the truth about amps and bad wattage killing subs:
bad wattage/dirty power: the power output from and amp when the amp is sent into clipping.
clipping: the technical term for BAD distortion and filthy power is cause by the common wingnut behind the volume/gain control.
the truth is about to be released...
if you send your amp into clipping you will blow the speakers under these circumstances.
the max power of the clipped waveform is not beyond the thermal power handling capacity of the speaker and the speaker is not already hot from abuse..
EG i buddy has a v power 2 channel brigged into a type s 10" like mine and he is a proverbial wingnut behind the volume dial... the gains are all covered up so he cannot play with stuff he does not know.. and he clips that little amp to buggery and the sub survives...
Why? because the maximum power of that clipped wave form in within the actual power capacity of the woofer...
Disclaimer: i will NOT take responsibility for pepole who start to flame about this also i will NOT be held account able for pepole who just clip their amps because the MAX power of their amps is less than the max of the woofer ths is not how you tell if your sub can handle clipping...
hit me up on msn if you want to know in better detail what the hell i mean by all this..
or look on here
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm