are amps ever underrated?

[razaice]

I recently set my gain on my amp using a dmm, but I noticed I can take the volume on my head unit a couple notches over where I set the optimal gain level while listening to music and I don't hear any distortion. If an amp's advertised wattage was underrated, wouldn't that mean that the calculation used to figure out the optimal gain on the amp would be underrated too?

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[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

no because you set the gains to produce the power that the amp can produce cleanly ,some can be set a bit higher and still have a clean signal tho

 

[razaice]

I'm actually under powering my subs, so any excess power would make me happy.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

The DMM gain setting method is just getting you into the ballpark. It's not to be taken as a perfect method, especially when everything changes as music is played.