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Gain / Level adjustment
Now it is time to disconnect all other subwoofers or speakers so that you can hear only the
speakers powered by this part of this amplifier. Next, turn the level on the amp all the way
down. Choose some music that you're not particularly keen on that has a good range of
bass, treble and vocals (helps not to get lost in the music whilst you work on the system.)
Then go to your head unit and gradually turn up the volume until you begin to hear slight
distortion from the driver. This is normally about ¾ the way up the scale. This is the
maximum setting that you will EVER use from now on – make a mental note of it. Next, turn
the head unit down from here by around ¼. This builds in a little bit of "headroom" so
should you have a track that is recorded quieter than the others or is at a lower bit rate,
you can boost the volume without pushing anything into distortion.
Once the volume is set on the head unit, go to the amplifier and slowly start to turn the
"Level" knob up, keep going till it is at a level you are happy with (that isn't going to deafen
you!) or until your driver(s) are just about to distort. If they do start to distort, turn back
down till they sound perfectly clear.
One thing that you need to learn is how to actually hear a speaker "distort"; you may hear
a cracking, a metallic slapping sound or a rattle as well as just that thrashing distorted
tone. It is CRITICAL that you detect this sound and back the amp off to stop it NOW before
you damage something/everything.
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