getting the most out of my amp's

Last summer I picked up the Bullet 770's packaged with the JL audio mono blocks. From the demo video those things screamed with that same set up. After installing it I am kicking myself a bit because the amps dont seem to provide enough power to the tower. I have 2 mono blocks and 4 770's.

I have been installing stereo's in my cars since I was a teenager. I have a basic working knowledge of the set up and install process. Honestly the car set ups were a bit more basic and didnt have as high end of componets.

I ran the new system piggybacking off the system that came with my boat. it came with a kicker 4 channel , dual batteries, perko, distrbution block etc.

The first thing that caught my attention was that the JL mono blocks' install manual stated that the in line fuse should be I believe 15amps. Seemed a bit low but since its supposed to be a super efficent amp i didnt think twice.

I have the gains sets at about 35-40% or so and show a constant reading of 14.1 volts on the dashboard. when I get much higher I get a bit of whine. what is a realsitic way to take this out? The wires are all short as possible and they dont overlap or cross.

I know the speakers have more untapped potential but am thinking the amps are big enough to give me more carry back towards the rider.

Im not trying to hear it from a mile away but hopefully at the end of a 75-80 ft line while riding.

I know I havent been super detailed here but any basic starting suggestions? I at this point dont have the money to go to a shop for them to tweak it so hope to fix it on my own or save up some cash to get a pro on it.

Thanks

hiss is normal with HLCD's

turn the gains up, get a WS420 to boost the signal to your amps, and have full zone control.

I had a similar problem as you and it turned out the be my headunit or the low output preamps on my head unit. I changed out the hu to a pioneer 880prs with has 5v preamps and the hiss went away and over all sound quality and volume went way up. If your using a old hu with low volt preamps this could be your issue as well.

dude, did you read the manual wrong? A 15amp inline fuse? On the power wire? What kind of fuse did you use? I think 150 amp fuse sounds more reasonable. You didn't say which mono amps, though.

Ben, let me clarify. the in line fuse from the distribution block to the amp itself. Not the line from the batterys to the distribution block.

I have been thinking a line driver or a wetsounds would help. i wanted to get some adice before throwing money at the issue tho.

Still, that's a tiny fuse. What size wire is from the distro block to the amp? Which amp is it?

agreed, 15 amp is not accurate.... either you read incorrectly, or are reading incorrectly.

Originally Posted by wakebrooks

I had a similar problem as you and it turned out the be my headunit or the low output preamps on my head unit. I changed out the hu to a pioneer 880prs with has 5v preamps and the hiss went away and over all sound quality and volume went way up. If your using a old hu with low volt preamps this could be your issue as well.

this could all be solved by adding a ws420, which has a better eq, has increased line voltage, and will split the zones easily.

I have the mono block 1300. I have 8 guage going to it. and AI have a 30amp fuse in there.

From manual
13) Install the power wire fuse (30A for a
single G1300) and reconnect the negative
battery post terminal.

Soli,
You are under some misconceptions when it comes to power.
Doubling your power will only produce another 3 dB.
Doubling the distance will lose 6 db. Ponder how you will make up for that loss.
It would take four times the power to offset doubling the distance.
These factors will not change regardless of the equipment that you have.
Going from a 25 watt to 100 watt amplifier will produce a 6 db gain.
Going from a 150 watt to 225 watt amplifier (same 75 watt increase) will produce no more then a 1.5 dB gain. And, you will have very few amplifier choices that will deliver more than 900 total continuous watts (not dynamic power) from a two-channel amplifier into that load.
Its doubtful that any 2-inch voice coil will thermally handle much more rms power than 250 watts so there is a point of diminishing return.
A 1 dB gain is the minimum increment that you can discern. Yet, you won't be able to get much more than an extra 1.5 to 2 dB out of your speakers.
It takes a 10 dB gain to perceive a doubling in volume.
You will have to go from 150 watts per each speaker to 600 watts per each speaker to have enough power to offset the amplitude loss created by doubling the distance.
You will have to go from 150 watts per each speaker to 1600 watts per each speaker in order to obtain a 10 dB increase so that you sense a doubling of volume.

Whine, different from hiss, is not a normal condition. So I would first concentrate on having a clean system. Then I would explore the preamp voltage and a host of other issues after that.

David
Earmark Marine

David thanks. I had no pre determined conception on how to do it. Just if it was possible to get more out of what I have. im not lloking to add new amps with more watts etc etc. you gave me the choice last year to spend a bit more to go with the larger JL that you offered in that package but figured it was over kill based upon your feedback as well as the demo video. Hindsight is always 20/20 right?

I have played with the idea of a ws 420 for a few reasons and the dual zone tuning was one of them. Would it easy work with a boost box? and I agree a clean system is better than adding things to make that happen. Im sure I can clean it up some, what advice would you offer to start with and is there any make sense products that work in conjunction with looking into the connections and the grounding?

Soli,
Again, the larger amplifier would represent exactly a 1 dB increase under optimum conditions and perhaps a lttle more than that under less optimum conditions.
We used that exact set-up on our showroom display for years and it was hard to hear much of a difference when we changed it out with an amplifier rated at 1000 watts for the same reasons stated above.
Now we are running 750 watts times two (250 percent more power) and we absolutely hear a major difference. Budget wise that's not in the cards for most people plus I'm not sure that I would trust many with that kind of power to the tower. Its very different from the short controlled demos we do.
In any case I don't think your issue is actually related to being under-powered.
Preamp voltage may be an issue but I definitely would not add a processor until I first completely resolved the whine.
You can email me and we can start with your existing system fundamentals before adding. I'll bet we are going to find a few other issues to be addresed beforehand.

David
Earmark Marine

Originally Posted by wakebrooks

I had a similar problem as you and it turned out the be my headunit or the low output preamps on my head unit. I changed out the hu to a pioneer 880prs with has 5v preamps and the hiss went away and over all sound quality and volume went way up. If your using a old hu with low volt preamps this could be your issue as well.

Are you talking about RCA or Hi-level outputs??