Help A Newbie Out

[TMF89]

Hey guys, we'll see how many threads I wind up making before I even buy any components lol.

Well first off a list of questions:

1. Anyone have an Extended Cab pickup that listens to primarily classic rock, followed by modern rock, followed by anything else? If so, what's your audio system like, what are the pros/cons, any special things I should look for or avoid, etc.

2. how important is the RMS to Maximum Wattage ratio? Like if I have a 500 RMS 1000 Max sub, and run it constantly higher than 500, would it reduce the sub's life? Also how do I control that, just by volume control of the sub?

3. How worried should I be about battery life? Say I have 1200-1600 watts in my system, counting subs and speakers. I'm considering getting a second battery with one of those things that doesn't let it drain the main, would it be worth it?

I have a bunch more but I figure that's a good start, thanks guys!

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[USAFbro 10+ year member]

First Step - Invest in a good Head Unit. Dont cut any corners on this step. Its the main control center for your whole system, so make sure its quality

And to answer your questions

Max wattage is BS. only look at RMS ratings

And with ~1500 watts, a second battery would defiantly help keep voltage up...

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Max ratings are absolutely useless, and pay no attention to the, RMS ratings are all you need. With well built subwoofers, it may be ok to feed them over their RMS rating. Some more so than others, just depends what you're looking at. A lot of the mainstream brands are rated pretty well for exactly what they can handle. some more of the underground brands are rated conservatively. What will ruin the sub is distortion, or a clipped signal. You avoid this by having proper gain settings on the amp, and knowing your equipment limits.

Keep in mind, low voltage is your enemy, and will result in overheating equipment and clipped signals. So, a second battery may be a good bet if you're running 1500w RMS. I push about 1600 on OEM battery and stock alt, with only the BIG 3 upgrade done and my equipment handles it pretty well. but others may be different.

 

[TMF89]

Oh well if RMS is what we're really measuring, then forget 1500 lol, that was an estimate of total power. I've no idea what kind of RMS I'd shoot for, probably around 1000-1200 max.

So why do they make subs that can handle more max than others, but have the same RMS? After shopping around I've seen 1000w subs with the same RMS as 3000 watt ones?

What would you guys recommend overall for a system that's listening to mainly rock, equal parts classic and modern, no death/screamo, and very little else. I'd like to overkill it on the bass by a bit, because I am fond of that aspect.

 

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

the more power a sub can handle generally means it can get louder.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Oh well if RMS is what we're really measuring, then forget 1500 lol, that was an estimate of total power. I've no idea what kind of RMS I'd shoot for, probably around 1000-1200 max.
So why do they make subs that can handle more max than others, but have the same RMS? After shopping around I've seen 1000w subs with the same RMS as 3000 watt ones?

What would you guys recommend overall for a system that's listening to mainly rock, equal parts classic and modern, no death/screamo, and very little else. I'd like to overkill it on the bass by a bit, because I am fond of that aspect.

Because some subs are more ******** than others. They like to lie and trap people with big numbers, Max ratings are absolutely and entirely useless; heed no attention to them what-so-ever. That's as far as my advice can go. I don't have much more experience with a variety of subwoofers, so I can't really make suggestions by the genre. Though I will say I listen to a very wide variety of rock, covering just about every aspect of it, aside from the screamo crap... and I have a Sundown SA-10 that performs great