I have two 12's with a dhd 1000 watt amp. I recently bought two 15's with an rms of 1000 per sub, and a 2500watt max per sub. Is ist ok to run the amp I have with these subs until I buy another one? Thanks, Jeff
wrong bacon, you can run whatever amount of power into those subs as long as its at or below the rms power ratings. but remember not to run an amp "harder" than what its capable of. a 100watt amp can fry a 1000watt sub if the amp is clipping or distorting, so just dont run your amp too hard and you'll be fine till you get a larger one
the "power handling" ratings on speakers are a thermal measure of how much heat the coils can take without damage. It really has nothing, or at least little to do with how much power the speaker needs to reach peak output. Most speakers will reach their full excursion with less than the RMS rated power. You can always give the speakers more power, up to their peak handling without damage as long as distortion is kept to a minimum, but you won't gain much more in peak output by doing so. What you can gain is a steeper curve in power by using larger amplifiers, so you get more power at lower volumes, which gives more bass at normal listening levels without having to ramp up the bass with an EQ or bass boost knob.
The probably as mentioned, with running smaller amps on subs, is that people tend to compensate for the lack of power at lower volumes by turning up the amp gain too far. This in turn causes the amplifier's input stage to be overdriven, causing clipping, which sends DC voltage across your speaker coils, which significantly increases the heat across teh voice coils, and causes the coils to fry. This is what causes your speaker cones to freeze up. The coils get damaged, and they unravel, freezing up the motor assembly.
bacon's answer to the question was wrong, not his information, his statement is true just irrelevent to the oroginal question. all this guy wants to know is if he can use his small amp till he gets a bigger one. so j bower, like we said, be carefull and dont try to run this amp to hard, or like glass mentioned, dc'd coils will make the majic smoke.
although that is a really good point bacon. that statement means everything in the sport of spl, especially in the lower power classes, an efficient box is the main way to gain db's in a class that your limited to power in. nice post
