lower voltage than Orion HCCA 250?

[gettheledout 10+ year member]

Hey guys, happy thanksgiving!

My current setup is a 10L7 running at 1 ohm on a First Gen Orion HCCA 250, bridged with an old school Audiocontrol 2SX. I love having this old gear, but whenever I really have the sub turned up, my speakers make a "distortion noise." Not sure how to explain it, just that when the sub hits, the tweeters make noises right then. I've had some audio guys look at it, and they say that my HCCA 250 is pulling so much voltage, it is starving my Alpine 4-ch amp from voltage and causing the distortion. Is this because the Orion is an old amp? Is it because it is running at 1 ohm? I'm not really interested in upgrading my alt, I did the big 3, and I'd like to be able to keep my current setup if I could. Would the problem be solved some simple way, or would it be better to change to a newer amp that would use less voltage at 1 ohm? I appreciate any answers, it's frustrating to not be able to run my system at full potential without hearing those noises!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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[Cabin_Pressure 10+ year member]

What amp is your factory alt?

 

[gettheledout 10+ year member]

I have an 80 Amp alt. It's pretty weak, but a HCCA 250 at 1 ohm shouldn't be putting out an incredible voltage, should it? I have friends with similar alts that have subs just as loud as mine, using the same type of enclosure. So I'm trying to say even though my alt is weak, it should still be good enough for what I'm doing... Maybe not though..?

 

[gettheledout 10+ year member]

Okay I've actually been looking around... It's been awhile since I set this system up so I forgot all about these numbers. The HCCA 250 makes at least 800W at 1 ohm, and my Kicker 10L7 isn't even rated that high... Am I just wasting the power? I'm pretty suspicious of this, because my friend's Kicker Comp 15 is just as loud with some POS chinese amp. Sorry if I'm confused, it's been almost two years since I even touched my audio stuff! Thanks for all help!

 

[tomtomjr 10+ year member]

I know these Red 1'st gen's well. These are real power hogs with an unregulated power supply. LOVE to burn up at low voltage. If you are going to stress this amp by cranking it up loudly, you will need to stock up on 2n6488 and 2n6491 (Transistors) ... Great amp, but very unreliable. Being 20 years old, it makes it even more unreliable. Have you had the amp's caps replaced yet? If not, I would highly recommend it. Great amp, but you have to be careful with the voltage. The 280gx and 225hcca burn easy as well. The distortion that you are hearing is probably the amp getting ready to smoke due to low voltage. Get some batteries in the car, keep the volume down, and you will be fine. (if you replace the caps)...

 

[Brokein]

I'm pretty suspicious of this, because my friend's Kicker Comp 15 is just as loud with some POS chinese amp.

Weird...

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[gettheledout 10+ year member]

Thank you tomtomjr. Perhaps it's time to put this beast up for sale.