# is there any way to boost pre amp signal?



## .tckm (Sep 24, 2009)

hey 
i was just wondering if there was a diy to boost the pre amp signal from the deck?

i am siitting at 2.5 volts coming from my deck and want to go to 4+
is there any way without getting a new hu?

whats the max an amp can take


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

search for "Line Driver"

There isn't really a diy way as far as making something is concerned but getting a line driver will boost your pre amp voltage. It depends on the amp whether you can take a higher pe-amp voltage but it is typically between .2V-8V

Line Drivers | Sound Processors | Car Audio | Car Audio, Video, & GPS Navigation at Sonic Electronix

Phoenix Gold TLD22 Line Drivers Sound Processors Car Audio Car Audio, Video, & GPS Navigation - Sonic Electronix


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## .tckm (Sep 24, 2009)

THANK YOU!
just what i was looking for


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

Mucho Gracias 

With that line driver you will need to run a power feed to it. +(fused for 5 amps),-, and remote turn on. Simple 20-18 gauge is fine for this.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

.tckm said:


> hey
> i was just wondering if there was a diy to boost the pre amp signal from the deck?
> 
> i am siitting at 2.5 volts coming from my deck and *want to go to 4+*
> ...


May I ask why?


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## .tckm (Sep 24, 2009)

t3sn4f2 said:


> May I ask why?


gain settings


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

.tckm said:


> gain settings


Noisy amp at your working headunit volume setting?


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## .tckm (Sep 24, 2009)

yuppa 
and the gains seem to be set toooooo high


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

.tckm said:


> yuppa
> and the gains seem to be set toooooo high


Just asking but sure it's not induced noise? Is it noisy at the set gains setting with muting plugs on the inputs?


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

I don't want to be in the wrong here, but it sounds like you want to steer him away from a line driver, for what reason I really don't know why. Line drivers are fairly inexpensive and I would recommend one to anyone that has low preouts to their deck if they want to potentially make their system sound better.

I don't see any harm in going from 2.5v to 4v.

I may be wrong here, please tell me if I am, but it sounds like you're setting him up for failure by asking him all of the questions (I see it a LOT in the car audio world).


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## Pillow (Nov 14, 2009)

I am a little stumped here as well... Is there a negative to running a line driver? I thought it was a good practice (if needed) for keeping the amp gains down.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Pillow said:


> I am a little stumped here as well... Is there a negative to running a line driver? I thought it was a good practice (if needed) for keeping the amp gains down.


Adding another item in the chain makes for a higher noise floor sometimes.


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## AUDIO_BASSICS (Mar 21, 2009)

.tckm said:


> hey
> i was just wondering if there was a diy to boost the pre amp signal from the deck?
> 
> i am siitting at 2.5 volts coming from my deck and want to go to 4+
> ...


what model deck and amp and what kind of noise do you have??


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

I would suggest only using a line driver if you are running a lot of amps (more than 1 per each output on the deck), or if you have a real weak preout voltage from the deck causing you to run the gains all out and inducing noise/hiss because of it.

If none of that is happening, just save your money.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

B_Rich said:


> I don't want to be in the wrong here, but it sounds like you want to steer him away from a line driver, for what reason I really don't know why. Line drivers are fairly inexpensive and I would recommend one to anyone that has low preouts to their deck if they want to potentially make their system sound better.
> 
> I don't see any harm in going from 2.5v to 4v.
> 
> I may be wrong here, please tell me if I am, but it sounds like you're setting him up for failure by asking him all of the questions (I see it a LOT in the car audio world).


See above post.

Do you know what the standard preout voltage is in the home audio world?

2V RMS


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

t3sn4f2 said:


> See above post.
> 
> Do you know what the standard preout voltage is in the home audio world?
> 
> 2V RMS


I don't think you can compare home audio in this situation. Since there is a standard preout voltage in the home audio world, all of the manufactures can base their equipment around that 2V to make everything work like it should, given those 2V. It's not like 2V in the home audio world is a horrible thing. However, 2V in the car audio world isn't the greatest (obviously). Like stated above, higher gains = more noise. With a line driver (boosted voltage) you can get less noise with, say a 4v preout.

