Can i blow/damage underpowered subs with amp gain maxed out?

[Cruzer 10+ year member]

Girlfriend wants my old Rockford Fosgate Punch P2D412 rated at

* Peak: 500 watts

* RMS: 250 watts

the amp is a Rockford Fosgate Punch P400-4 rated at

* 4 ohms: 50 watts x 4 chan.

* 2 ohms: 110 watts x 4 chan.

* Bridged, 4 ohms: 200 watts x 2 chan.

so ill send them 200 each when they are rated at 250.

when i had them i let my dad set the gain. if i leave bass boost off and use gain only will it do anything to them as long as no distortion is heard?

when i had this system it was my first and i knew nothing. my dad said he didnt really wanna chance blowing them or making them not last a long time so he didnt get crazy with the gain.

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[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

If you max out the gain, you run a high chance of turning it up to a point where clipping will occur, which can blow a speaker.

It'd be better to run 200rms to them than try to send a clipped 250.

Too little power won't blow a sub, but clipping will.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

clipping won't hurt your speaker as long as the speaker can handle the power

 

[Cruzer 10+ year member]

i agree with dbfan because i have an AQ amp and i called them to help me set it up. they suggested i turn the gain up until the clipping light would blink and go off after the bass would hit. they said as long as it doesnt stay on it will be fine and do no damage.

so does that mean sending a 250w rms sub 200w rms full gain (clipping or not) it will be fine because honestly the 250w rms sub can prob run 350rms fine?

 

[Cruzer 10+ year member]

bump fixing to install this need to double check and make sure im not gonna hurt them any

 

[Scottyd1974]

clipping won't hurt your speaker as long as the speaker can handle the power

Absolutely FALSE because "clipping" causes a square sine wave which makes the voicecoil hold at the speaker's max excursion (X-max) at the top or bottom of travel which causes the voicecoil to heat up which will kill them!!!!! It's better to overpower a speaker than to under power it however, if the speaker is rated for 250wrms then, 200wrms will safely drive it as long as the amp is not pushed hard in to "clipping", just be mindful of your gains & volume knob.

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

Absolutely FALSE because "clipping" causes a square sine wave which makes the voicecoil hold at the speaker's max excursion (X-max) at the top or bottom of travel which causes the voicecoil to heat up which will kill them!!!!! It's better to overpower a speaker than to under power it however, if the speaker is rated for 250wrms then, 200wrms will safely drive it as long as the amp is not pushed hard in to "clipping", just be mindful of your gains & volume knob.

Absolutely LATE.

 

[CertifiedHoodClassic]

Absolutely FALSE because "clipping" causes a square sine wave which makes the voicecoil hold at the speaker's max excursion (X-max) at the top or bottom of travel which causes the voicecoil to heat up which will kill them!!!!! It's better to overpower a speaker than to under power it however, if the speaker is rated for 250wrms then, 200wrms will safely drive it as long as the amp is not pushed hard in to "clipping", just be mindful of your gains & volume knob.

You made an account to reply to this? this is your one post

 

[CertifiedHoodClassic]

where's the goat

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

It's better to overpower a speaker than to under power it however, if the speaker is rated for 250wrms then, 200wrms will safely drive it as long as the amp is not pushed hard in to "clipping", just be mindful of your gains & volume knob.

Although your reply is late it does shed light on a common misconception. Underpowering a speaker does not damage it. Users forget that they mostly use their system at less than half it's RMS value. According to the misconception that would be considered underpowered.

 

[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

Under powering a speaker does not damage them. Any time that you have your volume is at less than 100 percent, you are under powering the speakers.

Clipping and the extra heat it generates in the voice coil is what damages speakers.
Yes I know the age of the thread.

 

[Mitchell Fosgate III]

Did you match the head units on ohms and watts it produces? About 1 - 4 times the volume max amount. On the 4 speakers in the car, should be enough watts and ohms to match the amps. Able to receive the higher currents drawn from the two amps. Also enough power to drive the speakers at a little less than 4 ohms. Will your 2 amps handle the load below or at 4 ohms? Bridged. I see no subwoofer, just the two amps. Going below 4 ohms resistances. May heat up a bit. Bridged and below 4 ohms. HU would be at 4 ohms. If heats up too quickly, use only one amp.

Buy another wire. What the heck is the GOAT? I got NBA. Or tennis. Greatest of all time. But they come out with players like Michael Jordan. I saw that guy play. The others play and they pay Michael. Sorry to say, but that guy is not the greatest NBA player of all time. Include LeBron James in the category of not the best. Who’s the best? I picked up a 7-0 footer in LA. Long time ago. Bob Macadoo. #11. Totally more potent and powerful than Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan. Ripping it heh?

 

[AnthonyO 10+ year member]

In before the GOAT

 

[some dude]

Omg. I friggin' love reading this guy's posts.
It's funny as hell to read.


Mitchell, I am trying to fit 2 12" subs into my trunk. It's a pretty tight fit. What would I need to do to run my amplifier at 2 ohms?

The wire I'm using is from a different setup that ran a powerful light bulb. I'm worried about It's current carrying capacity.

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

Can I just slide copper through a shoelace to power my sub?