Subwoofer Power Rating?

[aragorn]

So i've finally got myself a sub/amp for the Shed.

Sub is a Kicker Comp C12, and Amp is a Pioneer GM-X962 both baught from ebay.

I've just unboxed the sub tonight to have a look at it, and it has a big yellow sticker on it saying:

"Warning! Maximum Amplifier Power for this subwoofer is 150 Watts. Exceeding this rating may damage the subwoofer and void your warranty"

Looking at the amp datasheet, it puts out 760W "Peak" power and 380w RMS when bridged into a 4ohm load.

The amp isnt particularly huge, but its clearly waay in excess of the power rating for the speaker. I've never seen a subwoofer with such a low peak power handling before, the cheap Pioneer sub in the Avant (TS-W305c) is rated to 400wRMS.

Am i going to blow this thing to bits?

[ScottB5]

We've ran 1500RMS thought a 300watt sub before and it never died. just flapped around like a retired prostitute sky diving naked.

I would personally sell the sub and buy a bigger unit.
It might be ok if you tone down the amp but whats the point. you buy a sub and amp for bass not the little farting sound in the boot.

I think my 6" JL has more power than that. :D

[aragorn]

I think i'll just stick it in and try it. It was 11quid plus post, so if it sounds **** or blows up i'll just buy something else!

[ScottB5]

I think i'll just stick it in and try it. It was 11quid plus post, so if it sounds **** or blows up i'll just buy something else!

Fair point.
If it sounds **** can you film you blowing it up? :D

[Foxmeister]

If you connect the amp at 4 Ohms Kev, it outputs 125Wrms x2 so wont fry the sub! Is it single voice coil?

iF YOU CONNECT IT IN 2 Ohms(series, 2 subs), it outputs 190Wrms x2 so still wont kill it, just need to turn it down a bit!

[aragorn]

Its a single 4ohm coil.

iPaper

Thats the manual for the amp, which suggests its 560W RMS into 4ohms when bridged.

Power is related to volume anyway, so it will likely only cause a problem running it REALLY loud, and i rarely do that anyway!

[Foxmeister]

Continuous power (which works out as RMS power) is 175Wrms x2 @4 Ohm, bridged will up it to 530Wrms

Your sub states 150 Wrms with a peak of 300 watts, keep your input below 75% and you'll be fine mate, ideally around 50% off what the amp can produce will be fine!(Gain setting)

[aragorn]

Aye, i suspect that once its dialed in to match the components it wont be producing anywhere near 500w anyway.

Thinking about it, i've got a JBL 752 driving the standard Audi front door speakers, that amp puts out 75wRMS per channel and the door speakers are designed to handle about 20w RMS and they've not blown up yet either, so its probably going to be fine!

Turns out my amps gone to the post office as the missus missed the delivery on friday so now i've got to wait until tomorrow to go collect it

[Mackers]

nice little sub, a mate has one and it kicks well, even at a low power input, but i do love my 2x kicker L7's both with a 1800W amp running each of them lets just say the car DOES rattle a bit, even my front wipers dance :D

[aragorn]

Yeh, tbh i'm not into rattling the windows, playing music that loud just hurts my ears lol.

I just need some bass fill as the two 10cm front door speakers dont do much below about 80hz and the rear ones went in the bin.

I've been meaning to sort it for ages, then the other week i stuck some new tunes on the USB stick for the drive to tesco, cranked it up and realised it was hopeless as there was no bottom end and the music sounded rubbish!

My avant has a JBL GTO4000 running the four door speakers and then a 250wRMS sony amp driving a pioneer sub and its great. Sure it could probably be better, but its got a decent amount of kick and i'm pretty pleased with it for the money spent. If i can get a similar result in the shed i'll be happy.

[Oranoco]

Kicker make some good subs and in my experience they always understate their ability.

[Mackers]

i only rattle my windows at comps.... but mainly the radio's only at about 10-15... so the quality is there and the amps "ticking over" as it where.

[aragorn]

Hehe.

Its all up and running. Its quite odd, when stationary it sounds really heavy on the bass, once driving along the bass seems to fade out.

Dunno if its just the engine noise etc but the avant doesnt seem to have the same effect.

[Foxmeister]

Hehe.

Its all up and running. Its quite odd, when stationary it sounds really heavy on the bass, once driving along the bass seems to fade out.

Dunno if its just the engine noise etc but the avant doesnt seem to have the same effect.

Thats normal for any car Kev, road noise is a major dampner for bass when in comparison to stationery hence why most folk invest in more extreme systems when used to the normallity of that!

[aragorn]

Doesnt seem to effect the avant in the same way though.

I set the avant up such that it sounded "right" when stopped, and it still sounds right when driving. The saloon sounds waay heavy when stationary, yet when driving its barely noticeable.

I'm wondering if its due to the avant having only the cloth load guard, whereas the saloon has steel shelf, so the boot space ends up more closed off. The saloon is also a fair amount noisier than the Avant for reasons i've never quite worked out. Its either the engine mounts or the flywheel or both.

[Foxmeister]

I think the steel shelf does add to it, ive noticed it more in saloons myself usually.

The one place i havent got round to sound proofing yet is the actual boot, so will let you know if that helps whenever i do it.