# Secrets of the 701



## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

thought I would start a new thread about some of things that some people may not be aware of with the Alpine 701 and what it can do:

* rear fill with 3 way active 
run front 1 to tweets, run front 2 to mids, run rear to midbass, run center mono with L-R and band limited with a delay

* +10 db output on all channels but sub.
go to output level and as each channel is playing the annoying hiss, increase output +10 on all channels you will be using, then change PLII setting to rear fill

I'll think of more as this thread develops


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

A tip:
Put your midrange on the rear output. This allows you to get rid of the sharing of the midrange + tweeter EQ bands, since front 1 and front 2 share EQ bands.
Put the midbass on ‘front 2’, and you’ll still have plenty of bands for both the tweeter and the midbass.


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## PaulD (Nov 16, 2006)

funny that we would start a thread about tricks for a unit that is no longer made


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## foosman (Oct 14, 2007)

PaulD said:


> funny that we would start a thread about tricks for a unit that is no longer made


May not be made any longer, but there are literally thousands in use and remain to be the best bang for the buck in processing.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Nice. Thank you and keep the info coming. PaulD I guess you don'town anything over 2 years old?


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

BigRed said:


> * rear fill with 3 way active
> run front 1 to tweets, run front 2 to mids, run rear to midbass, run center mono with L-R and band limited with a delay


Hi, I have been running the center channel as rear fill (2 x NS3 aurasound at the rear headrest firing back). I use delay (around 15ms in a small hatch) and bandpass but I don't know how to do the L-R thing ???

I do have the drivers and the spare amp channel. Sometimes I use it, othertimes not.
What I found is:
It adds ambiance. 
It smooth the midrange response.
It locks the stage without loosing width (as a standard center ch).


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

foosman said:


> May not be made any longer, but there are literally thousands in use and remain to be the best bang for the buck in processing.


Agreed. I forget can you do these things with a 700?


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## avences (Jan 23, 2009)

interesting..i'm in the process of installing mine with my 7990 i will try all these tricks


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

BigRed said:


> thought I would start a new thread about some of things that some people may not be aware of with the Alpine 701 and what it can do:
> 
> * rear fill with 3 way active
> run front 1 to tweets, run front 2 to mids, run rear to midbass, run center mono with L-R and band limited with a delay
> ...


What's the advantage with this? Is it basically acting as a line driver? And what does the rear fill setting accomplish? I am in the process of installing one.


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## keep_hope_alive (Jan 4, 2009)

i had considered using the center out as a band limited rear fill channel. glad to know i'm not alone in that thought. 

are you positive that the H701 won't clip the output with that boost as you approach max vol (35)?


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## zmcqdv (Jun 7, 2009)

Just to be sure of what you mean.
The front 1 = Tweeter
The Front 2 = MidBass
The Rear = MidRange
The Sub = Subwoofer
The Center = currently I'm not using it as I've removed the rear speakers.
Am I right? Thanks.




bikinpunk said:


> A tip:
> Put your midrange on the rear output. This allows you to get rid of the sharing of the midrange + tweeter EQ bands, since front 1 and front 2 share EQ bands.
> Put the midbass on ‘front 2’, and you’ll still have plenty of bands for both the tweeter and the midbass.


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## n_olympios (Oct 23, 2008)

audio+civic said:


> I forget can you do these things with a 700?


The only difference between the PXA-H700 and the H701 combo was that with the latter you could get the controller and processor separately (PXA-H701 and RUX-C701). The controller came with the main unit in the H700 though.


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## Scott Buwalda (Apr 7, 2006)

Turn MX off on all formats (DVD, CD, etc.)
Use DVD level in the Setup screen to optimize noise verses output


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

zmcqdv said:


> Just to be sure of what you mean.
> The front 1 = Tweeter
> The Front 2 = MidBass
> The Rear = MidRange
> ...


yep. that's correct.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

the +10 db boost is so that you can get maximum output before the amplifier. it is not a clipped signal. if you turn it to 35 and it clips, its because your gain settings on your amplifier are too high

I only posted this because many people still use this piece, and as foos commented, it is the best bang for the buck and can do alot more than the average person thinks 

setting your PLII setting to "rear fill" allows the processor to pick up the +10db. It DOES NOT change stereo output or activate PLII


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

BigRed said:


> the +10 db boost is so that you can get maximum output before the amplifier. it is not a clipped signal. if you turn it to 35 and it clips, its because your gain settings on your amplifier are too high
> 
> I only posted this because many people still use this piece, and as foos commented, it is the best bang for the buck and can do alot more than the average person thinks
> 
> setting your PLII setting to "rear fill" allows the processor to pick up the +10db. It DOES NOT change stereo output or activate PLII



I tried this setting this morning a definite difference. I had this unit for two years now and did not know about the boost. Thanks BIG RED.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

BigRed said:


> * rear fill with 3 way active
> run front 1 to tweets, run front 2 to mids, run rear to midbass, run center mono *with L-R* and band limited with a delay


Does this happen when you set PLII to REAR FILL as well? I owned one of these units about a year ago and sold it because it couldn't do this (or so I thought). I want to try l-r rear fill badly enough that I may sell my Pioneer P01 and get this and a W505 to control it. 

