rms or peak whats better

What is more important rms power or peak power? i have a nitro 800 watt amp and its rms is 200 watts i had a crunch amp that was 400 watts peak and had a 250 watt rms and it felt more powerful.im planning on buy a better amp, what amp would be good to power one kicker cvr12 with 400 watt rms and a 800 watt peak with a price atleast under 250 bucks.

The reason the Crunch amp felt "more powerful" is because IT IS. RMS is the important number, but it is NOT the only spec you need to look at. I'll be the first to tell you (but probably not the last) that you would never EVER be able to hear the difference in 50 watts. The Crunch amp will be a better amplifier all around, with better current capacity, regulation, damping... All of these can contribute to the perceived performance capabilities of an amplifer. Read my sticky, regarding the important specifications and qualities in amplifier comparisons. Generally speaking, more money WILL get you a better amplifier, one of the few places where this suggestion can actually apply with reasonable coverage. Be careful, though... you can cross the point of diminshing returns very quickly. The Nitro amp cost, what, 75 to 100 dollars? And the Crunch amp was probably closer to 200 dollars, right? A perfect example. The Nitro amp would be easily referred to as a "swap-o-rama" amplifier. Also, (and this, again, is a bit of a generalization, as the line is being further blurred all the time) an exclusive brand, only available at smaller, specialty car audio stores will be better regarded, and likely better performing than the Audiobahn-like whores; those products you can buy ANYWHERE, (including the internet) and each place you go to look for it, it'll be cheaper than the last place you saw it. Support your local dealers! The brick-and-mortars will continue to support AFTER THE SALE, and (most of) the internet dealers won't. They already HAVE your money, they don't care about the problems you are having right now... All that being said, find an amplifier rated 400 watts (or SLIGHTLY more - maybe as much as 500 watts) into your desired load. What is the configuration of your woofer SVC (2, 4, or 8 ohms) or DVC (1, 2, or 4 ohms)?It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Always use RMS #'s   Peak can be greatly inflated, and is normally a hypothetical # I.E   You have a constant 14.4 volts that dosent alter even .05 of a volt ( we likely never happen in a car app) You have all the current you will ever need and then an extra 1000 amps on tap if you need it( I.E a 6-10 alternator setup) again even though it has been done, very rare, very costly, very time consuming basically you can buy a junk lanzar amp that says 250RMS (Bad brand even this is probably inflated) and its 2000W peak.   You might see that if it was struck by lightning and it was right before it melted in the pile of poop it really is, and also at 80% distortion!2009 0-1000 Trunk WR 154.0DB 2009 1001+ Trunk WR

2007 USACI World Champion

2007 World Record

2006 USACI Finals 2nd Place

thanks for the advice. my kicker sub is a dvc wired in 4 ohms.

you will need a pretty stout amp that can make 400w @ 4ohms you could wire your sub to 1 ohm and find a 1ohm stable amp. but those are pricey too are you going to just keep what you have now or are you really looking for a new amp?

400 watts at 4 ohms isn't hard...just get a 2 channel amp

i am buying a new sub because i sold the crunch amp and burned up the nitro amp. what would be a good 1 ohm stable amp under 200 bucks?