General Function Explanations - Clarion XC6 Series Owner's Manual & Installation Manual

General Function Explanation
Sensitivity Control (Gain)
This adjustment is provided to adjust the amplifier sensitivity so that it will produce
maximum power given a variety of different input signal voltages. Setting this correctly will
ensure that you get maximum performance from your amplifier and is critical to ensuring
that minimal noise and distortion is produced.
Clarion recommends the use of an Oscilloscope or distortion detecting device such as the
SMD DD-1 Distortion Detector to properly set amplifier sensitivity. A headroom setting of
10dB will help to ensure that music that is recorded at low levels can still be reproduced
at high volume levels. With this setting, it is the responsibility of the operator to use the
amplifier in a manner that will not produce audible distortion.
Procedure (Oscilloscope) Method:
1. Obtain a test disc with a selection of Sine Waves recorded at -10dB.
2. Turn the gain all the way down on the amplifier (to the left).
3. Connect the ground terminal of the scope lead to the shield of the RCA cable coming
from the source unit. Do no connect this to the speaker output terminals.
4. Connect the scope probe to a speaker terminal on the channel you want to adjust.
5. Select a Sine wave frequency that is well away from the chosen crossover frequency.
For midrange speakers use 1kHz, use 40Hz for subwoofers.
6. Turn the source unit up as high as possible without distortion.
7. Monitor the output waveform of the amp on the scope.
8. Increase the sensitivity of the amplifier until the scope waveform shows a small flat
spot on the top or bottom of the waveform. See Figure 2 for an example of what to
look for.
Fig 1 - Sine Wave at different Levels
SMD DD-1 Method:
1. Following the instructions provided with the DD-1, use the 0dB track to confirm the
output of the source unit is unclipped.
2. Connect the DD-1 to the output of the amplifier and use an appropriate -10dB track.
Increase the gain on the amplifier until the Distortion LED illuminates
You should be able to turn the volume up to almost full volume without hearing distortion
from your amplifier. If you can't turn the volume up most of the way without distortion, the
gains are not set properly.
Fig 2 - Close-Up of waveforms
Clipped Sine wave
Sine wave unclipped
Sine wave well bellow clipping
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