That means I can do 3-way up front, sub, and l-r rear fill? If so, the trade off is the Auto EQ that Doiter seemed pretty fond of in the Pioneer unit and the IPOD DAC bypass (not a big deal as I still have CD's). Another plus for this setup is having the DVD player in a car that will have kids in it someday. Can you attach a remote monitor to the W505?

Thanks for all the help, this thread is great so far.


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## Problemhouston (Apr 2, 2009)

I got the very first one my dealer ordered when they came out and it has never seen power or the outside of the box.

I will be installing it soon though so I hope I learn something.


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## PaulD (Nov 16, 2006)

tintbox said:


> PaulD I guess you don'town anything over 2 years old?


I have 2 of them 

There are SO many things that it can do but my point was ... where was this thread 2 years ago when everyone was buying them ?


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

yes you can add an external monitor(s)

glad you guys are seeing value in the thread

Pion, you can do 3 way front and rear fill with the boost


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

Will be looking at the PLII settings this weekend. Thanks!

And lets say hypothetically that someones wife found the MX button and uses it. Will that affect anything?


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## n_olympios (Oct 23, 2008)

I love MX. 

When it's turned off. 

Hypothetically, it's there to help bring out the best of radio or cd or mp3 songs. Practically, it has no use in any system that sounds half good. It's more like an advanced loudness control, it boosts highs and lows (mostly), but IIRC it does it through harmonics and not basic frequencies so the speakers can handle the extra output. 

To sum up: DON'T. :lol:


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

n_olympios said:


> I love MX.
> 
> When it's turned off.
> 
> ...


Great Olympios. Now hypothetically someone's (and I am not naming names)wife is gonna have attitude when she drives my.. I mean drives a car.And is told to leave it off.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Could someone shed some light on the PCM mode. I use the center output from the processor to run my rear fill. But it has to be in 3 channel mode. When it's in 2 channel mode everything up front is so much more centered. But no rear fill? By the way I'm 3-way active on the front.


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## rommelrommel (Apr 11, 2007)

BigRed said:


> the +10 db boost is so that you can get maximum output before the amplifier. it is not a clipped signal. if you turn it to 35 and it clips, its because your gain settings on your amplifier are too high
> 
> I only posted this because many people still use this piece, and as foos commented, it is the best bang for the buck and can do alot more than the average person thinks
> 
> setting your PLII setting to "rear fill" allows the processor to pick up the +10db. It DOES NOT change stereo output or activate PLII


So, you're saying that the H701 cannot clip? Not challenging, just curious.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

You can definitely clip the input stage of the h701. 

I posted the following here:
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio-sq-forum/63916-clipping-h701s-input-noise.html

Hope that helps.





some really sexy dude named bikinpunk said:


> Very quickly, and I'm trying to be concise here.
> 
> Headunit: Pioneer P9
> Processor: h701 with c701 controller.
> ...





this awesome mo'fo' I met the other day in a mirror shop said:


> Alright, so I went back out and did some more testing.
> 
> What I found was this:
> I can put the c701 volume up to 35 and get a max volume on the headunit of -09dB.
> ...


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## rommelrommel (Apr 11, 2007)

I would think that you can clip any input stage... just need enough signal.

More curious if the H701 is capable of introducing clipping in the output stage, regardless of settings.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

yes, you need to put the pcm mode into 3 channel. this produces a mono signal that is perfect for rear fill. 

put the pcm mode to +5 on the 701....if you need more, you may go up to +10db per channel. 

the clip test on the 701 was a highly debated topic. using the rux as a volume I have no experience with it


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

I run the CDA9884 to the H701 via ai-net. Has anybody tested clipping point of the H701 using ai-net?

I have a line driver I was going to use because I thought the outputs of the H701 were puny. I need to really look into what this thread has shown. 

Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

BigRed said:


> yes, you need to put the pcm mode into 3 channel. this produces a mono signal that is perfect for rear fill.
> 
> put the pcm mode to +5 on the 701....if you need more, you may go up to +10db per channel.
> 
> the clip test on the 701 was a highly debated topic. using the rux as a volume I have no experience with it


Thank you.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I got clipping on the tweeter (front1) output when I tested it a while back using ai-net as the input source.

tested with an oscope.


Hope that helps.


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

n_olympios said:


> The only difference between the PXA-H700 and the H701 combo was that with the latter you could get the controller and processor separately (PXA-H701 and RUX-C701). The controller came with the main unit in the H700 though.


just wanted to make sure there wasn't some wierd sound difference. Thanks


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

pionkej said:


> Does this happen when you set PLII to REAR FILL as well? I owned one of these units about a year ago and sold it because it couldn't do this (or so I thought). I want to try l-r rear fill badly enough that I may sell my Pioneer P01 and get this and a W505 to control it.
> 
> That means I can do 3-way up front, sub, and l-r rear fill? If so, the trade off is the Auto EQ that Doiter seemed pretty fond of in the Pioneer unit and the IPOD DAC bypass (not a big deal as I still have CD's). Another plus for this setup is having the DVD player in a car that will have kids in it someday. Can you attach a remote monitor to the W505?
> 
> Thanks for all the help, this thread is great so far.


