Hey Tazz.. your mailbox is full.. Setting Amp Gains & crossovers

2002GreyHD150 · 04-20-2004, 12:14 PM

Tazz sent me a PM asking about his 5channel amp settings its good info for anyone to know.

The amp is a PPI 5ch unit with 3 crossover switches (Front, Rear, Sub) with settings of HP/LP/Full & 3 crossover dials ranging from 30Hz to 4kHz. & lastly a "rear source switch" which usually is marked 1/2 or 3/4

let's start with the switches.

the "rear source" is if you are only running one pair (left & right) of RCA's back did you run one or 2? if you only ran one then set the switch to "channels 1/2" however the switch is labled. Other wise set it to "3/4"

The HP/LP/FULL switches are easy: Set the Front & Rear channels to HP the sub to LP.

Crossover dials: Front & rear door speakers set them around 100-150hz.. you may need to guess on this because often their arent any markings except the start & stop points. if you think like a clock, 30hz being 7:00am & 4kHz being 5:00pm then 12noon is about 2kHz. so approx 8-9:00am would be a good starting point. I hope that makes sense.

For the sub I would go about the same point maybe a little higher (9-10am) so the sub can carry a little extra midbass. but be aware that this will make you hear the sub very distinctly where it is comoing from instead of sounding full & all over.

Gains are a funny thing. Here is the accepted way to set gains, at least for the base line.

Turn all the amp gains all the way down. Go to your Head Unit. If it has Subwoofer volume set it to 1/2 way (1-10 set it at 5, 1-15 set it at 7etc), Bass & treble should be 0 or better yet if the HU allows, defeat them completely & never use them. If it is the stock Ford HU, set them at just a couple clicks below 1/2 way for both. Loudness, bass boost, etc should be off. If the HU has an EQ or Surround functions, turn them off.

select a Cd that has good dynamics but DO NOT use rap or dance. A decent country or rock disc will be good. Put the disc on repeat for that same song.

Turn the volume up to 3/4 of the way up. Now go to the gain for the front speakers. turn the gain up slowly until you hear it audibly sound muddy or slightly pop.. back off the setting 1/8 of a turn. Now go to the rear doors. This time when they distort/fart or make noise, turn them down 1/4 turn back.

For the sub, the temptation is to just jack the gain all the way up. Do the same process as the front, turn it back 1/8 of a turn when it breaks up. BE SURE to have any bass eq, boosts or loudness switchs o the amp turned OFF.

Now carefull experiment with the other features

Rob W

Tazz · 04-21-2004, 09:02 PM

Thanks 2002GreyHD150.
I have two pair of RCA's 1 for the Front & 1 for the rear inputs into the amp. The rear source on my amp is only labeled HP/LP/FULL. What should the switch be set at to be at 3/4 ??
Thanks
Tazz

2002GreyHD150 · 04-22-2004, 10:16 AM

Tazz is there anyway you can snap a digital pic of the control end of the amp for me & post it?

"rear source" should be a switch to tell the amp where you want the channels 3/4 & or ch 5 pulled from.

The last PPI Retail Professional training guide I have is from 2000-2001 so I don't have the details. & I don't have a copy of the brochure from 2002-2003 which is the model year fo your PCX5800.

A pic would help lots... post it here or pm me for my email address.

Rob W.

04-20-2004, 12:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
2002GreyHD150 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 7,237 View this user's gallery iTrader: 0 / 0%	Hey Tazz.. your mailbox is full.. Setting Amp Gains & crossovers Tazz sent me a PM asking about his 5channel amp settings its good info for anyone to know. The amp is a PPI 5ch unit with 3 crossover switches (Front, Rear, Sub) with settings of HP/LP/Full & 3 crossover dials ranging from 30Hz to 4kHz. & lastly a "rear source switch" which usually is marked 1/2 or 3/4 let's start with the switches. the "rear source" is if you are only running one pair (left & right) of RCA's back did you run one or 2? if you only ran one then set the switch to "channels 1/2" however the switch is labled. Other wise set it to "3/4" The HP/LP/FULL switches are easy: Set the Front & Rear channels to HP the sub to LP. Crossover dials: Front & rear door speakers set them around 100-150hz.. you may need to guess on this because often their arent any markings except the start & stop points. if you think like a clock, 30hz being 7:00am & 4kHz being 5:00pm then 12noon is about 2kHz. so approx 8-9:00am would be a good starting point. I hope that makes sense. For the sub I would go about the same point maybe a little higher (9-10am) so the sub can carry a little extra midbass. but be aware that this will make you hear the sub very distinctly where it is comoing from instead of sounding full & all over. Gains are a funny thing. Here is the accepted way to set gains, at least for the base line. Turn all the amp gains all the way down. Go to your Head Unit. If it has Subwoofer volume set it to 1/2 way (1-10 set it at 5, 1-15 set it at 7etc), Bass & treble should be 0 or better yet if the HU allows, defeat them completely & never use them. If it is the stock Ford HU, set them at just a couple clicks below 1/2 way for both. Loudness, bass boost, etc should be off. If the HU has an EQ or Surround functions, turn them off. select a Cd that has good dynamics but DO NOT use rap or dance. A decent country or rock disc will be good. Put the disc on repeat for that same song. Turn the volume up to 3/4 of the way up. Now go to the gain for the front speakers. turn the gain up slowly until you hear it audibly sound muddy or slightly pop.. back off the setting 1/8 of a turn. Now go to the rear doors. This time when they distort/fart or make noise, turn them down 1/4 turn back. For the sub, the temptation is to just jack the gain all the way up. Do the same process as the front, turn it back 1/8 of a turn when it breaks up. BE SURE to have any bass eq, boosts or loudness switchs o the amp turned OFF. Now carefull experiment with the other features Rob W

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04-21-2004, 09:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tazz Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: KS Posts: 3,501 View this user's gallery iTrader: 0 / 0%	Thanks 2002GreyHD150. I have two pair of RCA's 1 for the Front & 1 for the rear inputs into the amp. The rear source on my amp is only labeled HP/LP/FULL. What should the switch be set at to be at 3/4 ?? Thanks Tazz

04-22-2004, 10:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
2002GreyHD150 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 7,237 View this user's gallery iTrader: 0 / 0%	Tazz is there anyway you can snap a digital pic of the control end of the amp for me & post it? "rear source" should be a switch to tell the amp where you want the channels 3/4 & or ch 5 pulled from. The last PPI Retail Professional training guide I have is from 2000-2001 so I don't have the details. & I don't have a copy of the brochure from 2002-2003 which is the model year fo your PCX5800. A pic would help lots... post it here or pm me for my email address. Rob W.