enhancing sound system

HNaga · 05-08-2008, 02:38 PM

Hello:
I just installed some enhancement on my sound system.
Currently it is:
Rear speakers infinity 100 RMS
Front speakers Infinity Kappa 75 RMS
AMP JBL 60X4

I also ordered CTF700-H - VGA 7" TFT which will replace the sony HU.

what do you think?

pancit175 · 05-08-2008, 03:06 PM

I think, therefore I am.

Please be more specific with your line of questioning. Because everybody has different needs and perceptions, certain products and opinions may change in different situations.

"Now, the world don’t move to the beat of just one drum, What might be right for you, may not be right for some." - Different Strokes

HNaga · 05-08-2008, 03:48 PM

well , I mean , is it OK for moderate sound system? do I miss something?
are all componenets compatible with each other?

rijndael · 05-08-2008, 03:59 PM

your amp is not going to be powerful enough to power your front and rear speakers...its only powerful enough to power your front while bridged into 2 channels...

HNaga · 05-08-2008, 04:03 PM

thanks for your reply , that what I need to know, what would be better for the amp?

rijndael · 05-08-2008, 04:17 PM

how much money do you have to play with? typically, what you want is something that has more power than your max rating on your speakers...reason why is because at a volume that requires power that your amp doesnt have, you get a massive amount of distortion, even though your speakers can handle it...that will damage both your speakers and your fry your amp. if you have 75W RMS and 150W Max speakers at 4ohm, I would get an amplifier that has 200W per channel at 4ohm (200W x 4 = 50W per channel which is not nearly what you need for even your RMS rating)

also, dont run your 4ohm speakers at 2ohm...you will damage them...but one thing you can do, is double the length of the wire if your running from the amp at 2ohm and at the speaker, you will probably be around 4ohm...you will have to use a multimeter for that though just to be safe...i think its a multimeter at least...

HNaga · 05-08-2008, 04:34 PM

I didn't thought so, I thought I would get AMP with RMS less than the speakers. in order to not to load the speakers, I don't like high volume , I care about pure detailed sound.

I'm not sure I understood the example.
you mean I need 200 watts x 4 channels?

rijndael · 05-08-2008, 04:39 PM

Quote:

I didn't thought so, I thought I would get AMP with RMS less than the speakers. in order to not to load the speakers, I don't like high volume , I care about pure detailed sound.

even at low volume, it wont sound right...you will be asking for more power than you realize...try it your way first, but i dont want to have to say "I told you so" lol

Quote:

I'm not sure I understood the example.
you mean I need 200 watts x 4 channels?

yes...200 Watt by 4 channels equals 50 Watts per channel

HNaga · 05-08-2008, 04:48 PM

it's 60 per channel I think.
look http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...BL+CS60.4.html

dopey273 · 05-08-2008, 10:50 PM

I have a question for rijndael, where did you get your information on amp selection and wiring. I also was wondering how do you run a 4 ohm speaker at 2 ohms?

scott_fx · 05-08-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by rijndael

how much money do you have to play with? typically, what you want is something that has more power than your max rating on your speakers...reason why is because at a volume that requires power that your amp doesnt have, you get a massive amount of distortion, even though your speakers can handle it...that will damage both your speakers and your fry your amp. if you have 75W RMS and 150W Max speakers at 4ohm, I would get an amplifier that has 200W per channel at 4ohm (200W x 4 = 50W per channel which is not nearly what you need for even your RMS rating)

also, dont run your 4ohm speakers at 2ohm...you will damage them...but one thing you can do, is double the length of the wire if your running from the amp at 2ohm and at the speaker, you will probably be around 4ohm...you will have to use a multimeter for that though just to be safe...i think its a multimeter at least...

