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    1. · Registered
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      Ok it’s making more sense to me now. I didn’t understand people saying use 2 channel on a 4 channel amp. My car is a 2016 Chevy Cruze limited with the stock radio and no navigation or any extra stuff so I'm hoping there isn't any eq stuff happening. The forum I came from was for cruze owners and more specifically gen 1 cruzes where the interior design is similar and it was recommended to tap the front door speakers. I'm assuming I'll get a full range from there. I couldn't find any information online about the signals being sent to which location. Everyone just told me to I'd have to test the locations myself but I don't have the tools to do so atm. I did purchase the minidc and the moderator who put out the recommendation for the tweeters and woofers also had tune files available for the various pairs he chose. So I downloaded the files for my tweeter/woofer setup and loaded it onto the dsp using the advanced 2 way plugin. I’m not that advanced yet to know how to go about self tuning and I also didn't purchase a mic to do so but the moderator said his tune file would get you pretty close in the ball park. Maybe just physically measure your distance from how you sit in your seat to the drivers and adjust from there in the application.
      Oh interesting, so someone already did the tuning with these drivers and amp for your car (hopefully the same amp as you will need the same output level he used). You just have to install them in the same location. It also assumes your head position woulds be in the same location. After you get things installed you can start playing with the tune a bit mics are 50-100 $ and the software is free, just requires a windows laptop.

      With regards to TA, you might have to set that a bit differently if the location of the subwoofer is different than his. Because the subwoofer is the furthest away from you, the delay for the subwoofer is Zero. Which for you is important since the DSP is only 4 channels for the front stage. Next you delay the drivers that are closer to your head with respect to the subwoofer.

      Here is an easier calculator for you to use.

      I’ve purchased all the gear already so I’m hoping I can get everything working and sounding how I’d like. I actually made a diagram of how I was planning on wiring my stuff but after reading this I’ll have to change some things. Another concern of mine was how do I go about powering everything? Where should I get power from? Can I tap my loc, dsp, and other amp off of my main wire that lands in my sub Amps battery terminal or do I need to install a distribution block and send 1 lead to my sub amp and the other to my loc,dsp, 4ch amp? Also should I add inline fuses for my loc and my minidc? Same with the ground should I individually ground every component or can I tie them together at the amp or get another distribution block. The remote wire is a question as well. There are multiple components with remote in and out now. Before I just ran an add a circuit from my fuse box back to my sub amp. Now I've got multiple things that need remote signal. Can I run every remote in from my amps remote in? Or should I run the remote wire to my LOC remote in and then run the remote out from the loc to my two amps, and the minidc? I’ll post my diagram I made when I get off work. I’ll also add more info on my tweeters and woofers that were recommended.
      You need to make sure the power wire you ran for the subwoofer has enough capacity for the addition amp. I would recommend a fused distribution block. Even this cheap one works well enough.

      This is a combo power and ground block.

      For the smaller loads like the miniDC, LOC, etc use the in line fuse (5amp or whatever) on top of where ever you install in the distribution block if it doesn't include a fuse with the correct current. For example, say your miniDC has a 5 amp fuse and you run some 12 gauge or 14 gauge wire. The smallest fuse size is 30 amps (from the distro block above) so to properly protect the wire from shorts you need an inline fuse of the appropriate size.

      Another option would be to use a distroblock like this for the smaller devices. This option works pretty well since your 4 channel amp has current rating of 15 amps and the LOC and miniDC/DSP is probably around 5 amps. The subwoofer power could just pass through the terminal.

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      I think this option 2 is technically the correct way to do it but you could probably get away with option one without burning anything down.
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      Ok for the remote wire I would take your switched power from the vehicle and run that directly to the miniDC. If the LOC is "on the way" to where ever the miniDC is installed than its Ok to wire it inline with that first. However, you will want every amplifier wired off the miniDC remote out because it has a delay on/off. If the you have some amps turning on and off at different times you can sometimes get a thump. It also makes things easier to wire when you simply daisy chain from miniDC remote out to the Sub Amp and the to 4 ch amp.

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    1. · Registered
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      Discussion Starter · #1 ·
      Hi all I just did an overhaul on my audio in a 2016 chevy cruze limited and that install is complete but now the techy stuff needs tinkering with.

      I'm gonna try to list everything in this system so that there is no confusion and hopefully I can narrow down my issues.
      Main Concerns
      1. My tweeters overpower my mids and blast my ears before I can get close to my distortion number(32) on my factory headunit. Hit about number 20 and it's about the loudest I can comfortably listen but the mids are no where near how good they can get.
      2. My door chimes/turn signals are now annoyingly loud and i'm not sure if there's equipment I need to install or how to bypass this.
      3. I have a whining noise now that I would like to address.

      I'll start by detailing the install. I disconnected my rear door speakers and am only running 2 front door woofers and 2 tweeters. They are each ran to their own channel on a compact 4 channel amp. I have an lc2i running from my factory radio and that feeds from the main output to a minidsp which then leads to the 4 channel amp that powers my front stage and then the bass output runs to a mono channel amp that powers a single 10" subwoofer. I have 4 gauge wiring that runs to a fuse block and it's grounded to the chassis of the vehicle and everything runs off of the block.

