How to set the gain on amp?

How do you set gain on an Sony Xplod 250 Watt Amp?

• I recently installed two MTX Pro Series Subs in the back of my car. I have a Sony Xplod 250 Watt Amp (yeah it's small). I see the gain controls and I set them all the way up. I relize that that isn't good, and I'm wondering how i to good performance from my deck, amplifier, and subs. Thanks..................

• Answer:

  There are two easy ways to do this - one with a voltage reader and one by ear. You will need a DMM to set your gains properly. A full tutorial can be found on JL's website here. http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_amps_pages.php?page_id=30 You can also set them by ear, but this is less precise. Level any equalizers or attenuators, turn off bass boost or loudness settings, and set your head unit to approximately 90% of max volume. Turn the gain all the way down, and then slowly increase it until you barely start hearing distortion. Turn it back down until you don't hear it any more, and then down one more notch to be safe. After this is done, don't go above that volume level on your head unit and don't use heavy equalization/loudness/bass boost settings. Actually, don't use bass boost at all.