So, I wanna get a sub for my car, I have everything covered except the amp, how many watts should the amplifier be compared to the wattage of the sub? Everywhere I have looked has told me a "rough" match.....how "rough" can it get?
2007-07-30 19:53:32 · 6 answers · asked by Z 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Audio
Didn't I I know it needs say it needs to be approximate? And I'm not asking for a specific sub and amp cuz I'm still looking around, and what the hell does a crossover have to do with the wattage that I asked about..... can I get some real help here?
2007-08-01 01:42:35 · update #1
Unfortunately, if you're looking for a hard rule about matching the amp power specs to the sub specs within a certain range, you're not going to find one. This is because there's no set standard for setting a speaker's power rating. Basically a power rating tries to predict the failure point of the speaker system, and there are so many factors that go into it that most speaker ratings don't amount to much more than an educated guess. Also, some manufacturers pick a rating based on marketing instead of engineering, knowing that many buyers will assume a higher power rating means a better speaker.
In addition, a speaker manufacturer has to base their power rating on the most demanding speaker conditions, ie, test tones. There's a big difference between actual music and test tones as far as speaker power handling is concerned. The audio signal in a musical track contains much less power than a test tone at the same volume level, since musical tracks have a wide dynamic range between soft parts and loud parts. The difference in power between a music track and a test tone is called "crest factor", but it can vary quite a bit for different types of music, which is something a speaker manufacturer can't control.
So, having given you all those reasons why you can't really have a rule of thumb for matching sub and amp power specs, I'll give you my rule of thumb.
Generally I'd pick an amp that's rated for at least 1/2 the RMS rating of the speaker, and no more than about 20% over the speaker's RMS power rating. (Ignore "peak" or "max" power ratings altogether.) Thus if you have a speaker rated at 300 watts RMS, then an acceptable amplifier output would be anywhere from 150 watts to 360 watts. However, keep in mind that you won't damage anything by connecting the speaker to an amp with a lower rating, and you probably won't damage anything by using a higher amp power either, so long as you're careful when setting the gains and don't abuse the sub while playing your music.
No matter how your sub and amp power ratings match up, when it starts to sound strained or distorted, turn it down right away.
2007-08-01 03:00:20 · answer #1 · answered by KaeZoo 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Make sure the ohm load matches, and try to match up the RMS of the sub and amp as close as you can. The only rough match would be with the amp being a little more powerful than the sub's ratings. I say that because if the gain is not adjusted perfectly by using a meter and a test tone (not your local know-it-all installer's ear), it is easier to push a weaker amp to distortion. I would not recommend an amplifier that is more than 15% above the sub's rating.
hope that helps.
2007-08-01 03:15:52 · answer #2 · answered by cplkittle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually Nicholas it is better to underpower your sub then to exceed its rated power. Turning down your stereo is the same as underpowering your sub. I have my subs under powered by about 500 watts rms each, and nothing bad is happening to my subs. So if you want to go with an amp rated lower than 350 rms go ahead. But I would match it up since low wattage amp's like those don't cost that much.
2016-05-18 21:23:10 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you have only one woofer. Not only you should get your RMS rating of the amp to come close to the RMS rating of the woofer at the same ohm load. The amp should have a crossover built in to keep the proper frequency for the sub.
You didn't give a price range for the amp or the model number of the woofer.
2007-07-30 21:25:05 · answer #4 · answered by T-Max 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Try to get close to the RMS power rating of the sub with the amp, in the same impedance (in ohms).
Have Fun!
2007-07-30 20:04:52 · answer #5 · answered by ohm 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to a local audio shop and talk to a tech.
Alpine, RF, MTX, Soundstream, JL are some of the good amps out there. Stay away from most amps you could buy at a swap meet.
i hope this helps
2007-07-30 20:08:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