Is it dangerous to have the gain set wrong?

Question

i know the real purpose of setting the gain is to match the stereo but what exactly what does that mean

Answer 1

the real purpose of a gain control on an amplifier is to match the signal voltage between the head unit and the amplifier

unfortunatly unlike home hifi there is no standard to which manufacturers work to so one manufacturer may produce a head unit that outputs 0.5 volts at maximum another may produce one with 5.0 volts

this is why amplifiers have gain controls and why they should be set to match the headunit or source  

Answer 2

Gain is like a Volume control of the amp.  If you set it wrong you can cause your subwoofers to Clip.  Clip means that it is playing a Square wave instead of a round one!?  if that make sense.  So you are causing teh subwoofer or speakers to play OUTSIDE of it's normal play.  Thuse causing the speakers to work harder than they should but you dont get any better performance...the sound might be distorted and such.  this will ALSO cause the amp to work harder and can cause it to overheat etc.