The Alpine w 505 does not use the IPOD internal DAC's it is USB. It does have output for a rear monitor as well as back up camera. I love my w505 and can't wait to install my pxa-h700 with it.


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## T3mpest (Dec 25, 2005)

BigRed said:


> thought I would start a new thread about some of things that some people may not be aware of with the Alpine 701 and what it can do:
> 
> * rear fill with 3 way active
> run front 1 to tweets, run front 2 to mids, run rear to midbass, run center mono with L-R and band limited with a delay
> ...


How are you guys getting a +10 boost? My DTS level only goes to +5?


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

BigRed said:


> yes, you need to put the pcm mode into 3 channel. this produces a mono signal that is perfect for rear fill.
> 
> put the pcm mode to +5 on the 701....if you need more, you may go up to +10db per channel.
> 
> the clip test on the 701 was a highly debated topic. using the rux as a volume I have no experience with it


Not trying to be picky, but I thought you said the unit would do L-R rear fill. Mono rear fill is not the same (in fact, almost the opposite). I just want to make sure it will do L-R before I consider selling my P01 and picking this unit back up.

Thanks.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

you can derive a l-r manually. the 701 will give you the band pass you desire and time alignment, as well as amplitude. it works quite well for me. if you need it to do it electronically, i would say keep your P01 

you can get +10db by changing the PLII setting to rear fill. then going into the output on the menu and turn it on. the speakers will individually hiss and change every 2-3 seconds. push the + next to the level as the speakers change, and increase it up to +10db


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

BigRed said:


> you can derive a l-r manually. the 701 will give you the band pass you desire and time alignment, as well as amplitude. it works quite well for me. if you need it to do it electronically, i would say keep your P01
> 
> you can get +10db by changing the PLII setting to rear fill. then going into the output on the menu and turn it on. the speakers will individually hiss and change every 2-3 seconds. push the + next to the level as the speakers change, and increase it up to +10db


Cool, thanks for the info. The P01 won't do it electronically either. I was thinking of running 3-way plus sub from my h/u and the pre-amp out on my amp for my midrange to a Zapco DC amp to use the symbilink to get the l-r (like GeO did in the Hey Werewolf thread) and using the built in DSP for the additional delay.

It looks like with the H701 I can get the bandpass, eq and delay, and I could get any standard Zapco amp and do it with the Symbilink, a JL 500/5 with the "ambiance" setting on, or on an old school amp that isn't supposed to be bridgeable for the L-R.

Again, thanks for the info. It seems like both will work, and neither is a perfect "all in one" solution. Just different ways to skin a cat so to speak.


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## maxxis (Jun 10, 2008)

BigRed said:


> you can derive a l-r manually. the 701 will give you the band pass you desire and time alignment, as well as amplitude. it works quite well for me. if you need it to do it electronically, i would say keep your P01
> 
> you can get +10db by changing the PLII setting to rear fill. then going into the output on the menu and turn it on. the speakers will individually hiss and change every 2-3 seconds. push the + next to the level as the speakers change, and increase it up to +10db


So in theory this boost would allow you to use either a lower volume on the RUX 701 or lower gains on the amps to help illiminate some of the floor noise on the H701 via analog inputs?

Thanks for the advice


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## n_olympios (Oct 23, 2008)

cubdenno said:


> Great Olympios. Now hypothetically someone's (and I am not naming names)wife is gonna have attitude when she drives my.. I mean drives a car.And is told to leave it off.


Hey, first of all thanks for spelling my surname correctly. It's a rare sight. 

Secondly, even if she does use it, it doesn't harm the system or speakers. Just her ears.  You can always turn it off when you're driving, and it'll revert to the previous state. It doesn't change any of the other settings.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

some may need to understand that having a bandpassed, time aligned rear fill is much better than just L-R. understanding what alpine does in pcm 3 channel mode and how to incorporate that into rear fill is really quite good. try it before you deny it


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

BigRed if you don't mind could you explain how to wire this up correctly or a link to it. I would appreciate it.


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## Problemhouston (Apr 2, 2009)

tintbox said:


> BigRed if you don't mind could you explain how to wire this up correctly or a link to it. I would appreciate it.


Yeah and is the remote turn on going out the the 700 stong enough to turn on 3 amps?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Problemhouston said:


> Yeah and is the remote turn on going out the the 700 stong enough to turn on 3 amps?


Relay.....

The remote turn on basically activates the relay, and then the output of the relay can feed as many turn on signals as you want. This micro relay will work just fine...


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## n_olympios (Oct 23, 2008)

Problemhouston said:


> Yeah and is the remote turn on going out the the 700 stong enough to turn on 3 amps?


