Actual output voltage? 4v?

Posted by: newguy1

Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 09:11

The specifications list 4v as the car outputs.I attemptedto verify this by measuring a 1kz test tone at 0db wav file.The measurement i got was less than 2 volts.Eq flat, balance ctr.How is the output measured/determined?I'd like to set my amp gains to the correct voltage other than just by ear. Thanks
Posted by: F0X

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 09:31

What did you use to measure the voltage? I believe 4V is peak, so a with a sine wave input, the average voltage would be considerably lower.
Posted by: newguy1

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 09:35

I used an AC voltage meter which i believe is what the output form is.I have used this method with my pioneer cd player with decent results.
Posted by: F0X

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 09:57

Hmm. Unfortunately I dont know enough about car audio and the way things are labelled. A 1 kHz sine wave most definitely is AC, but I am not sure how it is interpreted in audio terminology. I am sure someone here knows much more than I.
Posted by: mlord

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 10:24

0dB is not full-volume on the Empeg. Full volume is +??dB, which may require a configuration setting to make it available.

Cheers
Posted by: newguy1

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 10:41

The 0db i was referring to was for the level of the sine wave.When i measured the output, the volume indicator on the Empeg read +10db Overdrive which appears to be the max but the measurement from the AC meter didnt quite make it to 2 volts(compared to the 4v spec)Im not trying to cause any waves here just want to set the amp with appropiate input
Posted by: thinfourth2

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 13:20

OKay i think that 4v means peak to peak but AC voltage is measured as average also dependant on your meter 1khz may confuse it if it was designed for mains at 60Hz but Hugo has said before on home to measure the output and i don't think a meter works.
Posted by: snowwhite

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 13:27

Volt meters normally show an RMS level which would be about 3/4 of the peak value. As someone else pointed out a 1Khz tone is also very high (frequency) for a standard multimeter, a scope would be a better test.

PS, why do you care as long as it sounds loud enough?
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Actual output voltage? 4v? - 09/06/2002 21:37

Actually most cheaper multimeters do not measure true RMS. If they do it's a big deal and there will be something like "True RMS" written on it somewhere.

And if it does read the true RMS and the signal is a pure sine wave then the peak value is 1.414 times the RMS value.