Mismatch amp-sub

[Jlim]

Would like to know what are the effects of mismatching amp and sub? I meant the rms rating thingy, if one is much higher than the other and vice versa. Sorry for the noob question.

[Eddy216]

When your amp's RMS output is less than the Sub's RMS power handling, you need to drive the amp harder (and probably into constant clipping) to get the sub to perform. The amp will become very very hot, wear out much faster and eventually it will either burn or go into protect mode (if you are lucky and have a good amp). The sub however will remain intact. One way to avoid burning out the amp is to use a bigger sub box. A bigger box means the power handling of the sub is lower, and you can drive the sub more comfortably with a lower power amp.

 

Next, an amp with RMS output higher than the Sub's RMS, you can pound your sub to high heaven without straining a lot on the amp. The victim here is the sub. To avoid blowing your sub, lessen the gain on the amp and be gentle with that sub control volume on your HU or pre-amp.

[Kwongwing]

The sub itself would not be spared

In the event the amp does not have sufficient power to drive the sub properly - the sub driver would be vibrating erratically and produce distorted sound - in the long run the sub would in fact be damaged

[Jlim]

thanks bros for the information . Guess its better to upgrade them both together and try to match their ratings then.

[User12343]

dun change out your existing gear yet.

 

i tink there is some serious mistake/misrepresentation of facts/theories behind there.

 

example. when a 500W rms monoblock is powering a sub that has a 2000W rms rating, the amp does not blow/get hot/go into protection mode provided you properly set the gains right. (in fact, for any setup, the gain control must be properly set to avoid problems of distortion/sub mechanical failures/amp electrical failures.

 

for a decent setup, the sub does not dictate how much power the amp must match its own rating, rather, for the example above, 2000W rms is the MAXIMUM power rating of the sub that any amp can drive w/o killing the sub.

 

the amp does not know what kind of sub it is driving, be it a puny 6.5" midbass or a 15" subwoofer. what is important is that the sub load must be within the amp's specifications, ie, if the amp is 2-ohm stable, do not attempt to wire a 1-ohm (2ohm DVC parallel) across the amp terminals. this is bound to trip the amp.

Edited October 12, 2006 by User12343

[Jlim]

i was reading and understanding it fine until reached the ohms portion