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Amplifier Information


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temple2101 
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Posted: February 16, 2004 at 1:39 PM / IP Logged  
Can anyone point me to a good article with everything I could want to know about amplifiers?  ie: how to determine what power ratings i need for a particular subwoofer setup, differences in amplifiers, or anything like that?  My main confusion is how to determine what amp to get that will be adequate for a certain sub, or multiple subs (RMS power, max power ... always get confused on that).  If someone could at least answer that, I would really appreciate it.  Thanks!
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Posted: February 16, 2004 at 2:15 PM / IP Logged  

This site contains most of the information that you need to know, your best bet is to post the things that you are not familiar with and learn from the responses, there are alot of good knowledgeable installers and business owners on this site who would be happy to help you.

RMS = root mean square = the amount of power the sub is designed to handle on a continous basis and for an amp the continueous clean power output in watts.

Peak power for a sub is what it can handle in watts for a brief instant.

Peak power for an amp is what the amp is capable of delivering for that brief instant.

In all cases for rms and peak it is not an indication of how loud or how good it will sound.

For further answers it is best to post what vehicle you have, the type of music you listen to, how you want to listen to it, what kind of budget you have and of course the items you are interested in.

Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
temple2101 
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Joined: January 13, 2004
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Posted: February 16, 2004 at 2:36 PM / IP Logged  
Thanks for the reply!  So say I have a sub that can handle 500 watts, 250 watts RMS.  It has dual 4 ohm voice coils.  Say I wire this sub in parallel to produce a 2 ohm load.  I would want to look for an amplifier that has an RMS rating of at least 250 watts @ 2 ohms.  Correct?  Thanks again!
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Platinum - Posts: 5,352
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Posted: February 16, 2004 at 3:13 PM / IP Logged  
That is right. Another thing to consider is where the voltage is measured at. You should make sure that the amp makes it's rated power as close to 12volts as possible. Some amplifier manufacturers play on this "spec" and rate the rms output at as high as 16 volts, anyone can make power at 16 volts. The reason for making rated power at 12 volts is due to the fact that it provides real world conditions that a battery will see. As the draw on a battery increases, the available voltage decreases. If you turn on your air conditioning, high beams, etc. this all robs power away from the battery, leaving less power for an amp, thus an amp that may produce 250 w rms at 16 volts may produce (for arguements sake only) 200w rms at 14.4 volts and 150w rms at 12 volts. Hope this aids you in your search.
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
temple2101 
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Joined: January 13, 2004
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Posted: February 17, 2004 at 10:49 AM / IP Logged  
Thanks!  One more question about mono amplifiers.  If an amplifier says that it produces 1400W x 1 RMS @ 1 Ohm and the amplifier has dual mono speaker output connectors, does that mean that it will produce 1400W to each speaker if 2 are connected? or does that mean that each speaker will see 700W?  Thanks again!
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Posted: February 17, 2004 at 1:35 PM / IP Logged  
If the amp is a mono amp it has two sets of terminals on it purely for ease of hook up. The two terminals are wired together on the inside of the amp. Thus each terminal will share an equal amount of power.
Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
jeffchilcott 
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Joined: April 11, 2002
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Posted: February 17, 2004 at 5:01 PM / IP Logged  
if you want to see what your amp would be in a comp, go to soundoff.org. they have most USACi ratings there
2009 0-1000 Trunk WR 154.0DB 2009 1001+ Trunk WR
2007 USACI World Champion
2007 World Record
2006 USACI Finals 2nd Place

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