure...... :mad: ADMIN! [img]graemlins/wavey.gif[/img]

[ April 24, 2005, 01:08 AM: Message edited by: 96firebird311 ]

[articacid]

so say i got one, how would i be able to tell if my amp was clipping?

is it audible?

[96firebird311]

Originally posted by articacid:
so say i got one, how would i be able to tell if my amp was clipping?

is it audible?

Depends. On the speakers, the frequencies playing, how much the signal is being clipped and even just how sensitive your ears are. If you're pondering getting one, lemme ask you first... are you getting any buzzing, hissing or whining induced through your RCAs? If not, I suggest you save your money. Your headunit has a 2.2V output and your amps range is 150mVolts-7V. You're getting full power out of your amp, no worries there.

[articacid]

i am getting a whine. so that basicly the only thing it would help me with?

[96firebird311]

If you're looking to get more power out of your amp, you're looking in the wrong place. Will it help your whine? Depends on what exactly is causing the interference.

[articacid]

ok thanx alot for your help i greatly appreciate it!