Subs underpowered?

[Bobby322 10+ year member]

Just checking if my subs are being underpowered. System is in my sig. I've got 2 of these http://dls.se/en/car/prod.html?produkt=en_138 running off a Hifonics Brutus 1600W (black edition older?)

If I get a nicer amp, how much difference will I notice if any?

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[Bobby322 10+ year member]

??

 

[t1n0m3n 10+ year member]

How do you have the subs wired?

That amp is about right for ONE of those speakers.

Even the recommended amp section of the link you specified seems to agree.

You have 2x500 watt speakers being powered by a 550 watt amp.

(I speak only in 4 ohms, any other spec is worthless for pairing speaker/amp.)

I am assuming that your amp is this one:

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=19581

 

[Bobby322 10+ year member]

I have them wired like this - http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/learningcenter/car/subwoofer_wiring/2DVC_2-ohm_mono.jpg

And it is the older model. The black one.

 

[t1n0m3n 10+ year member]

How many watts RMS @ 4 ohms is your amp?

My rule of thumb for awesomeness is 75% to 100% of the sub's RMS for the amp @ 4 ohms.

You can get away with less if you drive the amp really hard, but then you have to contend with amp clipping, overheating, and sloppy bass. If your 4 ohm RMS is truely 550 watts, then you are at 55%.

So the 4 ohm spec of the amp you should be looking for should be around 750 to 1000 watts.

The Hifonics BXi 2608D seems to fit this bill perfectly.

With this method comes the responsibility to tune it correctly. I tune mine by ear, but I am a deaf old man. You should never, ever, ever, ever clip your speakers. Realize that any material between your ears and the speaker cone can muffle the sound of the speaker clipping.

Do this correctly and you should have a system that lasts forever, never has thermal shutdown, and sounds awesome. Do it incorrectly and you will smoke your speakers.

This might sound crazy, but do yourself a favor, once you get a properly powered amp, try running your subs all in series instead of that series/parallel you are running now. I know it will be 8 ohms, but just listen to the difference. After that wire it however you want.

BTW, I run mine at 6 ohms and it makes my vision blurry while driving down the road. I am running a 750 watt amp.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

How many watts RMS @ 4 ohms is your amp?My rule of thumb for awesomeness is 75% to 100% of the sub's RMS for the amp @ 4 ohms.

You can get away with less if you drive the amp really hard, but then you have to contend with amp clipping, overheating, and sloppy bass. If your 4 ohm RMS is truely 550 watts, then you are at 55%.

Wtf are you talking about?

The bxi1606 will do 900-1000w at 2 ohms which the crutchfield link showed is how they're wired.

Bobby - with a higher quality amp capable of ~1200w at 2 ohms it's not likely you'd hear a difference.

What type of enclosure are they in?

 

[t1n0m3n 10+ year member]

LOL, here comes the Amplifier police.

I wondered when they would show up.

Good luck Bobby.

Just follow the manufacturer's recommendations. They are my recommendation as well. The only thing I did was explain them, and give you the tools to make informed decisions on how to pair amps to subs.

Edit: Actually after going back through the manufacturer's suggested amps, my recommendations are a bit more stringent. The manufacturer's range is 60% to 110% I recommended 75% to 100%.

I stand by my recommendation of the Hifonics BXi 2608D as the optimum amp for your application.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

LOL, here comes the Amplifier police.I wondered when they would show up.

Good luck Bobby.

"amplifier police"? Wtf is that supposed to mean?

Just follow the manufacturer's recommendations. They are my recommendation as well. The only thing I did was explain them, and give you the tools to make informed decisions on how to pair amps to subs.

The mfg's recommendation is 500w rms. That is the thermal power rating - the amount of power and heat the sub can safely dissipate.

What else is there to recommend?

Edit: Actually after going back through the manufacturer's suggested amps, my recommendations are a bit more stringent. The manufacturer's range is 60% to 110% I recommended 75% to 100%.I stand by my recommendation of the Hifonics BXi 2608D as the optimum amp for your application.

What conclusions are you drawing from the wide range of amps the mfg recommends?

They recommend a 400w amp at 4 ohms (also capable of 1050@1 which is clearly not the intended configuration), and 550w at 4 ohms (1600 @ 1).

The RA10 could probably go either way at 300/780, and the a6 is 500/1200 - again 500 at 4 is the implied configuration.

what am I missing? Please enlighten me.