What's so wrong about mounting amp on sub box?

[accuab 10+ year member]

I've seen a lot of posts on here stating not to mount an amp on a sub box due to vibrations possibly causing damage to the internals of the amp. How much of a problem is this really? Almost everyone I've seen with subs had their amp mounted on the box buy I can't remember anyone saying they ever had a problem with it. And say the amp is sitting right beside the box - the vibrations are just as bad there as on the box. Then I see the rear seat mounts but people say that's bad for the amp as well. So from what I've read here, having an amp in a car anywhere is bad for it. Does that sound about right?

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[CAT MAN 5,000+ posts]

vibration+solder=bad..... that easy

 

[>>SQL<< 10+ year member]

I am debating this right now (in my head)

I have almost always mounted my amps to my sub box

I have only had 1 amp just stop working one day and it was a JL 500/1

Today I am going to mount 2 amps on my sub box (cause I have no other place to put them) and hope for the best.

 

[dross93ranger 10+ year member]

I've always mounted mine to the box with no problem.. but I've got a new box on the way do I will be building a small amp rack to mount mine under the bench seat in the back of my van.

 

[accuab 10+ year member]

vibration+solder=bad..... that easy

I don't question that fact. But vibrations are everywhere near the subwoofer. Plus there is solder on the speaker itself. If you had carpet on a box with an amp mounted on it, the vibrations would be almost exactly the same as the floor sitting beside the box.

The only correct way it seems would be to mount it in some sort of suspension in order to protect it. Vibrations are everywhere in a vehicle, with or without a sub. Maybe they should make them with an air ride suspension lol.

 

[All_Logix 10+ year member]

I think it really depends on how the box is stationed....if you have a box that is going to slid around alot, or bounce up and down when you hit a bump...then yes by all means thats a bad place to put it, however if its relatively solid, screwed dwn or custom fitted, you shouldnt have any problems. I have mounted a ton of amps to the box and never had any issues

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

I don't question that fact. But vibrations are everywhere near the subwoofer. Plus there is solder on the speaker itself. If you had carpet on a box with an amp mounted on it, the vibrations would be almost exactly the same as the floor sitting beside the box.
The only correct way it seems would be to mount it in some sort of suspension in order to protect it. Vibrations are everywhere in a vehicle, with or without a sub. Maybe they should make them with an air ride suspension lol.

Really? Yes there are vibrations everywhere in vehicle. But in no way are they as violent and constant as from an enclosure for a subwoofer. And solder on the driver itself is irrelevant, there is no circuit board on a driver. Have you ever seen the inside of an amplifier? There are MANY solder joints in there, and all it takes is one to go bad, and poof, up in smoke it goes. I have never been a fan of mounting my amplifiers to an enclosure. Have I done it? Yes. Do I like it? No.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

I dont recommend it, nor do I like the looks of it.I have had a few amps go bad due to ?Vibration/added to vehicle vibration, and the amps are mounted flush against the boxes with no air circulation on the bottom,heating up.At the least, put some kind of space between the amp, and the box, even if its just putting like 5-6 washers at each foot to get it about 1/2in off the box, will be great.Heat is the No 1 factor for amplifier failure.Stabilize the box for sure.I was just sitting in a parking lot banging, and the amp just shut down on me cut in and out.Later Removed the cover, and the power wire, and rca connection came loose from the board.That was at Idle,yet could have been a combo from the vehicle and sub vibrations??Who really knows, but, I havent put them on there any longer for the last 10yrs, and have not had any issues since,I think its also an easy Grabb free for all for a thief as well:boink:, and wires hanging all over the place, exposed:imo:We spend alot of hard money on what we have,why not try to keep it, or make it hard for a thief to see, of easy to steal?As well as to have some type of creativity in mounting them and keep them as presentable, and to last as long as we possibly can??Under the seats??Amps?Not a good place either..Spilt drinks, Ffries dirt from shoes/mud ect,scratches them up/begin to rust due to the moisture, get hott/damages the amps.Yet, in the end..its your system, and you will end up doing what you want, and should,and your money.I can only recommend what I have experienced in my time of the car audio I have had, and do have/installed, ect.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[accuab 10+ year member]

Really? Yes there are vibrations everywhere in vehicle. But in no way are they as violent and constant as from an enclosure for a subwoofer. And solder on the driver itself is irrelevant, there is no circuit board on a driver. Have you ever seen the inside of an amplifier? There are MANY solder joints in there, and all it takes is one to go bad, and poof, up in smoke it goes. I have never been a fan of mounting my amplifiers to an enclosure. Have I done it? Yes. Do I like it? No.

The case comes to the fact of the difference between an amp on a box or right beside it like most would do. There is not much difference between the vibrations. The distance from the epicenter is the only factor that determines how much vibration is felt at that point. And have I opened an amp? Yes, I've seen all the components on the board. I mentioned the solder on the sub because if vibrations were as bad as everyone thought, why would they use solder when they know there will be constant vibrations? The theory just seems misconstrued to me. Solder isn't as weak as you may think. Solder is what holds your engine computer's components to a board. It has no dampening on road vibrations except for the shocks, yet they last for years and years with no issues. Maybe I'm completely wrong in my thought process here but the only reason I have read as to why not to mount them on a box is vibration. The aesthetics I understand because I have seen some that just made the overall appearance look bad.

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

I have always put my amps on my box and not once has one stoped working. If you think about it, your box built right and good shouldnt really be vibration on the top and if it is its verry minuscule... anywhere else you put it in the car would probably vibrate more... Atleast that is the case in my car The most solid non vibrating thing in the car is either my steering wheel or my sub box.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

I didn't have any problems when I did it. If you're running under 1,000w and have a solid 3/4" mdf box, it shouldn't be a problem. Many will recommend using rubber washers under the mounting feet to dampen the vibrations. Or if you have a huge enclosure with no bracing, you're probably going to get a lot of flex in the box, which would make it a bad idea.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Hell, my steering wheel vibrates so bad from the subs going down the highway, it feels like I have a serious front end issue

 

[accuab 10+ year member]

After doing quite a bit of reading online, it turns out that the reason not to mount on a box is not the vibrations directly. It is from the flexing of the panel that the amp is mounted. The flex of a poorly braced box will cause the vibrations out of the box. The proper way to mount an amp to a box is to get the amp's mounting points as close to bracing as possible since that panel will not flex as much. I'm not necessarily planning on mounting my amp to the box, but I did want to know why not to. The theft thing is the best reason not to mount it all together since ti would be easier to snatch it all at once.

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

today will be the first time i have mounted an AMP to my box......im gonna try and use some rubber feet to help eat some of the vibrations

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Huh???//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/omg.gif.05aa02c3095d6ce9338996654eca0863.gif First time added a sub to your box???//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif