Sub power doesn’t change

[walkerm]

I recently bought a used punch p1 12” sub and it came with 2 amps. One is a Rockford fosgate r150x2 that’s 150 watt and the other is a pioneer gm-d8601 which is 1600 watt. The guy that installed used the Rockford and I don’t know why. I tried switching the amps to see if I got more power but it was the exact same as before. Can anyone give me a reason why? And also, I want to have a volume knob to control the amount of bass and don’t know where to start on that. Anything helps.

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[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Very familiar with those amplifiers. Rated output is as follows:

Rockford Fosgate Prime R150X2​

• RMS Power Rating:
  
  • 4 ohms: 50 watts x 2 chan.
  • 2 ohms: 75 watts x 2 chan.
  • Bridged, 4 ohms: 150 watts x 1 chan.

Pioneer GM-D8601

• Continuous Power Output (1Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N)800 W x 1
• Continuous Power Output (2Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N)500 W x 1
• Continuous Power Output (4Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N)300 W x 1

You are using a single 4 ohm subwoofer. There isn't not a ton of difference between 150sh and 300sh you are giving the sub. To take advantage of the 800 watts the Pioneer puts out, get yourself a dual 2 ohms sub that will work in that same enclosure and wire the voice coils in parallel for a 1 ohm load to the Pioneer amp, THEN you will definitely here a difference.

 

[HardofWhoring]

Did you set the gain? That sub is 250w RMS, 500w max. Use a multimeter and set the gain like this:

You can go a little over 250 if your electrical can handle it. I would shoot for about low 300s though. This is where I would start. From here you know that sub is doing the most it will ever do.

1600w on the pioneer amp is "max rated". That sub is 4 ohm SVC, and at 4 ohm, that pioneer amp is 300w RMS. Use the pioneer amp for that sub, but don't expect much.

THEN if that is not enough, you can get a sub that can be wired to 1 ohm, @ that 800w it can do. I would look for a sub anywhere from 600-750w RMS. You could probably set it from 800-900w no problem, depending on what you get. It won't shake the windows but you'll feel it enough to help the sound quality. You can spend your money for this, or go big. If it's me, I'm probably looking on craigslist for a sub and enclosure, and this is if your electrical can handle it, and how deep do you want to dig into your wallet.

As for the fosgate amp, I would personally just call it a paper weight, or maybe you can sell it for a few bucks. It's just not worth it to me. At most you can play two channels at 2 ohms and get 75w each, at 4 ohms, a head unit will do that much, and it's not worth buying the splitters and extra electrical need just to run it. You'd have to buy really low wattage speakers, when 100-150 is a lot more common, and only about $100 for a 4x100 amp. The fosgate amp is nostalgia, maybe someone with an old little import that doesn't want much.

Personally, It may have seemed like a nice gesture, but it just seems like it's equipment you would pawn off on someone. I'd trade that for an extra head unit that was decent, or a couple pounds of venison. Maybe a small tool or something else that was useful, because this isn't something anyone would buy these days. My guess is just 10+ yr old equipment that they have upgraded since. Just saying don't expect much if you start spending money on other equipment to make this equipment work.

 

[TheBigPilferer]

Use the pioneer, sell the Rockford amp.

If you don't have enough bass, sell sub and upgrade to a 1 ohm sub configuration.

 

[spokey9]

Very familiar with those amplifiers. Rated output is as follows:

Rockford Fosgate Prime R150X2​

• RMS Power Rating:
  
  • 4 ohms: 50 watts x 2 chan.
  • 2 ohms: 75 watts x 2 chan.
  • Bridged, 4 ohms: 150 watts x 1 chan.

Pioneer GM-D8601

• Continuous Power Output (1Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N)800 W x 1
• Continuous Power Output (2Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N)500 W x 1
• Continuous Power Output (4Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N)300 W x 1

You are using a single 4 ohm subwoofer. There isn't not a ton of difference between 150sh and 300sh you are giving the sub. To take advantage of the 800 watts the Pioneer puts out, get yourself a dual 2 ohms sub that will work in that same enclosure and wire the voice coils in parallel for a 1 ohm load to the Pioneer amp, THEN you will definitely here a difference.

Doubling the power usually is a 3db increase...that's a noticeable increase

 

[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

You asked about a bass knob. Just search for an rca volume . Edited to change link. This is the one I meant to link to.

Amazon product ASIN B00CXAEDEO

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Doubling the power usually is a 3db increase...that's a noticeable increase

True, but not significant when were talking about a sub in the back of your car going from roughly 175 to 300 watts, it's noticable but not THAT noticeable (IMHO). GAins settings could be a factor too. It's roughly 9-10Db to hear a doubling of the sound level so going from 300 to 800 with what he has, is going to be substantial.

As for the BASS knobs, the Pioneer requires a 6 pin cable like this one. If I recall I actually got this one for a GM-D8601.

Amazon product ASIN B07RHW9DT1

 

[TheBigPilferer]

True, but not significant when were talking about a sub in the back of your car going from roughly 175 to 300 watts, it's noticable but not THAT noticeable (IMHO). GAins settings could be a factor too. It's roughly 9-10Db to hear a doubling of the sound level so going from 300 to 800 with what he has, is going to be substantial.

As for the BASS knobs, the Pioneer requires a 6 pin cable like this one. If I recall I actually got this one for a GM-D8601.

Amazon product ASIN B07RHW9DT1

He was suggesting in the previous post that he could just use a universal style bass knob instead of the type that plugs directly into the amplifier.

OP, there are many different styles and types of universal bass knobs that you can use, by a bunch of different manufacturers. Some of them have a built in voltmeter, although that requires more wiring. They simply have 4 RCA plugs and go in between your amp and head unit. All of them will function the same. I don't personally have a recommendation, as I have always used the knob included with the amp or the one for the DSP.

 

[TheBigPilferer]

You asked about a bass knob. Just search for an rca volume control.
Amazon product ASIN B0002J226O

Hey... I wanted to point out that that bass knob you linked said for power bass or something and I wasn't sure if this would work correctly with his pioneer. The one you linked is telephone style, and I saw the pioneer is the same jack, but I don't think the power light on the knob would work.

I haven't looked it up and it's been so long since I've looked at a telephone cord I can't remember, but isn't there a 2-pin and a 4-pin variety? If the pins are different that knob won't work.

I just thought i would respond to try and make sure this dude doesn't get something that won't work correctly.

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Hey... I wanted to point out that that bass knob you linked said for power bass or something and I wasn't sure if this would work correctly with his pioneer. The one you linked is telephone style, and I saw the pioneer is the same jack, but I don't think the power light on the knob would work.

I haven't looked it up and it's been so long since I've looked at a telephone cord I can't remember, but isn't there a 2-pin and a 4-pin variety? If the pins are different that knob won't work.

I just thought i would respond to try and make sure this dude doesn't get something that won't work correctly.

This type of controller will work on any amplifier (or specific channel) as it is inline with the RCA connections and functions entirely as volume control knob increasing or decreasing the output/volume of the amplifier it is connected to. I've known people who lose or don;t have fader options to use one inline on the rear chanel so they can change the volume up/down for the rear speakers (not the application here, for example only). The remote knob for the pioneer is specific to I think 40 or 50 hz fixed frequency (bass boost) and controls the BASS boost only at that specific frequency.