Which amp is best for the sub I bought

[MaverickDaKid]

I am working on upgrading my stock audio system in my Ex. I am not looking for window shattering performance just something better than my stock X audio system which came with no sub or amps.

I have just bought
A sony Head unit
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8864&qp=0044304493327&oid=87523&m=0

And a Sony sub
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8871&qp=0044304493327&oid=69333&m=0

(both were not bought at Circuit city)

Now my question is which amp should I go with for the Sub. Again im not looking for the best system, just a better sounding system than stock. I want the amp to be able to bring out the subs full potential. If you could give me a few suggestions that would be great.

 

[expo5.0]

lmao- how can that link not have the rms rating of the sub... it only has the maximum power.

circuit city and/or sony have lost it

I'm guessing you want to put about 400 watts rms to that sub to be safe and it will hit hard with that, but i'm really unsure of how its rated.

 

[410Fortune]

Matching the sub to the amp is simple.
The sub will be either 4 or 2 ohm, also depending on wiring.
The sub will come with a RMS rating.

You want an amp with the right RMS and can handle the ohm load.

I recommend MTX amps, they are a really good amp for the $$$$, plus you can get it at Circuit City for a good price.

Stay away from Sony man! Sony car audio leaves lots to be desired....
IMO

 

[expo5.0]

yeah, but whats the rms of that sub lol

 

[MaverickDaKid]

this is the info I found on the sub
350W RMS Power P5 Series design features a 5-sided design to enhance bass performance, rigid compound polyproylene cone, 4 Ohm voice coil, and 1200w max input power.

I had a limited amount of money to spend on the project and I found the sub at a very cheap price so I decided to go for it. Afterall im not really looking for the best system just something better than stock.

So when I look for an amp should I look for a 4ohm capable of 350W+ rms?

If thats right I'll look up the MTX series that is capable of that.

 

[expo5.0]

that is correct

the mtx 342 amp would be great

 

[MaverickDaKid]

Thanks.

one last question. What would happen if the amp I bought had more Watts RMS? would it blow up the speaker?

 

[XonDubs]

wattage isnt what blows a subwoofer...its distortion...if you buy a cheap amp chances are it will blow the sub pretty quick because distortion causes heat and that is not so good on subs, which is why they blow...unless of course in some instances you seperate the coils...which is what i did with one of my perfects....
of course this is if you bump your system alot....or play heavy bass with those subs and that amp

 

[mhn3773]

wattage doesnt blow subs? so i can go and run 4k watts to my kickers right now...wtf am i doing with 500!!!! pfft

 

[XonDubs]

wattage doesnt blow subs? so i can go and run 4k watts to my kickers right now...wtf am i doing with 500!!!! pfft

that was pretty stupid....lol
of course there is a limit...4k watts would cause too much HEAT for the subs to handle.....

 

[Ru Dawg]

that was pretty stupid....lol
of course there is a limit...4k watts would cause too much HEAT for the subs to handle.....

Sorry guys, gotta step in here...
Before hand, I am a electric power sytems operator for a large electric company, so I know what I'm talking about here...

You can't "OVER-POWER" a sub. A sub is a load, a load will draw the amount of current it needs, based on it's impedance. If you have a 200W woofer, no matter what size amp you have, the sub will draw whatever amount of current needed to reach 200W at its connected impedance. So, it's always better to use a larger amp than a smaller amp. THE WORST thing you could do is UNDERPOWER a sub, because the sub will draw more current than the amp is rated for.
It's really no different than pluging stuff in at home, the things you plug in to the wall will draw the amount of current they need, just think of all the power available on the electrical system, the power grid won't overpower your vacuum cleaner!! Your vacuum cleaner draws the power it needs.
Ok, that's enough, I'm on midnight shift and I just found something to babble about...hope someone learned from this!!

Laters...

 

[mhn3773]

http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/12w7.html..look at the data sheet and tell me JL is lieing..it clearly shows u CAN over power the sub...

 

[Ru Dawg]

http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/12w7.html..look at the data sheet and tell me JL is lieing..it clearly shows u CAN over power the sub...

Ok, the only way you can vary the amount of power a sub draws is by the way you wire it...8ohm, 4ohm, 2ohm, 1ohm.....

So, yes, if you configure your wiring is such a way, you can draw more power than the sub was designed for.

