Hey everybody,

Just out of curiosity I was wondering how individuals set their gains themselves?

I used to set my gains and toy around for that sweet spot. Then I came across the SMD DD1 Distortion Detector. At first I wasn’t sure if I should get it, but eventually spent the cash ($150 + Shipping) for it. Might I say that this thing really works and I have tuned all of my friends systems. They all really love it and you can really see an improvement in sound. With this your able to push your system to its max with crystal clear audio.

Eventually I was wondering since this product is expensive to just set your gains in 15 mins, I wanted to test the waters to see how many individuals would pay to have their sound systems configured? I was thinking about loaning out or servicing myself at local meet ups or whoever is near NYC. This is just to see if there would even be an interest in this at all.

Once again, this is just testing waters .

Here are some information on the DD1:

SMD Distortion Detector DD-1 Vs Oscilloscope - 2% Distortion @ 1khz

PREVENT CLIPPING! Set AMP GAINS like a Pro! New SMD "Distortion Detector"

PREVENT CLIPPING! Set AMP GAINS like a Pro! New SMD "Distortion Detector" - Coming SOON! - YouTube

 

We have one of the SMD DD1's here at work. If you're going to be setting gains on your amps and friends amps, then it's a great tool to have. The person who designed it is brilliant and really knows what he's doing. Ideally the best way to set your input gains is with an oscilloscope. But that's just not cost effective for most people. The DD1 works very well, and I suggest using it over the typical "adjust it by ear" method that most people go by. My gains were set using an oscilloscope here at work.

 

Steve really did a great job i must say. I wanted to purchase the DD1 when it first came out, but like i said i wasnt sure lol. I hear that it is ideal to have a o-scope do its job, but what ive heard is how the DD1 can be "better" than the o-scope. Is this true?, how is it that the o-scope be better? (just wondering)

 

Either the O-Scope or the DD1 is a really good way to go. Too many times I see people seeting their gains by ear using an iPod playing rap music. Not that I have anything against rap, but it's just not the way to do it. Then people wonder why they smoked their subs after playing a clipped signal through them. Anyway, I prefer the O-scope because it gives you a visual where you can actually see the signal clipping at the output of the source unit on the RCA's and also at the output of the amplifier. I use a tuning disc that has different frequencies on different tracks. Plus it also has tracks that you can set the amplifer gains for overlap. I typically go 5dB over and try not to wail on the system too much. There's a lot of tutorials out there regarding it that are worth reading.

But I have to say, the DD-1 is a great way to go. Tony D'Amore is the mastermind behind this project and he brought a very valuable gain setting tool to the market that's very affordable. The instructions were a little intimidating at first. But they made sense after a little trial and error. I used to work with Tony for a few years and I've seen some of the things he's created. Very talented engineer. The DD-1 money well spent.

As for which is better? In my opinion, I like the O-scope. But we also have a few scopes around the office to play with.

 

The DD1 is certainly money well spent. I havent tried to get a quote for using an o-scope, how much would that set someone back with 2 amps?

 

Here's the O-scopes we tend to use in the bay for around $390:
hand held digital oscilloscope

We also have Techtronix scopes here that are a couple bucks more:
Tektronix 2465B 400MHz Oscilloscope 2465-B Scope on eBay!

 

i was always told that you set your head unit to 2/3 of max volume level. Then bring your gains up until you start to hear speaker distortion.

I don't use amps anymore, but when I did, my Clarion had a max of 33. So I set my head unit at 22 and set my gains. Most of the time I ran around a a level of 12 or so...when I partied I usually had it around 20. Worked great for what I did. never entered any contests though.

Had a Clarion DMZ-835 with a Memphis ST-??? 75w x 4 running regular speakers...RF 201s running a 10" RF TypeS in a Gen1 Eclipse. It was all I needed and sounded wonderful. Now I have a ranger and that crap is too much work for something that can be easily broken into! hehe

 

all that trouble of guessing gets settled once you have a dd1 lol..