how much power do i need?

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dj baracus

Member - Posts: 22

Joined: July 28, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 17, 2002 at 1:27 PM / IP Logged

am i totally underpowering my sub? i have an old Kenwood KAC-823 (320x1max bridged 2 ohm) feeding a Kicker CompVR15 4 ohm (in parallel=2ohm). i keep blowing my fuxe IN the AMP (its really hot). (((the kicker is rated @ 500W RMS, 1000W Peak)))

do i want an amp that is rated @ 500Wx1 or closer to 1000Wx1???

these are the amps i am considering:::

PPI PCX1500= 1000Wx1 @ 2ohms

PPI PCX1250= 500Wx1 @ 2ohms

Memphis Audio 16-ST1000D= 600Wx1 @ 2ohms

JL Audio 500/1= 500Wx1 RMS @ 1.5-4ohms

JBL bp600.1= 600Wx1 @ 2ohms

are these good choices? what do i gain between the PPi's?

thanks a lot in advance!

ih8u37

Copper - Posts: 54

Joined: June 06, 2002

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 6:29 AM / IP Logged

You are definitely underpowering that sub. If you've set the gain too high in order to make up for this lack of power, it may be causing the fuse to pop. Also, make sure your amp is 2 Ohm stable when bridged mono, most lower end amps are not. This would also cause the amp to overheat & pop fuses. I'd definitely suggest purchasing a new amp.

PPI was good in its day, but one of their head engineers left for JL, & their amps seem to have degraded in quality a bit (not to say they're not good, just not quite as good as they were). I've heard JBL currently makes good products, but when I first got into car audio, they weren't very good, so I've been turned off of them since (old beliefs die hard).

The JL & Memphis amps would definitely suffice. Don't even bothering looking at peak power ratings. Find something that pushes as close to 500W RMS as possible. If you have to choose between a little bit higher or a little bit lower, go higher so you don't try to make up for it by using the gain as a volume control.

I'd also suggest looking at Visonik amps. I've been really happy so far with them, & they're surprisingly low-priced in comparison.

The Visonik V700HC would definitely push it (650W RMS x 1 @ 2 Ohms High Current amp)

http://www.visonikcaraudio.com

chasesaccessori

Copper - Posts: 198

Joined: August 22, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 7:21 AM / IP Logged

I agree with ih8u37. Out of all the mistakes I see people make over and over is to not buy a big enough amp, then try to compensate with the gain. Talk about pumping a lot of distortion in to the system.

(owner/installer)

Chase's Accessories

Ridgecrest, CA

in business since 92

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dj baracus

Member - Posts: 22

Joined: July 28, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 8:00 AM / IP Logged

thanks for your advice & suggestions!... the amp says that is 2ohm when bridge (& stable), but i think not. i was going to try re-wiring the sub in series to get an 8ohm load. what will this result in, as far as power? probably serious power loss? thanx for the advice on PPI's. I used to LOVE those amps, but i guess things change? ("old beliefs die hard" is so true), but those JL Audio amps LOOK solid! (but you cant tell by looks these days, in car audio) you recommend the VISONIK...i was looking at those but wasn't sure what to think, id love to hear more opinion on them. Are there different grades? you suggest the "high current" series, is this a better grade than the others? i was concerned about their lower prices but, hey!, why complain!

TheRapture

Copper - Posts: 208

Joined: July 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 9:11 AM / IP Logged

serious power loss at 8 ohms is right!... keep the ohms low, the 2ohm is perfect.

to subs that are from 400rms to 700 rms, i always recommend the JBL BP600.1 it can be used as low as 1 ohm!!!! it's extremely reliable (more then most i've seen on the market today) and have an excellent life span. you can find it on-line for about $170..... BTW what guage wire are you powering the amp with? i'd suggest 4, unless you plan on getting an extremely high wattage system LATER-ON... then i always like to have 0/1 in there just for precautions (for your case at 500rms 4 guage may be overkill)

just a thought!

dj baracus

Member - Posts: 22

Joined: July 28, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 9:44 AM / IP Logged

yeah, forget that 8ohm business! that JBL is super cheap, uh...lets say "affordable"!

as far as wire gauge, i have a 4ga wire to a dist. block, then an 8ga to the amp (in the trunk). could i be not getting enough power to the amp? would a bigger power wire (& ground), better alt., CAPACITOR, better battery, help with my fuse/hot amp problem? (rather than the problem being a 2ohm stable problem?)

thanks!

Philo

Member - Posts: 23

Joined: August 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 12:27 PM / IP Logged

Having installed many of the BP600.1's with great success, I totaly agree. Huge Power and low price, It is not cheaply made in any way though so do not be affraid because of its cost. It is a Class "D" amplifier, which for several reasons is less expensive to manufacture. Class "D" fas a reputation for producing a distorted signal, but a bass frequencies, this is not the case. Another benifit of class "D" is its efficiency, You can expect around 85-90% effeciency compared to class "A/B" where 50% effeciency is the mathmatical perfect amp, and 40-43% is the reality. Result, Class "D" draws half the current to produc e the same power. No need to upgrade your alternator to get Huge Bass.

17 years in the 12 volt industry MECP 1st Class

TheRapture

Copper - Posts: 208

Joined: July 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 1:14 PM / IP Logged

and you also have an 8 guage wire going from the amp to ground... RIGHT? always have both the positive and negitive power cables the same guage so there is no bottlenecking of electrons.

no, you dont need to get a cap, new alt. or any other thing... the bp600.1 runs about 58 amps so your not pulling a biga$$load of power to need any of those extras.

dj baracus

Member - Posts: 22

Joined: July 28, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: September 18, 2002 at 2:02 PM / IP Logged

you guys are really getting me excited about the JBL...i was worried that it wouldnt

have enough to push the 15" DVC, but im feeling good. PHilo, thanks for the amp-class lesson...i wasnt sure what all that really meant...

& yes, i have 8ga power & GROUND!...i'll be able to use the 8ga for the JBL, right?

(ill check the gauge/power table)

right now i have an inline fuse (AGU type) 12" from the battery. it only accepts 60A fuses max,

which is what i have total in the dist.block. = Amp1:30A Amp2:15A Amp3:15A = total 60A.

if i upgrade Amp1 to 60A, then thats a total of 90A (60+15+15).which is too much for the fuse-holder.

i should upgrade my fuse, (right?). A couple of posts before was a question about breakers & fuses...

do any of you recommend breakers over fuses and/or what can you suggest that i use?

if fuses, which style fuse should i look @, im not too familar with the larger amperage fuses (ie. wafer)

again, thank you so much!

Philo

Member - Posts: 23

Joined: August 07, 2002

Location: United States

Posted: October 10, 2002 at 1:10 PM / IP Logged

Wafers are expensive, try maxi's there like the ones in the fuse block under the hood of most cars, they are avaliable up to 80 amps for a single fuser, and if you ever blow one, you can get a rfeplacement at any auto parts store for around $2

17 years in the 12 volt industry MECP 1st Class

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