Stereo Help
 

In the past, all of my amps were driven by my head unit. The head unit stopped working, so I have an ipod jack plugged into my Wetsounds ws-420. Now my music's level is much lower. I can turn up the knobs on the 420 all the way up and the volume is still low. Is there a way to increase the line level output of the ws420? My head unit was rated at 4volts. I'm not sure what the ws420 is putting out with an ipod connected, but the only thing that has changed is removing the head unit and plugging the ipod directly into the ws420.

What model/version WS-420 do you have? The ipod's head-phone output is super weak. Your head unit was taking that low level and boosting it prior to the EQ. Even though the 420 is a line driver, you are loosing the little boost they head-unit offered. Have you retuned the amp, since going exclusive EQ direct?

Turn up the gains On your amps

I believe I have the ws 420 sq. It was the one that came out the year before the Bluetooth version. I have tried turning up the gains and I can max everything out. I know the 420 has some internal adjustment gains but I have not messed with those. I did not know if that would help, or if there was another device besides a head unit I could purchase to boost the voltage.

This is exactly what the internal gain adjustment is intended for.

Yes, you can add a small line driver between the iphone output and EQ input to recover the lost voltage. Try the internal adjustment first.

david, how do I know how much to turn it up, or rather, how do I go about setting it correctly? Also, were can I purchase a small line driver. The ones I have found either require a plug to power it, or are made by audio control and are $200.

You can get a JL Audio line driver from Odin at Earmark Marine if you feel that one is needed after adjusting the internal gain pot of the WS420. $59.
The ipod should be run at full non-clipping gain. Depending on which ipod model you have the bottom multipin connector is preferred over the top 3.5mm connector.
The WS420 input gain should be set to achieve maximum non-clipping output gain with the master volume control and individual zone controls set at full.
These settings can be achieved by ear (which I prefer), via a test tone and oscope, by a test tone and distortion detector, or by a test tone and voltmeter with the known non-clipping output voltage of any particular component.

I have the WS420BT and have the same issue. The blue tooth and the aux input are lower than the head unit. Can the WS420BT be adjusted as well?

I have been using a 3.5mm connector that converts to a pair of rca's plugged into the aux input of the ws 420. Can you provide a set of steps for setting the internal gain of the ws 420 and the amps. I have 3 amps; one for my sub, one for my tower speakers, and one for my interior speakers. All have their own set of rca's coming from the ws 420.. I will turn the ipod up to maximum volume, then turn the master volume and individual zone controls to full, but where do I start with the amps before adjusting the internal gains of the ws420? I understand listening for distortion, is that the same thing as clipping?

@ Daniel,

Yes, the internals of the BT are the same as the SQ in regards to the gain settings.

Interested in this thread as well. I am thinking of scratching the headunit all together, but when I connect using bluetooth on my 420BT, the volume is so much lower. I have plenty of headroom on the amp gains to turn them up, but the 420BT already introduced a bit of noise into the system.......I'm afraid If I increase the amp gain.....the noise will increase.