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Setting up an amplifier:
It is not good to have your amplifiers at full gain. If they are not powerful enough for the job then they will be working very hard, and it’s likely they will be blowing a lot of fuses. Eventually these will break.
To start off, you want to get al of the speakers at a level where they cannot distort or be damaged.
If you have speakers that are not amplified, but attached to the head unit then start here:

  1. Turn off all amplifiers and subs
  2. Increase the volume until the speakers begin to distort, and then turn it down by a few notches, so that the sound is clear again.
  3. Make sure that your sub/speaker outputs are turned on from the radio, and then gradually turn up the gain on your sub amplifier. You can either keep going until it distorts, and then reduce it again, or if it is quite powerful, keep going until it’s as loud as you want it. Its best if you turn it up to match the speakers.
  4. If your speakers are amplified start here, otherwise carry on.
  5. Repeat step 3, but with your amplified speakers, if you don’t have them skip to the next step.
  6. Turn it down to mid volume. Now its time to set it up for quality of sound. You can adjust the frequency response to filter out bass/high frequencies. If for example you have mid range speakers, turning the frequency to the max will sound a lot better, but will distort easily. The idea of having a sub is that it is used for the bass, and the load is taken off the speakers to make the mid range noises. For the sub you want the frequency to be less than 120 Hz. (Ideally you would have it where it sounds perfect for you, as you’re the person listening to it!)

Now turn it up to a volume that you would use, and then you can mess around with the bass boost and other setting that you have in your head unit. There is no set way of making it sound good, as every car is different to the next. Make sure that when it is at a volume you regularly use there are no red lights flashing on your amplifiers, and no fuses blowing. If there are, its time to turn it down, or buy something bigger, the choice is yours!