Need amp and subwoofer advise...clipping..?

[rswright11]

I have been out of the car audio scene for a LONG time. I finally decided to put a 12 in my crew cab RAM. I had a Kicker ZX300.1 amp that probably puts out around 350 true watts. I bought a Rockford Fosgate R2SD4-12 that has a RMS of 250. There aren't a lot of different subs that can fit in my box. I started tuning it with the gain yesterday and had it up between halfway and 3/4 when I started to smell a burn and feel heat from the cone of my woofer. I am assuming I was clipping the amp but I was wondering, if I bought a sub that had a higher RMS rating, could I turn the gain up without it clipping or burning the sub up? I know a Kicker CVT would fit which has a RMS of 400 watts. It is a sealed box with about .65 sqft. Thanks in advance for all your help!!!!!

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[bbeljefe]

Unless you are using an LOC from the factory head unit, you shouldn't need that much gain in order to get the maximum output from your amp. Even with an aftermarket head unit with a 2 volt preamp, you should probably not be at more than "half" way on the gain.

And higher RMS rated subs won't fix the problem if you're clipping. You can burn up a 1000 watt RMS sub with that amp if you clip it.

 

[rswright11]

Thanks for the response! I do have a PAC adapter connected to my factory deck.

 

[bbeljefe]

What method did you use to set your gain?

 

[rswright11]

I put all settings to 0, no bass boost, turned the volume up and stop it before distortion, then I started turning the gain up until it destorted. Then I turned it back. It didn't start fluttering until 3/4 the way up. I want to get as much as I can out of this shallow mount. I know it's not going to be what I was use to back in the day when I had two 12" JL's with a Punch 100 in a Eclipse but I don't want it to sound like I have an 8 back there either....

 

[bbeljefe]

Gotcha. That's not a fool proof gain setting method but you're probably not too far off with it. I would imagine that the signal from the PAC is not terribly clean to begin with though so I would err on the side of caution.

As for the sound quality, if you're running a Fosgate shallow mount 12 in a sealed box you're not gonna get much bass. If it were me, I'd do one or two good quality 8s in a ported enclosure. But if you're stuck on a 12 I would recommend the dB Drive K5F12D4. I've seen those subs outperform the Fosgate shallow mounts a lot of times.

 

[rswright11]

It's just I already bought the box for the 12. I like lows but I'm now realizing that I'm not going to get that with a shallow mount. What are the chances I've damaged the one I have? If I return it, I was thinking about trying this: Audiobahn AMW120H 12" Shallow-Mount Murdered Out Series Subwoofer

Not looking to spend a lot of money in it. I can get that Kicker CVT for $100. And it seems like I could get the DB you suggested for around the same price.