Peak power

 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
Hello
What is exactly peak power is it the amount of power the sub can handle before it blows?? for example say a sub had 1200watts of peak power, and 350 RMS would it make a difference to get a amplifier with 350 watts RMS or 1000?

thanks
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 45
Registered: Sep-04
The peak power is like u said the maximum that it can handle, the rms is what it gives out all the time. The sub u are talking about is the sony x-plod 12'' :P, if i am correct... For a sub that has 350 rms, u buy a 350 rms amp. If u put more than 350, there are two things.
1)Ur wasting power for absolutly nothing
2)Your going to blow your sub
So go with a 350 rms amp, and btw, don't get those sony's....
 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
lol thanks, every1 has different opinions on sonys some people say the're good some say the're crap :S, but yeah you were right i was talking about sony lol, the way i see them as is that they are cheap and powerful and sony have a good reputation, but i know your gunna say different......
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 46
Registered: Sep-04
Well u see, i've always said : u can't judge a sub by it's numbers, u can only judge it by listening. I've heard x-plods, and one thing i know is that if they are in a sealed box, they have good spl, but bad sq. Now the important thing is that it still is a subwoofer, and that alot of people don't recognize it. If it's the only thing u can afford, well then what the fack, buy it, but there is better for the price, if u wan't suggestion, post again and i'll tell u a little more about it.
 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
yeh thanks very much, 1 other question 700watts RMS is a fair amount right.... I'm not sure if the alternator could cope lol,noooo!!! more costs!! Maybe im being stupid but could you possibly give me educated guess as to what amperage alterner would be required to run them, i do not have any other flashy equipment like neons etc... Im just interested in powering the amp maybe this doesnt make sense but any help regarding the issue would be much appreciated! thanks very much
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 52
Registered: Sep-04
Ok
700 rms is qute enough yes. But like i said before, u can have that much watts, but might be beaten by subs that have 600 rms that are better quality... Check out for the brand names, don't touch the ones like : pyle, audiobahn, visonik, memphis and other brands like them. Tell me how much u are willing to spend for the subs and the amp and i will tell you what i can make out of it.
Btw, if u run 700 watts rms off your alternator, you should be ok, the only way you can check is if your lights dim while your subwoofer is playing, in that case you will have to change your alternator.
 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
thanks very much for your help, umm you see im in England pricing here is much different to your canadian $ often much more expensive, ummm the sony 12" sub is £46 and the amp im interested in dunno if its any good is the 'Crunch V-2800'(which is in the region of £170) The only reason i was concerned about the alternator is that im only 17 and my car is only a 1124cc engine!!! (peugeot 106, 1994) does that change anything? You were saying that i could get better performance from a different brand even with lower RMS ratings?? money isnt a too much of a issue but i would like to spend no more than about 400 quid.
thanks very much means a lot.
 

Silver Member
Username: Joe718

Brooklyn, NY

Post Number: 156
Registered: May-04
Hey Jeff whats wrong with memphis. out of all the names you listed thats the only company that makes quality stuff.
 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 53
Registered: Sep-04
Joseph : Memphis make good amps, but i've ben told that they make terrible subwoofers.. Plz correct me if i am wrong, but i'm only saying what i know...
Sam, like i said before, the sony sub isn,t the best, you would have to tell me what brand names are in England.... Tell me a couple, and i will help you out. Btw, u don't have to follow what i say, i'm giving an opinion, but i've always said that it's better to have an opinion of someone who knows a little more than yourself :P

