Owner's Manual

4
If your head unit is an aftermarket piece with low level outputs (RCA) which
have no more than 2 volts of output, the KX2 Output Level controls will need to
be turned all the way up to get enough signal to the amplifiers. On the other
extreme, if you are using a high powered factory or aftermarket head unit with
no RCA outputs, the Output Level controls will need to be turned down between
the minimum setting and half way up, depending on how much output signal
the unit can provide. In other words, the more output signal the unit has, the
lower the Output Level controls need to be set. The lower the output signal is
from the head unit, the higher the Output Level controls must be set.
With the amplifier gains still at minimum and the head unit as high as it will go
without distortion, raise the HI-Pass Output Level control until distortion is heard
and immediately turn it down slightly. This is the maximum setting that this gain
control should ever be set to.
Setting the HI-Pass frequency and the gain on your high frequency amplifier
will depend on the size of the amplifier and the power handling capability of
your mid/high speakers. Remember that the power handling of a midrange
speaker is directly related to the HI-Pass frequency. It will handle more power at
a higher HI-Pass frequency and less power at a lower HI-Pass frequency. If the
midrange speaker ever pops or sounds bad it is a good indication that there is
too much power going to it or that the HI-Pass frequency is set too low. Most 6
1/2” midranges will operate down to 80 or 100 Hz. A 5 1/4” or a 4” will usually
work down to 100 to 150 Hz. Most 3 1/2 mids do not like to be operated below
300 Hz.
Using these guidelines, turn the HI-Pass frequency control down to the fre-
quency that your mid/high speakers will handle. Now you can turn the gain con-
trol up on the high pass amplifier until you reach a point where either the speak-
ers or the amplifier just start to sound bad. Immediately turn the head unit
down to a reasonable listening level.
Continue on the LO-Pass frequency control and the low frequency amplifier
gain. Normally the LO-Pass frequency will be the same as the HI-Pass Frequency.
An exception will be when the midrange is too small to play down to a real low
frequency and the subwoofer sounds bad trying to play up to meet the
midrange. This may require a gap or difference between the high and low set-
tings. Although not ideal, sometimes it is necessary to make the system work as
good as possible.
With the LO-Pass frequency set to match the HI-Pass or set for best sound,
turn up the LO-Pass Output Level control until the woofers start to sound bad or
lose their clear sound. It is much harder to hear distortion in a big heavy speaker
like a woofer. Now you can turn up the gain control on the low pass amplifier
until the maximum clear level is reached or until the bass level matches the
mid/high speakers. This is a subjective setting and will depend on your personal
listening preferences.