I doubt that the OP is gonna be like "holy crap I'm getting a ton of noise in my system, I better boost the preout voltage!". However, he can potentially notice less noise and better quality sound with a line driver than he did without one. There's only one way to find out.

I know I noticed a difference when I went from a 2v headunit to a 4v headunit.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

B_Rich said:


> I don't think you can compare home audio in this situation. Since there is a standard preout voltage in the home audio world, all of the manufactures can base their equipment around that 2V to make everything work like it should, given those 2V. It's not like 2V in the home audio world is a horrible thing. However, 2V in the car audio world isn't the greatest (obviously). Like stated above, higher gains = more noise. With a line driver (boosted voltage) you can get less noise with, say a 4v preout.
> 
> I doubt that the OP is gonna be like "holy crap I'm getting a ton of noise in my system, I better boost the preout voltage!". However, he can potentially notice less noise and better quality sound with a line driver than he did without one. There's only one way to find out.
> 
> I know I noticed a difference when I went from a 2v headunit to a 4v headunit.


I won't debate this with you. The topic has been beat to death many times over already.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Fair enough.


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

Let the man get the line driver and then report back to us to see if it did reduce the noise in his system. Then we can discuss this.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

t3sn4f2 said:


> See above post.
> 
> Do you know what the standard preout voltage is in the home audio world?
> 
> 2V RMS


Actually much less. 2V is +6dBu IIRC

Standard home audio and consumer stuff runs at -10 dBu


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

chad said:


> Actually much less. 2V is +6dBu IIRC
> 
> Standard home audio and consumer stuff runs at -10 dBu


I should have said the fixed fullscale output voltage of a source like a CD player is typically 2 volts and is said to be enough to drive amplifiers without the need for a preamp that adds its own gain.


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## .tckm (Sep 24, 2009)

hey guys

so the noise is just kind of a hissing/fuzzy in the background 
its not super loud but it would be nice for it to stop (its kinda hard to explain)
i know its not a ground loop too b/c it doesnt change with engine speed
im hoping to get rid of it with the line driver

i have no clue about anything in home audio so i cant debate on the whole 2 volt thing
but i will let you know if a line driver helps
its inexpensive and i wont be at a loss if it doesnt work
ill probably order it this week or next

what i am running right now is a kenwood dpx301 
its a pretty cheap hu, but it works for now at least

there are only 2 preouts:
(both alpine)
one to a pdx 1.1000
and one to a mrp F600

the other option would to just save for another hu.

lmk what you think

thanks

and thanks for everyones input


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## richardovalle (Dec 7, 2009)

.tckm said:


> hey guys
> 
> so the noise is just kind of a hissing/fuzzy in the background
> its not super loud but it would be nice for it to stop (its kinda hard to explain)
> ...


hey, ever get that line driver put in? Did u recheck the signal wiring to make sure no power waves from power lines were interfering? 
Only ask because I hear drivers can actually introduce noise. As for eq's that boost signal I heard from an acoustic stage man who did car audio some time ago and he went into depth on the signal waves and frequency responses being chopped by eq's so i avoided it. One thing he did like was the digital bass reconstruction unit, but there was only one on the market back then.


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## TylerM5891 (Feb 25, 2021)

Im having a similar issue:
Pioneer MVH210-ex to a Memphis PRD 500 .1
The deck says preout level is 2v

I cant get the amp to push more than like 6v

Is a line driver my best option?

Car audio store guy says I shouldnt need one...then tride to sell me a crossover unit that I know I dont need


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## dumdum (Feb 27, 2007)

TylerM5891 said:


> Im having a similar issue:
> Pioneer MVH210-ex to a Memphis PRD 500 .1
> The deck says preout level is 2v
> 
> ...


If the amp will only make 6v you have bigger issues! Assuming it’s 500rms at 1ohm there should be way more than 6v on its outputs... or your not using a decent multimeter/scope to read the voltage, or not using 0db tones... lots of reasons why you could be reading the incorrect voltage, but I’d start a new post not open a thread from the dead from 10+ yrs ago 🙈


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