Voltage Input Sensitivity

[azngotskills 10+ year member]

Im trying to decide between a few amps but the input sensitivity of them differ. My Eclipse 8454 puts up to 8V preouts but some amplifiers only accept up to like 2V. I know that the higher the voltage the less the amp has to work so a cleaner sound. So I wanted some input regarding my options...does this voltage input sensitivity really affect performance? Should I go with the higher voltage for better sound or stick with the better build company like Arc/Zapco?

Examples:

Arc Audio- 2.5V

DLS- 7V

JL- 8V

Zapco-???

Click to read more...

 

[azngotskills 10+ year member]

Could someone put me in the right direction or a link?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I know that the higher the voltage the less the amp has to work so a cleaner sound.

That's not quite true.

The higher preamp output voltage allows you to set the gain lower, increasing the signal to noise ratio and possibly decreasing noise.

But if the amplifier has no audible noise with a lower input voltage, then a higher input voltage won't make a lick of audible difference. And really, with the quality of amplifiers these days....there will be no noise with a high gain setting, so preout voltage is pretty inconsequential and a non-issue in most cases.

And even then...you are not relating them properly. The above is in regards to preamp voltage output from the HU, this thread is in regards to the input sensitivity of the amplifier. They are related, but not in the way you are trying to relate them.

The input sensitivity range determines the range of voltages that the amplifier can accept and will produce full rated power output with. If the range is from .2V - 4V (for example), then the amplifier is designed to produce full power output with as little as .2V input with the gain set to maximum (all the way up), and with the gain set to minimum (all the way down) it would take 4V of input to driver the amplifier to full power output. It has nothing at all to do with performance or sound quality...just the range of how much input voltage is acceptable to drive the amplifier to full power output.

does this voltage input sensitivity really affect performance?

Not "performance" per say...just where you need to set the gain for a given preamp output voltage.

Should I go with the higher voltage for better sound

Again, higher preamp voltage sounding better is a myth.

And even then, you are not asking about preamp output voltage, but rather input sensitivity.....you are confusing the two, I think.

Examples:Arc Audio- 2.5V

DLS- 7V

JL- 8V

Zapco-???

All of those are great quality amplifiers and would do you wonderfully.

Pick the one that has the power you need, the features you want (such as crossover flexibility, etc) and cosmetics you enjoy at a price you can afford.

Clear as mud ?

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

also the amp will never see 8 volts rms from the deck

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

It would with the volume set to 80 while running a 0 dB signal ...

i doubt he rides around listening to a 0 db signal at full volume. in terms of real music use, he won't have a constant 8 volts

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Somethings been bothering me....

amp accepts up to 2v inputs but what if it sees a 4v (actual) signal? Does it just opperate like it's getting a 2v input or will it automatically go into clipping or something else?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Somethings been bothering me....
amp accepts up to 2v inputs but what if it sees a 4v (actual) signal? Does it just opperate like it's getting a 2v input or will it automatically go into clipping or something else?

It'll clip the input stage of the amplifier, which will result in a clipped output.

But, I had an Eclipse 8053 w/ 8V outputs running with an amplifier with a rated input sensitivity of 1500mV (1.5V) and never had any problems.

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Thanks. I figured that's what happened. Squeek, I know I know but it's a nice little bit of info just to know...

Thanks, guys.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Squeek, I know I know but it's a nice little bit of info just to know...

It wasn't necessarily just for you....more so that anybody who read it wouldn't go "OMGWTFBBQ, I'm using a 2.5V preout headunit with an amp that only accepts 2V.....I'm so screwed!!!!!!!!!! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif "

 

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

OMGWTFBBQ

BBQ? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

BBQ? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

You cookin' ? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif

 

[thch 10+ year member]

Somethings been bothering me....
amp accepts up to 2v inputs but what if it sees a 4v (actual) signal? Does it just opperate like it's getting a 2v input or will it automatically go into clipping or something else?

depends on the type of input to the amp. in all likelyhood it will just clip, but i've seen much worse. the best was inverted clipping where the output increases to the point of clipping. the input kept increaseing, and at some point the output clipped, but the wrong way. basically it made a square wave at twice the frequency of the input. very ugly. this is very unlikely to happen unless you took the output of another amp and pluged it into the RCA inputs. of course at some point you destroy the amp... you'd probably need peak voltages over 15V to do this though.

 

[azngotskills 10+ year member]

thanks for all the input they were very informative and much appreciated ....so basically i will be safe to go with any brand that I listed and set the gains accordingly.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

thanks for all the input they were very informative and much appreciated ....so basically i will be safe to go with any brand that I listed and set the gains accordingly.

Correctomundo

 

[azngotskills 10+ year member]

Thanks for the info and reassurance squeak