# how to set-u dsp-time alignment



## philnutz1 (Dec 14, 2010)

i am running a jvc kd-sh1000 active and no matter how i set the dsp-time alignment it just doesnt sound right. Tweets are on the front channels of a kicker zx7005, mids are on the rear channels of the zicker zx7005, and sub is on the sub channel. So my first question is positioning, i can select all, front, left front, or right front. Do i want to set that to left front since that is my sitting position or just use front and try to find the center My next question is do i measure from the speaker to the dome light for time alignment? i currently have left front 65cm right front 95cm both are in a pillars then my mids are in the doors set at 120 on the left and 150 on the right and sub is at 200cm. any help would be appreciated. also on a side note anyone use this deck in the past? If so do you still use it, or have you tried other active units? im just trying to figure out how it compares to the alpine, pioneer premier, clarion and eclipse active decks.


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## Hanatsu (Nov 9, 2010)

Usually you take the speaker which has the longest pathlength and set the delay at 0cm there. Then you delay the closest speaker with an equal amount of delay as the distance the speaker farest away has and go from there. Fine adjust it by ear after you're done.


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## pat_smith1969 (Feb 17, 2010)

Got this from some site.. this is what I use.. but don't expect it to be perfect, by all accounts you need to tweak it a bit after you are done.. even if your calculations are perfect.

Use the following instructions to set the delay parameter for each speaker. The
table printed below is provided for your use in facilitating the delay setup.
1. Set the delay of the farthest speaker from the desired listening position to
zero.
2. Measure, in inches, and record the distance from the desired listening
position to the farthest speaker. This is your baseline measurement.
3. Measure, in inches, and record the distance from the listening position to
each of the remaining speakers. Each speaker should correspond to a
channel of the output from the DCX-730.
4. Subtract the distance of the baseline speaker from each of the other
speakers (for a given channel of the DCX-730) and record that value (these
will all be negative values).
5. Divide each of these differences by 13.52 (value at 68°F) to set the required
delay settings in msec for each of the remaining speakers. The exact
speaker path length differences will appear for each channel as you enter
the msec delay value.
NOTE: The value of 13.52 varies with temperature, a chart is given at the
end of this discussion listing values to be used with different
temperatures. The error in the this value is at the most 5% between
temperatures of 50°F to 100°F.
For example: The baseline speaker (farthest away) measures 60 inches. The LT
(left tweeter) measures 20 inches. The difference is 20-60=-40 inches. The delay
time correction is -40/13.52 which equals a delay setting of -2.96 mS (a setting of
2.96 will be entered into the DCX-730 channel for the LT speaker.


Temperature Correction Factor
50°F 13.29
60°F 13.42
70°F 13.55
80°F 13.67
90°F 13.80
100°F 13.92
110°F 14.05


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## em_pleh (Nov 19, 2010)

Don't worry about the preset locations on the head unit... Just manually enter ur measurements ... Measure from right ear to right speakers and from left ear to left speakers... It should give you what you want


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

You may be better served to just do it all by ear. Put the tape measure down and trust what you are hearing


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

^^^^^ That's what I did after getting a base measurement with the tape measure. I used the tape to get close, then made subtle adjustments by ear to get the sound placed where I wanted. The presets are for the lazy who don't care to get the maximum out of the unit, but just want to say they have t/a. Once you start playing with it you will easily hear the differences it makes which can be horrible if not right.

One major tip that I must add is that t/a alignment will NOT make up for poor speaker placement. Get your axis and PLD right as best as you can for your install, then tweak using t/a.


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## pat_smith1969 (Feb 17, 2010)

So I am going through this process again myself. I followed the directions I posted above. With NO TA I had a pretty good stage but all contained within the car (that is no trumpets on my mirror or hood) and a bit low. Using the math above most of stage localized to each side of the dash with a dead area in the middle. The right side seemed a bit less localized than the left.. which was totally smashed near the speakers. 

As many have said you should use math to get it close and ears to get it best. But my question is.. If I want to move the sound more towards the center do I add delay or reduce it and on which side, or both? I am looking for generalities here.. just something to get me started. If I guess I could be at this YEARS.

(I did swap the polarity around on all four channels)

Below are my distances in inches.
Sub 64
LT 35 RT 51
LW 40 RW 54


Below are my time adjustments...

LT 2.2 RT 1.0
LW 1.8 RW .7


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## em_pleh (Nov 19, 2010)

Ok try swapping your speakers back to normal and see where that puts you. I'm not sure how your TA calculates distance but I it's in inches it should be as follows

Lt 2.91 Rt 4.25

Lw 3.33. Rw 4.5 

This is in inches so if yours is in cm the just do the math and convert it.


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## pat_smith1969 (Feb 17, 2010)

I have TA built into my amps (kenwood KAC-x4r).. I have to enter the miliseconds manually. 

The first numbers I gave were in inches, the second set of numbers were the milleseconds delay for each channel.


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## pat_smith1969 (Feb 17, 2010)

I will try your numbers.. they make more sense that mine.. closest speakers should be delayed the most. My numbers have the oposite. Perhaps this is all a "math error" on my part.


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## em_pleh (Nov 19, 2010)

Could be... Remeasure and figure the math... And actually I meant to say that my numbers are in feet not inches... Sorry if I confused you


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## philnutz1 (Dec 14, 2010)

i think i'm just gonna wait till i build my kicks and and a pillars before i mess with mine, but thanks everyone for pointing me in the right direction.


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