I'm planning on using 2 infinity kappa perfect 12.1s (single 4 ohm or dual 4 ohm depending on amp) and they are rated at 350 rms apiece. they will be in a sealed box with 1^3 each. I am planning on using kicker amps to power the subs, and i need to know should i use the 600.1, rated at 600 rms at 2 ohms, or the 1200.1, rated at 1200 rms at 1 ohm? is it better to overpower the subs? can they handle that much power?
Power handliong specs are usualy thermal and describe how much heat/power the voice coil can take before meltdown. It generally takes a lot less power than this for a sub to reach full excursion especially in sealed enclosures.
Unless you push the amp into clipping underpowering never hurts a sub otherwise subs would be blowing left and right whenever someone listened to them at low volumes.
What you have to be careful of is that almost all HUs distort around 85% up the volume. So don't assume you can max it and expect 600w out. You'll get high distortion/clipping mixed in along with the power. This is why I always recommend stronger amps so that you can get max power before 85% mark.
alright, thanks guys, I think i'm gonna go with the 1200.1 cause i can always turn the gain (and the volume) down, and keep the distortion lower with the larger amp. (plus the 1200.1 is the same size as my 4 channel amp that i'm using for the components, and it'll look better in the final install.)
Overpower over underpower. Underpowering will distort a sub. Overpowering under reasonable amount it better. Note reasonable. 500-1000 watts over is NOT reasonable. Oh and i run max power at 90 % no distortion whatsoever. Sq and db tested. 172.3 DB . but then again I do know what I'm doing
but then again I do know what I'm doing