I've had up to 5 amps connected to it. No problems whatsoever.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

BigRed said:


> some may need to understand that having a bandpassed, time aligned rear fill is much better than just L-R. understanding what alpine does in pcm 3 channel mode and how to incorporate that into rear fill is really quite good. try it before you deny it


Sorry about the question. I was referring to this.


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## jbholsters (Jun 17, 2009)

BigRed said:


> you can get +10db by changing the PLII setting to rear fill. then going into the output on the menu and turn it on. the speakers will individually hiss and change every 2-3 seconds. push the + next to the level as the speakers change, and increase it up to +10db


Learn something new everyday. My gut tells me that would clip though. I'll have to break out the scope.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

jbholsters said:


> Learn something new everyday. My gut tells me that would clip though. I'll have to break out the scope.


With anything but an Alpine your gut would be right on.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

try it, you may be surprised at the results.


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## newtitan (Mar 7, 2005)

wow interesting, I never knew of this option either

thanks, it makes a rather discernible difference


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## jbholsters (Jun 17, 2009)

So what are you doing to make up for the signal difference that this creates between the subs and the rest of the system? Taking your sub amp into clipping?


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

good question....the sub will need to be adjusted as it is not affected by the boost


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

Hee hee. Subs can already overpower the others. This levelsthe field a little better.


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## keep_hope_alive (Jan 4, 2009)

I've been running Alpine head units for over 12 years, dozens of them (all sold working BTW). I haven't tested all of them for clean output at max volume (35) but most of them were clean (both audibly and tested). however, i wouldn't say that every Alpine won't clip. hell, i wouldn't be surprised if there was variance within the same models. 

the noise on my H701 above Vol 23 is a bit annoying. 

i have a CDA-7930 feeding the H701 via Ai-Net. I also have a CDA-7949 that i would like to feed the H701 via fiber optic. The PLII idea is cool, but i'd have to scope the outputs before I'll increase output gain that high. if i do, i'll take pictures.


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

Using Optical, the 701 does not clip at 35. The AiNet output has a little less gain so a little boost could work well lowering the noise floor.

By the way... try to use the optical conection.


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## jbholsters (Jun 17, 2009)

Are you doing this with the PCM level maxed as well?


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## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

my own observations that were pointed out during a team tuning session is, when making eq adjustments, go one notch above your planned adjustment and then back it down. it can sound different.

to clarify, if your setting is at +2 and you want to make it +3, try clicking it up to +3, listen, then bump up to +4, and then back down to +3 again and listen. due to less than stellar components, there is a difference in how they will sound, even though you end up at +3 both ways.

Same applies for cutting. Try cutting past your desired point, and then adding one back. If you tune with closed eyes and adjust one frequency while listening, you may have already been unintentionally doing this.


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## shiny_car (Feb 11, 2009)

some cool tips i'm reading here. good to know; an H701 will be going into my second car soon. i've not used this processor before, but have an H900 in my main SQ car, and have previously used the H600 and H501.



Thumper26 said:


> when making eq adjustments, go one notch above your planned adjustment and then back it down. it can sound different.


that's freaky if it's true. psycho-acoustics?!


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

jbholsters said:


> Are you doing this with the PCM level maxed as well?


absolutely


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

More info. Good thread so far.


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

shiny_car said:


> some cool tips i'm reading here. good to know; an H701 will be going into my second car soon. i've not used this processor before, but have an H900 in my main SQ car, and have previously used the H600 and H501.
> 
> 
> 
> that's freaky if it's true. psycho-acoustics?!


I realize it's not a pot but when we adjust our 4-20 mA cards for zero and span we always go past and then come back to the correct spot. it yields more accurate results


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## jbholsters (Jun 17, 2009)

LOL so I tried this and while it works, my Hybrid 7's won't handle it. I get the volume up to about 25 and I could smell voice coil. Luckly I muted it right away and there doesn't seem to be any damage. 

EDIT: I should have qualified this by pointing out that I am running double the power on them that is recommended, but still come on.


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## PaulD (Nov 16, 2006)

Something I found out the hard way. If you are going to use fiber, do not mount vertically so the fiber ports point straight down. The cable has no real positive lock, so it will fall out.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Anymore secrets on this thing. Just curious.


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## jhmeg2 (Nov 6, 2009)

i want to run a 3 way active front stage, and rears and a sub. how can i be able to have a full active three way in front and not lose the rears. i have enough amp channels, so no problem there, but i wat to have all the controls of the 701. what can i do. please


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

PaulD said:


> Something I found out the hard way. If you are going to use fiber, do not mount vertically so the fiber ports point straight down. The cable has no real positive lock, so it will fall out.


Just for ****s and giggles, have you tried a different cable? Even a shortie that won't work to verify this? 

or I guess I should ask, is this a normal SPDIF cable?

I've had some cables grab like it's nobody's biz, and others that are total weaksauce. strange quality control. 

Get this, we have a fiber security system at work in one of our labs that runs SPDIF cable! Those suckers STICK now!

