Something doesn't add up

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

so after wrestling practice one of my kids asked me if I could install an amp for them. obviously i agreed but I asked about the amp. it's a planet audio amp, he's 17 y/o and broke, that has a 25amp fuse on the amp but is rms rated at 1100 watts at 2 ohms. so I looked and on the website it says it has a 2500 watt max out put and 1100 watt rms out put at 2 ohms. I tried comparing it to other amps that I have and all the others have higher amp fuses for roughly the same power.

Question:

is it reasonable/likely/possible for a company like Planet Audio to have made an amp with a 25 amp fuse able to product 1100 watts RMS?

here's a like to the website:

PLANET AUDIO | YOUR FINAL DESTINATION

Click to read more...

 

[daboyfrumdabx 10+ year member]

The amp is clearly overrated. I doubt you'll even see 4-500watts out of it. If it's dirt cheap to pick up, it's not terrible as long as you expect no where near 1100watts from it. I wouldn't spend more than $20 on it. For a 17year old who knows nothing about systems and whose friends know nothing about systems, 3-400 watts can be impressive. Hell, when I was 16, I was impressing friends with 2 10"s hooked up to my rear speaker wires. A lot of it is in their heads at that age.

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

i told him that based on what I know, that amp is only gonna put out about 300 watts RMS at 2 ohms. I am just going off of the 10% greater than amp fuse rule. I know that it's not that simple but it's generally close to what an amp can actually put out. all the other amps that I have that put out ~800-1000 watts have 80a-120a worth of fuses and this amp has no where near that.

 

[fyerbyrd22 10+ year member]

simple math...25a x 14.4v= 360w before that fuse goes pop

 

[fyerbyrd22 10+ year member]

an 80a fuse is good for 1152w...wats this 10% extra u speak of??

 

[iLL Ridge 10+ year member]

Fuses will pass a lot more current than rated until they blow. Also an amp doesn't pull full current for prolonged periods of time- especially on music. Even if the amp was capable of 1100 rms- the guy ill probably never use it all.

 

[fyerbyrd22 10+ year member]

a fuse NORMALLY will take double the power before it actually pops...even then, ur still no where near 1100w...u cannot get 1100 watts passed through a 25a fuse

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

an 80a fuse is good for 1152w...wats this 10% extra u speak of??

the 10% is a ballpark for what that amp will put out b/c you also have to take into account that no amp is 100% efficient and like was said that it's not a constant stream of current it varies b/c it's music. just something that I learned a long time ago that if you have a mystery amp, check what the fuses are and multiply by 10% and you'll get a rough idea of what that amp actually puts out. it's not science just an estimate.

 

[fyerbyrd22 10+ year member]

thats the opposite...if ur taking into context that an amp is NOT 100% efficient, ud take away the amount for the efficiency, not add it...for a rough number, say the amp is 85% efficient, ur gonna only get 306w instead of the 360

 

[Chipmunk2k3 10+ year member]

simple math...25a x 14.4v= 360w before that fuse goes pop

thats the opposite...if ur taking into context that an amp is NOT 100% efficient, ud take away the amount for the efficiency, not add it...for a rough number, say the amp is 85% efficient, ur gonna only get 306w instead of the 360

seems like this 10% thing is right on point OP said he figured the amp was good for 300 watts

 

[grandam888 10+ year member]

well i can say, planet audio makes really good stuff, if you buy the right line that is. the anarchy and torque series are junk. i have owned 4 planet audios already, and all have stood up to their claims.

i had a vortec series 900 watt, had 3 30 amp fuses in it. 90 amps 14.4 volts=1296 watts. yes i know it wasnt doing the 1296, but i know it was doing its 900.

i have a 900 watt big bang right now, has 3 30 amp fuses in it also.

of course planet audio is near its end of being a decent amp company. 5 years ago they would have never put out such junk as the anarchy series, or torque series.

give it 3 more years they will be about as awesome as boss audio amps

 

[daboyfrumdabx 10+ year member]

well i can say, planet audio makes really good stuff, if you buy the right line that is. the anarchy and torque series are junk. i have owned 4 planet audios already, and all have stood up to their claims.
i had a vortec series 900 watt, had 3 30 amp fuses in it. 90 amps 14.4 volts=1296 watts. yes i know it wasnt doing the 1296, but i know it was doing its 900.

i have a 900 watt big bang right now, has 3 30 amp fuses in it also.

of course planet audio is near its end of being a decent amp company. 5 years ago they would have never put out such junk as the anarchy series, or torque series.

give it 3 more years they will be about as awesome as boss audio amps

Fuses don't tell the whole story either. My experience with planet audio is that they've never done rated, whether the fusing worked out or not. Never had one quit on me, but they never did rated. Some companies over fuse their equipment as well. Did you clamp your amps to see that they were truly putting out 900 watts?

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

i'd really like to clamp this amp and see what it really puts out, any method to figure this out?