Finally received my oscope and your advice is dead on.I also read all the comments and I can't tell you how much I appreciate people like yourself who take the time to help others out who are doing there best to learn the ropes of their car audio. Thanks 😊
Mad props! Thank you so very much for posting this. Still relevant in 2023 with lots of sellers still selling this 'scope on Amazon. And yeah getting the levels dialed in for the EQ etc before setting the gain is GREAT advice. Good call. Thanks again man. All the best
Just bought an Oscope man I can't get my subs to play like they should. I don't trust my ear, and my installer sadly passed away. On my third headunit and its alot better than the first two. Thank you sir your a life saver was on my way to buy a DD1.
Thanks for sharing this!! I just ordered this so that I know my amp is tuned correctly. I never really looked into an O-Scope because I thought all of them were a couple hundred dollars, but I’m so glad there’s one that’s not to expensive
Lol.... a DD1 gives you a little red indicator dot. An oscope gives you full visual of a sine wave for a fraction of the cost. If people want spend 4 times as much for a red led bulb and no visual if the sine wave. Have at it
@@andrewmcallister4151 then you know nothing about car audio lol a dd1 sets gains at a way lower level then youd ever see on a oscope ... your the type of guy who wants to just be lazy and set it and forget it and not get optimal performance from your system .. lol
@@johndoe-mn4mh #RedLEDsMatter just kidding, Oscopes are even cheaper now, I found a full blown multimeter, signal generator, oscilloscope for $85 - I play with electronics and arduinos and all this other stuff, so I'm sure I'll use it every day.
Watched the video a couple times, ordered the Oscilloscope you linked. Followed your instructions to the letter. And now my stereo sounds amazing. Thanks for taking the time, and explaining in simplicity for us non-audiophiles. Great Job!
bought the oscope in your info that you used in the video just to check my amp settings out and just so happens i was just slightly below clipping from my ear settings. great info thank you
Honestly one of the best explained and shown videos especially like how you used a common cheap oscilloscope and even showed how to set that up!. Great job!
Bro all day i see on FB people asking the same questions and so many people say turn up the gain..WRONG gain is not a volume knob i may if its ok share your video you explained way better than me, thanx for the vids
Great video and easy to understand for those who may not fully grasp the concept of clipping and proper gain settings. I'd only add that the test tone tracks are typically offered at different dB overlaps to account for various recording levels of playback. To each their own as to what test tone you decide to use, but I've personally always felt better running the -5dB 40Hz track just to play it safe with the -5dB overlap. I say play it safe, because not all music sources are recorded at the same level. Unless you are playing FLAC files or anything similar one song may sound great while the next song may sound horrible/distorted because it was recorded at a different level.
@@PuresDen unless im misunderstanding your comment you may have missed the point od mine originally. The reason -5db is safer is exactly because it's not as loud. 0db is loud and due to the many different people that master or remaster music you never truly know what levels they're mastered at or how they've staged their gains and plug-ins . Due to those very reasons thats why the -5db overlap is safer. You'll lose some output sure, but unless you have a reliable source for your tracks it's safer to set lower. Setting at 0db definitely increases the chances of have a Rouge track in the mix that causes massive clipping. I pulled this directly from a mastering site for some context as I'm in no way a music recording guru. "Here is a rule of thumb, don't peak on your individual sounds say louder than -18 to -12 db, and your master don't go anywhere near past -6 db. There are no hard and fast rules for this but learn about how analog operates and is gain staged. 24 bit audio has a resolution of 144 db 16 bit audio has a resolution of 96 db. so you can STILL HAVE YOUR AUDIO ALMOST -50 db down from zero and still use the full bandwidth of 16 bit audio resolution."
@@josephstaton6438 false , all mixed and mastered tracks made by actual artists and labels dont go above 0db , if a song you are playing does it was made by johnny in his back yard - Jay
Dude thank you for making this video I picked one of these up after watching this video and man I’m happy i did. It picked up distortion way before the clip light kicked on and I feel so much better now knowing it’s set right. Thanks again bro and keep making the rad videos 🤘🏻
Took my truck the “best” car audio in town. I did the o scope technique and was clipping at half volume. Turned gain down to a perfect signal @ head units max listening volume w/o distortion. Music is much cleaner although less bass, but I won’t have to buy new gear in a couple months. Thank you for the video very easy to understand
Awesome! Most shops turn Gain up high to make it sound like you got more bang for your Buck. Unfortunately, lots of people including shops treat gain like a volume knob. The rule is, if you want to get louder. Get more subs and amps with proper electrical upgrades.