Hey rigndael,

you have a lot of misinformation and half knowledge scattered throughout this post.

first, for a moderate system he'll be fine. and all of his components will work together. infiniti speakers are known for their efficiency. What you are kinda referring too is called 'headroom' and yes, having an amp that is putting out 150 wrms per chan will give less distortion and have a cleaner signal if the gains are set right. But as long as his gains are set correctly and he's not pushing his amp into distortion by turning the volume all the way up... then he'll be fine.

I have no idea how you came about suggesting running twice the length of wire. nor do i understand how to run a 4 ohm speaker at 2 ohms unless you purchase some resistors.

to the op... if you already have the equipment, you'll be fine. spend the time and money on installation (aiming, mounting, sound deadening, tuning). If you haven't purchased the equipment you could benefit from a more powerful amp (gives you some extra sq and spl --volume--). To put it clearly, you'll hear a lot of people saying "too little power will kill a speaker faster then too much power" well... to be clear. if you have a 200 watt amp and a 5 watt amp, neither one of the amps are going to blow the speaker when set up correctly. What happens though is that if you have a 5 watt amp and you are always cranking it up to the max volume you are no longer in the amplifiers sweet spot and you are introducing distortion to the speakers. distortion is what kills the speaker. now lets say that you have a 200 watt amp. after you set your gains correctly you can turn the volume up much higher before the amp starts to distort the signal. Hopefully... this is within your preferred listening volume and you're safe. does that make sense now? to further illustrate. think of a go kart as your 5 watt amp, and a corvette as your 200 watt amp... the throttle is your volume. a go kart driving at 100 mph vs. a corvette driving at 100 mph... the go kart is going to fry well before the corvette will... [on the flip side, now drive them both around at 5 mph and you're not going to break either engine, (working within it's power limits) but you may not be happy with the speed]

HNaga · 05-09-2008, 05:03 AM

@scott_fx thanks for your detailed reply.

For me I don't like high volumn , usually 16-18 - I just wanted to know they are suitable for each other or not. you can have 2 perfect componenets but not suitable for each other.

60X4 or 80X4 was better for the speakers?

thanks

dopey273 · 05-09-2008, 07:58 AM

Nice job scott, I was wondering where that info came from. I'm really interested in it's source. Especially the part bout the 4ohm 2ohm spker wiring and wire distance. The average spkr wire has .064 ohms... that's alot of wire to gain 2ohms..

scott_fx · 05-09-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by HNaga

@scott_fx thanks for your detailed reply.

For me I don't like high volumn , usually 16-18 - I just wanted to know they are suitable for each other or not. you can have 2 perfect componenets but not suitable for each other.

60X4 or 80X4 was better for the speakers?

thanks

High volume is kinda arbitrary though. volume isn't a standardized value and there is a lot more that comes into play. 60 watts rms to an infinity coaxial is going to be a lot louder then 60 watts to; say, dynaudio components. now... i said 'louder' i didnt say better. :-). And volume isn't the main reason why you'd want more power from the amp, remember my analogy about the go kart. so what's 'better' for the speaker and the sq... well 80 watts rms x 4 would be better then the 60 wrms x 4 if everything else is the same.

in my system i have an amp that is purely for my tweeters (8 ohms) and is pushing them at 75 watts rms. are the tweeters ever going to see that much power? def not but my amp isn't going to strain even at the highest listening volumes and that means clean clean sound (that gets quickly masked by my exhaust

)

Quote: Originally Posted by dopey273

Nice job scott, I was wondering where that info came from. I'm really interested in it's source. Especially the part bout the 4ohm 2ohm spker wiring and wire distance. The average spkr wire has .064 ohms... that's alot of wire to gain 2ohms..

thanks
i think a lot of times people read something but dont fully understand it. car audio is very confusing and i have been caught in the past (well...even now i get caught sometimes

) making some generalization. but the op took it to the max on this one

AWehmeyer · 05-11-2008, 08:04 AM

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/spkpwfaq.pdf

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/lowpower.pdf

Check out these two links for a better understanding of power handling.