They are also long.

that should be enough hints to allow you to hit ebay


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

jhmeg2 said:


> i want to run a 3 way active front stage, and rears and a sub. how can i be able to have a full active three way in front and not lose the rears. i have enough amp channels, so no problem there, but i wat to have all the controls of the 701. what can i do. please


you will have to use the center for rears, or get really creative, and if you run your midbass's low enough in lpf, use the center for midbass, and then you would have your rears. not saying I've ever tried this


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## PaulD (Nov 16, 2006)

How would one KNOW whether the cable has a positive lock from an ebay listing? I would also have to basically diassemble the interior again to rerun them, not really an appealing option at the moment. I fixed it another way


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

PaulD said:


> How would one KNOW whether the cable has a positive lock from an ebay listing? I would also have to basically diassemble the interior again to rerun them, not really an appealing option at the moment. I fixed it another way


I use a cheap Puresonic toslink with small gray plugs. It fits at HU "elbow" and has good lock at the 701.


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## jhmeg2 (Nov 6, 2009)

Quote "you will have to use the center for rears, or get really creative, and if you run your midbass's low enough in lpf, use the center for midbass, and then you would have your rears. not saying I've ever tried this"

i want to run a 3 way active front stage, and rears and a sub. how can i be able to have a full active three way in front and not lose the rears. i have enough amp channels, so no problem there, but i wat to have all the controls of the 701. what can i do. please


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## keep_hope_alive (Jan 4, 2009)

jhmeg2 said:


> Quote "you will have to use the center for rears, or get really creative, and if you run your midbass's low enough in lpf, use the center for midbass, and then you would have your rears. not saying I've ever tried this"
> 
> i want to run a 3 way active front stage, and rears and a sub. how can i be able to have a full active three way in front and not lose the rears. i have enough amp channels, so no problem there, but i wat to have all the controls of the 701. what can i do. please


Front 1: front tweeters in stereo
Front 2: front midbass in stereo
Rear: front midrange in stereo
Center: rear speakers in mono
Sub: subs in mono


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

^^ change your pcm to 3 channel also


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## Andy Jones (May 12, 2006)

write down you settings and have a backup 701 for when your primary one starts failing.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Andy Jones said:


> write down you settings and have a backup 701 for when your primary one starts failing.


:laugh:


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## keep_hope_alive (Jan 4, 2009)

lmao. ever the optimist.


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## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

haha, more of a realist. it's happened on multiple occasions. and speaking of which, here's an excel sheet that'll print off on a single page. I took an older version of something similar that'd been floating around and modified it:

RapidShare: 1-CLICK Web hosting - Easy Filehosting


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## keep_hope_alive (Jan 4, 2009)

yea, for the price vs. feature set, it's no surprise they have reliability issues.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

I must be lucky, I've never had any problems with mine


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Me as well.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

BigRed said:


> you will have to use the center for rears, or get really creative, and if you run your midbass's low enough in lpf, use the center for midbass, and then you would have your rears. not saying I've ever tried this


I just tried this. Sounds great. I can't wait to try out my L3's and L1 Pro's when the get here.


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## kevin k. (May 5, 2005)

BigRed said:


> I must be lucky, I've never had any problems with mine


Hey, Jim... Any further developments regarding that "modded" 701? 

It was illuminating having someone very knowledgeable take a look at it, while you were down that day, and point out the difference between a lightly modified piece versus one that's had the circuitry gone through thoughtfully from beginning to end.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

BigRed said:


> you will have to use the center for rears, or get really creative, and if you run your midbass's low enough in lpf, use the center for midbass, and then you would have your rears. not saying I've ever tried this


I switched some RCA's and tried this. What the downside to configuring this way? I have 4 ID OEM's in the doors. The only thing I can think of is no right to left separation? It's sounds good to me and seemed to raise my stage up as well.


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

tintbox said:


> I switched some RCA's and tried this. What the downside to configuring this way? I have 4 ID OEM's in the doors. The only thing I can think of is no right to left separation? It's sounds good to me and seemed to raise my stage up as well.


Loosing the capability of delay and L/R EQ for midbass doesn't look good.

Using the rear deck for rear fill speakers gives short PLDs and less problems running mono. Anyway you will have them bandpassed, attenuated and with 15+ms of delay.

In my car, when I use the rear speakers, they play 300/24 to 1khz/6.
They add ambience, space but changes the tonality.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

Kevin, I'll call you today my friend 

tintbox, nothing wrong with it...if YOU like it, thats all that matters


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Quick question. I changed my RCA's back to Front1 Tweet, Front2 Mid bass, Rear to my 4's in the dash and rear output off the center channel. When I set the PCM to 3 channel my sound stage sounds more full but when I put it back to 2 channel setting my soundstage comes back to center and higher. I guess my question is changing from 2 channel to 3 channel in the PCM setting does mess with front left and right output?


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

^^ mess with the time alignment of the center and amplitude


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

tintbox said:


> Quick question. I changed my RCA's back to Front1 Tweet, Front2 Mid bass, Rear to my 4's in the dash and rear output off the center channel. When I set the PCM to 3 channel my sound stage sounds more full but when I put it back to 2 channel setting my soundstage comes back to center and higher. I guess my question is changing from 2 channel to 3 channel in the PCM setting does mess with front left and right output?


