[scanboy]

I remembered I've read some thread about that, but couldn't find it again. Anyway, how do I know about what volume level I'm at? This is for setting up my PDX

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by scanboy

I remembered I've read some thread about that, but couldn't find it again. Anyway, how do I know about what volume level I'm at? This is for setting up my PDX

Even if you found the 75% mark (with an o-scope), the moment you turn the car off, the setting is lost.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

Even if you found the 75% mark (with an o-scope), the moment you turn the car off, the setting is lost.

I am not really looking to fix it at 75% max, but just to do the initial tuning of the amp's gain, or is that not important? just trying to follow the steps in the manual.

[Technic]

How your PDX is connected to the OEM system?

[TMR]

tune it with your ear. If you need help, im local. Swing by and i can help you. Best thing to do is add a knob so you can control the gain from where you sit. Some songs need more and some songs need less.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by Technic

How your PDX is connected to the OEM system?

Nothing in between, directly from HU to amp. I installed it some time ago, but recently, I put in some aftermarket speaker and it seems all the vocals (mid to high freq.) are not as loud as the OEM speaker, so I thought I'll re-visit the settings on the amp and see if I can make it louder without making the "hiss" louder at the same time.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by TMR

tune it with your ear. If you need help, im local. Swing by and i can help you. Best thing to do is add a knob so you can control the gain from where you sit. Some songs need more and some songs need less.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't like the idea of adjusting the "knob" once for every song.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by scanboy

Nothing in between, directly from HU to amp. I installed it some time ago, but recently, I put in some aftermarket speaker and it seems all the vocals (mid to high freq.) are not as loud as the OEM speaker, so I thought I'll re-visit the settings on the amp and see if I can make it louder without making the "hiss" louder at the same time.

Which speakers did you install?

Although the PDX power adjust to the impedance of the speakers (2ohm or 4 ohms), the sensitivity of the speakers are not necessarily the same.

Just adjust the gain of those channels that sound lower to you to a volume level as close as possible of what you got with the OEM speakers. Try to use a song that you know how it is supposed to "sound" to you as your measuring "stick" while adjusting the gains.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by Technic

Which speakers did you install?

Although the PDX power adjust to the impedance of the speakers (2ohm or 4 ohms), the sensitivity of the speakers are not necessarily the same.

Just adjust the gain of those channels that sound lower to you to a volume level as close as possible of what you got with the OEM speakers. Try to use a song that you know how it is supposed to "sound" to you as your measuring "stick" while adjusting the gains.

Bought a pair of http://www.woofersetc.com/p2911/CM34...Components.htm
not the greatest, hope it's better than stock.

[TMR]

the knob is just for bass. You can still turn the system up and down like stock and bass stays where you leave it, but if its too loud, reach down and turn the bass down or vice versa. You are more than welcomed to listen to my car if you want.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by scanboy

Bought a pair of http://www.woofersetc.com/p2911/CM34...Components.htm
not the greatest, hope it's better than stock.

I used to have the HEX version of those same 4" component set and they were really impressive for the price. I think that your volume issue is the lower grade crossover included in that set; I tested those HEX crossovers with my OEM 4" Individual Audio component fronts without any decrease in volume level. I also have a set of CDT Sat400 2-way crossovers (lowest grade CDT crossovers) and they do decrease the volume level of my front component set using the same PDX 4.100 amp.

How those speakers fit in the E90?

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by Technic

I used to have the HEX version of those same 4" component set and they were really impressive for the price. I think that your volume issue is the lower grade crossover included in that set; I tested those HEX crossovers with my OEM 4" Individual Audio component fronts without any decrease in volume level. I also have a set of CDT Sat400 2-way crossovers (lowest grade CDT crossovers) and they do decrease the volume level of my front component set using the same PDX 4.100 amp.

How those speakers fit in the E90?

Was out of town for the weekends, so I haven't really done much regarding this.
Anyway, the speaker fits, ok, mounting depth is a bit of a problem. When I look at the OEM speaker, the mounting points were lower than the top of the woofer, that I didn't expect, so any speaker that says 2" depth (top mount) is probably pushing it. I say it fits ok because it might really be ok, but I didn't want to take the chance and scratched my windows/tint, so I ended up cutting the hole a little bigger so I can fit the speaker in between the 2 layers (of don't even know what they are, MDF board??) i.e. under the OEM mounting screws. Anyway, I've only done this on one side, that's how I realized this volume level thing. Was trying not to spend too much on this upgrade, but now I'm starting to think I might want an eq to get it to sound the way I want.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by scanboy

Was out of town for the weekends, so I haven't really done much regarding this.
Anyway, the speaker fits, ok, mounting depth is a bit of a problem. When I look at the OEM speaker, the mounting points were lower than the top of the woofer, that I didn't expect, so any speaker that says 2" depth (top mount) is probably pushing it. I say it fits ok because it might really be ok, but I didn't want to take the chance and scratched my windows/tint, so I ended up cutting the hole a little bigger so I can fit the speaker in between the 2 layers (of don't even know what they are, MDF board??) i.e. under the OEM mounting screws. Anyway, I've only done this on one side, that's how I realized this volume level thing. Was trying not to spend too much on this upgrade, but now I'm starting to think I might want an eq to get it to sound the way I want.

That what I assumed, that they have to be installed somehow either from the outside of the panel or completely removing the plastic mounting.

I think that the door panels are indeed MDF/particle board or a similar material process.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by Technic

That what I assumed, that they have to be installed somehow either from the outside of the panel or completely removing the plastic mounting.

I think that the door panels are indeed MDF/particle board or a similar material process.

After I found this out, I popped the rear deck and see if there's any surprises, while the rear deck speaker seems normal i.e. mount points are level with the top of the cone, it doesn't look like a standard 4", somehow the speaker is smaller than the standard 4", .
What I thought was going to take 30min max (front), turned out to be a couple hours of cutting and trial fitting.