Select your product to confirm this information applies to you
How to Tune a Fusion® Marine Amplifier
Tuning an amplifier can take some time to get just right for best performance and sound quality. Here we will provide a starting point where speakers and subwoofers will sound great upon installation, but with room for further fine-tuning. Note that Apollo™ series amplifiers are not included, as the Apollo series amplifiers are tuned automatically when setting DSP profiles in the Fusion Audio application. See How to Set Up DSP Using the Fusion® Audio App for details.
To increase a setting, the tuning pod (or settings dial) will be turned clockwise. To decrease a setting, the tuning pod will be turned counter-, or anti-clockwise. Before connecting the amplifier to power, always start with the Level (or gain) at Min (minimum) to prevent possible damage to the speakers. In addition, set the stereo's volume limit to a maximum of three fourths so as not to overdrive the speakers. See the stereo's owner's manual for more information.
Tuning Signature Series Amplifiers
When adjusting Signature series amplifier settings, it may be helpful to think of the tuning pods as a clock face where the minimum setting is at the 4 o'clock position and the maximum setting is at the 2 o'clock position.
Set Level to zero (4 o'clock position)
Set crossover switches for all zones to HPF (hi-pass filter)
Set crossover switches for Subwoofer to Sub
Set Freq (frequency) to one third (8 o'clock position)
Set Low Pass Freq to two thirds (10 o'clock position) if using a subwoofer and zero (4 o'clock position) if not
Set Bass Boost to one half (9 o'clock position) if using a subwoofer and zero (4 o'clock position) if not
Set Subsonic to one third (8 o'clock position) if using a subwoofer and zero (4 o'clock position) if not
Tuning AM Series Amplifiers
When adjusting AM series amplifier settings, it may be helpful to think of the tuning pods (or settings dials) as a clock face where the minimum setting is at the 8 o'clock position and the maximum setting is at the 4 o'clock position.
MS-AM402 2 Channel Setup
The 4 channel setup assumes just speakers are connected to each of the 4 channels with no subwoofers.
Set Level to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set X-Over Selector (crossover switches) to HP (hi-pass)
Set LP (lo-pass) to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set HP (hi-pass) to one quarter (9 o'clock position)
Set Bass Boost to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set Subsonic to zero (8 o'clock position)
MS-AM402 Bridged Subwoofer Setup
The bridged subwoofer setup assumes that a subwoofer is the only speaker connected to the amplifier and that it is bridged between the two output channels.
Set the crossover switch to LP (lo-pass)
Set LP to half (12 o'clock position)
Set HP (hi-pass) to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set Bass Boost to half (12 o'clock position)
Set Subsonic to one quarter (9 o'clock position)
MS-AM504 4 Channel Setup
The 4 channel setup assumes just speakers are connected to each of the 4 channels with no subwoofers. These settings will be the same for the tuning pods on both the Front (top) and Rear (bottom) settings.
Set Level to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set X-Over Selector (crossover switches) to HP (hi-pass)
Set LP (lo-pass) to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set HP (hi-pass) to one quarter (9 o'clock position)
Set Bass Boost to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set Subsonic to zero (8 o'clock position)
MS-AM504 2 Channel and Bridged Subwoofer Setup
The 2 channel and bridged subwoofer setup assumes that speakers are connected to channels 1 and 2 of the amplifier with a subwoofer bridged between channels 3 and 4.
Front (top) Settings
Set Level to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set X-Over Selector (crossover switch) to HP (hi-pass)
Set LP (lo-pass) to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set HP (hi-pass) to one quarter (9 o'clock position)
Set Bass Boost to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set Subsonic to zero (8 o'clock position)
Rear (bottom) Settings
Set Level to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set X-Over Selector to LP
Set LP to one half (12 o'clock position)
Set HP to zero (8 o'clock position)
Set Bass Boost to one half (12 o'clock position)
Set Subsonic to one quarter (9 o'clock)
With these settings, connect the amplifier to power and turn on the stereo. Set the Level tuning pods to one quarter (6 o'clock position on the Signature series and 9 o'clock on the AM series) and begin playing music from the stereo. For best results, use the highest quality audio source available. USB connection or Wi-Fi streaming is ideal. Turn the stereo volume up to about two thirds of maximum, then slowly raise Level until audible distortion comes from the speakers. Decrease Level until all distortion is gone, then do the same with any other Level settings. Then slowly adjust the Freq settings up and down to find what sounds best. Note that what frequency filter settings sound best will vary greatly depending on the speakers and what kind of music is being played, and that there is no one best setting.
