My Amp Blew My Sub!

chewiee · 10-30-2004, 06:32 PM

OK guys, you got any ideas?

I've got a 200w amp and a 500w sub. I managed to blow this the other day and went to get a new speaker... plugged it in, it boomed nicely for about 10 seconds, and then killed that speaker (luckly the company let me take it back).

I've taken the offending amp out and replaced it with one I was using in my old car, has anyone got any ideas on how I can test this, or should I just give it to an expert to sort out?

Chewiee

PS Got my Carnetix ordered last week, thanks Mike! Its about two weeks before my install gets completed...

JC-S60 · 10-30-2004, 06:54 PM

Power up the amp and check if you haven't got any DC on your speaker output... the only thing I can think of when it sounded good...

If you have dc on the output, it probably needs adjusting or some component broke.

chewiee · 10-30-2004, 07:02 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by JC-S60

If you have dc on the output, it probably needs adjusting or some component broke.

Adjusting? How? inside? The gain? By a specialist?

Thanks for the speedy reply!

Chewiee

Dracos · 10-30-2004, 07:05 PM

[QUOTE=chewiee]OK guys, you got any ideas?

I've got a 200w amp and a 500w sub. I managed to blow this the other day and went to get a new speaker... plugged it in, it boomed nicely for about 10 seconds, and then killed that speaker (luckly the company let me take it back).

I've taken the offending amp out and replaced it with one I was using in my old car, has anyone got any ideas on how I can test this, or should I just give it to an expert to sort out?

Chewiee
[QUOTE]

I dont mean to be nasty mate, but lie down before you hurt yourself. 200w amp and 500w Sub?!?!? you fool. The amp needs to be equal power or greater than the attached speaker. Else, you will get clipping and overdrive which will shred your speakers. Anyone who knows an ounce about audio will know this. Go read up on ohmage and wattage and what amps/subs to use, THEN try installing your car audio. Unless you have loads of money to waste that is..........

JC-S60 · 10-30-2004, 07:06 PM

Well, first off, I would get a multimeter and measure the outputs, to check if my assumption is anywhere near the truth...

Then the adjusting or repair should be done by a specialist, as you'll need a scope and some knowledge to do that... it certainly won't be the gain.

Jackso · 10-30-2004, 10:44 PM

If I had to venture a guess... I would have to say you either A) have DC on the output of the amp, or B) your amp is a 200W continuous, and your speakers are 500W peak. If the answer is A, there is most likely a faulty component in the amp. If the answer is B, you need to reduce the gain on the amp. A quality 200W continuous amp is capable of producing over 600W peak where as cheap 500W peak speakers are probably only 150W continuous.

As for Dracos' comments, he's kinda correct, but mostly backwards. You can damage some speakers by not driving them hard enough, but that is usually only the case when trying to WAY underdrive the speakers. I won't comment on his nastiness and inability to properly use the quote funtion.

Good luck Chewiee

LeoTheHamster · 10-30-2004, 10:55 PM

Underpowering speakers WILL NOT damage them, it just means they wont get as loud. If the amp is CLIPPING however, then your dustcap will probably end up the other side of the carpark

WebDog · 10-30-2004, 11:06 PM

when you got the new speaker did you break it in? or just start really loud?

IamMBS · 10-30-2004, 11:53 PM

Agreed, under driving a speaker won't damage it at all. 99% of the time the main cause of blowing speakers is distortion. It doesn't matter what the max watts of the amp or subs are, it's so hard to compare ratings from one manufacturer to another, usually cheap amps are over rated and good quality (expensive) amps are under rated. Just don't overdrive the amp/sub to distort.

starfox · 10-31-2004, 12:42 AM

I wish more amp manufacturers would put a bright coloured LED on the side of the amp that will light up if your amp is clipping... It would stop a lot of people blowing up speakers.

But then again, i guess that means less sales for them too right...

LeoTheHamster · 10-31-2004, 01:42 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by IamMBS

It doesn't matter what the max watts of the amp or subs are, it's so hard to compare ratings from one manufacturer to another, usually cheap amps are over rated and good quality (expensive) amps are under rated. Just don't overdrive the amp/sub to distort.

Which is why anyone with any sense should look at the RMS values

If there not listed, that should tell you something.......

brrman · 10-31-2004, 01:14 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by LeoTheHamster

Underpowering speakers WILL NOT damage them, it just means they wont get as loud. If the amp is CLIPPING however, then your dustcap will probably end up the other side of the carpark

Not until you push the volume beyond its calling limits. Then you clip and boom.