amp and subs wattage help!!!!!!!!!!!??????
i currently have a 2 channel amp that is capable of 190watts at 2 ohm. would my 2 200rms subs be underpowered ?
would it benefit me to upgrade to an amp that provided 375watts at 2 ohm? it would be a mono class a/b amp i ordered a week ago.
the subs are 200 rms and 400 max
any help would be much appreciated!!!
sparky is absolutly right, and i’ll even add even when the gains are set correctly you can clip the heck out of it if you turn it up past its intended volume… what you have likely heard is that to large a amp is better than to little, well that is true given they are trying to produce the same wattage. another words if you have a 500 watt sub then it is better to have a 1000 watt amp play at 500 watts than it is to have a 250 watt amp try to play 500 watts. but the best option would be a 500 watt amp to play the 500 watts. if you have a 1000 watt and you get "greedy" and push it to 600 watts you may be fine, but with too much power it will sound real clear, right up to when the sub blows and stops working… more than likely your’ll get a mechanical failure. (sub esentially self destructs of over extends) if you have a 250 watt amp, and you play 250 watts all is well (to little power is o.k.), but if you push it to sever clipping say 400-450 watts, that may blow the 500 watt sub, because it is not music it more noise, and that can make a sub thermally fail. but you should relize this does not happen withoput warning the sub will sound as if it is being overworked, and and the music will be severly distorted.
hope that helps…
July 1st, 2009 at 3:56 am
Yes it would be under powered.What you need is a 200rms times two amp that can run that power at 4 ohms..This way you dont have to turn your gain up,it will sound much better and youll stop heat from getting transferred.What alot of people dont know is the number one cause of speaker failure is under powering them when this happens your amp will start to send heat instead of a Watt/amp flow.when heat enters your speaker it sounds fuzzy and or crackly..if you run to much power one of two things will happen,one it will blow apart,or two will make a single note hum until it eventually melts or blows your cone out.hope this helps,remember rms is what counts not peak wattage..its a selling scheme
References :
was a installer for best buy
July 1st, 2009 at 4:27 am
WOW! chewbac63 is so wrong.
Underpowering is no more damaging than turning the volume down as they are the same thing. Low volume, low power. If underpowering caused damage, then speakers would have been damaged long ago with lower volume.
What alot of people dont know is the number one cause of speaker failure is clipping caused by incorrect gain settings.
The purpose of the gain is to match the signal volts RMS coming from the source (CD player, etc.) to the input of the amp.
Here is a guide that will help you set the gain correctly http://www.datafilehost.com/download.php?file=6d26c621
You’ll need a multi-meter (AC voltmeter), Microsoft Excel and a way to burn an audio CD from an MP3.
If you don’t have Excel, e-mail me and I’ll send you a condensed version sparky3489@yahoo.com
See my site for more info http://spkrbox1.spaces.live.com
References :
A.A.S. degree in Electronics/Industrial Electronics with 25 years in the mobile audio/consumer electronics field
July 1st, 2009 at 4:55 am
sparky is absolutly right, and i’ll even add even when the gains are set correctly you can clip the heck out of it if you turn it up past its intended volume… what you have likely heard is that to large a amp is better than to little, well that is true given they are trying to produce the same wattage. another words if you have a 500 watt sub then it is better to have a 1000 watt amp play at 500 watts than it is to have a 250 watt amp try to play 500 watts. but the best option would be a 500 watt amp to play the 500 watts. if you have a 1000 watt and you get "greedy" and push it to 600 watts you may be fine, but with too much power it will sound real clear, right up to when the sub blows and stops working… more than likely your’ll get a mechanical failure. (sub esentially self destructs of over extends) if you have a 250 watt amp, and you play 250 watts all is well (to little power is o.k.), but if you push it to sever clipping say 400-450 watts, that may blow the 500 watt sub, because it is not music it more noise, and that can make a sub thermally fail. but you should relize this does not happen withoput warning the sub will sound as if it is being overworked, and and the music will be severly distorted.
hope that helps…
References :
July 1st, 2009 at 5:15 am
i read da other dudes answers in plan english 200rms in the min. u want 2 play your subs get an amp close 2- 400 watts its that simple
References :
July 1st, 2009 at 5:47 am
you need a class d amp two channel and 200rmsX2 at 2 or 4 ohms depending on the ohm load of your subs
References :
im crazy about systems