Attaching an amp to a sub box?
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Silver Member Username: StamantLA, FL USA Post Number: 334 Registered: Sep-04 | Is it ok to attach an amp to a sub box? I thought I read somewhere that you should not do this but I can't remember. I have nowhere else to put it without building a false floor or wall. |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 5538 Registered: Feb-06 | not a good idea. |
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Platinum Member Username: WingmanaliveA pic is worth 1000 posts!! Post Number: 11680 Registered: Jun-06 | Wreaks havoc on the amp's internals. Not to mention an easier smash and grab for theives. |
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Silver Member Username: Jesse59672OKLAHOMA Post Number: 827 Registered: Feb-07 | there's nothing wrong with it. just make sure you put some kind of shock absorbant like foam inbetween the amp and box. i've done many installs like that and have never had any problems with anything. just remember to check your connections to amp like pwr grnd etc, they may tend to become loose over time |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 4570 Registered: Jul-06 | No. Absolute worst place to mount an amp. Quote from http://www.bcae1.com/amplfier.htm Amplifier mounting: DO NOT mount an amplifier on your subwoofer box. I know that there has been a great deal of discussion over mounting an amplifier to an enclosure and many people do it all of the time with no problems but those people probably build good enclosures from 3/4" (or thicker) MDF with extensive bracing. Most people (especially young impatient people) are too lazy to do that and build unbraced enclosures from 5/8 MDF. These enclosures will flex considerably more than a proper enclosure and will likely cause amplifier failure if the amp is mounted to the enclosure. REASON: When the woofer(s) moves in or out, the box flexes and therefore causes the sides of the box to vibrate. This vibration is transferred to the amplifier mounted to the box. All of the electrical components in the amplifier have mass. Inertia (an object in motion tends to stay in motion, an object at rest tends to stay at rest) tells them to stay at rest, the box vibration is trying to make them move. The energy from the box's vibration is transferred to the components through the electrical leads which are soldered into the circuit board. All of this will cause the components to break loose and therefore cause the amplifier to fail prematurely. Basically, the amplifier will commit suicide! :-) I'm not telling you this because someone told me it was bad. I've been repairing amplifiers since ~1985. Virtually every amplifier that's come into my shop with parts rattling around inside them have been mounted on the speaker box. It causes the legs of the semiconductors to break (which causes amplifier failure). It causes the capacitors to break off of the board (which can cause catastrophic amplifier failure). It causes solder joints to break on the semiconductors mounted to the heat sink. It causes transformer windings to grind into one another (which causes lots of smoke to pour out of your amplifier). People who repeatedly tell others to mount their amps on the speaker box because they've never had a problem remind me of people who drink and drive and say there's nothing wrong with it because they've never crashed their vehicle. Eventually, in both cases, problems will arise. |
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Silver Member Username: Jesse59672OKLAHOMA Post Number: 828 Registered: Feb-07 | so according to the quote, if your using 3/4mdf then you're fine. |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 5539 Registered: Feb-06 | even with 3/4" mdf i still wouldn't do it. i've been to many shops and seen alot of there installs, and i've never seen an amp mounted to the box. i don't think i know an installer that would do it unless asked. with the exception of maybe cc or bb. |
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Platinum Member Username: WingmanaliveA pic is worth 1000 posts!! Post Number: 11681 Registered: Jun-06 | It's a gamble, 3/4mdf or not. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 4575 Registered: Jul-06 | jesse that's not what the quote says. It says a 5/8" unbraced enclosure is worse than a 3/4" braced enclosure. It doesn't say the 3/4" braced enclosure won't vibrate --- it will. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 4576 Registered: Jul-06 | " i don't think i know an installer that would do it unless asked " I don't either. In fact, I once had someone insist that I mount his amp to the sub box because he didn't want me to drill into his back seat. Guess what happened. The amp blew a few months later. Of course the fact that it was an earthquake contributed to that. |
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Silver Member Username: CblazeRock island, Tenesssee Us Post Number: 797 Registered: Sep-07 | alot of ppl put there amps on there boxes but id be carefull with running more than 2k |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 5542 Registered: Feb-06 | so an amp will never get messed up if running 1500w while it's on the box? that makes no sense at all. JUST DON'T DO IT! /THREAD |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 4578 Registered: Jul-06 | FYI chris the situation I just described above was running 600w RMS. |
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Silver Member Username: CblazeRock island, Tenesssee Us Post Number: 799 Registered: Sep-07 | oh |
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Silver Member Username: StamantLA, FL USA Post Number: 337 Registered: Sep-04 | Thanks guys for all the imput. However, I still don't see a difference between on the box and 6 inches away from it on the side of the trunk. Is not everything shaking inside the trunk? |
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Silver Member Username: Jesse59672OKLAHOMA Post Number: 831 Registered: Feb-07 | nah not if its sitting on carpet. |
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Gold Member Username: JtownTeam Revolution, Texas Post Number: 1181 Registered: Mar-07 | if you do it, double or triple baffle the area it's on, plus use rubber washers/spacers to reduce further vibration. any flex you can eliminate, the better |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 4582 Registered: Jul-06 | How far away from the box it is does not matter. What matters is the surface you mount it on. Pretty much anything is better then on the box, as that is what vibrates the most. Read that quote I posted from bcae1. It tells you exactly why not to do it. |
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Platinum Member Username: Rovin4 10 Pioneer... Post Number: 12612 Registered: Jul-05 | just let them go learn the hard way ... |
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Silver Member Username: CblazeRock island, Tenesssee Us Post Number: 852 Registered: Sep-07 | lol ya |
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