So do all of us


Kicker 10" L5 -450wrms
Now the only '400 watt' amp I can see on kickers website is the ZX400.1, which does 400wrms at 2 ohm.

Assuming that is the amp, that is a damn good match for that sub.

With the gains set correctly on that amp (set with a voltmeter) your not going to SAFELY get any louder, assuming its the same amp, box, etc. The only way to do that is turn up your gains and clip the **** outta the signal.

You cant tell me clipping doesnt kill speakers. Maybe when its a 100wrms amp on a 500wrms speaker...but in his case, yes, he's going to end up with a nice little paper wieght sooner or later.

 

your not a pro, nor do you know what your talking about, go home before you get hurt. we have already figured this one out, sub and amp are a good match, just to much gain, problem solved.... besides if you were really a "pro" you wouldnt recomend using bass boost... only n00bs use bass boost

 

you nailed it styx

 

How am I going to get hurt? I dont know you and you dam sure dont know me. noobs are not the only one's that use bass boost. Do I use it? no, but who says that if he tries it he's not going to like. I know alot about music and I dont have to prove that too you or anyone else. Just do me a favor and be a little smarter with your word choices. Telling someone that they might get hurt is not cool to spit, you never know how someone will take that. I appreciate it buddy.

 

go home

 

Ive said it at least a couple times. It is a kicker L5 10", and a ZX400.1 amp. The only 400 watt amp that kicker makes it the ZX400.1. At first I didn't know what clipping was, and now that it was explained, the sub was doing it. Sounded like chit at most of the higher frequnecies, but hit hard down low. Most of my buddies that weren't used to my stereo said that their noses/ears itched, and they would get headaches since the sub is fireing right into the passanger seat. Since it is correctly tuned now the sound quality is alot better and it sounds good at most frequencies. The reason I started this whole thread was because I was sure the sub wouldn't last long the way it was sounding. One of these days I would like to get another one behing the driver seat, but then I would need some amp racks.

 

By the way... an amp only "puts out" what the speakers can take. You should never ever put "higher rated" squakers on a smaller, or "evenly" rated amp...


Noobs.


If the amp cannot put out the proper amount - it clips. If it cannot "keep up" to the demand it "sees" on the end of the wire...it's based on resistance... el ohmios, homey yo's.


Case in point my 500 watt Fosgate (says 200ix on it -lol) can hammer best, while running coolest, when connected to my JL WO 15's... they are rated 100 RMS - but can handle the 200 plus they get form my amp.


Now, if they were rated higher RMS - they would stress the amp out...


You want your amp in control - NOT the subs.


If my subs say 450 RMS - I want an 800 watt amp on each of those subs.

Period.


I want the subs to be the tool in the amp's hand. Not the other way around...

And what was mentioned about 75% volume + boost, ect. was right on...


If you get clip - the amp is too small - NOT the woofers.

You need bigger CPU to run the software...

More torque to pull the trailer....

More muscle to push up the bar....

More AMP to easily drive the woofers...

If you under power, or "power match" subs to the amp, you're shooting yourself in the foot.



But hey, you guys know it all...


Perhaps that's why you all get knew systems periodically... and I still jam my '88 Subs and '92 amps....


Because I don't break my stuff.

Quit jumping on people that have been advised differently than you just because they don't use copy and paste from some online stereo website.

Leave the advise to people who can take it in return.

 

an amp does not only put out only what the speakers can take, some can put out more some less. many times in high powered systems th alternator is the limiting factor in how many amps you can draw, its totally dependat on each amp and install what you can actually get from you amp at a given load.


"If the amp cannot put out the proper amount - it clips. If it cannot "keep up" to the demand it "sees" on the end of the wire...it's based on resistance... el ohmios, homey yo's."

this is prety much correct, the problem isn't weather or not an amp can or cannot put out the proper amount but weather your asking for more than the amp can provide with the given resistance.
most of the time the amp isn't powerful enuff for ones expectations. it can keep up if your not asking it for more than wht it can give

"Now, if they were rated higher RMS - they would stress the amp out..."

now this is false, higher rms ratings are not going to stress the woofer, you can use 1000w rms woofers on a 100 watt amp. the only time your going to stress an amp is with Ohm loads that are lower than what the amp is rated for. RMS is not related to how much stress your placing on an amp.


"You want your amp in control - NOT the subs."

I agree 100%

"If my subs say 450 RMS - I want an 800 watt amp on each of those subs."

overhead is a good thing, you don't want your music dynamicly limited by small amps, this is wy I run twice as much rms than what my subs are rated for

"And what was mentioned about 75% volume + boost, ect. was right on..."

some hu's clip at 50% some at 75% some 100% takes some tinkering really, its best t use an o-scope but I know nones going to have one, bass boost is bad, unless set BEFORE the gain, you can easily clip with the bass boost **** most are a simple 12db eq centered @ 60hz

"If you get clip - the amp is too small - NOT the woofers."

correct, the amp is to small for desired spl levels

btw I've only fried 4 subs back when I started and didn't know what I was doing, (clipping)

 

I might be a little lost, but did I just get accused of copying and pasting, and blowing my ish up?

 

 

There sure are a lot of fancy words being used in this thread

Bottom line once again, the gain **** is not a volume ****. Bass boost is not a volume ****.


Too many ***** in the hands of the wrong users and you have trouble.

 

Thank you
Could not have said it better myself . Please everyone , use the gain for what its intended for .

 

So if you have a 400rms sub and a 500rms amp, doesn't that overheat the sub and burn up the voice coils. The amp would put out more constant power than the subwoofer can take.

 

It could, depends on the sub. Some are able to take more power than they are rated for, others not.

Remember that with (most) music, you will never see 400 actual watts coming from that amp, unless you are clipping the chit out of it, then maybe.

 

That would create problems for me, because my stereo can be on for hours. If Im driving then the stereo is on, and I usually have it up about 3/4 volume. So I would need a sub and amp combo that can be dependable for legths of time, while still being loud and hitting hard, much like the one I have. I prefer to have my sub and amp evenly matched. Not under powered or over powered.