Is it ok to overpower subs?
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Anonymous | I have 2 audiobahn 10" subs so how much powerful of an amp can I get? subs(600W RMS @ 4ohms svc) |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 754 Registered: Aug-05 | yes, it is preferred, b/c it gives the amp some headroom, which is to say it will always have more power than the subwoofer will need, so you don't have to worry about clipping the signal. |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 755 Registered: Aug-05 | you almost always never use full power from the amp, unless it isn't a very powerful amp, b/c music is so dynamic, the majority of the power is needed for the deep bass tones, and other loud sounds. |
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Anonymous | thnx a lot |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 9715 Registered: Dec-03 | So you've seen speakers that say "1600 watts" and you think to yourself, where am I going to get an amplifier and the charging system to feed it for a sub like that? Well, let's answer some common questions and clear up a few even more common misconceptions about power handling specs on speakers. A speaker usually has two power handling ratings. RMS and Peak or Max ratings, measured in watts. I would first like to point out that these ratings are thermal ratings. This means that the power ratings are meant to tell you how much heat a speaker's voice coil(s) can handle as measured in watts, without incurring damage. It is important to realize that this has no relation to the amount of power the speaker actually needs to reach it's peak mechanical output. That amount of power is generally less than what the speaker "can take" and is dependant on both the speaker's design as well as the enclosureinto which the speaker is placed. Defining RMS and Peak power handling: RMS (more accurately called continuous power handling) is the measure of how much power the speaker can enfure for extended, continuous periods of use. This is an average rating since music, and thus the power required to produce it, is dynamic in nature and varies greatly from moment to moment depending on the frequency being produced and mechanical characteristics of the amplifier and speaker. When pairing an amplifier and speaker or speakers, you should try to match the amplifier's power output to about 80% of the RMS rating of the speakers, at the load they'll present to the amplifier. This is a good, safe region to aim for if you're unsure of how much power the speakers actually need, and is a very generalized rule of thumb. Note that RMS ratings for speakers apply to a clean, AC voltage being applied to the speaker. If the signal is clipped in any way, the resulting DC voltage will cause the coils to heat more quickly and to greater temperatures, causing damage at what may be an amount of power well below that of the RMS rating. Peak ratings are strictly meant to tell you how much heat the voice coils of the speaker can take for a brief, momentary burst of power without essentialy blowing apart the speaker or melting the coils on the spot. This measurement isn't very useful in real world application so it's best left ignored for the most part. In conclusion, please keep in mind that just because a speaker may say it's rated for 2000 watts RMS, that by no means implies that you actually need that much power to get full output from the speaker. In fact you may need as little as 300 watts RMS to achieve peak excursion in teh right enclosure. This is a common misunderstanding by a large contingent of the car audio world, and one well worth addressing. This is why many people will tell you that you don't always need thousands of watts of power to have a loud system. http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1944 |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1230 Registered: May-05 | Glasswolf, I second that, my JBL 4645 professional THX is rated at continuous program 600watts down to 20Hz with cut-off at 120Hz, 24db octave down, as for amplification not even near half way and the amplifier is only 250watts, though there is always the danger of under powering.... Plus she can reach 120dbc weighting no sweet possibly 126dbc weighting as that the limit on my SPL db meter, but if I set the calibration level on the SPL db metre to -10db and then I'll be able to see if she can reach 136dbc weighting, but the threshold of hearing 130db for pain, I'm not that stupid to even try for that. Like I say "less is more." and 110dbc weighting is just fine on peaks within the mix. Ashley |
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Gold Member Username: InvainMichigan United States Post Number: 3504 Registered: Aug-04 | Did that make any sense to anybody else? I don't meed to offend you Andy, but sometimes your posts are hard to understand. Is english not ver fluent, or is there another problem? You don't have to say what, I'm just wondering, as that last post was pretty confusing. |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 759 Registered: Aug-05 | that is Home Theater talk. lol |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1231 Registered: May-05 | Joe, I also have no need to offend you either, confessing well sorry, it's my manner, so which part was it that got you stubbed...... And English is always spelt with an uppercase letter not lowercase. Anyway let's talk shop shall we? Ashley |
