Too much power?

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

I am powering a set of CDT es62i GOLD components with an ARC 300.4 amp and i can't turn up the volume more than 12-14, the speakers crackle, and it sounds really bad.

They are currently hooked up bridged.

Bass boost on the amp is turned up 1/8th

Gain is turned up 1/8th

All lower frequencies on the H701 are on zero

Turning down the gain and bass boost might help, but what i am asking is can i use this amp for the rears too instead of just using it for the front.

So if i use it for the rears too its going to run as a 4 channel amp and i won't be sending too much power to the cdts...

CDT Specs

http://www.cdtgold.com/es62i_2.htm

ARC 300.4 Specs

http://www.arcaudio.com/productdescription_pages/amplifiers/ks-series/ks3004.asp

Click to read more...

 

[JuicyJeff 10+ year member]

why bridge if your already running too much power why not run off 1 chan

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

ship the equipment to me and i will diagnose the issue. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

ship the equipment to me and i will diagnose the issue. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

I will have to take everything apart otherwise i would have sent everything to you:

 

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

why bridge if your already running too much power why not run off 1 chan

You mean run it as a 4 channel amp.. fronts and rears?

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

why any bass boost at all if your bass boost is at 45hz and you should be hi passing at 100hz with that much power?

IMO 350 is WAY too much, but 90's not enough.

 

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

why any bass boost at all if your bass boost is at 45hz and you should be hi passing at 100hz with that much power?IMO 350 is WAY too much, but 90's not enough.[/quote

This amp is a monster .. the cdts are a joke in front of this amp..

Did i buy an overpowered amp for my comps?

What am i supposed to do now?

 

[smullen 10+ year member]

Sounds like one or the other will need to change...

Get a lower power amp, or Higher wattage Comps...

There is no Magic Bullets, its all in the numbers...

 

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

No other options?

 

[spltuscon 10+ year member]

Have you tried it in 4 channel mode? Seems to me like that would be the first step. I know when I used CDT's they didn't handle power very well...

 

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

No i haven't tried it in the 4 channel mode.

But i am NOW passing them over 100hz and with no bass boost and half gain.

And they sound VERY GOOD!

I now need rear fills.. and an amp for them.

 

[djdownfawl 10+ year member]

ARC amps ROCK! I am VERY VERY VERY impressed with this amp!

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

There is no such thing as too big of an amp, as long as the gains can be adjusted down to adequately limit output. In fact, many SQueers run overly large amps with the gains set artificially low on purpose, as this gives headroom to help with transient/peak response and helps lower the perceived thd from the amp. Use a DMM to set your gains to the power output you want.

A crackling noise concerns me. Many times that is the sound made by an already-blown speaker, not necessarily one that is simply being overdriven but not blown yet. Try to determine if the noise comes from the mids or tweets. And try adjusting the gain as described above.