wattage results

i know it is late and most wont read this till morning but thanks for all the input. i guess from what you all are telling me there is no simple way to take a measurement and convert to real world wattage. i guess there is no dynojet for amplifers like there is for horsepower in a car. anyway if anybody has any final coments i would be glad to hear them still. i just would like to know if the mfg has actual ratings on my amp or if they are way out of left field. thanks again.

james

 
To get a number that means anything it's going to take a lot more time, equipment and money than you want to throw at it for a gee whiz answer.

Manufacturers use a huge power supply with selectable voltage and a current readout. More importantly they use a precision load that is not reactive (no capacitance or inductance value) and is precisely adjustable. The non-reactive part is very important (and also makes real world application info impossible to determine from the manufacturer's data). Because the load is non reactive the load seen by the amp does not vary with frequency or power applied (nothing like your subs). Because is doesn't vary, it also doesn't induce a phase shift between voltage and current. The power number that they get actually is V*I applied at the same time.

Now step back to the real world. You can wire your subs to a nominal load but the amp is never going to see that load. You also get a phase shift between voltage and amperage such that the peaks don't align. If you were to look at definitional power applied there would be four points in each cycle where the power applied would be zero (points where either voltage or current was zero). That said, it's the current that moves the driver. The voltage induces the current. Even though there is a phase shift between the two, they are still correlated by Ohm's law. You can get an RMS value for voltage and for current and multiply them and get what would be considered power though because of the phase shift the correct term would be volt*amps.

If you are expecting to get rated power numbers for the nominal load that you have your subs wired to if you test this, be prepared to be greatly disappointed. You'll be getting much less because of box rise and power compression.

 
You can also check your local audio shops. I bought some used amps recently and I was able to get them clamp tested when I had them benched. They charged me about $5.00 an amp.

 
Well stated Helotaxi.Because music is transient inductiance won't be consistent therfore watts would vary correct?
The music transients aren't the issue, though the transients and recording level of the music will keep you from ever getting the full potential of your amp to your speakers regardless of load without clipping the crap out of something.

The issue is that the inductance of the voicecoil causes a phase lag on the current induced in the circuit by the voltage applied. As such, even with a test tone, the current and voltage will not be at their peak at the same time. Like I said though, the current creates the magnetic force that moves the coil. Volt*amps is a perfectly legit measurement for our purposes and still hardly worth caring about.

 
helotaxi you sound like you know your stuff. i was just wanting to know how many watts my subs were recieving at a certain point and i learned so much more.

all you guys out here are verry helpful thanks. looks like i need to get a clamp style ammmeter and get the reading now. and you are right it is hardly worth caring about but i want to know. kind of wanting to know if mfg ratings are right or not. also to match subs with amps.

james

 
kind of wanting to know if mfg ratings are right or not. also to match subs with amps.
With real world loads, the amp won't come close to the rated power. The main reason is that the subs will not present the amp with the load it was rated into. Impedance rise and power compression will see to that Expect the calculated impedance (V/I) to be as much as 8x the nominal impedance of the drivers or more. All the more reason that especially with the power you're talking about, it isn't worth worrying about.

 
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