Total Harmonic Distortion

[Mboyle1145 10+ year member]

Im curious how the percentages work and ehat it all really means. I have a aq1200d and about to install a small alpine 4 channel amp and im curious why they put two differnt power ratings one with 1% thd and 5% thd what does this really mean the more distortion the more power? im just curious what it means and how do you tell if your running the 1% or 5% or whatever percent that it states?

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[West]

In general the higher the power (also lower the resistance of your sub-woofers) the more total harmonic distortion you will get.

Usually around .5%-1% is about where your ears will start to notice a difference in sound quality.

For sound quality, 4 ohm loads or higher have the best sound. Lower than that, you will start to get higher THD levels.

 

[Mboyle1145 10+ year member]

So when running my amp at .8 ohms ill have more power but have more distortion but i want really notice it that much basically?

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

No higher impedance is lower power but distortion. For subs distortion isn't all that major, but in speakers it is.

 

[West]

So when running my amp at .8 ohms ill have more power but have more distortion but i want really notice it that much basically?

Check to make sure your amp is .8 ohm stable first.

At any resistance under 2 ohms you are probably going to notice some distortion in the sound. How much will be dependent on the amp and how good your electrical setup is.

Personally I would not run any amp below 2 ohms, but I like SQ. If you are looking for SPL then go 4 it. lol

 

[Mboyle1145 10+ year member]

i see makes sense my amp is 1 ohm stable and alot of people run it .5 i checked with DJ and prorabbit my elctrical system is good and im going to do big three as well and im not going to go crazy on gain or head unit setttings ether. and im going for more spl than sq i have had aq set ups and its time to rattle peoples mirrors behind me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Im curious how the percentages work and ehat it all really means. I have a aq1200d and about to install a small alpine 4 channel amp and im curious why they put two differnt power ratings one with 1% thd and 5% thd what does this really mean the more distortion the more power? im just curious what it means and how do you tell if your running the 1% or 5% or whatever percent that it states?

It means that if you are willing to accept more distortion, the amp can put out more power. As an amp gets up towards its max power the output starts to distort. It doesn't really relate to load impedance, unless you go lower than recommended in which case the number goes up. At 5% you can definitely hear it but if you're going for loud then there will be other noises that'll probably mask the THD anyway.

 

[Mboyle1145 10+ year member]

Perfect. Only Sound quality I care about is my mids and highs . Thanks for the info helps out alot.

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

5% is tough enough to discern in highs. Especially on music. I very seriously doubt any of you can hear 5% distortion in a sub.

Depending on how good your computer speakers are, check this out and see if you can hear it. There's a little sound clip in there to see if you can hear the difference...

Total Harmonic Distortion

 

[West]

5% is tough enough to discern in highs. Especially on music. I very seriously doubt any of you can hear 5% distortion in a sub.
Depending on how good your computer speakers are, check this out and see if you can hear it. There's a little sound clip in there to see if you can hear the difference...

Total Harmonic Distortion

Depends on the volume you are listening at and some other factors. 2% is really noticeable to my ears at a medium/loud volume on mids/highs. But it also depends on the source of your music.

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

Depends on the volume you are listening at and some other factors. 2% is really noticeable to my ears at a medium/loud volume on mids/highs. But it also depends on the source of your music.

Well.. not many people have your gear. Or transport. Or ear.