Bypassing H/U with much lower volume

For the past 2 summers I had used my H/U with a flash drive for music, which was OK nut then finding specific songs when the list changed was becoming more and more of a PITA. SO I decided to use an old phone plugged directly into my WS420 AUX input. This made searching and selecting songs 1000% easier but I seem to have lost a significant amount of volume. The phone is all the way up ( even the little warning that listening to loud music can hurt your ears displays on the phone...lol ). SO I guess my question is how much can I adjust the internal settings for line input level before causing issues upstream, is there a technique or way to go about this safely and efficiently without blowing/frying anything? Im not a complete NEWB but im FAR from an expert and I don't want to mess anything up.

If your system was correctly tuned originally then back the phone down to 85 to 90% and simply set the Aux input level to the identical level as the Main input. No further changes should be needed.

Turn up the main on the ws420

Are you guys talking about the INSIDE levels? I've obviously played with the external dials. I guess i must not have it tuned very well cause its crazy lower. Are they set differently from the factory?

running through a line driver first like the arc ald would fix it for you. So phone to ALD, ALD to AUX input.

A headphone amplifier can solve the issue as well. I have used the Fiio E6 in my truck. It works OK.

There should be a gain adjustment inside the 420 depending on which model 420 you have. You pop off the 4 end screws and it will expose the interior of the 420 where the gains will be. Like David mentioned if you stereo was tuner correctly you can adjust the "aux" gain dial to match the " main input".

Otherwise to optimize the setting. Otherwise a quick way to get good baseline is to turn the tower speaker zone, boat zone , and sub zone all the way to zero. Tutn the Aux gain( located inside the 420) to zero. Pick zone (tower or inboats) you use most and turn that back on. Turn on source then turn 420 to about 3/4 volume. Then turn gain up on the Aux signal til the sound starts to distort.

Then turn that off and see how other zones sound. If they are distorted adjust those at the amp gains to clear them up rather than at the aux gain.

The safest way about going at it to not blow anything, would be to have a professional who does it regularly, fix and tune it. By ear only is the worst way to tune a system, Your either leaving something on the table or over amplifying without a clue.... If you do not know atleast basic tuning with a DVOM, please do yourself a huge favor and take it to someone who can. You paid a nice penny for the stereo so spend the extra to get the most out of your system. A properly tuned system will for the most part be volume up and down for the end user.. People who have had a proper tune will tell you it's a night and day difference..

Well the "authorized dealer" here in town did such crappy overall work on the first parts that I did the rest myself. We don't have any decent stereo people unless I go to Atlanta I would guess. Anyone on here know of any decent shops in the central Georgia area? Cause I'd really like to get a box built for under the dash but there are way too many angles for me to comfortably tackle it.

bill -- the "long" answer is to crack open the case on the 420 and adjust the input gains on the main and aux inputs until the output from the EQ is relatively similar, then retune your amps. As a practical matter that results in stepping down the EQ's output and cranking your gains on your amps.... which is why I suggested a line driver. I really like mikeski's headphone amp idea tho.

There's also something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Peripheral-PA...iver+car+audio I've never used, but might be worth a try for $20.

OK....Looking at the manual online there looks to be 2 dials per input? ( 2 main and 2 AUX ) I haven't been in there so are these clearly marked as to what each one does? Another kinda related question.....What kind of range and sound quality does the wetsounds Bluetooth dongle thing have? I'd like to delete the H/U altogether at some point but don't want to buy a new 420 to get Bluetooth.

Originally Posted by shawndoggy

bill -- the "long" answer is to crack open the case on the 420 and adjust the input gains on the main and aux inputs until the output from the EQ is relatively similar, then retune your amps. As a practical matter that results in stepping down the EQ's output and cranking your gains on your amps.... which is why I suggested a line driver. I really like mikeski's headphone amp idea tho.

There's also something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Peripheral-PA...iver+car+audio I've never used, but might be worth a try for $20.

What phone are you using? My S4 sucks for playing music, I have to turn the volume up way past the usual amount. I tried an old iPhone 4S and it works perfect and sounds very clean, I found out the headphone output of the Galaxy is very low in millivolts whereas this iPhone is around 1 volt. Hopefully this helps.

I'm using my wifes old Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Havent really tried any others, using it cause of the size of it, easier to see.

Try an iPhone, they're made to play music I can't speak for the G5 and up but the older ones are terrible and will blow your speakers, don't ask me how I know.

No Apple products in the house. Is Bluetooth better for this than a straight wired 3.5 mm jack? Does the wetsounds Bluetooth dongle thingy provide line level boost?

Yes, the Wet Sounds BT-VC has a 1V line level, so well above the 3.5mm head phone jack. Good strong signal without over saturation the AUX input of a head unit, as we've seen with other units boasting 2.2V level.