PCM 3CH enables the center channel, otherwise it wil not have any output.

When you select PCM 3CH, your rear speakers play CENTER output settings.

Try lots of delay in the center channel. 15+. Check polarity at the same time.
There is a sweetspot where it adds ambience without pulling your stage backwards.


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## ClassicCoupe (Aug 7, 2008)

Subscribed.

I'll try to dial-in my front stage better before I try this rear-fill option with my H701, but it sounds like this option adds the "space" effect that is so difficult to achieve in cars.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Agreed 100%.


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## EJAG78 (Jan 20, 2010)

Great read guys. 

I hope someone could enlighten me on my problem. 

I am currently using an Alpine DVA-9965 HU connected via optical cable to my H701. I read somewhere here that there is a volume control using the RUX. I can't seem to access this volume control for the 701. I can only control the volume using the HU.

Is this normal for optical cable link? I tried reading the manual and I get stuck at the point after pressing the set up button and looking for the *Input Select Mode*.

I can't seem to find that mode. Can anyone help?


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

EJAG78 said:


> Great read guys.
> 
> I hope someone could enlighten me on my problem.
> 
> ...


Are you runinng the AiNet cable too?

Press Setup, then the MODE button. You have entered in the Setup Menu. With the arrows buttons scroll until OPTICAL OUT is displayed. With the volume knob you turn the digital out on or off.
I have a 9861 but the procedure should be similar.


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## EJAG78 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hernan said:


> Are you runinng the AiNet cable too?
> 
> Press Setup, then the MODE button. You have entered in the Setup Menu. With the arrows buttons scroll until OPTICAL OUT is displayed. With the volume knob you turn the digital out on or off.
> I have a 9861 but the procedure should be similar.


Thank you for the quick reply. Pardon me for this stupid question but where is the MODE button located?


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## Hextall 27 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hernan said:


> Using Optical, the 701 does not clip at 35. The AiNet output has a little less gain so a little boost could work well lowering the noise floor.
> 
> By the way... try to use the optical conection.


Better yet try using a 7939. I have hooked the following to my 701:

7939 (optical)
7940
7949 (optical)
7998
iDA-X100

The 7939 was "louder" or I should say more dynamic than any of them even when the S624 was hooked playing! I asked Alpine tech why and he said the 7939 was just a better unit AND that its output over the Ai-Net into the 701 is HIGHER than the other radios. Now I never measured this but there is BIG difference.

BTW ever changed the lamp color to Amber with a 7939 and the C701 connected to H701? ? looks weird with the lights out, LOL


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## Hextall 27 (Jan 20, 2010)

EJAG78 said:


> Great read guys.
> 
> I hope someone could enlighten me on my problem.
> 
> ...


If your connected with Ai-Net regardless of if your optical or not, you can't access the volume on the C701, there's no need to, the volume on your HU will take care of volume control. Too many different volume controls create more noise anyway.


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## EJAG78 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hextall 27 said:


> If your connected with Ai-Net regardless of if your optical or not, you can't access the volume on the C701, there's no need to, the volume on your HU will take care of volume control. Too many different volume controls create more noise anyway.


Appreciate your explanation. I thought I was missing something because some guys were controlling the PXA volume thru the RUX. 

Oh, and yes I'm using Ai-net together with the optical.


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## roxj01 (Nov 22, 2009)

if im useing a dva 9965, pxa-h701, and rux-c701 do i have to use the ai net cable or can i just use the toslink? any advantages or disadvantages to useing 1 or both cables? (if this question is inapropriate for this thread or i need to start a new one please let me know) 

thanks,

trey


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## Hextall 27 (Jan 20, 2010)

The 9965 has the controls for H701 built in, you don't really need the C701. There is no advantage to using the C701 as volume control if you have an Alpine with AiNet.

Using the AiNet cable and toslink will allow you to still hear your radio. Remember radio isn't sent out of the optical. (I don't think iPod is sent out digitally by Alpine but I'd like to know).


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## Andy Jones (May 12, 2006)

^trying to tune through a HU (not a video screen) with the 701 is unnecessarily cumbersome. 

Even the screens (200, 205, 505, etc.) are MUCH more difficult to tune through than the rux controller. 

I wouldn't even try to do it (again) through a HU that wasn't a screen.


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## Hextall 27 (Jan 20, 2010)

Andy Jones said:


> ^trying to tune through a HU (not a video screen) with the 701 is unnecessarily cumbersome.
> 
> Even the screens (200, 205, 505, etc.) are MUCH more difficult to tune through than the rux controller.
> 
> I wouldn't even try to do it (again) through a HU that wasn't a screen.


I didn't think it was too bad on my D100, at least then you could adjust multiple frequencies at once on the EQ. Plus you had more options available at once. But yes it is a PITA on the little screens, but it can be done if he hasn't bought his C701 yet.


