Would these subs be underpowered by this amp

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

im thinking about getting this package but wouldnt the subs be underpowered with that amp?

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=5180

Click to read more...

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

No such thing as "underpowering".

If you don't think you'll get the output you want, go to a kW amp...

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

No such thing as "underpowering".
If you don't think you'll get the output you want, go to a kW amp...

ive only been learning about car audio the past 2 days.. and both of those subs in that link are 400W.. and the amp is 500W.. i figured that 400+400 equals 800W so id need an 800W amp.. could you explain to me how it works then?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

ive only been learning about car audio the past 2 days.. and both of those subs in that link are 400W.. and the amp is 500W.. i figured that 400+400 equals 800W so id need an 800W amp.. could you explain to me how it works then?

That rating is the maximum they're recommended to handle, not a recommended power level. People seem to think they should run any speaker at its RMS rating, and not anything less...I don't know where this myth comes from.

If you went with an amp that's rated for a kW, and you had it set to output 800W at your maximum preout voltage, that's fine. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

That rating is the maximum they're recommended to handle, not a recommended power level. People seem to think they should run any speaker at its RMS rating, and not anything less...I don't know where this myth comes from.
If you went with an amp that's rated for a kW, and you had it set to output 800W at your maximum preout voltage, that's fine. Nothing wrong with that.

basically what i want to know is with that amp thats included in that set.. would there be a big difference in how hard the subs hit if i had a kW amp on there instead?