 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
yeh gd point lol ummmm, if you would be so kind to look at this website it will give you a small selection of amps, www.caraudiocentre.co.uk or www.empiredirect.co.uk. thanks
Sam
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 55
Registered: Sep-04
Ok Sam, this one here is the best one.
Alpine Mrd m301
http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product.asp?product=20161
Alpine is a good company, they dominated the car audio domain for years back in the days, they haven't lost their touch, but alot more companies came out with more interesting stuff. You'll be good with this and your sub. Make sure of one thing though, when u finally get everything plugged and ready to blow the fack out of your sub,DONT. If u wan't your sub to last, trust me on this one. Go easy with the volume pad for weeks(yes weeks), because if you go to hard on it, you will blow your sub. When it comes brand new, the voice coils are fragile, plus it has some glue that has to burn of and all that. My guess is 3 weeks of easy going on it, but still using it, and you will be ready to go!!!
Happy thumping
Btw, it's ben a pleasure helping out :-)
 

sam2004
Unregistered guest
Yes thankyou very much mate much appreciated!! :-) u talking about getting 2 of these amps yeh? wired up at 2 Ohms
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 63
Registered: Sep-04
ehh let me check that one lol
That the only thing i'm not quite informed on, the facken wiring...
 

Bronze Member
Username: Decde

Canada

Post Number: 65
Registered: Sep-04
can anyone help out?? i'm not quite sure about this one...
 

Bronze Member
Username: Chevy_for_life

Post Number: 15
Registered: Sep-04
How much more is US $$ than those deals you guyz use sam?
 

greerb
Unregistered guest
A sub won't blow if you put more power to it than it can handle.

Let me tell you how I know this. I am a certified installer, when at Mobile Dynamics this was one of the experiments. They had a 15" Stroker and we surged it to a wall outlet. I can't recall off hand how much the stoker's RMS rating is 1200 if not mistaken, well a wall outlet putsout 3600w RMS.

Any speaker is more likey to blow when given less watage than what it is rated for, cause it's easier to distort than by giving it too much power. If the sub you are getting is rated at 350 rms at 4 ohms make sure your amp puts out 350-400 rms at 4ohms.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jonathan_f

GA USA

Post Number: 1912
Registered: May-04
That totally depends on the build quality of the sub you're doing the test with too, and the enclosure. Overpowering can potentially mess up subs, if not through voice coil damage (if done for too long and driven too hard) then overdriving the suspension. Most people are best off putting right at amount of unclipped power needed to get to full excursion. If you're into SPL, your needs will change according to the box. If you're into extreme SQ, then you'll want more power for headroom purposes. Overpowering won't damage the speakers/subs if you're careful. If you look at SQ competitors you'll see some with 300Wx2 RMS amps driving components rated at 100W RMS. This is for headroom, the amp has a huge dynamic range b/c it's not driven anywhere near it's full capabilities(power supply isn't strained), distortion is also low, heat isn't an issue, overall SQ is better(arguably of course, many will say you won't notice a diff., which may be true depending on application). Anyway, you can overpower anything you want AS LONG AS you're extremely careful. Underpowering will never hurt a speaker as long as you don't drive the amp into clipping, but you're more likely to do so w/ a small amp than a large one. Choosing an amp for subs is different because as opposed to components (which are free air, so the control is dependant on the suspension of the speaker) the power required for a sub is totally dependant on the enclosure you're using.
 

New member
Username: Voodooi

Post Number: 8
Registered: Sep-04
Hey guys since you know so much can you help me too. I have a amp that is MBquarts RAA2400 i beleive it is 200w@4ohm. i have 2 12" Phoneix gold xeon X12D4 subs. Am i under powering my subs, cause i want a hard pounding feel and clear too. Should i change which one to get what i want, cause it is over heating right now, and i listen to it full blast for at least 2 hour straight per drive.
 

sam390904
Unregistered guest
ok cheers
 

New member
Username: Goat

Post Number: 2
Registered: Sep-04
I am going to get some alpines 12's, and i want to know what type of amp i will need to get the most power out of them. I also need something that is inexpensive but still works. It has 1000w RMS and 3000 peak power handling. Here is a website that shows the subs specs:

http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_item_name=SWX-1242D&p_category=7 0&p_subcategory=156&p_main=10
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