The volume problem

Hello guys,

First off, I want to say that I have worked with stereos for about 10 years now. I can usually combine loudness and quality very well, but something is fishy about my recent stereo assembly.

I recently purchased a Eclipse AVN-6620 and intended to make good use of the 5v preamps. Before this, I was using the Pioneer AVIC-F700BT (has 2.2v preamps. Now, with the F700BT I had to run the volume very high to get very loud (i.e. 55 volume out of a max of 60 on the Pioneer). My guess was that I would cut this fraction down and get good, very loud volume at about half the Eclipse head unit's volume. I'm using a Precision Power pcx-480 (dynod at about 100 Watts RMS per channel, so power shouldn't be a problem) and 2 Focal 6.5" component sets. The PPI is turned up almost all the way...

With the Eclipse I have to, again, turn the volume almost all the way up to get real loud (making it VERY quiet at 40/80 (half) vol). Changing from 2.2V to 5.0V preamp did nothing for my highs volume problem. I did notice a drastic change in subwoofer signal (I had to turn the sub amp down ALOT) but the highs seem unchanged. The only wiring I have connected on the HU is the RCA preamps, the power (battery, 12v rem, 12vL, remote), IPOD, NAV, Brake, and the Antenna. This excludes all speaker wiring, reverse, and Headlight wiring.

Am I missing something or does eclipse really think they are hitting 5v at 80/80 volume? I haven't broken out the volt meter but my guess is that one of these 2 HUs is not performing up to spec.

Can anyone else with a relatively high quality system let me know what volumes they deal with on the head unit to get real loud (real loud being 125db+)?

My system...
Eclipse AVN-6620 HU
Precision power PCX-480 running 2 Focal 6.5" K2F component sets
Zed's "The Deuce" pushing 2 JL 12W6 subwoofers
3.5F Cap with power run on 0 guage.


Thanks and Regards,

David

 

By the way... I am not complaining as the system sounds great. I'm just confused as to why stepping up the preamp voltage didn't give me a little more leeway with highs volume. Below are pictures of the system (still a bit dusty but will be cleaned up tonight. Next step, good cooling (the easy part).

 

Dude, 125 dB is really freaking loud, especially if you are talking about anything above bass frequencies. Perhaps that is your problem, you are just going deaf.

I'm not sure what sort of issue you are having. If you are looking to have it very loud at a realitively low setting on your HU, then perhaps readjusting your gains with and the addition of a EQ with a higher preamp output voltage is in order.

 

I understand what an increased output voltage does. I just don't understand why going from 2.2V to 5.0V did nothing for my highs (4/5 volume on the eclipse is about as loud as 4/5 volume on the pioneer). Could it be a matter of Pioneer understating the preamp voltage and Eclipse overstating it?

 

I haven't used that specific model so I'm not sure but in my experience the Eclipses have put out closer to their rating than most of the other headunits we tested. One thing I did notice with a couple of the Eclipses was that they seemed to increase volume "faster" once you got to a certain point on the volume knob so that may be what you are experiencing. (below a certain level it may only increase by 1 db per click and above that level it may start increasing by 2 db per click. Just an example but you get the idea).

 

Go into your menu and find "SLA" (source level adjustment). That will allow you to match the output of all sources using FM radio as the reference level.

 

I see, I thought you were asking a question but you set it like that on purpose.

 

While changing out my head unit I accidently pressed the -12db button on the amp (bad idea). After correcting this I get about 120db at 50/80 volume working on IPOD with subs off. I'd say we're back up to spec

Thanks for all input! It ended up being a stupid mistake