On page 2 of the data sheet, below the colored graph, explains that you must factor system impedance and # of speakers into your system.

We can't argue with the theories of basic electricity and Ohm's law.

For example, Let's start with an Audiobahn A8000T, 400w @ 4 ohms, 800w @ 2 ohms.
If you connect one Infinity Perfect 12.1 to the amp the sub will draw 350w at most RMS.
Now, if I connect two perfects in parrellel, which will create a 2 ohm load, it will now draw 700w rms at most, you can't force feed watts.

Think of it like a light bulb, there are various wattages of light bulbs, you could put any wattage light bulb in a lamp, it doesn't really matter because there is plenty of power available for the bulb. A typical bulb is, lets say 100 watts, right now, at work, I have THOUSANDS of megawatts available to the grid...no bulbs are blowing here!!!

 

[expo5.0]

ac/dc!

 

[davesexplorer]

okay, so by your sayin i have a single 4 ohm sub, say rated for 400w, I put a 400w @ 4ohm amp to it, and it gets 400 watts. And I get a 4000w amp, 4000w @ 4 ohms, so youre sayin the sub will get 400 watts out of the 4000? I hope this is not what youre trying to say......

So why then do competitors put 10,000 watts to a sub when it will only take what it is rated for

A sub will use whatever power is available to it, be it more or less than where its rated at. Basically I think of a power rating as just that, if you put more power than the rating, youre risking your sub.
Me personally have overpowered every sub I ever had, no probs here.

I hope you rethink what you are saying, and if I am taking it the wrong way, I am sorry.

 

[davesexplorer]

ac/dc!

Exactly

 

[mhn3773]

the amp will always put out the power...so if it comes out of the amp where does it go? does the extra power just pass through the sub?? no

i have "force feed" a few subs and speakers being an idiot..all of them ate sh#t and died

and i re read ur previous post...house apliance and be force feed to..u can NOT plug a 110V alarm clock into a 22V plug it will not last long

im not trying to start anything but i dont like when people call me stupid and they are wrong

how do u think they rate a subs RMS??? they rate it by what it can handel w.o blowing up and what it can handle of a period of time so they get longevity out of it

thats why the JL site shows u that graph it says 500RMS is good for maximum longevity BUT u can push it further it just gets a little hairy

now u are right when it comes to other types of things that use power..u are totaly right..just not in thise case with stereos

 

[mhn3773]

Think of it like a light bulb, there are various wattages of light bulbs, you could put any wattage light bulb in a lamp, it doesn't really matter because there is plenty of power available for the bulb. A typical bulb is, lets say 100 watts, right now, at work, I have THOUSANDS of megawatts available to the grid...no bulbs are blowing here!!!

see ur half right there...take a lamp that is rated for a 90watt bulb..now put a 50 watt in see how long it lasts..take a flash light bulb meant for 4 D sized batterys and switch it with one meants for 2 AA sized batterys ( i did this just a few days ago)

but now for the bulbs not blowing at work..the power is scalled down more and more as it gets to the bulb by various things in the elec pannel so it is safe for the bulbs and computers u plug into the sockets

u are NOT getting thousands of megawatts to the wall outlet u are getting 110 just like everyone other house hold and buisness


edit..i was wrong on the bulbs part got thinkin of 2 diff things..see i can admit when im wrong

 

[Ru Dawg]

Ok, If you read my first post, you'll see I said I was on night shift, so I was not exactly thinking to clearly, and after more thinking, you are right...I was confusing transformer theory with amplifier theory...sorry...
Anyway...the light bulb thing...totally different man...no, you are not getting thousands of watts, your getting whatever you need, but the power is available, you not getting 110...your getting 110 volts, not watts, and somethings get 220volts, put the power is based on the load...anyway..off topic...
There is a good write up at www.howstuffworks.com on amplifiers, and after reading that, I was definitely mislead...sorry...see, I too can admit I'm wrong once proven otherwise....smart a$$...

 

[mhn3773]

i know im a smart ass =) always have been..and i thought what u were saying was that ur building was getting thousands of watts un restricted and the bulbs werent blowing..but anyways i was wrong on the bulbs anyways

220 is determined at the pannel where the power comes into ur house also..so thats how some appliances can run on 220 vrs most of the rest of the house run on 110

never knew that untill i worked as an HVAC tech =) woops