amp Impedance vs resistance of sub
03-03-2009, 11:33 AM
#11
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 297
There is plenty of information out there. A good lesson for people new to car audio is to do the basic research before they purchase. Find the manuals, read product reviews and find a glossary of terms that they don't understand. I and others are always willing to help explain things. Having a basic understanding will help them make better decisions and understand recommendations. While the vendors on this site will go the extra mile to ensure consumers get the products that are right for them, not all retailers out there are so willing. Having a bit of product knowledge can save you a lot of money.
03-03-2009, 11:59 AM
#12
Changing subs for the sale of changing subs and thinking that's the right way to go is great for shops selling you new stuff every few months. But it still won't get you want.
Your best bet is to tell us what kind of sound and output your really looking for and we can make suggestions from there based on many many years of experience. Also watchign youtube videos tells you absolutely nothing about a sub. What is your criteria, how much the trunk flexes?. watching a bobblehead on the dashboard dance?
Your best bet is to tell us what kind of sound and output your really looking for and we can make suggestions from there based on many many years of experience. Also watchign youtube videos tells you absolutely nothing about a sub. What is your criteria, how much the trunk flexes?. watching a bobblehead on the dashboard dance?
03-03-2009, 12:20 PM
#13
MR2NR- why dont you recommend hooking up both drivers with parallel connection making the whole circuit 1.5ohm? what could go wrong?
for others:
i donno if you have missed the part when i said "again this is just on what my opinion bout this is based" which basically means im not trying to prove anyone wrong, it just doesn't seem right to me, basing it on simple voltage law and conservation of energy....
Rrrrolla- i do not own "Phoenix Gold amplifier" ... and i know the specs on my amp jl 500/1.... i know how it performs and i know it can do way more then he is doing now (in past we were running 3 drivers on it with probably 800-900 rms with two jls and one flat pioneer) the thing is i dont like splitting my power between so many drivers so im looking for one strong driver, so far im impressed with Visonik i have but i cant find anything stronger for reasonable price (and you might call me a cheap person but im not spending $300+ on a sub thats under 1kW rms when i can pick up 2k rms XXX for $400 or others stronger and even cheaper (starting at $200 actually) for those who will say just get those ones then ill say i dont have money to upgrade the amp, and i dont have a need for it since im barely using this one... thnx for making me explain myself more then giving me actual advices, and what i want? i want a driver that has nice travel and its not just another ported mtx that slaughters every baseline... yeh im very demanding but i know you dont need to spend alot to get good system... usually you just need to be smart bout it, like with everything in life.
scuba789- dude i do not have manual, i did the research about few amps before and they all say Rms power @ min ohm- max ohm but it doesnt mean they will put out all that power through the whole range (its my common knowledge and opinion of few ppl that sit in this tells me that they wont put up all the power like that) and just like TragicMagic stated: Rated Power: 500 W RMS @ 1.5 ohm - 4 ohm (11V-14.5V) and if you look closely 4ohm with 14.5V will give 500rms, and im not spending $5k on aftermarket buffed out alternator to put up 14.5V(yeh i was looking into that and thats the cost since i have 1.6 4cyl- if you know cheaper source please share).... realistically the car is keeping 12-13V which will prob give roughly 500rms at 2ohm.. and if im wrong with my logic here please explain it to me with a better argument then a print on a box....
And Please.... im just here to get some opinions what ppl used as a driver for this amp or what they recommend.... i allready said that i have tried few drivers and they all didnt even compare to the one i have and one - mentioned by me Pioneer 12" was 3 TIMES the cost of mine- and those were recommended by a local "specialist") and please tell me on what should i be looking at picking a new sub if im such a noob with that stuff....
