Not loud enough at 600watt rms

[paintballproam 10+ year member]

I have two 12" memphis PR's wired at a 2ohm load on an alpine mrp-650 amp. When i first hooked it up, i didnt bother setting the gains or bass boost on the amp or anything. I had the gain turned up pretty high, and the bass boost all the way up (+12) db and when i was testing everything out i had the subwoofer adjustment on my headunit on +15. It was Fking loud. I couldnt hear any distortion. Well, i finally got around to setting the gains and i turned the bass boost, subwoofer adj, and gain all the way down to start with. I was using a DMM and had my HU on like 80% of max, then i Started turning the gain up a little, till i got to NOM, then turned up the bass boost to like +6db, then turned up the gain a little, then the bass boost and i ended up with the bass boost at +12 and the gain in the right spot for the DMM to read 34.2v. Which would be right around 600rms.

Then, WITHOUT the subs hooked up, i turned the subwoofer adj up to 15 and the DMM read 50v. Just throwing this out there, i turned the subwoofer adj back down.

The only thing is, now that the gains are all set, its not that loud any more and im kind of disapointed.lol. Is there anything i can do, other than buy new subs, to get it louder?

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[darkhunter139 10+ year member]

Turn the bass boost completely off you dont want to use that crap anyways,

Also is the subwoofer adj you were talking about bass boost or sub output? If its sub output I would just turn it all the way up then test your gains with the DMM

 

[paintballproam 10+ year member]

Turn the bass boost completely off you dont want to use that crap anyways,
Also is the subwoofer adj you were talking about bass boost or sub output? If its sub output I would just turn it all the way up then test your gains with the DMM

Subwoofer adj=headunit control

bass boost= on amp

gain=on amp

 

[MrDave 10+ year member]

Bass boost is distortion. Shouldn't use it at all. Sure, it will sound louder because it will be all boomy. Good voltages and clean power are all you should work with.

 

[paintballproam 10+ year member]

Bass boost is distortion. Shouldn't use it at all. Sure, it will sound louder because it will be all boomy. Good voltages and clean power are all you should work with.

so bass boost down, gain up to get the same voltage? and is 600rms all i can run? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[MrDave 10+ year member]

I personally think Alpine amps are junk. Good power has more to do than simple CEA ratings. Having a quality headunit with strong pre outs and good amp with a proper power supply and quality components can make a huge difference.

If you are strapped for cash and don't care to beat on your subs, then use the bass boost features.

 

[darkhunter139 10+ year member]

Id say get a new amp around 1000 watts RMS over power those subs as much as possible then when they blow get new 12s or a single 15 Type R or Fi sub

 

[CRXBMPN 5,000+ posts]

hey there is a show in Sanford Maine coming up in a few weekends, you should bring your car up from NH and run'er!!!

And yes since "distortion doesnt blow subs" I dont see how the bass boost will blow ish up if you arent overpowering them etc etc etc

 

[MrDave 10+ year member]

Bass boost doesn't "blow" subs up. It just puts a lot of wear and tear on them.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

What box are you using? Where is it located?

I'll bet it sounds better, less distorted, tighter, cleaner. 600 watts pushing two 12"'s isn't loud enough when your sitting in the car? Or are you trying to be heard from blocks away?

 

[mrogowski 5,000+ posts]

Use a couple of Q-tips and clean the wax out of your ears. It will be louder then...

 

[paintballproam 10+ year member]

Well i switched from one 12" type r in a ported box, to these two 12's in a sealed box. These are deffinatly louder tho. Id rather not blow them.lol im limited on power tho because im not at the point where i want to buy a HO alt. They are loud, yeah, and plently to sound good normal playing. Its when i want to mess around/show off to friends or whatever that i dont feel they are loud enough anymore.

 

[paintballproam 10+ year member]

What box are you using? Where is it located?
I'll bet it sounds better, less distorted, tighter, cleaner. 600 watts pushing two 12"'s isn't loud enough when your sitting in the car? Or are you trying to be heard from blocks away?

I set the gains with the bass boost all the way down now. And its fine for normal listening, but for messing around or whatever, not really. The only other thought i had was to remove the two rear speakers because then that would give a place for sound to pass into the main part of the car

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

Yes, if they are in the trunk, open up a path for the sound to travel up front to you. It sounds like you were distorting the hell out of your system before trying to impress your friends. That will kill your gear pretty soon.

If you want a big boom rig to tickle the girls, without frying your gear, then you need a lot more power. Bigger alt, bigger wires, bigger amp, more powerfull subs. It takes 10 times as much power to double the volume. Subs need a ton of power, that's why these bass heads build thier Jigga'watt sub systems.

You have a nice system that should sound pretty good. Don't fry it trying to impress the kiddies.

 

[paintballproam 10+ year member]

Yes, if they are in the trunk, open up a path for the sound to travel up front to you. It sounds like you were distorting the hell out of your system before trying to impress your friends. That will kill your gear pretty soon. If you want a big boom rig to tickle the girls, without frying your gear, then you need a lot more power. Bigger alt, bigger wires, bigger amp, more powerfull subs. It takes 10 times as much power to double the volume. Subs need a ton of power, that's why these bass heads build thier Jigga'watt sub systems.

You have a nice system that should sound pretty good. Don't fry it trying to impress the kiddies.

Is my system going to sound worse without the rear speakers tho?

So im pretty much at my limit with these subs for wattage right?

Soooooo looks like ill start saving.