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## ryyo (Jun 29, 2009)

Hextall 27 said:


> The 9965 has the controls for H701 built in, you don't really need the C701. There is no advantage to using the C701 as volume control if you have an Alpine with AiNet.
> 
> Using the AiNet cable and toslink will allow you to still hear your radio. Remember radio isn't sent out of the optical. (I don't think iPod is sent out digitally by Alpine but I'd like to know).


From what I could tell in my own testing, the ipod was not sent out through the optical. The light at the end of the optical was not on while the ipod was playing.


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## Hextall 27 (Jan 20, 2010)

ryyo said:


> From what I could tell in my own testing, the ipod was not sent out through the optical. The light at the end of the optical was not on while the ipod was playing.


And that's sort of why after 16 years of exclusively Alpine I'm switching to a Pioneer DEX-P01 I want lossless iPod files played through a really good DAC and I think the DAC in the P01 is better than the Alpine or iPod DAC.


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

EJAG78 said:


> Appreciate your explanation. I thought I was missing something because some guys were controlling the PXA volume thru the RUX.
> 
> Oh, and yes I'm using Ai-net together with the optical.


If you have the C701 controller and a DVA9965, you could control the processor from any of them.

The UI on the C701 is better but there is no problem using the HU for control.
(I prefer not having to deal with anothe piece of equipment...)

The installation of the RUX is pretty straighforward, Just run the controller cable to the controller input at the H701.

The HU has a little swith at the bottom. If you want to control the prossesor from de HU, you must set it to "EQ/DIV". (i suppose that this in not necesary if your use de RUX).
Good Luck!


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## Hextall 27 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hernan said:


> The HU has a little swith at the bottom. If you want to control the prossesor from de HU, you must set it to "EQ/DIV". (i suppose that this in not necesary if your use de RUX).
> Good Luck!


You still have to have this in EQ/DIV if you are using a H701 and an AiNet head no matter if you use the C701 or not. Why? Because when you have it in EQ/DIV the Ai-Net acts as an OUTPUT when it is in changer mode it acts as an INPUT. I found this out by experimenting years ago.


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## s4turn (Jun 17, 2009)

great thread guys

will have to try a few things here
currently have w200 + h701 but no rux controller


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## veleno (Sep 16, 2006)

BigRed said:


> the +10 db boost is so that you can get maximum output before the amplifier. it is not a clipped signal. if you turn it to 35 and it clips, its because your gain settings on your amplifier are too high
> 
> setting your PLII setting to "rear fill" allows the processor to pick up the +10db. It DOES NOT change stereo output or activate PLII


Does this work with 3 way active front + single sub and no rear fill?


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

old thread but Ill post anyways

Rear channels delayed for 2.5 ms by default (at least on unit we took measurements), probably due to low processing capabilities


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## Iron Maiden (Jul 13, 2008)

Hernan said:


> Using Optical, the 701 does not clip at 35. The AiNet output has a little less gain so a little boost could work well lowering the noise floor.
> 
> By the way... try to use the optical conection.



^^^^This is spot on^^^^^^


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## Iron Maiden (Jul 13, 2008)

EJAG78 said:


> Great read guys.
> 
> I hope someone could enlighten me on my problem.
> 
> ...


I had purchased a dva9861 to run the h701. I purchased the dva105 and makes tuning much easier. I still love my 9861.

Didnt mean to highjack thread. However, I wanted the RUX and couldnt find one. 

Am I at an advantage or disadvantage not using RUX?


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

It's just easier to tune with.


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## Juls1 (Sep 8, 2012)

The 9965E is far superior to control the PXA-H701 than the RUX, or any other headunit.

It also has digital out, and the color screen gives full graphic displays of the crossover/TA/EQ. It's not all "numbers and letters" like the 9861 ect ect.

The 9965 had no internal amp, the Power supply is completely separate (comes with a 2 metre cable to mount it away from the headunit itself) It has full digital out, optical or Coax. Obviously AiNet to control the PXA. 

Its a rare combo due to the cost of the 9965, and now becoming harder to find, even second hand. The only combo that would be better, would be a 9965 + H900 which it can also control with full graphical display on the face.

Interestingly the 9965 was the only Alpine Glidetouch that actually worked, it's highly sensitive compared to the 9855 and 9853 and still works faultlessly even after 3-4 years of hard use.

I'm just annoyed it won't work with the H800.. 

Love the H701, only thing i don't like is the ground loop it "can cause"

Juls


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## n_olympios (Oct 23, 2008)

Juls1 said:


> The 9965E is far superior to control the PXA-H701 than the RUX, or any other headunit.
> 
> [snip]
> 
> ...


Regarding all of the above, are you sure?


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## Juls1 (Sep 8, 2012)

Been using my 9965 with my h701 for 4 years now, 

Re the person above, you have to have the AI net cable connected and optical cable, with the switch underneath to eq/div to operate the h701 minus the rux

The 9965 controls 100% of all features with h700 and h701 without the need for the rux-c701.

The h900 some features are Not able to be controlled directly.

The AI net cable controls the volume. CD is sent by optical, radio is sent by ainet.

It cannot control the h901. Nothing but compatible f1 status can do that.

