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Car audio questions.


Guest Rane

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Ok, I don't know alot about speakers and amps. My question is, when it says rms wattage what does this mean? If I buy say a 2000watt speaker and the rms wattage says 1000 does this mean my amp has to be ATLEAST 1000watts or what? Any info is helpfull.

 

Also, I heard a type of audiobahn speaker was good and cost efficient. I'm probably just going to get 1 12" any suggestions on what style/brand speaker?

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No, that is their reccomended wattage, meaning, if it is 1000 watt recommended, that is what they think should be thrown at them. Your minimum is probably somewhere around 175 watts, give or take some. As for brands of speaker. I always buy Fosgate, but thats just me. Just go out and get a 1000-1200 watt 2 channel amp for them
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Guest Spyder550

From what I know, I believe the following to be true:

RMS wattage is the amount of sustainable power. I.e., it can sustain that wattage indefinitely.

This is different than "PEAK," which can be sustained in short duration.

I think it would be best to buy an amp with a power rating close to the PEAK, that way, you won't push the amp just to maintain RMS, and will prevent overheating.

I used to run a 300W PEAK speaker with a 300W amp and never had any problems. Pushing the speaker near its PEAK will cause distortion.

Please correct me if I am wrong on any of these points, as I am not too well learned in the finer points.

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RMS = Root Mean Square = <> 70.7% of maximum power

The speaker runs from a frequency comming from the CD player through the amplifier to increase the power. The frequency has peaks and dips. The RMS is the maximum you should put into the sub, but the max power is the maximum amount it can take for a short period. IE hard drum hit or something shouldn't damage the speaker, but a long bass note at peak power will.

 

I'd get a speaker with the best effiency you can find. something like 100dB>1>1m 100dB> at 1 watt of power> from a distance of 1 meter.

 

Evan

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^^^ what Tractor said.

 

I've noticed that the high ratings that audio manufacturers have been claiming lately has been misleading people. A sub capable of 1000 watts peak isn't necessarily better than a sub that is capable of 500 watts peak, especially if you are comparing a flea market special brand sub to a Cerwin Vega or Image Dynamics sub.

 

A good rule for power, is to get an amp that will put out more RMS power than what your sub(s) will handle. That way, you can turn down the gains on the amp to remove distortion, while keeping the sub playing to it's full potential.

 

I've not had much experiance with newer Audiobahn equipment. I used to have a 1000 watt amp made by then about 5 years ago, and it was crap. I have noticed that a lot of retailers are stocking a lot of them now, though.

 

Someone above mentioned Rockford Fosgate. I absolutely love their electronics. I use an amp and stereo by them. For speakers, I tend to look at other companies.

 

Image Dynamics makes great sound quality subs. They might not put out the most volume, but they sound great. Cerwin Vega and JL are great if you are looking for lots of volume, but still want a clean sound.

 

I personally wouldn't have any regrets if I put a couple new JL 10w0's into my truck. I used to have three in there, and they were LOUD. I don't know what their current models are, so you'll have to do a bit of research. That would be my suggestion as to what to get, due to availability and price, for what you get.

 

This reminds me, I need to get my pair of Image Dynamics subs installed...

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Though it has been mentioned, it hasn't been stressed; in general, power doesn't damage a speaker.....DISTORTION DOES.

 

As for Audiobahn, I've been very impressed w/ their stuff so far. I have been very impressed with the Audiobahn 12" sub in my car. I'm sure part of that is because it has been powered by a nice amp (Memphis 1000D). It definately exceeded my expectations.

 

I've also purchased two sets of their "entry level" component speakers. Put a set in my g/f's car, and a set in my Jimmy, just to replace damaged stock equipment. Her powered by a low end JVC head unit, mine by a lower-end Pioneer. In both vehicles, they sound surprisingly good for what they are being powered with. Then you look at the price.....$85 shipped for a BRAND NEW (not refurbed) set of component speakers that sound pretty good and are solidly built (and look good too) is a damn good deal.

 

I may be trying their amps soon.....I've been so pleased with the sheer value of their speakers, I'm willing to try their amps too (my Memphis amp developed a bad problem that may cost more to repair than is worth sinking into it). My Jimmy could also use a sub, so I may consider an Audiobahn amp for it too.

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I agree Rockford is a very good company. There amps were always very good. I used to run 4 1200watt pyramid amps 1 each into 4 Cerwin Vega subs. The amps aren't perfect, but the model I was using was a rebadged PPI class B MOSFET amp so it worked, but was old tech. They would put out about 900watts RMS so they were over the subs 600watss RMS rating and made my truck loud as fuck.

 

Evan

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Originally posted by Tractor:

RMS = Root Mean Square = <> 70.7% of maximum power

Techinciall speaking, RMS voltage and current are 1/sqrt(2) of peak (.707). RMS watts is half of peak watts. This is of the peak of the sine wave though. What companies call 'peak' or 'dynanic' isn't necessairly (usually) taking about the peak of the sine wave. It's usually the amount of power the amp can produce for (very) short periods of time. Just FYI.

 

I don't think anyone else said anything I wouldn't have said. I'd buy those amps you are looking at in a hear beat if I wasn't saving up for other things and knew the one could definitely be fixed.

 

[ 22. November 2004, 09:58 PM: Message edited by: Neo ]

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