illadelph

Thanks I appreciate it..

illadelph

Day 2 and 90% done. All pannels back on and wiring done. Just wiring up the amp and BLD and I'll be seeing how these focal sound in the TL!

I'll post up some pictures when I get home as well of the eye candy.

illadelph

Everything done and in... couple questions

1. Have a slight hiss with volume all the way down.

2. Im running at highpass on the amp, is that what most (jda) run in your same type set-up.

3. I have all the gains turned down and the amp still seems to be overpowering.



Overall it does sound 1000x better but still have a few issues

illadelph

illadelph

Anyone that can help i'd appreciate it. I pretty much ran a set-up that eggy, trunk monkey, jda, all said would push the focals well. Well not it seems that the T-400-2 (which i was told to get for "headroom") is powering my components to the max with all gains down.

illadelph

Ground on the T-400 looks secure and tight...

geekybiker

If the amp is too loud, I'd check the BLD. That thing can put out some serious voltage. Like speaker level voltage.

illadelph

What exactly should I look for? Would both of these problems be connected in some way?

geekybiker

Make sure the output is set to unbalanced, the input to balanced, and try lowering the gain on it.

illadelph

Re-grounded the amp, hardwired rca's to the pre-amp and still having hiss issue. Has anyone had problems with the RF t-400-2 causing noise even with a RF-BLD? Im at a loss for words, me and my installer have put over 10 hours into this thing with no luck of getting it perfect. He believes its the amp?

geekybiker

Just hiss though? No ticking? No whine that changes in pitch with engine speed?

illadelph

Its funny you say that, after he hardwired the RCA's i've noticed a tiny bit of engine whine through the speakers. I'd also compare the sound to "static" like on old tv's.

New ground picture below, would changing ground location help? My installer put dif. volt meters and still couldn't come up with a reason why im getting the static sound.

I hate cars

Have you turned the line driver all the way down? Are you sure the signal is taken pre-amp?

illadelph

Ya i've messed around with the settings multiple times. Do you have a wiring diagram? Im 90% sure he tapped into the pre-amp today when he hardwired the RCA's.

I hate cars

There's a black and a grey connector at the stock amp. One goes to the speakers (post amp) and one goes from the HU to the amp. I can't remember which one is which but I just saw it in one of the active threads in here.

It really sounds like high level inputs going into the line driver. You would have way too much volume even with the gains turned down and noise would be horrific.

FWIW, I always had some level of hiss after the stock amp but ignition noise was low to non existent. It sounds a lot like yours. It also looks like you have your power wire close to the RCAs. Probably not your issue especially with it after the line driver but just temporarily moving it wouldn't hurt.

illadelph

So the grey wire is the one to use. . . Thats what my installer used...

Volume at like 18 is LOUD and I can tell im not getting the sound i should, after like 27-29 certain songs start to distort and clip.

I hate cars

Where do you currently have the gains set on both the line driver and amp? It's not completely abnormal for it to distort around 30. I usually set my gains so that I can play up to at least 35 with no distortion.

If you turn the gains all the way down, what happens? Does the amp have a hi/low switch?

illadelph

With all gains down i still have a static the minute i start the car. It seems to be there during all songs. It does get quiter though while scanning through different tracks on a cd. Its a pretty shitty feeling knowing i had 1k into this and have a sub-par sound coming out. I'm not the pickiest person in the world but when buying the best RF amp they make and a BLD to insure quality sound, and than i get the static, well im sure it would both 80% of the people on this board.

I've messed with the setting on the amp. If i turn ANY of the gains anything past zero they static just increases.

geekybiker

Is the static mostly through the tweeters? Sounds suspiciously like the ground loop issue I can before my 3sixty.2. The BLD needs to be set balanced in, and unbalanced out for sure.

geekybiker

Oh, and your inputs on the BLD are wired to the high level ins. Either your installer didnt grab the preamp signal, or its wired incorrectly. I bet he thought the BLD was a LOC, not a line driver. Its much more common arrangement.

illadelph

Yes static is only really through the new focal tweets.