Juls


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## veleno (Sep 16, 2006)

What about a 7939, it has optical so will sound from CD be sent via optical or AI? Anyone know?


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## Juls1 (Sep 8, 2012)

If you have optical out, and it's enabled I don't see why it wouldn't.

If you had lets say a 9855 which doesn't have optical out, but you bought a 6 Stacker with optical out, you send the audio from the 6 stacker by optical bypassing the headunit. 

If you have digital out, it should only send Radio or Aux in through the AInet cable. 

my 9965 won't send any audio from the CD if i disconnect the optical and only leave the AInet connected.

Juls


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## aj1735 (Feb 27, 2011)

I know this is old but just wanted to clarify something. 

I just picked up a 9965e to use with the h701 and am running 4 c2k's. I will have 3 way active plus sub. I will try the mids on rear like was suggested. I was wondering about thenoi se issue and the boost comments. I can boost my signal with the symbilink cables. I will be running a short optical cable and ainet to the H701 since it will be in the dash and I already have 4 sybilink cables run up to my deck from when I used my p99rs. Any thoughts on getting the highest and cleanest signal without clipping with that combo of equipment. I will be hooking it up in a week or two.


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

I don't think that you have to worry about noise, if you will be using the optical connection. Most people that had issues were using an analog signal.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

Running optical, you won't have any noise issues. Other than the 701 Zipper noise when turning the volume up or down, it's not THAT audible... It is a bit of an annoyance to some, but I'd take the 701 over a lot processors still. It's buy far the best value for what they go for now.

Many cars have won many world, and national championships with them. I have one in my driveway.


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## aj1735 (Feb 27, 2011)

Will I have the same signal strength issues that some had said that they had. I think that the 9965 is around 4 Volt or a little less out but doesn't really matter when the optical is used, correct? So that will eliminate some of the noise issues, but then I was wondering about the boost comments earlier in the thread. Would it be better to boost like people recommend or just raise the levels on the symbilink converters? I I think that you can choose like +6, +12db or something like that. I wouldgue ssthat wou ld be a cleaner signal with less noise that way after the processor but I might have it wrong. that's why I love this forum and getting advice from proven experience. I hope it should be a pretty nice working system when it's put all together.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

The output voltage of the HU doesn't matter, that being bypass because you're using the 701. I believe the line output voltage is 4v coming out of the processor. I'm not sure what people are BOOSTING the signal level with, I haven't read this thread in years. I've never had an issue with noise, and 4V is plenty. If you want to play around with the symbilink stuff while setting up the gains feel free, personally I'd leave it alone, unless there is a issue.

What cables do you have the ones that plug into the white box, or the ones that have the Black box on the cable with the jumper pins?


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## aj1735 (Feb 27, 2011)

mmiller said:


> The output voltage of the HU doesn't matter, that being bypass because you're using the 701. I believe the line output voltage is 4v coming out of the processor. I'm not sure what people are BOOSTING the signal level with, I haven't read this thread in years. I've never had an issue with noise, and 4V is plenty. If you want to play around with the symbilink stuff while setting up the gains feel free, personally I'd leave it alone, unless there is a issue.
> 
> What cables do you have the ones that plug into the white box, or the ones that have the Black box on the cable with the jumper pins?


I have the black boxes with the jumper pins on them. I have one one the black metal boxes but I am not using it. I just have the 4 cables with the in line black jumper ones. I think right now I have all the gains all the way down and I think that I have all of them set at +6. I had them that way coming out of the p99rs. I have a 2.0x for tweets, 3.0x for mids, 6.0x for mid bass, and a 6.0x bridged for the subs.


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## canuck (Jan 10, 2014)

had my 701 in a shoe box for 4 years. used on my latest build. saw this thread and used all the tips. they all worked lake a charm. name a better value for the dollar.


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## Navy Chief (Jun 14, 2010)

Scott Buwalda said:


> Turn MX off on all formats (DVD, CD, etc.)
> Use DVD level in the Setup screen to optimize noise verses output



Scott I know this is old but exactly which setting are you referring to. I see where it says I can adjust the output type of the DVD output, however that requires enabling the MX function on that output. 

Anyone ever really experiment with DVD audio discs using an Alpine DVA head unit with the 701 via optical, is there really a difference.


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## Topless Stang (Nov 30, 2009)

BigRed said:


> thought I would start a new thread about some of things that some people may not be aware of with the Alpine 701 and what it can do:
> 
> * rear fill with 3 way active
> run front 1 to tweets, run front 2 to mids, run rear to midbass, run center mono with L-R and band limited with a delay
> ...


Sorry to resurrect such a dead thread, but I have the H800 in storage and wasn’t going to use it because I didn’t think it supported this type of configuration. In this sense will the H800 perform the same way as the 701 & support 3-way fronts, rear & sub?


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

From the top of my head, i would say that you can do the same config with 800 as you were able to do with 701. Dsp has 4 stereo outputs just like 700/701. Not sure how you got 3way + rear + sub all active with 701… was rear outputs stereo or mono derived from center channel.


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