      Equipment:

      2016 Chevy Cruze Limited

      Front stage setup
      Door Speakers: Silver Flute W17RC38-04 ohm 6-1/2" Wool Cone
      Pillar Tweeters: Vifa BC25SC06-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter
      LOC: Amazon.com: AudioControl LC2i 2 Channel Line Out Converter with AccuBASS and Subwoofer Control : Everything Else
      DSP: miniDSP 2x4
      DSP Isolator: miniDC Isolator
      4CH amp: Amazon.com: Alpine KTP-445U Universal Power Pack Amplifier : Electronics
      Fuseblock: Amazon.com: WUPP 12 Volt Fuse Block, Waterproof Boat Fuse Panel with LED Warning Indicator Damp-Proof Cover - 6 Circuits with Negative Bus Fuse Box for Car Marine RV Truck DC 12-24V, Fuses Included : Automotive

      Bass:
      Subwoofer: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P1S4102/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-P1S4-10.html
      Mono Amp: https://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fos...ds=rockford+fosgate+amp&qid=1632792888&sr=8-7


      I tried to include everything but I'm sure I've missed something. I'll add some more install notes now.
      Each door was treated with deadener and I installed custom mdf speaker ring adapters with speaker foam tape as well as silicone baffles
      to help seal the door speaker to the panel and direct the rear waves into an eggcrate foam pad. This whole setup was recommended on another
      forum regarding chevy cruze audio installs. This person posted their setup piece by piece and had at least 20 other cruze owners using the components
      and having solid results with them. They also posted the "tuning files" that matched the speakers I'm using and the same car interior which should get me
      in the ballpark of a nice sounding system. Everything was great until I started setting the gains and here's why.

      I started by setting my gains on the mids in my car. I had already come to the conclusion that my headunit sends out an undistorted signal at the number 32 so that's where I'll have my volume at. I unplugged all of the other speakers and ran a -3 db 1,000hz test tone. I heard volt matching is what you want to do to get your peak performance from your equipment and be sure you're getting the most powerful clean signal from your head unit to your amps. So my 4ch amp states it accepts 0.2V-4V and so on my LC2i I turned my main output up until it was hitting close to 4V. From there I started turning my gains up on my mids until I heard distortion. Then I played some music just to check and listen for distortion and wow my door speakers were sounding amazing! I was so happy with how powerful they hit and how much rumble I was getting from my doors. It really brought the sound to life. After that I plugged my tweeters in to match them and immediately boom! They were so powerfully loud I couldn't even break number 20 on my radio without my ears screaming. So at this point Idk what to do. I start fresh and cut the Volts in half from the LC2i. Now I'm sending 2Volts to my amp and this makes me have to turn the gain up much higher on my mids channel now and it doesn't sound nearly as nice. Even at this 2 Volst setting my tweeters are still overbearingly loud with 0 gain on their channel.

      I wanna mention that in between the LC2i and the 4ch amp there is a miniDSP which is supposed to set my crossover points and set latency on each individual driver so that I have a more clean sound stage. Other than loading in this persons file that had "hours" of tuning and plugging it into my system I've done zero tweaking with how this person has the crossovers set. I'm curious if I bought a rta mic and tried to tweak the system and possibly roll the high frequencies down if it would solve the insane shrill noise they seem to have on my ears when trying to enjoy a nice booming sound.

      But that then leads me to my next issue. If I do Volt match again and bring the Volts back to 4 where the mids sounded amazing previously then I will have a lot more noise in my system. There is a whining noise that increases as I rev the engine. On top of that a higher output from my LC2i means that my door chimes and turn signals will be even more insanely loud then they already are at 2volts. I've got a solid ground but I haven't done the big 3 upgrade which some sources claim may solve the whining issue. I'm tempted to take my vehicle to an audio shop and see if they could possibly tweak everything right but for whatever reason I have more faith in myself to learn it and adjust it properly then to trust the shops around here to touch my stuff lol.

      Anyways I think I've covered the majority of my install and issues that need resolved so I hope someone could possibly shed some light on what could be my issue. I didn't mention any bass related stuff bc it's perfect and has no issues. I volt matched to 4 on that as well and set my gains with my oscilloscope and it packs way more power then i'll ever need so I mostly keep the bass knob turned to the lowest setting for regular listening.

      Thanks in advance everyone!
       
    1. · Registered
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      71 Posts
      Discussion Starter · #3 ·
      Is the ground for all components also running off a distro?
      I used a Fuse block to run every component through in my install.
      Here: Amazon.com: WUPP 12 Volt Fuse Block, Waterproof Boat Fuse Panel with LED Warning Indicator Damp-Proof Cover - 6 Circuits with Negative Bus Fuse Box for Car Marine RV Truck DC 12-24V, Fuses Included : Automotive

      I ran 4 gauge power from battery to it and then ran 4 gauge ground straight to the chassis of the vehicle. Every component runs through this block. I even ran the ground from the factory radio back to it as well. I have my LC2i in the trunk with 3ft RCAs that go straight from the LC2i to the dsp/amps. I kept the RCAs separate from everything and made them as short as I could. I tapped the speaker wire from behind the radio and ran it down the passenger side of the car away from my power wire on the driver side. I don't know if the high level speaker wire can pick up interference or not but I kept it separate anyways.
       
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