[evodz]

Before you guys start reading here is my current setup which I posted last week:
2011 E90 335i base system
Rainbow 210.25 4" front speakers + 20mm tweeters
SWS-8X earthquake subs
JL Audio XD700/5 amp
JL Cleansweep




So I finally got to install my sound upgrade on my base sound system. I opted to have the shop near my work place install it since I can just walk to work as the car is being worked on and they are 4 stars on yelp with 30+ reviews. The installation of parts was good; wires kept neat, no drilling, etc.

However my problem I think lies in the settings since it looks like the shop isn't very knowledgeable on this subject. When I first listen to the system, it sounded pretty good, however when I turn the music off, there was a horrible hissing that even with the Cleansweep turned all the way down, I can still hear it. The shop wasn't too sure what the cause is at first but found out it was the input sensitive on the amp for channel 1&2 was too high(only way to get rid of the hissing is with Input Sensitivity at the lowest setting), that was already a concern for me since they did not immediate know that. They also weren't very knowledgeable with calibrating the Cleansweep, they were following the manual and said "Oh, you learn something new everyday!" They also told me they did everything by ear so I'm pretty sure they didn't use that device to indicate a flatten signal.


So this is the problem right now, the system sounds OK for the most part (after a few adjustments I personally made with my limited knowledge and got somewhat of an improvement), but I think it can sound BETTER with the proper settings. Right now a few songs I have listened to has a static/clip/pop sound on certain beats (eg. the drum in the intro of MJ- Smooth Criminal). Also, the gong is really loud even when the music isn’t. The gong also has static to it when it plays.

So this is what I'm currently at right now:
I pulled the rear channels off the Cleansweep since they obviously do not calibrate.
Picture of my current AMP settings:


Here is the link to the AMP product page:
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_amps.php?amp_id=596

Cleansweep volume knob at 55%(around 65% is where the hissing starts)


If anyone can shed some light on where the amp settings should be at, that would be AWESOME. I hope it doesn't have to come down to opening my door panel to get to the crossovers(however, I am more than willing to do that if that’s what it takes)


Thanks guys!!

[Johnny D]

Couple of questions I need you to answer to better understand and maybe help you.

1)what speakers are hooked up to ch 1 and 2?
2)what speakers are hooked up to ch 3 and 4?


When you say you hear hissing with the music off, does that mean the entire system off or just no music playing? You could have a bad ground or bad set of RCA wires causing noise even though your may not be giving the amp any signal.

As for setting gains I always do the math and use a multi meter or hand held o-scope. Ill get into this after you answer my first questions.

[evodz]

jntar,


Thanks for the reply.

To answer your questions, I got the front speakers hooked up to channel 1 and 2 and the rear speakers hooked up to channel 1 and 3.


About the hissing...
When I initially got the car back, the hissing was still present with the system off(using the Cleansweep volume control and pushing in on it), but as soon as I turn the Input Sensitivity all the way down on channel 1 and 2 on the amp, the hissing is gone until I raise the Cleansweep volume past the 65% mark(I believe it is normal to hiss when the Cleansweep is too loud)



Also the gong issue has been resolved. In case anyone else has a similar problem, try to calibrate the Cleansweep with the Cleansweep volume all the way down and the Head Unit volume fairly loud. Before, I just calibrated the Cleansweep with the H/U all the way down so I think the Cleansweep thinks my speakers do not get that loud which resulted in the loud gong even with music playing low.

[ctuna]

Did they use a harness of any kind? Or did they splice wires or cut wires?
Where are the amp and cleansweep mounted?
Why aren't they fixing this?

[Johnny D]

Even with the cleansweep off, if the amp is still getting power you can still have noise come through the speakers. This is generally caused by either a ground wire not fully having bare metal contact, or from RCA wires grounding sleeve not working correctly.

I would check each of the ground wires in the system to make sure it has good contact with bare, unpainted metal. Then if that isnt the issue, sounds like you may need to ground the outside sleeve of your RCA wires.

[emoon3]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Did they use a harness of any kind? Or did they splice wires or cut wires?
Where are the amp and cleansweep mounted?
Why aren't they fixing this?

I was thinking the same thing.

You shouldn't have to come home and try to fix what the shop has done. They should fix it.

[evodz]

I am not sure if they used a harness of some sort, I will call them, they did mention that everything is reversible.


As for the shop fixing it, I will definetly have the shop fix it once I get more information because I am trying to determine if its the actual wiring or settings on the amp/Cleansweep(trying to avoid that bogus explanation!), because at this moment, when I fixed that loud gong issue, everything appears to be working fine, no hissing unless I adjust the input sensitivty on channel 1 and 2 or have the Cleansweep too loud.


So I would just need to confirm my settings are at an optimal level. I would much rather tune my amp and other components myself since I do not trust the shop's methods ever since they told me they tuned it by "ear" lol

[ctuna]

I never done a tune but from what I read all you need is a voltmeter and some sample frequencys on a disk to do a basic tune. There are also some PC programs but I think you have to have a good Microphone.

There should be setup procedures in both the manuals and on the JL Site.

How does that setup sound by the way

[evodz]

I been reading up on some multimeters, I'll try it next week and let you guys know.


The system sounds great! Highly recommend if anyone wants to upgrade the base system but do not want to spend the big bucks!