Alright, I been asking a lot of questions recently in several thread, so I might as well post them here and make them as general so everybody can consult here. They are asked in no specific order.

1: Is the loudness setting on headunit a good thing to use for SQ?
2: How far should frequencies be spaced on the equalizer to be used?
3: Is it true that, for equalization, less is better?
4: Do the LPF for the sub & HPF for the components be set at the same freq or is a small gap better to compensate for x-overs slopes and car's resonance?
5: Would it be possible to have a great sounding setup with the sub box inside the habitacle, with the seats up ( closed ) ? I was thinking about a custom install on the bump in the middle of the rear floor?
6o expensive RCA cables really make a diff?
7: What would the minimum requirements to have a IASCA-worthy setup? Not Street-X, but something decent? Important things not to be left out?
8: Is it a good thing to adjust soundstage centering with the balance adjustment?

Feel Free to add anything!


Thanks a lot! I think that a SQ "bible" would be extremely useful for A LOT of people.


Cheers,

G

GBro wrote:Alright, I been asking a lot of questions recently in several thread, so I might as well post them here and make them as general so everybody can consult here. They are asked in no specific order.

1: Is the loudness setting on headunit a good thing to use for SQ?

from BCAE- "At high volumes (above approximately 65% of the volume control's range), the boost from the contour would fade to nothing. If the loudness contour circuit is designed to work well and the gains are set properly, the bass and treble at all volumes should appear the same. Without the loudness contour, the bass and treble will sound weak at low volumes (if they were set to sound right at high volumes)."

"The loudness contour is employed in most audio devices which have a volume control. At low volume levels, the human auditory system is less sensitive to frequencies at the upper and lower ends of the audio band of frequencies. The contour INCREASES the level of the audio signal at those frequencies (where the ear's sensitivity is reduced) as the volume DECREASES. At the upper end of the volume control's range, the loudness contour has little or no effect. If your system is properly set up, the loudness contour (if properly designed/set) will keep the apparent levels of audio at all frequencies at a constant level throughout the volume control's range."

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2: How far should frequencies be spaced on the equalizer to be used?

That's specific to each system...you just have to adjust it to where it needs to be in order to get a flat curve

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3: Is it true that, for equalization, less is better?

again, that's depends on the system and vehicle. some may require more tuning then others

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4: Do the LPF for the sub & HPF for the components be set at the same freq or is a small gap better to compensate for x-overs slopes and car's resonance?

again..this needs to be done during tuning and tweaking of the system...no answer would apply to all applications

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5: Would it be possible to have a great sounding setup with the sub box inside the habitacle, with the seats up ( closed ) ? I was thinking about a custom install on the bump in the middle of the rear floor?

possible..yes. although you may want to think about a set of 8" subs in the doors instead

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6o expensive RCA cables really make a diff?

No

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7: What would the minimum requirements to have a IASCA-worthy setup? Not Street-X, but something decent? Important things not to be left out?

I don't compete in iasca...couldnt tell ya

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8: Is it a good thing to adjust soundstage centering with the balance adjustment?

if it needs it..then do it! but remember, that will totally throw off the stage for the passenger when you do this.




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I would agree, as usual, with what wysiwyg has said.
Every car tunes different and there is no magic answers to most of your questions, unfortunately you find these answers out while tuning and listening to see what is working.

On the other hand;

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6 expensive RCA cables really make a diff?

Yes they do, with finer details in your sound. You will hear little nuances in the music that you never heard before. However I have a terrible track record with them going bad, and a "good" set is quite pricey. In my car I run inexpensive sets by PIE which are about $20 a piece.

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7: What would the minimum requirements to have a IASCA-worthy setup? Not Street-X, but something decent? Important things not to be left out?

For Ameteur Ultimate? I would roughly guess around $2000 towards professional install to dress up whatever you plan to install. You will be beaten like a rented mule if you go into Pro-Street, or really any of the other classes. Sound offs are dead, basically the only people still competing are former world champions from each class who have their cars just about perfected. But I am not trying to discourage you.

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8: Is it a good thing to adjust soundstage centering with the balance adjustment?

I agree with wysiwyg, but if you are competing then you don't care too much what the passenger side sounds like because it is rare that 2 judges will be in the car.

If you have been bitten by the bug, then go for it. But competing is not cheap. Make sure your install is as professional and cleanly installed as possible, minor knit-pickey details kill your score.




