how much power do i need?

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!

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)

https://www.visonikcaraudio.com

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

I wouldn't suggest a circuit breaker, they don't open as quickly as fuses blow, so enough of a surge could get past it to damage the cable.

The Maxi fuses are cheap & easy to use, but they only go up to 80 amps. If money is a huge issue, you can go with an AGU fuse & holder (the larger glass cylander type fuses). If you have about $20 for a fuse holder, & $5-$10 for the fuse, go w/ an ANL type fuse. This will give you room to expand if need be (I know ANL fuses go up to at least 200 amps), & have the best connection.

A high current amp doesn't necessarily mean it's a better amp, it's just stable at a lower ohm rate. Most standard A/B amps can run 2 ohm stereo, but not mono, so if you're wiring the voice coils in parallel & showing the amp a 2 ohm load, you will need to go w/ a class D (or class T or X), or high current series amp.

JBL I can't really comment on, as the only experience I've had with them was a long time ago (and times do change). I can vouch for Visonik, though. MA Audio owns Visonik, so if you buy a Visonik amp, you're basically buying an MA Audio amp w/ a different name. I'm running one class A/B Visonik amp pushing two Audiobahn 12's 700 watts each at 2 ohms in a small, sealed box. I've placed in every dB competition I've been in so far, & took home first place in the last one hitting 151.5 dB (you should have seen the looks on peoples faces when they saw my box was sealed, not ported). I've pushed those subs & that amp to their max for about 3 months now, & haven't had a single problem. I know 3 months doesn't seem long, but I've seen amps fry & subs blow much quicker when pushed as hard as my system has been.

A couple other good, yet cheap, companies to look at are Soundstream & Power Acoustik. I would never get a PA sub, but their sub amps work well. Just giving you a few more options.

Hope this helps

That's why you use double protection.... always....

I would use a resetable circuit breaker under the hood by the battery at the amperage you need, then you should be using a distribution block and fuse block by your amps'.  You will be able to use the cheeper fuses that are rated at what your amps' require.

The only reason you use a fuse or circuit breaker by the battery is to protect the car from a short in the power cable, not your equipment, period.....

Thats what your fuse block by the amps if for.

ive gone with the JBL600.1 !
i will install tomorrow along with an ANL style fuse (18" from the battery). The max output from the distribution block is 60A so i can keep it as AGU-style fuses, so thats cool.

The ANL style fuse was chosen for flexibility, (& cost). My total current load is 100A = (60A + 30A +15A). In the very near future, i am looking to upgrade my front 2 amps to a high quality 4-channel amp....im looking @ an older mcintosh amp, an Art-PPI, & Xtants are sweet. All will require more current, & more A's so being able to pop in a new 140A ANL fuse, will be easier & cheaper than a new circuit breaker!

thanks to all for your help, suggestions, & comments!