Just curious as to what the dangers of matching an amp up with a sub when the amp has a slightly higher RMS rating. For example:

350x1 RMS @ 2ohm amplifier
with:
300 RMS DVC sub in parallel @2ohms (started at 4ohms on each coil)

Do I just have to keep the gain down? Will this be really hard on the sub? Or will it only being 50watts difference not really hurt anything?

 

It will mean that you have the potential to smoke your sub.

turn it up till it starts to clip the sub, turn it down a wee lil bit leave it there, and you'll be fine.

It's always better to have more power ( more than you need) than not enough.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nOOber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It will mean that you have the potential to smoke your sub.

turn it up till it starts to clip the sub, turn it down a wee lil bit leave it there, and you'll be fine.

It's always better to have more power ( more than you need) than not enough.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i assume you mean turn up the gain? ok..

 

what about the max watts rating? what if your giving a sub with 200 RMS and 600 MAX 300 watts RMS? would that still smoke the sub? i mean if it can handle 600 why would 300 be a problem? u know?

 

well, that's what kinda made me wonder if it would be a problem or not as well.. the way I saw it is that max is meant to be periodic peaks, not consistent.. where as the RMS is consistent power handling.. this is what made me think going over RMS rating on the sub with the amp may be a problem..

any more thoughts anyone?

 

the amp NEVER EVER puts out constant watts unless u have enough preout voltage, constant voltage from the battery, and you're playing test tones.

music is dynamic. always peaks and valleys within the waveforms.

 

so is it cool to run a jbl bp300.1 mono amp (300 watts RMS at 2 ohms) on a 10" alpine dual 4 ohm voice coil type-s in a sealed enclosure? i heard that with sealed enclosures you need to run more power to the sub to get the sound you want. so i figured 100 watts over RMS would prolly be pretty good. please correct me if my cheese has slid way off my cracker...

 

I was once told by one of the Top 10 installers in the country that "As long as the signal is clean and you don't have any clipping you could run a 300 watt Sub with a 1000 watt Amp."

I'll take his word for it and say not to worry unless you don't have a clean signal or a good amp.

 

well i hear JBL is pretty close to top of the line when it comes to amps. im either getting a jbl or an alpine amp. and i hear good things about both. so im guessin ill be jus fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mike M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was once told by one of the Top 10 installers in the country that "As long as the signal is clean and you don't have any clipping you could run a 300 watt Sub with a 1000 watt Amp."

I'll take his word for it and say not to worry unless you don't have a clean signal or a good amp.</TD></TR></TABLE>

assuming the 1000 watts amp puts out a constant 1000 watts and the 300 watt sub handles 300 continuously, the sub won't last for more than a few minutes. that is of course the sub has a big voice coil and the company underrated the sub. lol.

besides, speakers/subs can't tell the different between wats clean and whats "dirty"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H22Accord90DX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so is it cool to run a jbl bp300.1 mono amp (300 watts RMS at 2 ohms) on a 10" alpine dual 4 ohm voice coil type-s in a sealed enclosure? i heard that with sealed enclosures you need to run more power to the sub to get the sound you want. so i figured 100 watts over RMS would prolly be pretty good. please correct me if my cheese has slid way off my cracker...</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'd be VERY careful with that amp on that sub. the JBL has the potential to put out almost 400 watts RMS. as long as u have enough power and the right box to get it to reach full excursion, no need for more power.

 

what about the alpine MRD-M300? you think it might be a better idea to run that, since its 200 RMS?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

assuming the 1000 watts amp puts out a constant 1000 watts and the 300 watt sub handles 300 continuously, the sub won't last for more than a few minutes. that is of course the sub has a big voice coil and the company underrated the sub. lol.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Except that the Amp will never be putting out 1000 watts continuously. And a Dirty Signal will start clipping at a lower range than a clean signal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H22Accord90DX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what about the alpine MRD-M300? you think it might be a better idea to run that, since its 200 RMS?</TD></TR></TABLE>

IMO I'd look into some other Amplifier manufacturers like: Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio, PPI, Kicker, MTX etc.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mike M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Except that the Amp will never be putting out 1000 watts continuously. And a Dirty Signal will start clipping at a lower range than a clean signal.</TD></TR></TABLE>

therefore thats why u wouldn't really be putting 1kw on the sub right? clipping the amp will put out more power than necessary, so i would see why the sub would fail thermally.