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ok, let me give you some advice. you dont have to take it, but i have been a u.s.a.c judge for 3 years now. first off the easy ones. ok, never use ur loud button except for really low volume. other wise at higher volumes, it will, will distort the lows and highs.
second of all, if u want to set ur xover points for ur subs and mids, just do this. pull all rca's out of ur amps. next, turn ur radio 3/4 way up. start with ur sub amp. before plugging ur rca in, turn ur gain all the way down. also, turn ur xover all the way down. make sure its on lpf or lp. ok start with the gain. turn it up slowly till u hear a knock or extra rumble sound, what we call distortion. then back it of a 1/8 turn. then ur xover. same thing but stop when u hear low voices or when ur sub starts to sound muddy or not hitting like it did before. thats it. that should get u real close where u wanted to be.

next unplug ur sub rca, radio at the same volume level, turn ur hpf or hp on, turn gain all the way down and xover all the way up. start with the gain. now i highly suggest u make several trips from trunk to putting ur ear infront of the speaker. only difference here is that u will get ur gain till distortion, then back it halfway back down from where u are. now bring ur xover down. it may take a good half hour to get ur mids right.

when ur done, turn the radio down, plug in both sub and high rca's in. now u will still probably be happy yet, so u may want to tweak ur xover some more. make sure u grab 5 different cds. u really want a good variety. the reason bein, is no matter where u are in the future, it will sound its best.

about setting eq's, a sq car and more detailed q's please email me at dusty9504@netzero.com

Dustin,
I don't believe we have met at any shows. Welcome to the org. I have noticed you have given a lot of advice and I am curious to see your car. Do you have a webpage?

Still waiting for sndsgood's input!!




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Thanks all for the replies!

Mennitti, I definately got the bug of great sound systems more than competing, but I would really appreciate to do it just for fun and well to compare with other higher end systems. I think the simple listening to a winner system would make tweaking and tuning mine much easier as I would really know which way to go.

And yeah, still waiting for sndsgood input

Thanks all!

G

havnt been around allot lately.


1. like above loudness when the volume is low other then that dont bother with it. its something i never use on a decent system.

2. that all depends on how large a equaliser your using, theoritically you could use one at every single frequency but unless you had several years to tune it your wasting your time. i use a 30 band. well will be if i ever get my system done. and for the every day listner that is a bit much. for one if your not used to tuning a system with that many bands your likely to do more damage to the sound then helping it. for first timers i generally will suggest a 13 band or so. will give you allot of adjustment and not as many headaches.

3. i agree that less is better. if you have to boost a frequency by a large amount, chances are good you have a phasing issue or crossover issue or an instalation issue. if you have a hole in a certain frequency band beause of poor instalation (cancelation) boosting the frequncy as high as you possibly can may still not fix the issue.

4. no they dont, youlle find some people that have a gap in there setting and a few how overlap a bit, its really system dependant and car dependant, you may have a natural bump in a certain frequency range and the only way of removing it is by setting yoru crossovers with a gap. theres no way of knowing until your tuning.

5.not sure what a habitacle is but im assuming your meaning interior. yes that can work you just have to be wary of cancellation. mounting the speaker on the back wall of an object will keep allot of the cancelation down, i would suggest just mocking up a quick box to specs and trying it out in the car moving it around to see how it sounds before you put in the effort of a sq competiton box.

6.this one has been debatable for years. i will just say this if you have the pefect sound system then yes you might be able to hear some type of flaws in your wiring. but if your system is lacking in other departments, chances are any noise from the rca's would be hidden by the rest of yoru system. i mean ive heard systems with over 1000$ worth of cabling that didnt sound as good as systems with cheap everyday wire.

7.if you really want to compete in iasca (and i say go for it) log onto their website and buy their rulebook. if you build your system to compete, built it within the rules of the orginasation, or your just setting yourself up for a loss. if you read the book and follow the guidelines for a safe properly installed system your going to gain allot of points over the other guy that just showed up. and biggest thing i can tell you is pictures, take lots and lots of pics. if your headunit wiring is hand wrapped in nomex fire resisitant protective looms braided for noise resistince, secured every half inch by aircraft quality tie down straps, and labeled every half inch, it wont mean a damn thing to the judge if he doesnt have pics of it to prove what your telling him. and if you dont have pics of it, to the judge it doesnt exist. also the other biggest factor is your presentation. working with the judgest to explain your system and why it meets the guidlines (or exceeds them) in the best possibly way. im pretty sure ive walken away with trophys just because my presentation was better then some others ive gone up against.

8. no. because iasca allot of times and usaci as well will judge with two judges one in each seat. if you adjust your staging to the left with the balance to sound good. its going to destroy it for the passenger judge. if the soundstaging is thrown off that much it could effect your scores in other aresa as well. adjust it for the center as best as you can.


theres my 2 cents


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8. no. because iasca allot of times and usaci as well will judge with two judges one in each seat. if you adjust your staging to the left with the balance to sound good. its going to destroy it for the passenger judge.

Just an FYI, in the last 2 seasons between SLAP and IASCA we have had a passenger side judge only one time, and it wasn't even at Finals.





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WOW, STICKY!!! STICKY!!!!


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Mennitti wrote:

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8. no. because iasca allot of times and usaci as well will judge with two judges one in each seat. if you adjust your staging to the left with the balance to sound good. its going to destroy it for the passenger judge.

Just an FYI, in the last 2 seasons between SLAP and IASCA we have had a passenger side judge only one time, and it wasn't even at Finals.

yeah i wasnt sure on that how everyone is doing it. i think i had two people judge both seats once during my comp year and then during finals.


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