I must say you are the only guy that shows these tricks online... appreciate it. I'm trying to learn at least half you know to teach others to... helping hand always gets helped
Im building a system and will definitely be using this to set the gain and test my radio for clipping. I also really appreciate the video showing this vs an proper oscilloscope to show it works and isnt inaccurate for our use. I have never built a system, all i have is a cheap powered enclosure. I purchased a box designed for my vehicle
More expensive now, but this is the one: www.amazon.com/STARTO-Handheld-Oscilloscope-BNC-Clip-Assembled/dp/B07QL3SS7S/ref=asc_df_B07QL3SS7S/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=459704590302&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=792658384330101374&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033504&hvtargid=pla-945043665765&psc=1
When I was young which was multiple decades ago I was into that amplifier + speaker phase. I done it by hear and I was darn good at it to the point I could shake dishes and cups in the china cabinet that was very easy 50+ feet away from the car. Been around electronics my entire life been trained at repairing it. Course I'm no longer in to that amplifier + speaker phase anymore could care less about it now I out grew it.
I was looking at getting a cheap scope instead of the SMD tools. i'm gonna set my gains like once or twice ever in my car, I dont need a $250-300 tool lol. Was wondering if the $40 scopes on amazon were good, and now I know! Thanks for the info bro, just ordered. Used your link so hopefully you get a little kick back :)
Awesome man! much appreciated! Unfortunately I don't have any affiliate links set up yet...but sure do appreciate the support of my channel! Glad i could help! I feel the same way about the SMD devices lol
Did mine with a dmm was ment to be 24.5 volts , didn't think it sounded right given the rms power of my amp so i got a o scope for £50 and was shocked how far from clipping i was at 24.5 volts ! With the o scope it went to 28 volts before any sign of clipping, 3.5 volts more than ohm's law ! Well worth th 50£ 👌
Have the same scope been using it for around a year works like a charm, the display is really good it can show the slightest deform in the wave. My friend has the nano and this lil cheap scope has a better display haha. Nice vid 👍👍
Just watched this and remembered I have a oscilloscope from my RC drone building days laying around. Can't wait to set my new Skar amp up tomorrow properly !!!
Protip: If you want to see just the sine wave without all the freq data taking up space on the screen do this. While in run (should see green "running" on the top left) press and hold the OK button. This will remove the data values from the screen and just show the sine wave in a locked state. Now just briefly press the OK button and you should be back in the running state with a full view of the sine wave!
So is there any instructions than what he showed that needs to be done for the device to work properly. I noticed it had a ground tab on top and when I initially turned it on the screen looked crazy with hundreds of line going up and down the screen. You seem knowledgeable so I'd love your input on what to do step by step to tuning the system once I take it out of the box. If you wouldn't mind, I'd love for you to contact me @ 786-676-1563. Maybe this weekend when I go back to my amps to tune you can help me on video if possible
I can answer any questions you have man. Make sure to check out this video first tho. I explain settings in depth: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nKQqcQ5q34I.html
At 2:10: You discuss the reason for setting head unit volume to ~75% of maximum, otherwise you "start sending a clipped signal out of your head unit". You don't clarify that "~75% of maximum" is just a rule of thumb. If you genuinely want to set gain like a pro... FIRST use the O-scope to determine the maximum volume at which the head unit clips at the high or low-level output of the head unit (most folks use low-level connection--"RCA cables"); THEN connect the signal cables to the sub amp and set amplifier gain with the volume at the head unit set to the value determined in the first step. Sooo, pretty much the same procedure you detail in this video performed twice! Excellent video, btw!
Great video, I think I’ll pick up one of these. The SMD is a nice tool and it detects distortion that isn’t necessary visible to the eye but it’s a single use tool and a scope can do hundreds of things.
@@NextLevelCarAudio hey I noticed during your video you had a 20vac scale set...are you sure it clipped and you didnt just reached the top of scale? Maybe setting the scale to next setting above 20vac will show you it wasnt actually clipping? Would appreciate a reply if you try and you do find a different result....thanks
I’ve pretty much played with every setting to toy around. With the peak of the sine wave completely off the screen and also with it at the bottom. Same result. That is the clipping point of the sine wave. Not screen cut off
I just received this oscope and tuned my amp today and it worked amazing my system sounds great!!! I just need to figure out how to use the oscope on the headunit, not sure how to do it but I’ll figure it out.