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Silver Member Username: Tdeaton1021Near Tampa, Florida USA Post Number: 787 Registered: Sep-04 | hey glass or joe or maybe ashley idk ive never heard of you ... can u guys take a look at my post about my avalanche help? |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1233 Registered: May-05 | MuddyWaters, You bet it's home cinema talk and the principles are still the same too, wither you chose to like it or not..... I accept it the way it is nothing more or nothing less. Anyway don't any of these car Hi-Fi, amplifiers come with clipping LED's on them, and then you can, see when it does start to clip, which is not good at all, like revving the guts out of your car engine...... Ashley |
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Gold Member Username: InvainMichigan United States Post Number: 3505 Registered: Aug-04 | Yeah, some amps do have led's that warn of clipping actually. |
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Silver Member Username: Tdeaton1021Near Tampa, Florida USA Post Number: 789 Registered: Sep-04 | please take a look at my thread... |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 761 Registered: Aug-05 | the TREO SSXD 750.1 and 1500.1 have clipping LED's on them. |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 762 Registered: Aug-05 | i own the SSXD 750.1  |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 763 Registered: Aug-05 | it shines Blue when it is has power Green when it approaches clipped output and Red when amplifier protection is active |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1234 Registered: May-05 | Trevor Eaton How's the weather with that nasty hurricane "Katrina" has she dissipated yet as Florida is a nice state with "Disney World" and the JFK Kennedy Space Centre, love to come back over there for a holiday and she a "Shuttle Launch" as I missed the maiden one of April 1981...... Though I saw her live on NASA TV via the internet and boy did I cry when her main engines fired up, it was then I knew she was on her way, and the two weeks that passed watching her land safely again made my cry, she's beautiful bird........ Anyway tell nasty "Katrina" to bugger off, I mean four days five days as it been, that's way too much to deal with......and for Gods sakes take cover... Ashley |
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Silver Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 764 Registered: Aug-05 | actually, come to think of it....all of their models have the multi-functional LED's built into them. they have a clip-inidcator LED for each channel on all of their amps too, stereo, 4-channel, and mono. |
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Silver Member Username: Tdeaton1021Near Tampa, Florida USA Post Number: 792 Registered: Sep-04 | actually where i live we didnt get the hurricane at all (tampa area) pensicola got it some but louisiana and mississippi got it bad... it was a monster hurricane... im bound to get hit here at home soon too... last year we didnt have power for a week. |
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Silver Member Username: Tdeaton1021Near Tampa, Florida USA Post Number: 793 Registered: Sep-04 | and joe, i mean my htread about experienced help needed not about the center frequency knob |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1235 Registered: May-05 | Trevor Eaton Tampa bay do you live near "Clear water", anywhere near there, has that was the second place I stayed at 24 years ago at the "Sheridan hotel" I like chicken in the basket damn tasty too. The folks are very friendly, like the culture, as "Bournemouth" beach over hear sucks no where can you see a palm tree now there's some wrong with that. Now I like alligators there all over the place including JFK Space Centre, I mean you can place your arm over the fence back in 1981 and there'll snap it off, not sure about now though. Ashley |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1238 Registered: May-05 | Trevor Eaton Another thing I'll add on hear, is no it's good to over run the sub bass units, keep them within the operational tolerances or just slightly under and it should last for years. Ashley |
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Silver Member Username: Tdeaton1021Near Tampa, Florida USA Post Number: 796 Registered: Sep-04 | sub bass units?? yes clearwater is just aobut an hour or maybe hour and 15 minute drive away from my house. |
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Gold Member Username: Thx_3417Post Number: 1239 Registered: May-05 | Trevor Eaton Less is more, and the better you try to understand this, the better for you, you must trust me on this. I've been running the JBL 4645 good for 7 years, and I have only had her at a peak SPL db level of 120dbc weighing once on a film called "Final Approach" and those afterburners on the "SR-71" (Blackbird) is something down to 25Hz SONICBOOM...... But that was 6 years ago now so she'll pack a punch as will yours, I mean is there any reference point on your favourite music track that as the lowest peak in all the music that you listen too. Ashley |
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