Kicker rms rating

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

you're getting it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif people never think of 'time' being part of it

So I have a semi related question...could I take a 2kw rms amp (a good brand) and a 2kw subwoofer (yet another good brand) and play a 2kw sine wave indefinitely? I mean would one of them fail? Could they really handle the power their rated for? I've had this debate with a guy I work with because he thinks the ratings on car audio equipment is BS and most of these thousand watt amplifiers couldn't put out that power for any length of time...

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

It should play just fine, but over time it may wear down like an old woman. JBL used to have a video on their website of them powering a sawzall with one of their amps that's cutting through a sub box.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

It should play just fine, but over time it may wear down like an old woman. JBL used to have a video on their website of them powering a sawzall with one of their amps that's cutting through a sub box.

Hmm, I always thought playing an amp/sub combo at full power on a sine wave for an extended period (an hour? a few hours?) would surely destroy one if not both of them.

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

so sending, for example 200rms to 100rms speaker..the clipping is irrelevent. its the fact that the speaker is unable to dissapate the heat is what will cause the damage...and by over time, does that mean doing it for a year, or doing it over time meaning like doing it for 8 hours straight?..Now I am wondering....If clipping is irreleveant, then when put 600rms on something that handle 500, and because it initially sounds fine, we assume we are good...but perhaps after a year of overpowering it, it eventually breaks down?

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

so sending, for example 200rms to 100rms speaker..the clipping is irrelevent. its the fact that the speaker is unable to dissapate the heat is what will cause the damage...and by over time, does that mean doing it for a year, or doing it over time meaning like doing it for 8 hours straight?..Now I am wondering....If clipping is irreleveant, then when put 600rms on something that handle 500, and because it initially sounds fine, we assume we are good...but perhaps after a year of overpowering it, it eventually breaks down?

By "time" he's saying if you fed it a constant sine wave signal, it would constantly be getting 200wrms. Feeding it constant music that's supposed to be "200wrms" isn't actually 200 watts. Read the information he posted again, it will give you an idea on how much power your actually giving a speaker during normal music compared to a sine wave.

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

Read the information he posted again

ok, i think i got it...i think.lol

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Yeah that stuff he posted was pretty helpful...I've been into car audio for almost 5 years now and I still learned stuff //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

So, DB, is that why some people set their gains using a -3db or -6db sine wave? To minimize the crest factor on music and get the average power level closer to max without clipping?

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

Yes. I use -10dB tones.

 

[slammedincouch 10+ year member]

I had a pair of 12" cvrs hooked up to a pg tantrum 1200.1 pushed at least 600 into each one of those 400 watt rms subs and they took it well; on the other hand, i managed to fry my 15" L7 on an RF 1500.1bd with only 1000 watts at 2 ohms

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

You obviously didn't read this thread.

 

[ahole-ic]

Yes. I use -10dB tones.

I don't mean to try to correct a head moderator, but -10 db will actually make you set your gain higher than normal and cause you to clip prematurely. This lowers the supplied power in half over 3 times. This means you will set your gain MUCH MUCH higher than it should be. When you listen to a recording at 0db you'll clip the hell out of your amp. When you listen to the standard recording at -6db you'll be about right which is probably why you set your gain like this. I think for the noob, this should not be recommended. The 0db tone is recommended to help them protect their equipment, although I agree that it probably causes them to throw caution to the wind after their disappointment in the output and just turn the gain however far they want.

As far as people saying subs are overrated, it's a crock. bubbagumper for example talked about his type r's. Unless he clamped them, he has no idea how much power he put into them. Chances are he wasn't even giving them rms. Same goes for his BTL. Car audio is a lot like politics. You don't have to know much to voice your opinion and it influences others to make the same mistake. The few that have a good handle on it are the silent minority and the others won't listen to them.

clamp your power bubba. you'll find out that you're not getting anywhere near the power to those speakers as you think. Just because your amp was tested at a specific output doesn't mean it's putting that out. Just because a birthsheet says an amp can put out a specific wattage when played into a resistor doesn't mean that's what you're putting out.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

Dave Navone and Richard Clark would disagree with you. -10dB tones are where it's at. Gain overlap is awesome.

HU & all processors are set with 0dB

-10dB at the amp only

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

OK, i understand overpowering subs and not blowing them..if we are sending less than we think we are (and we are), but what about blowing subs when you are not even pushing rms? is it still a matter of the speaker being unable to dissapate heat, improper amp settings (gain too high) or do companies over rate handling capabilities (yes, im talking about you Lanzar!)

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

I don't mean to try to correct a head moderator, but -10 db will actually make you set your gain higher than normal and cause you to clip prematurely. This lowers the supplied power in half over 3 times. This means you will set your gain MUCH MUCH higher than it should be. When you listen to a recording at 0db you'll clip the hell out of your amp. When you listen to the standard recording at -6db you'll be about right which is probably why you set your gain like this. I think for the noob, this should not be recommended. The 0db tone is recommended to help them protect their equipment, although I agree that it probably causes them to throw caution to the wind after their disappointment in the output and just turn the gain however far they want.
As far as people saying subs are overrated, it's a crock. bubbagumper for example talked about his type r's. Unless he clamped them, he has no idea how much power he put into them. Chances are he wasn't even giving them rms. Same goes for his BTL. Car audio is a lot like politics. You don't have to know much to voice your opinion and it influences others to make the same mistake. The few that have a good handle on it are the silent minority and the others won't listen to them.

clamp your power bubba. you'll find out that you're not getting anywhere near the power to those speakers as you think. Just because your amp was tested at a specific output doesn't mean it's putting that out. Just because a birthsheet says an amp can put out a specific wattage when played into a resistor doesn't mean that's what you're putting out.

Maybe not, but I'm using the same measurement on my speakers that he'll be using on his. So maybe my Type R's were only receiving 400 watts each and not 600, I said they were getting 600rms because that's what my amp was rated at. If the OP goes by the numbers that his amp is rated at, it would be equal. I'm not claiming my R's were seeing 600w, I was just saying that's what they were theoretically getting, which is the same thing the OP is doing.