Too much power bad thing ?

[gstokes]

System specs: Kenwood Excelon H/U 4V preout, MB Quart Onyx OA1100.5, 1-pair MTX Terminator's 400wrms max sealed enclosure, main speakers Pioneer TSG-6844's 45wrms max..

The 4-channel section is driving 4ohm load @ 75x4 while the 5th channel is driving a 2ohm load @ 500wrms.

SQ is my thing nowadays but am i pushing the envelope with 30wrms more than the Pioneer's 45wrms max rating and 100wrms more than the subs are rated for ?

If i intentionally set the gain lower than specified and kept the volume at low to medium levels do you feel the system speakers would not only survive but sound good ?

Here are some options:

1) Rewire the subs for 4ohm load and underdrive them with 350wrms..

2) Forget about rear-fill for the moment and replace the Pioneer's with a pair of Polk DXi5250 Components (100wrms) or similar and underdrive them with 75wrms ?

Thank-you in advance for any (helpful) replies //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

I always over power everything. Under powering is what causes speaker and subwoofer damage from a clipped signal. I have two 300 rms 10s being powered by a zenon based 3000 rms amp and I can bottom out the subs but have never smelt any voice coils. The 300 rms subs are just temporary untill my new atomic ele 10s arrive.

 

[gstokes]

thank-you..

I believe subs are a lot more tolerant to excessive wattage then most coaxials or mid bass/tweeter components but you are definitely pushing the envelope using a 3000wrms amp to drive 300wrms subs (100% increase), bet those subs want to jump right out the basket //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I'm pushing 22.5% more than rated on the main speakers and 25% more than rated on the subs, am starting to think it's absolutely perfect for SQ just like it is, if i do replace the pioneers it will be with a component system of equal rms power rating.

This design allows me to set the gains even lower than they need to be, hypothetically speaking everything except the speakers should run nice and cool, cheers..

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

thank-you..I believe subs are a lot more tolerant to excessive wattage then most coaxials or mid bass/tweeter components but you are definitely pushing the envelope using a 3000wrms amp to drive 300wrms subs (100% increase), bet those subs want to jump right out the basket //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I'm pushing 22.5% more than rated on the main speakers and 25% more than rated on the subs, am starting to think it's absolutely perfect for SQ just like it is, if i do replace the pioneers it will be with a component system of equal rms power rating.

This design allows me to set the gains even lower than they need to be, hypothetically speaking everything except the speakers should run nice and cool, cheers..

just because he has 3000, doesnt mean he's using all 3000, lower the gain and the speakers/subs will be seeing less power.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

I always prefer to have more power than I need.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

just because he has 3000, doesnt mean he's using all 3000, lower the gain and the speakers/subs will be seeing less power.

Yes I'm not seeing the full 3000 watts, I have the subs wired to 1.5 ohm nominal but i haven't check to see what I'm getting for impedance rise yet. I'm guessing around 1400 rms or so. When I get my atomic subs then they will be wired to 0.5 ohm nominal and then I will be seeing at least 3000 rms from the amp.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

also underpowering a sub doesnt damage it. if clipped and underpowered then yes it will damage but if clean power then it wont do any damage

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I always over power everything. Under powering is what causes speaker and subwoofer damage from a clipped signal. I have two 300 rms 10s being powered by a zenon based 3000 rms amp and I can bottom out the subs but have never smelt any voice coils. The 300 rms subs are just temporary untill my new atomic ele 10s arrive.

I laughed at this.

Nobody has ever blown a speaker from not supplying enough power given that everything was tuned and installed properly. Headroom is always a good thing as it gives you benefits such as not driving the amp to max specs causing excessive heat. Underpowering also can cause clipping in an improper install, but so can too much power. That comes down to improper setup and isnt directly related to how much or how little power you supply.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

A lot of people do not know how to properly set up a amplifier, so most of the time the speakers see a clipped signal.

 

[Lowflyin 10+ year member]

OP I suggested NOT listening to him ^^^^. He has no clue.

As for your post, having extra power allows you to have an amp that will run cooler since it is not working as hard or near peak power. Less heat= more efficiency.

Just because you have a 1000rms sub and a 10k rms amp does not mean it can only be set for 10k rms. You can very well set it to only put out 1k

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

OP I suggested NOT listening to him ^^^^. He has no clue.

wtf are you talking about ? Most people do not know how to set up an amplifier properly, that is why I get a bunch of amps to repair. I've been doing amp repairs for a few years, so don't even try to say I have no clue !

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

I laughed at this.
Nobody has ever blown a speaker from not supplying enough power given that everything was tuned and installed properly. Headroom is always a good thing as it gives you benefits such as not driving the amp to max specs causing excessive heat. Underpowering also can cause clipping in an improper install, but so can too much power. That comes down to improper setup and isnt directly related to how much or how little power you supply.

I'm not saying under powering will cause damage, I'm saying 99% of the time the amp is not properly set up and the speakers are getting a clipped signal because the owner has the volume turned up to high or the gain cranked hoping the amp will power the subs more.

 

[Lowflyin 10+ year member]

Under powering is what causes speaker and subwoofer damage from a clipped signal.