Phoenix Gold Phorum

Another one of my quick questions... I'm probably getting really annoying with these but asking these kinds of questions is how I learn. Tom has answered about a billion of these little questions of mine already

I just recently did a temp install of my TBAt so that I can RTA my system at the right gain levels and everything with Tom before he leaves for Europe and I move away to Vancouver. I don't think I'll have time to install it under the dash before I he goes to Europe so just rigged it up in the back. I know it somewhat defeats the point of it all by running RCAs to the back and then the TBAt but like I said temporary...

Anyways, after installing the TBAt I took a drive around to listen and get a feel for it. Wow. Is it normal/expected/designed for a line driver (balanced or not) to add sharpness (good sharpness!) and increase definition and clarity? After installing the TBAt, I've noticed much more definition in everything, including bass. I like.

Now, if I understand what line driver does, it increases the voltage of the input signal to the amps (and in my case the EQ and Xover as well). I figured this would simply translate to louder volumes at the same amp gain settings and nothing more. Well, it does that but like I said above it also seems to raise the clarity, sharpness and definition of music, even at lower volumes. This is a big plus for me because I ever since I had the Xmax 10" sub in the back I've craved punchy response and clear definition.

So, my question is why does line driving my amps make it not only louder at the same settings but also increase the SQ of my system? I suppose it has something to do with how the amps actually work and the fact that they are now receiving a better, higher quality signal to amplify and thus translating to higher quality output at the speakers... Is that correct or even close? Can someone shed just a little bit of insight into this?

The increased SQ might also just be subjective or a figment of my imagination... knowing me, it probably is.

Like usually with my silly questions and rants, feel free to ignore

ever heard the term "psychoaccoustics" ?

I hadn't heard of that term before but I was aware of some of the concept before looking it up...

Thanks a lot! Now I'm questioning everything regarding my setup and how it sounds and if it's just me perceiving things all willy wonky.

heheheh

fuzzysnuggleduck wrote:I Now I'm questioning everything regarding my setup and how it sounds and if it's just me perceiving things all willy wonky.

heheheh

the condition ur describing - Placebo effect.
not saying its happening in ur case fuzzy, but thats what they named the described syndrome ,brain wants to perceive a difference.

i'm sure i had it a few times before ....

it may have actually lowered your noise floor and also increased teh
clarity of your system because you have no signal loss due to resistances in the cable due to lenght and voltage, and noise to cover the sound.

yes i have done it and besides having more output it does make a difference on the impact and clarity of sound,

but this is with good equipement....

Second what Marc said.

Think about it for a minute fuzzy (and others) if you have a audio signal that is in the shape of a wave, just kinda bouncing along and then a musical peak comes along what happens, well that peak gains amplitude (wave height increases) now if you figure this increase is +30% of the original wave.

What happens to this if it is already within the range of limits of your
equipment?

What happens if the equipment is already at it limits?

What happens if the initial wave is 2volts and then you amplify the initial wave from 2 to 4 volts what is the variance from 30% of 2 volts to 30% of 4 volts.............essentially your dynamic peaks are now more dynamic without being strained.



Yes Fuzzy there is a difference.

i also second what marc said