will I dammage subs if I under power them
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=49294
Printed Date: April 28, 2024 at 5:44 AM
Topic: will I dammage subs if I under power them
Posted By: quick4321
Subject: will I dammage subs if I under power them
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 5:16 PM
I have 2 12" MTX 8000's SVC. The 8100D I have conntected to them is dying and i need to send it in for repair. Can I hook up a 75x2 MTX amp I have lying around to get by? Im thinking I bridge to 150watts and then run series to get the ohm load down and possibly squeeze enough power to push the two subs. I know it wont be anywhere near what the 8100d gives them but I dont want to lose sound while my amp is in the shop. What concerns should I have? I also have a alpine 45x4 running some fronts so I could use the alpine 45x4 to run the subs if you guys think I can get more power out of that and use the 75x2 to run my seperates? Comments and sugestions please.
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
Replies:
Posted By: bullman96
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 5:22 PM
what is the impedance of the subs and how low of an impedance can the amp handle? you might want to hook each sub to each voice coil. other than the wiring, you wouldnt be able to harm the subs or amp as long as you dont push the amp beyond its limits and have it clipping. be very conservative with the gains.
Posted By: kfr01
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 5:26 PM
Sigh. I'll let someone else handle this fully. I don't have the time atm.
Short answer:
1) don't present lower than a 4-ohm load to that amplifier in bridge mode. It isn't stable < 4-ohms bridged.
2) Underpowering doesn't harm speakers. Distortion and clipping harm speakers. If you turn that small amp up too high you'll introduce distortion and clipping. Then you'll harm the speaker. Set the gain correctly. Never turn the volume past where you had it when you set your gain. You won't have any problem.
If, however, you decide to show off and crank it past that point, the amplifier will probably distort heavily, clip, and start damaging the speaker.
See: https://www.bcae1.com/2ltlpwr.htm for more information.
I could run a 12312412124w subwoofer with 1w and it would sound fine until I started turning up the volume too high. Conclusion, to paraphrase bcae1.com, under-powering doesn't harm speakers, careless behavior with the volume control harms speakers.
-------------
New Project: 2003 Pathfinder
Posted By: bullman96
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 5:44 PM
"ou might want to hook each sub to each voice coil. " meant to say each channel.
Posted By: Teamrf
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 5:53 PM
I agree..I had two Punch HX2's that wanted 500 watts rms..and I was using a bd500 on them. And they sounded great, and no damage was done to the sub, or amp.
-------------
~The Rookie~
Rookie of the year that is...
Don't let the smoke out of your equiptment..it doesn't go back in.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 5:55 PM
quick4321 wrote:
What concerns should I have?.
Connecting the speakers to the amp so that the impedence load is high enough for the amp to operate safely and setting your gain properly are your only real concerns. The idea that too little power unto iself will harm speakers is a myth. Period. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: audiobass10
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 6:15 PM
Agreed with the above info..as long as your running the amp at a safe load with the gains set correctly you wont run into any problems..underpowering a speaker will never hurt a speaker if set properly..you'll just have decreased output..that's all..sometimes 200 or so extra watts wouldnt actually be noticable to the ear..but in ur case it should since you have such a large decrease in power...no worries though.
-------------
Dave
Pioneer Premier DEH-P660
15" Kicker CVR
Profile AP1000M
It's Loud
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 6:32 PM
Can I hook up a 75x2 MTX amp I have lying around to get by? Im thinking I bridge to 150watts You're subs being SVC's, they are most likely 4 ohms each, so whether you link them in series and bridge or connect one to each channel they will indeed get 75 watts each. Follow the good advice above in setting amp gain and controlling the volume knob and they should keep your system in performance mode until you get your sub amp back. You can, though, run just one sub until that time. If this scenario is yours: the subs are isolated in separate chambers of the enclosure. (The amp should make 300 watts when bridged with a 4 ohm load.) If that's your case, disconnect one of the subs and bridge the other to the two-channel amp. As long as the sub is spec'd to take 300 watts RMS, you'll possibly improve the SPL and overall sound.
-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 6:54 PM
ok so bridging and series puts me at under 2ohm, which is bad. So two subs at 75wats each is the best I can do. 75 watts to a mtx 12", thats embarasing LOL. Thanks for the schooling!
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 6:58 PM
No, series-wiring and bridging is at 8 ohms, which is why you still get only 150 watts out of the amp. What about my 300 watt idea...would that work with your setup? Is the sub box separate chambers?
-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:03 PM
wait. If I run my two 12's series. Positive to negitve I get an 8 ohm load, then I bridge the amp to 2 ohm and the final out come is above 4 ohm right? I was thinking parallel which would have been 2 ohms at the subs and 2 ohms at the amp equaling 1 ohm load. so can I run parallel and acheive a 4 ohm load and push a little more power out of the amp or am I jsut doing a lot of fancy wiring to get 150x1 not 300x1. Is it posible to wire my 2 SVC 4ohm subs to get 300x1 or is it imposible?
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:05 PM
unfortunitly the only boxes I have ready are a bandpass and a sealed with shared chamber. :(
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:21 PM
You're saying parallel where you should be saying series... a lot. This will give you 150 watts total: 2 SVC woofers wired in series 
Is it posible to wire my 2 SVC 4ohm subs to get 300x1 or is it imposible? Already told you how to get 300 watts, and it ain't with two woofers.
-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:27 PM
so I might as well run each sub to each channel at 75watts a sub. Thanks for the advice. your diagram is series or parallel. What you have pictured I was calling series. thats how the calculator on this site makes series look. The site makes parallel look like all + go to the + on the amp and all - go to the - on the amp.
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:30 PM
.........uh, if you would take just a little more time to look at it, you'll see it's labelled 2 SVC woofers wired in series
-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:42 PM
so how was I getting parallel and series mixed up? I think I was descrbing them right. I guess Im just not very good at describing my situation. sorry about that. So tomorrow Ill see what 75x2 sounds like.
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 7:53 PM
so can I run parallel and acheive a 4 ohm load and push a little more power out of the amp or Top of the page....you were stating load on the amp as per channel throughout the paragraph. Then this sentence, which would have described the per channel load if the subs were wired in series. I think you can explain everything just fine, but I believe you hurry it a little too much :) Oh, damn, no wonder...................your name is quick!
-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: quick4321
Date Posted: February 03, 2005 at 8:01 PM
LOL, at least you can joke instead of flaming me. Nice change of pace from the rest of the internet. ... Thanks again for all the info.
-------------
Clarion DRX9255
Dynaudio MD130, MD140/2, MD160, MD170
(4) ID V3. 12" Dual 2ohm IB setup
EPX2 Symmetry w/ zapco line drivers
Monior 1 amps (2)MK2.120, MK4.70
Hifonics Colosus VII 1600x1
|