for others:
Rrrrolla- i do not own "Phoenix Gold amplifier" ... and i know the specs on my amp jl 500/1.... i know how it performs and i know it can do way more then he is doing now (in past we were running 3 drivers on it with probably 800-900 rms with two jls and one flat pioneer) the thing is i dont like splitting my power between so many drivers so im looking for one strong driver, so far im impressed with Visonik i have but i cant find anything stronger for reasonable price (and you might call me a cheap person but im not spending $300+ on a sub thats under 1kW rms when i can pick up 2k rms XXX for $400 or others stronger and even cheaper (starting at $200 actually) for those who will say just get those ones then ill say i dont have money to upgrade the amp, and i dont have a need for it since im barely using this one... thnx for making me explain myself more then giving me actual advices, and what i want? i want a driver that has nice travel and its not just another ported mtx that slaughters every baseline... yeh im very demanding but i know you dont need to spend alot to get good system... usually you just need to be smart bout it, like with everything in life.
scuba789- dude i do not have manual, i did the research about few amps before and they all say Rms power @ min ohm- max ohm but it doesnt mean they will put out all that power through the whole range (its my common knowledge and opinion of few ppl that sit in this tells me that they wont put up all the power like that) and just like TragicMagic stated: Rated Power: 500 W RMS @ 1.5 ohm - 4 ohm (11V-14.5V) and if you look closely 4ohm with 14.5V will give 500rms, and im not spending $5k on aftermarket buffed out alternator to put up 14.5V(yeh i was looking into that and thats the cost since i have 1.6 4cyl- if you know cheaper source please share).... realistically the car is keeping 12-13V which will prob give roughly 500rms at 2ohm.. and if im wrong with my logic here please explain it to me with a better argument then a print on a box....
And Please.... im just here to get some opinions what ppl used as a driver for this amp or what they recommend.... i allready said that i have tried few drivers and they all didnt even compare to the one i have and one - mentioned by me Pioneer 12" was 3 TIMES the cost of mine- and those were recommended by a local "specialist") and please tell me on what should i be looking at picking a new sub if im such a noob with that stuff....
03-03-2009, 12:30 PM
#14
Changing subs for the sale of changing subs and thinking that's the right way to go is great for shops selling you new stuff every few months. But it still won't get you want.
Your best bet is to tell us what kind of sound and output your really looking for and we can make suggestions from there based on many many years of experience. Also watchign youtube videos tells you absolutely nothing about a sub. What is your criteria, how much the trunk flexes?. watching a bobblehead on the dashboard dance?
Your best bet is to tell us what kind of sound and output your really looking for and we can make suggestions from there based on many many years of experience. Also watchign youtube videos tells you absolutely nothing about a sub. What is your criteria, how much the trunk flexes?. watching a bobblehead on the dashboard dance?
03-03-2009, 12:37 PM
#15
[QUOTE=Rrrrolla- i do not own "Phoenix Gold amplifier" QUOTE]
Sorry bro, I meant jl audio, couldnt find the edit button.
I was just trying to let you know that lj audio amps are made diffrently than most other amps. I know you know the theory that an amp can only make one max voltage at the output, so you use the lowest possible impedance to get the most power. JL amps do something different, they produce the same power output with a 4 ohm load as they do with a 1.5 ohm load. Thats all I was trying to say.
Sorry bro, I meant jl audio, couldnt find the edit button.
I was just trying to let you know that lj audio amps are made diffrently than most other amps. I know you know the theory that an amp can only make one max voltage at the output, so you use the lowest possible impedance to get the most power. JL amps do something different, they produce the same power output with a 4 ohm load as they do with a 1.5 ohm load. Thats all I was trying to say.
03-03-2009, 12:41 PM
#16
Mixing subs actually causes cncellation which can lean to all kinds of funky sounds. Not worth doing.
Basing your opinions on subwoofers based on their wattage ratings is where your going all wrong. Wattage rating of a sub is simply it's a ability to dissipate heat from the coil. It has NO bearing as to how the sub will sound o perform. You can thank mainstream sales tactics for that VERY common misconseption. Also the type of vehicle you have all this setup in can make ahuge difference, specially from a trunk.
Also the sealed vs ported box thing isn't an exact science. Some subs will have very similar performance to what is considered "sealed box sound" in a ported box. It all depends on the correlation between the subwoofer, the enclosure it's in and the vehicle.