Use the Oscilloscope on the RCA outs from the head unit. Usually a good idea to test the full signal chain if you have multiple devices in the path. For example external EQ or a DSP.
He ever made it? I'm curious as well. I tried doing the same procedure with a higher sound wave but the wave on my Scope shows weird, so I'm unable to calibrate it.
I’ll make this my next video. I’ll also go over settings and contrast it to my bench top oscope. Then show how to tune a 4 channel with it. I can have it out by mid next week
@@NextLevelCarAudio yah now my gain was set properly for the voltage drop as well. Just because you get a clean signal don't mean it will play clean if your voltage ends up at 10volts clean single so my gain is a bit lower on my strapped half ohms amps.
I bought one of these o-scopes a while back to read PWM timing signals for servo drivers. I would have never thought of using it this way... Thanks. I will go ahead and tinker with it this weekend to see how close my "ear tuning" is.. Probably way off considering that I smell my Skar ZVX-15V2s getting hot every once in a while. LOL
Yes! Just connect the positive/negative leads to any set of your speaker output wires on the back of your head unit. For example your front left speaker output. Turn the volume down on the head unit. Then play a 1000hz sine wave. Then start adjusting your volume up until you see the signal start to clip. That’s it. Whatever volume that is, that is the max you should go!
Set it for how you plan on keeping it when you listen to your music. Then dial in your gain. If not you will clip once you adjust your head unit. Some people swear on setting it while“flat”. But that is not optimal. Gain is always the LAST thing you want to dial in and adjust when setting up your system
@@NextLevelCarAudio wow didn’t know this. I too have watched so many other set it at flat when dialing in voltage/ setting gain. Thank you for this info bro. Learn something new everyday from you!
Thanks! Make sure to check out this video I made as well running it up against my expensive bench top scope. Performed 100% accurate. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nKQqcQ5q34I.html
Got my o scope in from Amazon and the unit does not show running at the top like yours I used the exact same setting too.. the Interface is different from yours.
If anyone is thinking about buying this oscope, make sure you buy one with a power adapter included. Most don't come with a wall or battery apapter and are completely usless without it
Hey man, thanks for great informative video! Can i ask how would i use dd1 or oscilloscope on powered active subwoofer with build in amplifier? Do i really need to disasemble it to get to the actual amplifier? Its currently connected with line inputs but also has high level inputs for factory HU installation if it helps.
All you need to do is remove the subwoofer from the enclosure to access the speaker wires that are connected to it. Tap into the wires from there and your good to go. Same procedure as normal from there
Or volts = √watts x ohm load, with a multimeter. But always best to use an oscilloscope. Cause you can't find the clipping point of the head unit with multimeter.
You can use 50hz or 40hz, I usually set mine at 50hz. Basically you don’t want anything over 50hz to go to the subwoofer and everything under 50hz to go to the subwoofer. Hence the lower the hertz’s the more bass.
Gotta say one thing, you worth way more subscribers. You are one of the greatest in this! God bless you brother for all your information. You really helping out newbies out here that trying to become bassheads somehow lmao!
I have an Oscilloscope but I came across a guy selling a DD1 brand new in the box for $75 so I bought it for the heck of it. I for sure would have never paid $239 or whatever full price is on the thing because I don't think it's worth that much. It should be selling for $119-129. I'm sure it's costing less than $40 to build the damn thing, it's relatively simple (according to my brother who is an electrical and acoustic engineer). Prior to any of that equipment I always did it by ear, never blew any equipment but likely did leave some power on the table, which I was ok with. Still beats frying expensive audio gear. As a test I wanted to see how close I was actually getting by ear so I tested it out on a few systems, my car, gf car, brothers and cousins. I was short in every instance but not by too much, 10-15%. With enough experience, by ear is actually a doable method.
You bet. Check out this video to get more details on tuning it and comparing it to my bench top scope ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nKQqcQ5q34I.html
I just set my gains by your instructions. And I took my door panels off and checked my head unit with osiliscope. I set the head unit where I wanted it. .... thank you. My system sounds clean . I installed a mechman alternator and xs 3400 under the hood. Voltage is resting at 14.5 ... everything is good I set my amp gains at volume 29 like yours. I turned my head unit up to 35 and I didn't see any clipping but. I had it at 30 before and I didn't want to risk it. It sounds so clean and so controlled now. Clip light on bass nob barely lights up at full tilt. Just slightly. But osiliscope shows clean signal at my max 29 volume.
