Quote:
Originally Posted by RWBVride
Guys I've been having a hell of a time getting my 6500.2's to sound good without being distorted. I have them hooked up to a ix 500.4. Just running my factory deck and doing all the tuning through that if i get the volume up to high they just distort and sound like crap. I've blown several speakers this way as well. So I have yet to hear them while 80ft back. I ordered a KQ5 equalizer hoping this will help me fine tune them some more but if it doesn't I'm pitching them and ordering REV 10's. Any help would be much appreciated.
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While I really like the IX500.4 on the KM6500.2 it needs to be set up right:
Bridged wiring first off; don't wire the mids to half of the amp and the horns to the other half or you won't make power.
AMP SETTINGS:
* Both AMP1 and AMP2 crossover slide switches set to HI PASS
* Both AMP1 and AMP2 crossover frequency knob set to
NO LOWER than 150 Hz
* Bass Boost totally off for both halves of the amp
HEAD UNIT SETTINGS, (where lots of people screw up)
LOUDNESS control if available turned off
BASS, MID and TREBLE set float or close to it
I may be sharing things redundantly but I would rather tell someone something twice than to think they know it and leave it out, so for some general gain setting points:
* Most, (not all) head units start distorting at about 75% of their max output. If the radio goes to a max of 50, 37 is about your max volume setting you can cleanly use.
* Make sure you use program material for tuning that takes the head unit to its max. Don't expect reliable results if you are using the headphone output from an MP3 player connected to the aux in of your head unit.... Too much junk to be introduced that way.
* The best program material for tuning will come off of a CD, and in particular a store-bought CD as opposed to a CD burned by your friend's cousin off of one of his old Napster downloads...
* Program material that is compresse and hard limited will be good as it takes the waveform very close to the max amplitude. Use something with full range program material, not some bass trax crap that is designed to only show off your woofer....
* I use NICKLEBACK, (giggle now guys) because the recording engineer compressed and hard-limited the crap out of all of their big commercial radio hits. I can count on the music to be as loud as it can be from pretty much the start of the song to the end and know that the CD player in my head unit is right at its max clean output. It does it for lows, mids, and highs as well, so it is not like that bass-trax crap. See the two pics below for a comparison between a NICKLEBACK track and a soft jazz track.
No, I am not a NICKLEBACK fanboy for the record.... It is a tool I have found works good just for this purpose. If you don't like NICKLEBACK and won't consider using them to tune, just find some other material that is hard limited like wht you see in the first picture below.
*With your amp gains turned way down but not off, start that hard limited full range program material, (Nickleback) playing from a store-bought CD. Turn youre radio, (with flat tone controls) up to about 75% listening for audible signs of distortion. if you hear distortion, turn it down until it is clean and make a note of your max volume level on your radio knob.
* With your radio at its max clean output slowly turn up your amp gains until you similarly hear signs of distortion, and then back the gains down a little. If you hear the midrange drivers of the KM6500.2 popping, increase the crossover frequency a little or make sure you got the hi-pass switch turned on.
If you do this and follow all the notes I posted above, you should get clean sound from CD playback, and iPod playback if you have an ipod controlling head unit.
BUT After having written all of that your complaint is distortion through a simple 3.5mm aux input from the headphone out of your MP3 player note the following:
Lots of times the MP3 player's headphone output will clip the AUX IN of a radio ro EQ when the MP3 volume is turned all the way up. If you listen to your stereo with MP3s played through the AUX input, you may find you need to turn the MP3 player down and compensate with extra volume knob to get to your desired playback level. I have heard some very nasty sounds coming from an over-driven AUX IN... and overlooking this simple point has caused lots fo people more grief than they ever imagined.
Sorry for the long post. It is a lot to digest, but I hope it helps and makes sense. Holler at me or reply here if you have any questions for me!
Phil
Kicker