kicker L7 subs

[tsupra98 10+ year member]

i was just looking at the manuals for the L7 subs and i'm just wondering how come when a sub is in a ported box it loses how much power it can handle? like the 15" for example in a sealed box they say they can handle 1000 rms but a ported can handle 750 rms. or the 12" in sealed it handles 750 rms but in a ported it handles 600 rms. now i know they can really handle more then that anyways even in ported boxes but why would kicker put it that way?

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[Enellz 10+ year member]

Their was a port vs sealed topic a while back that had explained this. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[bunkerking09 10+ year member]

i have no idea to be honest. maybe because if it peaks at a certain frequency it will end up bottoming out with more power if its at that frequency?

 

[tsupra98 10+ year member]

Their was a port vs sealed topic a while back that had explained this. I'll see if I can find it.

right on thank man

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Ported boxes tend to be more efficient than sealed, therefore less power is needed to get the same amount of output.

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

ported boxes are more efficient and require less power.. if you put more power in you have a chance of blowing it/bottoming it out etc etc

EDIT: ^^ **** you lol

 

[tsupra98 10+ year member]

Ported boxes tend to be more efficient than sealed, therefore less power is needed to get the same amount of output.

so they can still handle the same amount of power in a ported box as in a sealed? the numbers they put just have the same amount of output from the sub? something like that?

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

kicker does this to save their asses on warranties and returns. alpine does the same thing with the type R, only with recommended enclosure size instead of power handling.

 

[tsupra98 10+ year member]

kicker does this to save their asses on warranties and returns. alpine does the same thing with the type R, only with recommended enclosure size instead of power handling.

i also wondered something like that as well. so even though there subs handle a hell of a lot more then they say that way if you blow it then they can just say you were giving it to much and it just saves there ***. got ya

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Power handling is very dependent on box size and tuning. I've never really tested ported vs. sealed to see which could handle the most power because I'm usually always closer to reaching a subs thermal limit (frying it) than I am pushing it to its mechanical limit (bottoming it out). It' really nothing to worry about as long as you know to turn the volume down whenever the sub is stressing.

 

[tsupra98 10+ year member]

Power handling is very dependent on box size and tuning. I've never really tested ported vs. sealed to see which could handle the most power because I'm usually always closer to reaching a subs thermal limit (frying it) than I am pushing it to its mechanical limit (bottoming it out). It' really nothing to worry about as long as you know to turn the volume down whenever the sub is stressing.

yea got ya. so now i've got another question for you. how do you know what limit you are testing whether pushing the thermal limit or the machanical limit? do you smell the coils burning if its the thermal limit and hear it botteming out if its the machanican limit? thats just something i've never understood

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

yea got ya. so now i've got another question for you. how do you know what limit you are testing whether pushing the thermal limit or the machanical limit? do you smell the coils burning if its the thermal limit and hear it botteming out if its the machanican limit? thats just something i've never understood

It's pretty easy to figure out when a sub is stressing, which is why I don't understand how people get confused on why they blew their subs. When a sub bottoms out, it's very evident and you will know it because it makes a very nasty sound. As far as thermal limits, if you smell the coil getting hot (very distinct smell) then it's time to turn the volume down for a little bit It's really common sense and a lot of people over complicate how to take care of their subs.

 

[tsupra98 10+ year member]

It's pretty easy to figure out when a sub is stressing, which is why I don't understand how people get confused on why they blew their subs. When a sub bottoms out, it's very evident and you will know it because it makes a very nasty sound. As far as thermal limits, if you smell the coil getting hot (very distinct smell) then it's time to turn the volume down for a little bit It's really common sense and a lot of people over complicate how to take care of their subs.

well yea if you start smelling your sub then it is common sencse to turn it down //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif. i have to do that every now and again if i'm pounding hard for a while.

so then what makes the difference between getting the coils hot and botteming out a sub? i know pushing more power then what the sub is made to handle gets it hot and stressed. but thats the thermal limit so how would you get it to bottem out? is it the tuning of the box to how much power you're pushing to it? something like that?

 

[Enellz 10+ year member]

Looks like Lakota answered your question. But if you wanna read extensively on the two there is a Ported vs. Sealed sticky here: http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68635

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

but thats the thermal limit so how would you get it to bottem out? is it the tuning of the box to how much power you're pushing to it? something like that?

It's a combination of the box parameters, sub parameters, sub loading, power, etc. There's a lot of factors that involve how much excursion the sub will make. People typically bottom subs out by giving the sub too much power too far below the tuning of their box. Just be conservative and careful with the volume once you play notes that are a ways under the port tuning.