Efficiency or Power?

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

What is with this hobby nowadays? Why would people rather have subs that get loud w/ 5000w rather than subs that get equally as loud with 1000w?

What would you rather have?

Discuss.

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[MmatsDude 10+ year member]

Interesting.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

The bigger number would boost some people's e-peens.

I'll gladly take subs that get equally as loud off 1/5 of the power.

Makes for purchasing amps cheaper. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

much rather have efficiency......since spl is of no use to me

 

[Ed Lester 10+ year member]

I would rather have efficiency as SPL is of great use to me.

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

I wish this industry would concentrate more on efficiency rather than their "8000w RMS ratings" for a single sub.

 

[Haunz 10+ year member]

What is with this hobby since forever ? Why would people rather have subs that get loud rather then subs that get loud and play low ?

what would you rather have ?

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

I wish this industry would concentrate more on efficiency rather than their "8000w RMS ratings" for a single sub.

Yea, but for an all out SPL setup, you want as much motor force as possible to get the most acceleration as possible. To get the most motor force, you need a strong motor with a high (BL)^2/Re product and tons of current. Current is directly related to power and the more power a driver can sustain without going into power compression, the more current through the coil, the more motor force, the more acceleration and the more peak pressure generated.

For a daily setup, all this power isn't needed to get "loud" as loud is a relative term and loud for an SPL setup is different than loud for a street setup.

The problem isn't with the manufacturers but with the people that buy the equipment. People want to use the same equipment for street use that competitors are using for SPL use and end up running tons of power. Those same people could get similar performance out of a more efficient setup but then they wouldn't have the same gear that their competitor heroes use and so their ego would shrink. It used to be the same way in NASCAR back in the 60s where all the common people wanted to drive the same cars that their racing heroes drove and that shot up sales in the sports car industry.

Now, we have the same thing going on with buying SPL equipment and the industry knows that's where the money is so they build bigger drivers able to handle more power and market that to the common daily user and now we all think we need that kind of power to get loud.

 

[donpisto 5,000+ posts]

Yea, but for an all out SPL setup, you want as much motor force as possible to get the most acceleration as possible. To get the most motor force, you need a strong motor with a high (BL)^2/Re product and tons of current. Current is directly related to power and the more power a driver can sustain without going into power compression, the more current through the coil, the more motor force, the more acceleration and the more peak pressure generated.
For a daily setup, all this power isn't needed to get "loud" as loud is a relative term and loud for an SPL setup is different than loud for a street setup.

The problem isn't with the manufacturers but with the people that buy the equipment. People want to use the same equipment for street use that competitors are using for SPL use and end up running tons of power. Those same people could get similar performance out of a more efficient setup but then they wouldn't have the same gear that their competitor heroes use and so their ego would shrink. It used to be the same way in NASCAR back in the 60s where all the common people wanted to drive the same cars that their racing heroes drove and that shot up sales in the sports car industry.

Now, we have the same thing going on with buying SPL equipment and the industry knows that's where the money is so they build bigger drivers able to handle more power and market that to the common daily user and now we all think we need that kind of power to get loud.

Older thread, I know, but this is some Grade A, outstanding information. Wish people would understand this concept.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Why would you want a loud sub in the first place?? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif Sub bass should be felt, not heard. Guess I'll never understand.......

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

What gets me is some of the local kids I see running anywhere from 1,000 watts RMS on up to their subs, and they are running radio power to their factory speakers. In their defense, some of them are actually running a nice set of components.... off of head unit power. Seeing systems like that makes me want to b1tchslap the person who talked them into going that route..

ETA: Last week I was showing my Civic's system off to a friend of mine after lunch, and he was truly impressed. This kid (complete stranger) comes up to me and asks me how much power I am running. I tell him 650 watts and his eyes got real big. He proceeds to tell me that he is running way more power than I am and he doesn't understand why my setup sounds so much louder. I ask him what kind of amp he is running... his response.... Legacy. I proceeded to tell him that maybe he should look into a capacitor.

My buddy about keeled over laughing so hard and was shocked at how I pulled the capacitor thing off with a straight face.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

much rather have efficiency......since spl is of no use to me

I would rather have efficiency as SPL is of great use to me.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Does nobody in this thread understand Hoffman's Iron Law? High power handling subs became popular right about the same time the industry realized small enclosures work better than larger ones in car audio. Coincidence? Not if you understand Hoffman's Iron Law.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

What gets me is some of the local kids I see running anywhere from 1,000 watts RMS on up to their subs, and they are running radio power to their factory speakers. In their defense, some of them are actually running a nice set of components.... off of head unit power. Seeing systems like that makes me want to b1tchslap the person who talked them into going that route..

I'm a local kid you could say. My speakers ain't stock, and they're amped. You can't go any other way.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Does nobody in this thread understand Hoffman's Iron Law? High power handling subs became popular right about the same time the industry realized small enclosures work better than larger ones in car audio. Coincidence? Not if you understand Hoffman's Iron Law.

I do. Hoffman build the first iron coned subs which are super efficient, but don't get lowd deebeez.