I coul write a book for you on what all the specs man and what they do, but it's not going to do either of us any good. Do some more searching around this forum as well Car Alarm, Car Stereo, Mobile Video, and Cruise Control Info for Installers it'll get pretty scientific but it'll allow you to understand how the various factors play a role in getting sound t your ears.
OR what works really gret 99.9% of the time too, is trusting thr word of someone who's been in the business for a long time and ha a stellar reputation, since those people allready have bee through all the research and trial and error to determine what works how it should an in what prices ranges etc.
I'll leave you with that.
Basing your opinions on subwoofers based on their wattage ratings is where your going all wrong. Wattage rating of a sub is simply it's a ability to dissipate heat from the coil. It has NO bearing as to how the sub will sound o perform. You can thank mainstream sales tactics for that VERY common misconseption. Also the type of vehicle you have all this setup in can make ahuge difference, specially from a trunk.
Also the sealed vs ported box thing isn't an exact science. Some subs will have very similar performance to what is considered "sealed box sound" in a ported box. It all depends on the correlation between the subwoofer, the enclosure it's in and the vehicle.
I coul write a book for you on what all the specs man and what they do, but it's not going to do either of us any good. Do some more searching around this forum as well Car Alarm, Car Stereo, Mobile Video, and Cruise Control Info for Installers it'll get pretty scientific but it'll allow you to understand how the various factors play a role in getting sound t your ears.
OR what works really gret 99.9% of the time too, is trusting thr word of someone who's been in the business for a long time and ha a stellar reputation, since those people allready have bee through all the research and trial and error to determine what works how it should an in what prices ranges etc.
I'll leave you with that.
03-03-2009, 12:43 PM
#17
[QUOTE=Rrrrolla;464548]
Sorry bro, I meant jl audio, couldnt find the edit button.
I was just trying to let you know that lj audio amps are made diffrently than most other amps. I know you know the theory that an amp can only make one max voltage at the output, so you use the lowest possible impedance to get the most power. JL amps do something different, they produce the same power output with a 4 ohm load as they do with a 1.5 ohm load. Thats all I was trying to say.
Variable pin-out transofrmers and voltage regulators. the amp is microprocessor controlled to have a very exacting out. It will run in various high voltage, or high current modes to etain very consistant output.
Originally Posted by Rrrrolla- i do not own "Phoenix Gold amplifier" QUOTE
Sorry bro, I meant jl audio, couldnt find the edit button.
I was just trying to let you know that lj audio amps are made diffrently than most other amps. I know you know the theory that an amp can only make one max voltage at the output, so you use the lowest possible impedance to get the most power. JL amps do something different, they produce the same power output with a 4 ohm load as they do with a 1.5 ohm load. Thats all I was trying to say.
03-03-2009, 12:56 PM
#18
so your not recommending running 12 and 10? i should stick with 12s ? i thought having a nice wide spectrum of sound will be quite neat ... if i should not look at rms when picking the sub, what should i look for? now from my personal experience (amateur) more rms, bigger magned - better sub... haha i know sounds dumb, it worked well in practice.... i am aware of that there are some advandages of ported boxes and some will sound like sealed, but those boxes are designed especially to that kinda sub (like jl) and thats an exception to the rule i mentioned before... overall tho sealed better for quality, ported for more thump (thats what i was told and thats what i saw) again i dont have much time for researching the car audio systems and getting rily in depth of how they work (not because i dont want to, just i have other studying to do) ... and shape of the car matters i know, but there is no way to research and calculate if the sub will perform good in my trunk (i have 97 civic 2d) so thats another reason im here... to hear ppl experiences
03-03-2009, 01:17 PM
#19
03-03-2009, 01:22 PM
#20
[QUOTE=Sikk Nation;464550]Ahhhh! well there ya go! So the microprocessor actually detects the impedance of the load and adjusts itself? Very nice! No wonder they are so much $$
