I need some help trouble shooting some noise. First, the install: I have focal es 165 kx2 mids and tweets up front, focal es165kx2 mids in rear as rear fill, 2 JL 13tw5 subs under the back seat, Helix dsp.3, Navtv zen avbgm for oem integration, JL HD600.4 powering front and rear mids, JL HD750.1 for the subs, and JL XD 200.2 for the tweets.
I originally had a RF dsr-1 as my dsp and the system worked pretty well but one of the channels started to shut off randomly so I figured I would take the next step down the rabbit hole and got a Helix DSP.3.
After installing the the helix the truck developed a very noticeable noise floor that I can still hear even if I have the the sensitivity of the Helix almost turned all the way down. There is also an alternator whine that I can't figure out. I've tried the factory amp ground, I've tried grounding the helix with the amps and all of the various switches on the Helix to no avail. I can get it to go mostly away if I turn the sensitivity of the Helix all the way down and the amp gains down significantly but then I can't get the volume to a decent level. Here is a YouTube video of the noise. Around the 18 second mark you can hear when I mute the channels on the Helix and it gets quiet. You can also hear the the alternator whine when I give it a little gas.
Sometimes the noise floor randomly gets more quiet and I am not sure why. I can't hear anything in the car turning on or off.
Some problems: the nav tv zen zvb gm seems to have been rushed to market. The optical out worked at first but they have had some problems and have now disabled it with firmware updates so I can't go that route. When I ran the navtv to the dsr 1 I didn't have these troubles but I am so invested in this now I don't want to go back.
The Navtv signal doesn't clip at max volume using an o scope (around 4 volts out). The helix clipping detector doesn't alert with the sensitivity turned all of the way up nor does it clip at full volume with an o scope. When I set the amps at a level slightly below clipping the noise floor and alternator whine are very noticeable but the systems ROCKS.
The amps are grounded on the back wall to the seat mounts. I would normally try a different ground for the amps but since I didn't have the problem before the helix I don't think that is the problem.
One last thought, I don't know if it is the difference in quality between the HD amps and the XD amps but the whine and most of the noise seem to come from the tweeter amp (XD). Only reason I went with the XD is because I didn't need to run that much power to the tweets. I will say the every channel on the HD amps except for the front right is without noise (and that noise is almost silent). I haven't even bothered trying to RTA before I get this noise issue fixed but I am really getting tired of driving around without a back seat (going on 3m months when you count install time). Let me know your comments and suggestions, THANKS!
I originally had a RF dsr-1 as my dsp and the system worked pretty well but one of the channels started to shut off randomly so I figured I would take the next step down the rabbit hole and got a Helix DSP.3.
After installing the the helix the truck developed a very noticeable noise floor that I can still hear even if I have the the sensitivity of the Helix almost turned all the way down. There is also an alternator whine that I can't figure out. I've tried the factory amp ground, I've tried grounding the helix with the amps and all of the various switches on the Helix to no avail. I can get it to go mostly away if I turn the sensitivity of the Helix all the way down and the amp gains down significantly but then I can't get the volume to a decent level. Here is a YouTube video of the noise. Around the 18 second mark you can hear when I mute the channels on the Helix and it gets quiet. You can also hear the the alternator whine when I give it a little gas.
Sometimes the noise floor randomly gets more quiet and I am not sure why. I can't hear anything in the car turning on or off.
Some problems: the nav tv zen zvb gm seems to have been rushed to market. The optical out worked at first but they have had some problems and have now disabled it with firmware updates so I can't go that route. When I ran the navtv to the dsr 1 I didn't have these troubles but I am so invested in this now I don't want to go back.
The Navtv signal doesn't clip at max volume using an o scope (around 4 volts out). The helix clipping detector doesn't alert with the sensitivity turned all of the way up nor does it clip at full volume with an o scope. When I set the amps at a level slightly below clipping the noise floor and alternator whine are very noticeable but the systems ROCKS.
The amps are grounded on the back wall to the seat mounts. I would normally try a different ground for the amps but since I didn't have the problem before the helix I don't think that is the problem.
One last thought, I don't know if it is the difference in quality between the HD amps and the XD amps but the whine and most of the noise seem to come from the tweeter amp (XD). Only reason I went with the XD is because I didn't need to run that much power to the tweets. I will say the every channel on the HD amps except for the front right is without noise (and that noise is almost silent). I haven't even bothered trying to RTA before I get this noise issue fixed but I am really getting tired of driving around without a back seat (going on 3m months when you count install time). Let me know your comments and suggestions, THANKS!