This is what makes an o-scope a better option, setting gains with the DD-1 PER THE INSTRUCTIONS when setting the gain for your head unit you are to set your EQ, subwoofer, etc flat. Once you have your gain set with the DD-1 and you adjust your EQ you now have clipped your signal. That is my only issue with the DD-1. I have used an o-scope for years with no issues and will continue to do so.
This is a great find, now if I can find a cheap and easy way to verify my crossover points. I suspect my dodgy pioneer DSP defaults back into full pass rather than hi pass to my mids and highs when the app crashes. For now I'm relying on the built in crossovers on the amps with vague values as a second layer protection.
You're not clipping. You've met 20v ac and the wave disappeared. I had the same scope and got rid of it after comparing it to a 400vac limit oscope. I was robbing myself of 27v or around 1000w
Another tip is to use PIEZO buzzer or an old 3”- 4” tiny speaker and add a capacitor to any one of its leads and listen for that clipped sound and just back of the gain a little bit from that point. This video was a perfect explanation of what a clipped signal looks like.
I'm getting the cheap DSO150 Oscilloscope. The real one from JYE. I think what I'm going to do is start off with 0db test tone. Find where it clips on the head unit and write that down. And then set the gain levels. What I'll do is put down a piece of tape or something on the amp next to the knob. Then use a very fine marker to mark the 0db spot. Then I'll see if I can find -2.5dB or -3dB test tones, set the head unit, and write down where it clips. Then set the amp gains and mark the spot on the amp. Then do the same thing for -5dB. That way I figure in the future if I want to adjust the amp gain level, I will have the markings of 0dB, -3dB, and -5dB so I don't have to pull the speakers and get the Oscilloscope back out.
one thing i never do is set gains with speakers unplugged.. your gonna get X volts at infinit ohms,. if you rise at all your not gonna get peak output since youl need a higher voltage at 2 ohms then 1 ohm so yeah most of what you said is true, dont use loudness or any special settings you dont need them.
Can you make a video more detailed on the OScope itself? Mine just arrived but I have no clue on how to use it, this video gave me the basics to set my gains though so thanks.
Good video really helped before I adjusted my radio I left everything flat even crossovers played 40hz 0dB radio started clipping at 28 out of 40 then I set my front and rear crossovers at 80hz -24db then played the same 40 hz test tone again and radio didn’t clip at all even at max volume
I bought the scope. Got it all ready. Finally after two days got the line to stop flying around. I decided against using this. I think the Escalade headunit is far too powerful. I had it up to like 13 out of 63 and it sounded like the speakers were about to launch into outer space. I can almost guarantee they would blow at like 25
Ok Rockford Fosgate says to check the rca’s with an oscilloscope to find your volume level. They explain that the rca’s are a low level input. Doing so I found that my max volume is 34 not 26. It was 26 using your method that you explained when you checked the radio speaker outputs from the head unit.
RCA’s don’t hardly ever send a clipped signal. You need to check it the way I explained if you are running any speakers off your head unit directly. If you are running EVERYTHING amplified and not using high level inputs then yes, you can check low level. But most people are not running 100% externally amplified.
Just saw this video two days ago and I got a new box for my subs installed a few days ago, been trying to tune my amp and been going crazy. I ordered this when I watched the video and it just got here today! Going to go set my gain correctly for the first time probably lol.
@@NextLevelCarAudio so I did this today, got it set perfectly. But I actually have a stock head unit and I'm using a pretty cheap loc. It can be adjusted though also, do I need to do the same thing to my loc first then my amp? Because it doesn't seem like I'm getting the power I should be with the rest of my system.
With an inline loc it’s a little more tricky. You want to match the preamp voltage coming out of the head unit with the gain seeing on the loc first, that way you have the proper input sensitivity coming into your amp. then adjust the gain on your amp.
@@NextLevelCarAudio okay thank you! I actually ordered an Audiocontrol LC2I pro and it'll be here tomorrow. I'm hoping that'll make it a bit easier and give me a better sound (which I'm sure it will compared to my current $10-20 loc) will that be the same way to set up for my amp gains or no?
My god thank you so much i was trying to find out how to set my gain etc. correctly, my multimeter was kinda helpfull but with this thing you can literaly see the distortion! Love from germany !
