as you said in your original post, some people will send a clipped signal to their subs by cranking the gain on a low-power amp. I explained above that a clipped signal carries more average power over time, which toasts the subs because it may not have the ability to dissipate the associated heat. so, it is not low power that kills subs -- it's actually more power.

"underpowered" means running less watts to a speaker than that speaker is rated for, with the amp's gain set to appropriately match the input voltage. a 500w sub getting, say, 150 clean watts. when you and injundon say "underpower" you mean that a low-power amp is being run improperly. like injundon said, the problem was between the seat and the steering wheel.

Too Little Power Blowing Speakers

this link was link was posted already in that thread I was talking about, but it's a good one for explaining in more detail.

 

little off topic but just realized your in phoenix

we need to get a meet going on one of these days for az people

 

To make a correction here. . A clipped signal does send "more average power" to a speaker. This has little to do with why this causes speakers to release their magic smoke. A clipped "square wave" signal usually forces a speaker (usually tweeters siffer first) to their XMAX and continues to try pushing them past that as the sound wave is trying to make power past its peak, then pull the speaker down and tries to push it back into the pole piece and continues to run current through the speaker while the speaker can no longer move. This makes speakers blow primary because it converts the amplifiers energy exclusively into heat instead of motion.


In short. No cone movment, non of the drivers inherent cooling mechanisms work. Energy fom amplifier converted DIRECTLY to heat. What blows the speakers is the guy who can't hear the massive amounts of distotion occuring when trying to overdrive the amp.

So conclusion. Low power doesn't hurt speakers, too much potential power doesn't hurt speakers. Trying to overdrive any amp more often than not results in damaged speakers

 

a counter correction: you're saying that a clipped signal pushes a sub to xmax and, since the cone has no more room to travel, the power is no longer contributing to sound reproduction -- it's just heating up the voice coil. however, xmax is a subwoofer property, not an amplifier property, and this spec differs greatly across subs. if your argument were true, then a clipped signal sent to a sub with 5mm xmax will blow the sub, while the same clipped signal sent to a sub with, say, 15mm xmax will be fine. this is not the case.

actually, according to the link that was posted previously:

"While the amplifier's output is clipped, the voice coil is not being motivated to move as far as it should for the power that's being delivered to it and therefore is likely not being cooled sufficiently."

you're right in that little cone movement makes the heat build up -- but this "cone stagnation" does not necessarily happen at xmax.

Yes. It is agreed that low power does not hurt speakers.

 

With subwoofers there's some extra rules you have to throw in there, as far as blowing mids and tweets what I said above is 99% of the time the case.

With subwoofers I find that it's mostly poor build quality and cheap glues that kill them.

The article saying that a speaker is less motivated to move is complete rubbish. It will not move in a "musical fashion" it'll much more flop "on and out" with little to no control.

An extremely clipped wave is the exact same as wiring the subs to a battery directly and flicking a switch from + to - . Even a little 12V battery into a 4ohm sub is just 36 watts. and it will easily drive most "non SPL monster" subs to full XMAX.

I don't like the article you posted up because it gives a watered down "general" description of what happens and in an opinionated matter at that.

 

regardless of if you think the linked article is biased one way or the other, it was merely a resource for showing that low power is in no way harmful to speakers -- be it a tweet, mid or sub. and we did agree that this is true.

the author's own opinionated statements aside, physics is physics and it was explained that a clipped signal will NOT move the cone as far as a clean signal will. before he moves on to clipping tweeters, there is a chart that shows his data.

and again, even if clipping occured at xmax it still wouldn't be a factor because it indicates that a sub (or a mid, or a tweet) with considerable one-way travel is less prone to overheating. it's not. xmax has absolutely nothing to do with the thermal handling capability of a speaker...it's just how far the cone can travel.

all people need to know is that special attention needs to be paid to the gain. it's not a volume knob and it can smoke your system.

 

this is very true. I wonder how many FitFreaks are in the Phoenix area?

 

george is only other guy I can think of

where in phoenix do u live?

 

actually in Mesa. nothing worth doing here, though, so we're often in Tempe when we're out!

I'm about 25 miles away from my job, so I see Fits quite often on the 202. I think I even saw one with a FitFreak sticker on it.

 

O cool, yeah I lived in Mesa last year

 

OK, here goes my dumb question...

I've never installed an audio system, but I've modified lots of cars (mostly 4x4 so audio was not on the list!) and from seeing the pics of your work I kept thinking COOL! and I think I could do that to my Jazz!

Where and how do the RCA wires plug into the head unit?

 

well if you have a new hu it is in the back but if you want to use the stock system most of the time you need a line output converter.

 

Thanks, also sounds within reach!

I had to look it up, even though you all know it maybe there's some other newbie like me who doesn't:

Line output converter: Add an amplifier to your factory sound system with ease. A line output converter lets you add RCA outputs to your existing speaker wires, so you can connect an amp to your factory radio without cutting or splicing any wires.

 

what amp would be best to push a Kicker Comp VR and a Bazooka P. Miller series? both dual voice 12 inchers.
i had a 600w Jensen, but my freind just gave me a 1200w sony xplode for free. which one should i use? or should i scrap them both?

 

yeah i rock only elemental designs and alpine stuff in my car. at one point, i had a 190v(18" sub) and there nine1 amp(tuned at 800rms). in my car.
the box was 3.5 cubes sealed becuase at the time i was too lazy to build a vented box. THAT WAS rediculous...i mean people heard me comin from blocks away. now i just run there 11ov(10") ...same amp but just tuned to (300Rms). and its fine.maybe one day when i have free time ill order the 13av...and build a pretty mean system.

current set up

nine4.
nine1
11ov
alpine type x rear coaxial
ed 6000vs components
zero gauge wiring
circuit breaker(instead of the anl fuses)

 

scrap them both... sony sucks in their audio department. and jenson isnt that great either. dont go cheap on audio,you pay for what you get. i mean i would rather spend the extra money to get better quality sounding music.

but hey it was free ...so for the time being just use the sony...till you can save more money to get a better amp. JL amps are great now becuase the guy from PPI would engineered their amps.....is now with Jl audio. hence why jl is pretty good now.

but on that note..im in love with elemental designs so in a biased opinion go with ED. for the price and the quality you cant go wrong. plus 5 year warranty. yeahh....not that i would ever be needing it, since ive had my amps for over 3 years with no problem.

 

yeah. i paid a total of maybe $100 for everything.
$50 - p. miller, jensen, install kit.
$30 - kicker w/ speaker box
$20 - cigarrettes for my friend who installed it wile i was out of town.