Thread: Speaker and Amplifier Matching

matching the alpine subs to that amp would be running them and the amp about as optimally as possible, they will love it. you dont really wanna set the gain to keep the volume lower so you dont blow the speakers, thats no good, gain is used to match signal voltage to expected voltage, if you set it lower then it loses information.
I would imagine 1 typeX with 1000w running to it would sound better that 2 type R's....

150 wrms to a 3 way set up will nto be overpowering most out there. and as long as the signal is clean then you should be fine.

as far as subs are concerned. i've been talking with jl audio and one of the reps is powering a 12w7 with a 500/1 amp and he says it performs very well even though that is almost underpowered for that sub. I am going to be going this route with my zapco ref 500.1 amp. Another sub to look at is a Alumapro 12". One of the Reps at Zapco is pushing one of these with a 500.1 ref amp and he says it sounds great. If you are building a sealed enclosure, the sub will be able to handle higher wattages too. so that may have something to do with what sub you choose. I wouldn't really worry about overpowering any 'quality' sub. as long as it's installed properly and your gains are set right then you should be good to go. Some other companies to look into are image dynamics and elemental designs. I have an ID sub (well...now it's sitting in it's box on my floor) and i loved the thing. it's an awesome sub for the money. If you get the IDQ line (for sq) or the IDMAX line (for spl) they will be very happy with 500 wrms.

Originally Posted by Sidewalksalvage

Hey everbody... Havent been around in a bit... but ive been planning out a whole new system... Hopefully it will be planned completely by the end of the school year that way possibly (funds willing) I will be able to put it together this summer...

My question is as follows... When it comes to Speaker and Amplifier matching how close do you want the ratings to be.

I've been looking at alpine's line of PDX amplifiers. They have 1000W RMS mono amp at 150W per channel RMS 4 CH amp and a 150 W per channel RMS 2 CH amp.

If I were to match a Alpine PDX 4.150 with a compontent speaker system with a nominal power rating of 75 RMS (per channel)... Is the amp way to much for the component system? Would I damage the speakers? I know that at times underpowering a system can lead to clipping and damage and obviously over powering can blow things. But if the amp's gain is set properly, granted the greatest potential of the amp will not be reached but would the speakers get damaged?

Does anyone know about a 2 or 3 speaker component system that has a nominal power rating of 150w?

Also as subs go... If i were to put two R-type 12" subs on a PDX 1.1000 (wired for 4 ohm at the amp) It would in theory send 500W to each sub. Considering the sub has a RMS of 200W - 500W... Could long playing eventually damage the subs? Also, If I put 2 X-type subs (500W-1000W RMS) would i just be wasting the sub?

Does anyone know a good 12" sub that has an optimal RMS rating of 500W?
Possibly the JL 12W6v2 (150W - 750W RMS)?

Hmmm....

All looks good... I think i have more work cut out for me.
Question:

Why does a sealed box allow the sub to handle more wattage??

I'm definatly going with a sealed box setup. Im looking to do a whole custom fiberglassed job for the box or boxes in my trunk...

Originally Posted by scott_fx

If you are building a sealed enclosure, the sub will be able to handle higher wattages too. so that may have something to do with what sub you choose.

A few things i should mention. I was thinking of lowering gain not to adjust volume but to adjust the power output of the amplifier and such lower the wattage to the speakers. Now i may be VERY off here......... so please let me know if i am.

Also I would like to use 2 subs/amp because my goal is to have 4 subs, two forward mounted and 2 reverse mounted so that i cancel out phase interference. Also i would like 4 as upposed to 2 to make for well more bass and for visual asthetics (even look in the across the trunk)

Originally Posted by Dichotomous

matching the alpine subs to that amp would be running them and the amp about as optimally as possible, they will love it. you dont really wanna set the gain to keep the volume lower so you dont blow the speakers, thats no good, gain is used to match signal voltage to expected voltage, if you set it lower then it loses information.
I would imagine 1 typeX with 1000w running to it would sound better that 2 type R's....

i'm not 100% sure on why sealed is better so i may screw up the explanation. but it's my understanding that the sealed enclosure allows the sub to control itself easier (since it has the pressure from the box to push it back to it's at rest state i presume?) i'm sure red or shadow will chime in to help me out though.

If you're going with 4 subs for asthetics then that is cool but unless you are going for spl comp. i'm not 100% convinced that you are going to see much of a benefit. Personally I'd put the money towards more power and probably better speakers and stick with two. this will free up some space and should get you nausiating spl

nausiating spl!

Im not looking to compete (well at least not yet)
Im looking more for better sound quality.

take these two examples....

in one i have two subs one mounted normally and the second reverse mounted to eliminate phase disturbance

and the second i have both mounted normally

will i hear a big difference? Will it clean up the bass or in the long run not make much difference?

Also what about if i split the signal
with 4 subs, two get left channel bass and the second 2 get right channel bass

will that improve imaging? I know bass is prettymuch omnidirectional and is much less important than tweeter positioning. But lets say im watching a movie could it improve sound?

Originally Posted by scott_fx

i'm not 100% sure on why sealed is better so i may screw up the explanation. but it's my understanding that the sealed enclosure allows the sub to control itself easier (since it has the pressure from the box to push it back to it's at rest state i presume?) i'm sure red or shadow will chime in to help me out though.

If you're going with 4 subs for asthetics then that is cool but unless you are going for spl comp. i'm not 100% convinced that you are going to see much of a benefit. Personally I'd put the money towards more power and probably better speakers and stick with two. this will free up some space and should get you nausiating spl

Originally Posted by Sidewalksalvage

nausiating spl!

Im not looking to compete (well at least not yet)
Im looking more for better sound quality.

take these two examples....

in one i have two subs one mounted normally and the second reverse mounted to eliminate phase disturbance

and the second i have both mounted normally

will i hear a big difference? Will it clean up the bass or in the long run not make much difference?

Also what about if i split the signal
with 4 subs, two get left channel bass and the second 2 get right channel bass

will that improve imaging? I know bass is prettymuch omnidirectional and is much less important than tweeter positioning. But lets say im watching a movie could it improve sound?

first off...where is red and her knowledge about subwoofer enclosures!

second. i'm not sure about the phase disturbance you talk about. i've never had a car that could really fit more then one sub in it... so i haven't researched it, but i wouldn't think it'd make much of a difference.

as far as stereo bass... i dont think you'd be able to tell unless your subs were crossed over pretty high...but then there goes your soundstage, so i wouldn't even sweat it

I made a mistake when i said phase distortion i ment even-order distortion. you still may not know what im talking about but if you check this out
Fiberglassing Tips? The first post on the page is from a book I have and shows what combinations remove even order distortion

I may end up with two JL subs that handle 1000W RMS each......maybe

Originally Posted by Sidewalksalvage

I may end up with two JL subs that handle 1000W RMS each......maybe

i just picked up a w7 myself