 

noob question: whats clipping? i know what it is in football, but audio i have no clue....

 

So remind me how many times have you tried a setup like that? Seeing that you know that it will only last a few minutes and all. I'm inclined to go with the words of someone who has actually seen it and has built 100's of high end systems as well as DB Drag vehicles.

 

u said so yourself that the amp is not always going to put out a constant 1000 watts RMS so thats not really fair saying a 300 watt power handling sub will handle 1000 watts of "clean" power. put 1kw CONSTANTLY on a sub like the infinity kappa perfect for a few minutes and see what happens.

just because i take my directed 1100d amp (underrated 1100x1@1ohm) and slap on an e15k and play it at super low volume does not mean it handles "1100" watts.

by the way, different companies have different methods of rating their termal power handling. best way is to actually KNOW the subwoofer. and this isn't from me either..its from many people who build Speakers, amplifiers, design subs, etc, not just slap together a few thing and call it a system.. almost anybody can put together a system if they know the basics.

 

be careful using words like constantly we are talking about an AC waveform as you already mentioned. Even with a test tone its still a sine wave with varying voltages.

A 20 Hz wave is about as close as your going to get to being contant. This is why RMS results are used to measure the output of an amplifier.




Modified by nsxxtreme at 3:39 PM 9/13/2003

 

oh fine mister..

1000 watts continuously (+/- 200 watts)

sheesh..u know what i mean..

as long as i got my point across..

psh..u know nothing..

your nsx is slow..

u have no brain..

u know nothing about physics..

your bike is slow..

yet i want that nsx. ahaha. btw..where do u keep your sub at?

 

LOL

My comments were mostly for the other people I figured you knew what you were talking about. Whats really srewed up is you have to talk a certain way for normal people to understand you. Then when your around people that know what you are talking about they look at you as if your crazy. You can't win!

Subs in the passanger foot space.

hehe bikes the only thing that has ever scared the sh** out of me. Lift the front wheel at 100 and you learn quickly to respect your bike.

 

what does the bike run on the 1/4th?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mike M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So remind me how many times have you tried a setup like that? Seeing that you know that it will only last a few minutes and all. I'm inclined to go with the words of someone who has actually seen it and has built 100's of high end systems as well as DB Drag vehicles.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I had a nice reply, but my friends POS computer died. I am not typing the whole thing again.

In a nutshell, I would like to see a post from your friend that says this. I would never recommend this to any noob. First of all I don't think you truly understand what you are saying. I know that it is possible to hook a 1000 watt amp to a 300 watt sub. You cannot run 1000 watts into it for more than a short period of time. He asked about rms not peak. And this is a daily driver not an spl vehicle. He wants to listen to bass, in several octaves

There are several tests for rms wattage. For me personally, when I think rms, I ask myself if I can put 1000 watts into it for 4 hours straight, without thermal or mechanical failure.

Lastly just because your friend gets paid for installing stereos does not mean he truly understands subs, or speakers. Most people that work at audio shops are not so analytical. Please don't underestimate gsteg, nsxtreme, and some of the other knowledgeable people just because we did not choose to work in a car audio shop.(what happened to that chamillion guy, he never answered my questions )

Just an analogy, how long can a bone stock b18c handle boost that would create 300whp from a turbo kit? Depends on the user Same here.

I would put money that I could smoke a 300 watt rms sub in less than an hour with a 1000 watt rms amp without clipping.

 

so let me ask u something MIKE M... have u ever seen it and has built 100's of high end systems to know wut ur talking about? rememeber that that person who told this is human. humans make mistakes and sometimes mess up and can give misinformation. have u ever looked into it or did some research about it? im sure gsteg has and i would take his word over yours.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ATF Kuk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so let me ask u something MIKE M... have u ever seen it and has built 100's of high end systems to know wut ur talking about? rememeber that that person who told this is human. humans make mistakes and sometimes mess up and can give misinformation. have u ever looked into it or did some research about it? im sure gsteg has and i would take his word over yours.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your just being bitchy because I took a point from you and warned you not to sell in this forum, Tough luck since its the rules. And I could care less on who you'd choose to believe. But to answer your question I have built a decent amount of systems myself, mostly for SQ.

As far as the 1000/300 yes I exagerated a bit when I said 1000 att amp, I should have said something closer to 400-500. My point was that people take Rated Wattage as Face Value, even though not everythings rated the same and Most Amps don't put out their full rated wattage for much time during avg use.