Your welcome! Check out my newer video where I compare it to my bench oscope! Performs flawless! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nKQqcQ5q34I.html
After using it for a few months and guess I'll have to go back to my DD one cuz for whatever reason this cheap oscilloscope can't pick up 1 kilohertz it works if you're playing 40 Hertz but nothing else
@@NextLevelCarAudio do you think you can make a video using a 1K tone maybe the setup is different every single video I've seen of this particular oscilloscope only sets the bass amps they never set the mids and highs
Dude this was amazing.. I just bought one for 88 dollars and it's hard to work with because is way to slow, it shows the wave but too slow, I'm getting this one and returning the other one.. awesome video thanks
Bro, I saw one in amazon cheaper the same features, same screen etc etc.. BUT different brand do you think It would do the same as you bought? Thanks 😊
I'm curious how a low feed signal shows on this. Looking at troubleshooting the system. Took a dyno'd review showing the amp I purchased to be true rated, but may be more to look at. Different things is the subs are from my sub compact into my truck. I hope I may get a baseline of data and grow from there.
Thanks for the comment! There are many reasons why people say to do things different ways. The reason why I like getting everything dialed in before you set your gain is that you are tuning your amp in a state of how you are actually going to be listening to it. I always have been taught the very last thing you should touch on your amp is the gain. Then call it a day
I hope SMD doesn't send a hit man your way for this awesome fkn video 📹 Brotha I am going to buy the oscilloscope much better than other device's. Thanks for another kick ass video on car audio. You explain things in a way that people can understand 👍
Bam!! Good video! For all who come across this video you should subscribe to this guys channel if you like car audio!! Not trying to put words in this guys mouth but from what I have found, most car audio guys will tell you to set everything on your source unit and amp to flat before dialing in your gain to the proper setting....which in some cases like mine, left my set up missing some sound I wanted (like mid bass that my door speakers produce.)Not realizing that its perfectly fine to adjust your bass on your source unit to draw out the mid bass from your door speakers (especially when running the door speakers from your head unit and not an amp.)JUST MAKING SURE TO DO IT BEFORE YOU SET YOUR GAIN ON YOUR AMP AND LEAVE IT ALONE WHEN SET!! This guy knows his stuff and listening to him brought out what my set up could do and everything rocks with no problems!! No hot amps, no fried voice coils,no ungodly distortion...clean,crisp,loud and deep!!!
Hello mate I got mine today could I kindly get a reply so basically I know how to do the subwoofer set up but I’m little stuck on the all door speakers nothing runs from head unit front rear speaker wires on head unit all my doors runs off amps only so how would I check and set them up is this the correct way unplug the phono leads turn gain down turn head unit to where it max out before clipping the a just amps that do door speakers ??? I’ve subscribed and love the channel mate I’d appreciate your reply The only other thing I’m stuck on is how do I set head unit to max if I have no speakers to speaker out puts on rear of unit
Excellent find!!!! Got mine ordered and arriving on Wednesday. A few questions, for my head-unit, I am using 3 sets of RCA outputs for Subs (Kicker hideaway), front and rear 4 channel Kenwood. I am trying to find the max volume setting of my Pioneer AVH-220EX before it clips. Would I connect the O-scope to RCA (I would use a RCA and strip one end to connect negative and positive) output since that is what powers everything or high-level outputs from the deck? Next, would I use a 40 Hz test to find max for sub output and then 1k Hz for my front and rear and use the lowest volume like front and rear hit max 40 volume without clipping but the sub clips at 38, use 38 as my max? Thank you for your time!!! *edited from reading all comments
You check your decks clipping point not from low level but from high level. So tap in to any one of the speaker wire outputs coming off the back of the head unit and run 1k hz tone. (40hz sub stage and 1k for mids and highs). Levels should always be set from to back to keep continuity. So check clipping point of head unit and note the volume level. That is your max volume before clip. Then dial in your front stage, then rear fill if running amplified rear stage, then tie in your subwoofer to complete your sound stage. Doing all of this with your volume at its max point before clip.
Hell yes. I like your channel. Very helpful informational vids. Love the communication and follow ups too. Very cool! Need more of you on RU-vid. Subscribed!
i plugged it all up and plugged it into my amp and played a 40hz test tone and i was tuning my gain and i turned my gain all the way up and it didn’t even clip but then i figured i would try it with music before i plugged my subs back up and when i was watching the wave with music it was clipping really bad so i just set it with the music
Thanks for the feedback! Check out my other video where I go into depth of how to dial it in and how it compares with an expensive bench top scope. Pretty impressive! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nKQqcQ5q34I.html
