what size amp?

lucky8926 · 04-18-05, 10:09

I have 2 10" Kicker subs and right now I have a Kicker impulse amp powering them *I thnk it's 75 watt* The subs and amp are both about 8 years old.
I'm wanting a little more thump from the subs but I don't need earth shaking bass either. Keep in mind the subs are old so I don't want to blow them by putting too much power through them.

IndigoGTI · 04-18-05, 10:47

Honestly, I would go with something around 150 watts RMS/channel if you want to wire them up in stereo, or 300 watts RMS if you are going to bridge the amp mono.

There are tons of options in that wattage range, you shouldn't have problems finding a good quality amp without spending an arm and a leg.

On note, you're much more likely to blow a speaker by pushing too much distortion through it than you are with too much power. Also, car audio is one of the industries where you do get what you pay for. For a good amplifier, expect to spend at least $1.00/watt.

Kanchou · 04-18-05, 11:47

a speaker is not blown by distortion, or underpowering. A speaker is blown by mechanical or thermal failure, usually while its clipping. While it's clipping, it is emitting distortion, but that is not what is damaging the speaker. Also, distorting is caused by other things, not just speaker clipping.

Distortion can be caused by the amp its connected to, the x-over, or the materials the speaker is made of reaching their limit, or the source music/sound also.

what kind of enclosure do you have for the subs?

lucky8926 · 04-18-05, 02:32

It's a special made box for a 2003 Dodge Ram quad cab. The box fits under the rear seats.
The setup I have used to be sufficent in my previous vehicle (jeep grand cherokee) because the enclosure was bigger. Space is pretty tight now so the box is alot smaller now.

Kanchou · 04-18-05, 04:15

so its not ported, but sealed.

are you distorting the subs easily now?

lucky8926 · 04-18-05, 05:58

Yep it's sealed, and I would say yes they distort pretty easy. It doesn't sound horrible but it's not a nice clean bass like it should be. If I crank up the volume I just turn the bass down so it doesn't sound like crap.

JDookie · 04-18-05, 06:18

I usually like to power my subs with a *minimum* of 75% of the RMS wattage handling capability. In other words, if a sub can handle 100watts RMS, then I make sure they have at least 75watts RMS going to them.

I'm actually supplying mine with a little more than I should, but I didn't plan on it. My current sub choice can handle 500watts RMS for each sub and I am supplying 550watts to each, so I'm going a little over but I also don't abuse my system either. I like a nice tight thump when the bass hits, not sloppy and distorted.

nsain · 04-18-05, 06:33

I usually try to power my subs with their rated RMS value. Why not? if they are rated for that, then they can take that and more daily. For the sub I have, its rated at 1000wats RMS but I'm sending it 1400watts and can easily handle more. Of course, this is from a reputable company that doesn't over rate it's products as you might find from "mainstream" companies.

You could probably push them with 125-150 watts per channel and be fine, just turn down the gains a little bit if you feel like they are getting too much.

JDookie · 04-18-05, 06:43

I would say that the only problem with supplying a sub with more than recommended power is warranty, and this may not be an issue if you do your own installs and try to *slip* one by them but if you use a local shop and they see that you overpowered them, you will be buying new speakers.

That being said, I overpower them anyway. I just like how they sound with ample power and like I said, I don't abuse my system so I've actually *never* blown a speaker. Actually, I take that back. I have blown a speaker but that was a LONG time ago and I didn't know what a dual voicecoil was and I hooked up a sub only using one of the voicecoils which = blown speaker. So I guess I should have said that I've never blown a speaker due to too much power.

Kanchou · 04-18-05, 06:49

if they're sealed and distorting easily, and you tell me that turning the bass down on the head-unit fixes the problem. Then try gaining up the amplifier by itself without touching the bass controls on the head unit.

If you can get it louder just by doing that, then your headunit is whats clipping.

I say try that first and see if you can get it any louder before going shopping.

lucky8926 · 04-19-05, 12:26

Well I turn the bass down when I crank it up so they won't distort.