Monoblock Amp Advice?

[hosay]

Hi,

I currently run a 400Wrms 2 ch amp that powers 2 12" clarion sw1251 (350Wrms) and I am looking for a nice mono block amp for the subs. The plan is to get a high powered amp and then later replace current subs with two dual voice coil 15" (something like the Soundstream T6-15).

I live in Australia, so certain products are more expensive here. Currently I'm thinking of either the soundstream 1300W RMS MonoBlock Class D Tarantula Series Car Amplifier or the 1600 Watts RMS Mono Block Rubicon Series Subwoofer Amplifier.

I really don't need that much power and I have only 4 guage cable and a stock alternator with a high end battery. Ive been told that up to about 1500Wrms all up is fine on a stock electrical system provided you wont be maxing it out often (Even my current system I only listen to at about half volume).

Will I be able to run the amplifiers on less than max power, so as to avoid blowing my 12" subs.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Click to read more...

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

Either one would be a good choice.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

So I am guessing those are Dual 2ohm subs? In which case you could wire whatever amp you're using for a 2ohm load... and as long as you keep the gain low, you should be ok. So at 2ohms, the Tarantula would put out 900w, which isn't too much more than rated, and you keep the gain low. Whereas the Rubicon does 1100 at 2ohms which is a considerable amount more, but could still be ok as long as you do plan on getting new subs

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

In this case, I think it depends on which amp looks better to you. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif The Rubicon puts out more power and is a cleaner look. The Tarantula is a very unique looking amp that would be pretty comparable to the Rubicon. I have some of the older Tarantula 6.5 speakers because they are some of the most unique looking ones I have seen, I also have an old Rubicon 404 amp, so I'm partial to both. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[hosay]

My current subs are single coil 4 ohm, but the subs I would get will probably be dual 4ohm. But i guess if even with my current subs, 1100Wrms at 2ohm wont blow em if i keep the gain low, and I also think more than 1500Wrms would exceed the capacity of my cars electrical system (i have a 400Wrms 4ch amp as well).

Btw what should the gain be set on, i think it goes from 0to18db. Does a higher gain cause distortion (I imagine it would)?

I can get the rubicon and tarantula shipped to aus for about $300-350, which is good cause the cheapest i could find it in aus was over $500 haha.

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

You have to set the gain based on the AC voltage coming out of the amp on the speaker terminals, while playing a test tone. Higher gain = more voltage.

A tutorial on gain setting and amplifier power usage - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

^^^ good info right there...

Wish my speaker terminals had AC voltage. Either my amps inputs are blown or my HU's outputs are blown..

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

If you want to run the new woofers at 2 ohms as well, the Rubicon would be good, with 1100wRms. You'd need Dual 2ohm subs for that. Then if you upgrade in the future, you could get new subs and stronger electrical, and run at 1 ohm.

Yes, turning up the gain will cause more distortion. However, whatever you're reading that's measured in DB is not the gain control. You're most likely looking at the bass boost, which should be kept at 0. The gain is measured in Volts, usually ranges from 0.2v-8v.

 

[hosay]

hey whats the quality of the soundstream dtower amps like, cause I can get a dtower 1400W rms for

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

The DTR are OK, about the same quality as any Maxxsonics product. The tower type amps were designed for people who want to stand the amps up in rows (saves space)

^^^ good info right there...
Wish my speaker terminals had AC voltage. Either my amps inputs are blown or my HU's outputs are blown..

Thanks! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif You could play a test tone on your HU and try to measure AC voltage coming out of your RCA's. Should be around 2V for most HU's, when the volume is cranked up almost all the way. I would test using an RCA cable to help avoid accidentally grounding the leads against the center pin and shorting out your HU. If you don't have any voltage or very low voltage, then you know its the HU. Otherwise if the HU is putting out ~2VAC, the its gotta be your amp.