running components off H/U

[500000watts 10+ year member]

Hey guys i just picked up some Boston accoustic components, they are 55 RMS but i dont have enough money right now to buy an amp for them, is it safe to power them off my head unit or will they not get enough power?

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[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

its safe if wired correctly and no they wont get enough power unless you have a headunit that puts out 55rms unclipped watts

 

[500000watts 10+ year member]

well i dont think hooking them up right will be anyproblem, im just saying if its safe or not cuz i heard powering something with not enough power can cause damage to your subs or components?

 

[dleccord 5,000+ posts]

lol about underpowering, there's a sticky on this

 

[j3bus2k3 5,000+ posts]

Its ok to do but not the best. I ran mine off the HU at first but then amped them with a JBL amp and the difference was night and day. Once they went from 18W to 115W...they just sang. Plan on amping them though....

 

[NJAV1 10+ year member]

You'll be fine. Get an amp on them and then be satisfied, your simply not extracting their potential when relying on your source to push them.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

Hey guys i just picked up some Boston accoustic components, they are 55 RMS but i dont have enough money right now to buy an amp for them, is it safe to power them off my head unit or will they not get enough power?

I would seriously wait til you can save up $90 and get an amp. Here is one from an online retailer. There are others on this site that match this price.

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14739

 

[poremski1628]

Your speakers will work if like everyone said wired correctly but you shouldn't use them to there full potential just yet and wait untill you get an amp to really test them

 

[00maxima 10+ year member]

i am running mine off my head unit and they sound fine. I just have one question if the components sounds good off the head unit, but the tweeters sound harsh when cranked, wouldnt the sound harsh when amped too, or cleaner?

 

[headless 10+ year member]

It entirely depends on why the tweeters sound 'harsh'. And what your definition of 'harsh' sounds like. If they sound harsh because your clipping the heck out of the deck's amp..they'll sound much less 'harsh' and much clearer when you get a real amplifier. If they sound that way because that's just how your tweets happen to sound (Read: MBQ //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif)...well. no.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Running components off of a head unit is certainly possible but your average head unit is only going to provide you with 18~20 clean watts per output channel, unfortunately, and even the most entry-level of comp sets is going to want more than that to achieve their full potential.

So can you do it? Sure! Will you get all of the performance that is possible out of your components? Inarguably not.

 

[brandontw 10+ year member]

headunit that puts out 55rms unclipped watts

No such thing...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

No such thing...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

I'm thinking that is exactly why he posted it...because there isn't a HU that makes that kind of power.

Or if there is I have (a)not heard of it and (b)couldn't afford it most likely even if I have.

Besides - for what a HU that creates that kind of real power would end up costing it would make much better sense to get a "normal" HU + an outboard amp //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

I'm thinking that is exactly why he posted it...because there isn't a HU that makes that kind of power.Or if there is I have (a)not heard of it and (b)couldn't afford it most likely even if I have.

Besides - for what a HU that creates that kind of real power would end up costing it would make much better sense to get a "normal" HU + an outboard amp //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Not to mention the heat that such a head unit would radiate would not be good for the rest of the electronics in the chassis.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Not to mention the heat that such a head unit would radiate would not be good for the rest of the electronics in the chassis.

True that.If there was an amp that did an actual 220w RMS inside a single-DIN HU it would make monstrous amounts of heat that there would be no reasonable method of dissipating. I hadn't thought of that...