How should I explain to him to re-wire the bld? or is it something i can do myself? Im a noob when it comes to wiring diagrams and things like that, but very anxious to get this sounding right.

illadelph

Seems like the majority of the static is coming from the driver side tweet.

geekybiker

In this pic, the BLD appears to be wired correctly. The RCA's in are wired to a blk/gray pair and a green/blue pair. Black and green are the positive wires and should be the center pin on the rca. The gain should be set with a test CD so that the 2.5v light is lit, not the 5v light. (1khz 0db tone) Remote switch set to in. Other side of the unit, set the output to unbalanced. (It looks like this may be set wrong, but its hard to tell from the angle)

Oddly enough this unit and the manual are different than the reference pic on the product page I was looking at before.

geekybiker

That sounds exactly like what me and trunk monkey were dealing with. I bet once you get the switches set right, it'll go away.

illadelph

I've changed all the settings multiple times and it's still.static. does the wiring in the recent pictures. Look correct? When I get home ill mess with the settings again but.I feel as thou it's either wiring or some sort of ground loop somewhere ... It's driving me nuts.

geekybiker

Other than the balanced out switch, yes. Like I said, I had the exact issue with the static on the tweeters that starts as soon as you start the engine. I moved grounds around, I poked and prodded, and the thing that eventually solved it was the 3sixty.2 that could convert balanced signal to unbalanced for my amp. You have the BLD which should do the same thing. If all else fails, a ground loop isolator will tame the problem, but you should have everything you need right now.

illadelph

Well I may have came up with new developments that i'm sure will narrow down the issue. I was sitting in my car today with the volume all the way down, i turned my headlights on and i heard another weird noise come thru the tweets.....hmmmm... So i run to the store and back home and I turn my car off but to the point where my aux, radio etc is still on. 90% of the static was gone while my engine was off BUT radio was still on. So with half a key turned the static is mostly gone but once the car starts the static is all there.

I hate cars

The headlight ballasts can be heard through the audio system when you're having these types of problem. It's a very high pitched sound.

It's still a line level issue. For whatever reason, there's waaaay too much gain. Does your amp have a hi/low setting?

illadelph

Yeah it has low pass, high pass, and AP.

geekybiker

Yup, classic ground loop and exactly what me and trunk monkey had.

illadelph

I NEED IT GONE!!!! What worked for you guys?

I hate cars

Here's the way I look at it. If you only had a noise issue I would say possible ground loop issue. However, it's way too loud with the gains all the way down AND you have noise issues. It's not a ground loop issue, it's a level issue. Find out why you're getting too much voltage. Measure voltage going into the amp and work your way back. You'll find the problem.

I hate cars

Not the crossovers, the inputs. Does it have a selector for high level inputs and low level inputs? If it does and you have it set for low and you have a line driver in the circuit, there's your problem.

illadelph

I'll have to go out and look. . . If i post more pictures at least of where he tapped in and settings would that help narrow down the problem? When i seen my installer Monday i'd like to have it narrowed down as possible.

geekybiker

The 3sixty.2 However the BLD should accomplish the same thing. I just think you have something set wrong.

illadelph

Honestly since he hardwired rca's im not sure if the gains at zero are as loud as they were. For instance, listening to XM i can have the volume at 40 and its about as loud as the stock speakers and amp set-up are. With a cd they are higher though.

Wouldn't it be narrowed to a ground due to when the motor starts I hear every noise in the car through the tweets lol. Or could that be a line level issue as well?

geekybiker

Until you get it figured out- One of these will tame the noise issue.
http://www.amazon.com/Raptor-GL15-Gr.../dp/B0009O19LQ

I wouldn't leave it in on a permanent basis, but at least you won't go mad while figuring it out.

illadelph

Will that de-grade sound? It's sad i have a $1000 front component set up and im looking and buying ground loop insolators

geekybiker

Its inevitable that it'll have some effect. Its not a long term solution, but it'll make the wait until you get it fixed bearable. When I had my ground loop, it drove me nuts that I couldn't even just turn the radio off to get rid of the noise.

I still think the crux of the issue is getting the BLD setup right.

illadelph

Have any of you grounded the actual Headunit? Wondering if that could be the problem.