Where do I start? Um...my sister is getting me a JL Audio 10w6v2 as a highschool graduation gift. To power that sub, I was consider buying my friend's JL Audio 250/1...Do you guys think that my sub will blow because it is being underpowered because, if i can remember correctly, the RMS for the 10w6v2 is 400 (correct me if i'm wrong)...thanks guys

 

then dont buy your friends 250/1..

save up and get a 500/1

 

yes save for a bigger amp and you won't blow your sub by not giving it enough power its the other way around.

 

buy the 500/1 but dont overlook the ohm stability of the equipment cuz u can burn a voice coil. so dont always go by wattage cuz it can be misleading.

 

A few things..... you are correct the sub is 400W continues, the 250/1 is 250W RMS into 1.5-4 ohms @ 11V-14.5V so it is "underpowered" for the sub, not to say it can't power the sub, just not to the subs "potential", and remember this, "under-powering" a sub will not blow it, [you can put 250W RMS into a 400W sub all day long] what you can't do is over-drive the amp into clipping because that is what will burn up the VC, [blow the sub].
I agree that the 500/1 is a better amp for that sub, you can always back off on the amps gain a little.
The sound of a clipping amp is much more suttle then the sound of a sub that is being over-driven, both will destroy a sub, it's just a lot harder to tell when it's happening when you are "underpowered". 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H(alo)oNdA 5thG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes save for a bigger amp and you won't blow your sub by not giving it enough power its the other way around.</TD></TR></TABLE>

no.. wrong.. its probably easier to underpower because a person will most likely turn the volume up if its not loud enough and will eventually cause the amplifer to start clipping, which will fry the VC or VC's of the sub..

 

according to jl audio's power range application chart, it's better to underpower a subwoofer than overpowering one....

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/prod...id=35

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dc24me &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">according to jl audio's power range application chart, it's better to underpower a subwoofer than overpowering one....

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/prod...id=35

</TD></TR></TABLE>Sorry you are wrong if you look closely at the chart (s) you will see that the optimum wattage, [middle of yellow area] is right bang on the subs (Pt) "Thermal Power Handling" of 400W continuous, and if you look at any of their subs it's the same way.
I do not know of any speaker manufacturer that recommends "under-powering " their speakers, keeping in mind "under-powering" a speaker will not hurt it, it's driving that "underpowered" amp into clipping that will damage the speaker, and LSRracing95 is correct, it is a lot easier to blow a speaker with an "underpowered" amp then with an "overpowered" amp, for no real other reason then it is a lot easier to tell when you are hurting a speaker when it is "overpowered" then when it is "underpowered", take my word for it, in the over 30 years I have been an installer, I have replaced more blown speakers on "underpowered" systems then I have on "overpowered" systems, at a rate of probably 100 to 1, the most common fix for repeated blown speakers is to install bigger amps to drive them, the above is true for any speaker, sub woofers, mid bass drivers, mid-range and even tweeters. 94

 

this is from jla's website.

Green (Minimum):
From a reliability standpoint, this zone represents a very comfortable operating power range for each driver. This level of power will not stress the woofer but will not extract all of its performance potential, either.

Use of less than the minimum power level will not damage the woofer, but may result in unsatisfactory performance

Red (Danger Zone):
Low-distortion output and long-term reliability will be compromised (especially by an aggressive user). Slightly more SPL might be gained by pushing the power into this zone, but typically not more than 2 dB, when compared to the yellow zone. The closer you are to the black zone, the higher the likelihood of driver failure. Operate with caution: burnt voice coils are not covered under warranty

according to the colors on the chart, the recommended 400 watts rms falls between the "yellow zone" and the "red zone".

to the original listener: think about what type of listener you are. is a 10" going to be enough for your car and your musical tastes? honestly do you think you are an aggressive user or a mature listener? then decide what is the right amp for you. if you think you are a more aggressive user, then you might want to consider a a woofer that has more output capability like 12w6v2 or multiple 10w6v2s so you won't have to stress the speaker out, either mechanically (bottoming out, xmax) or hitting it's thermal limit. (frying the speaker either by a clipping amp or severely overpowering it)

 

Just as I said, <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dc24me &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">this is from jla's website.Use of less than the minimum power level will not damage the woofer, but may result in unsatisfactory performance[/I</TD></TR></TABLE> We are a JL dealer and have been for a long time, you are not reading the power chart properly, the "optimum" power is the center of the yellow shaded area and on the chart all the subs "optimum" powers are right smack dab in the middle of the yellow shaded area, check the subs that have a power rating that is the same as one of the marked lines, [13W7, 10W7, 13W6v2, 15W3v2, 8W3v2 even the discontinued 10W0 and 12W0, all of their "Thermal Power Handling" (Pt) fall right in the middle of the yellow shaded area and if you look at the 10W6v2 the middle of the yellow shaded area is just to the right of half way between the 250W and 500W gauge lines are, right where 400W would be.

So I say again, you are wrong, JL Audio does not recommend under-powering their subs, it is clear by their "Recommended Continuous (RMS) Power Range for One Subwoofer Driver" chart... http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/RecPowerChart.pdf and their descriptions that amplifier RMS output should be the same as the subs continuous power handling, [or "TPH" or RMS] for "optimum results" 94