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Some Questions about Amps and Subs

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chr0n03939

15+ Year Contributor
66
0
Sep 6, 2004
Lake tahoe, California
Ok, im having trouble understanding all the technical talk, and im trying to filter my options down, so heres a short list of questions i have.

What does the channel mean? Like if my amp says 1600 watts, is it really 1600 or 400 times 4? and does that men i have only 400 watts per speaker?

so if i had 2 500 watt subs and a 400 watt 4 ch amp would that be enough power?

i know i probably didn't make a lot of sense, but i don't really understand.
Thanx in advance for helping me :)
 
If it's a 4 channel amp that says 1600 watts, they mean 400x4, but just realize that almost every amplifier manufacturer (and speaker manufacturer) is lying out their ass to you. I have a Pioneer Premier amp, they actually test output at the factory, it's a 4 channel amp that puts out ~75 watts a channel, it's powerful enough to net me approx 143 dB in a Crown Victoria. It's much more powerful than my "600 watt" Pyramid amp was, or my "400" watt Boss amp.

http://www.pcabusers.net/caraudio.html <-- that's just something I snagged off Google, since I don't feel like typing more. Another great place to read up on 12volt electrical theory is www.the12volt.com
 
chr0n03939 said:
Ok, im having trouble understanding all the technical talk, and im trying to filter my options down, so heres a short list of questions i have.

What does the channel mean? Like if my amp says 1600 watts, is it really 1600 or 400 times 4? and does that men i have only 400 watts per speaker?

so if i had 2 500 watt subs and a 400 watt 4 ch amp would that be enough power?

i know i probably didn't make a lot of sense, but i don't really understand.
Thanx in advance for helping me :)

Can your amp be bridged? Bridged means you can combine channels for more output. That would change your 4x400 watt amp to 2x800. 800 watts would power your 500 watt subs nicely. I was running a 500 watt amp to my kicker compVR 10" sub that was rated for 350 watts and it loved it.
 
Don't use a 4-Channel amp for subs. Use a 2-channel, or even better a mono block amp (1 channel). Do not buy a brand you have never heard of. I will list a few good amp companies, and yes every one's opinion varries, but I'm sure you will all agree these are better than a boss or pyramid. Rockford Fosgate, MTX, JL Audio, Zapco, Phoenix Gold, Xtant and Kicker. Same goes for subwoofers, only stuff you have heard of. The main thins you should remomber about car audio and most else, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR Good Luck!
 
Thanx for the info guys, You just saved me from buying some crap ebay stuff.

but now i gotta save up more money LOL.
 
just a little bit of extra advice... choosing the right box for your subs is very important too. you can go out and buy a $2,000 sub but if you put it in a crappy box, it's gonna sound like crap. read up on vented and sealed boxes and decide which is best for the type of sub you're getting and the car you're putting it in.
 
chr0n03939 said:
Thanx for the info guys, You just saved me from buying some crap ebay stuff.

but now i gotta save up more money LOL.

Speakers and amps are either rated as max or rms(continious). You can take a max power rating and divide it by the square root of 2 to get the approx. rms rating. You want too match them up as close as possible. Be careful not to run a 400w rms amp with your 500w max sub, you will blow the sub in no time.
 
my grandpa has a wood working shop and he builds all sorts of stuff outta wood. so i was gunna ask him to help me make a custom box.
i used to have 2 punch 12's in a recangle box with a sound proof panel over the middle and 2 holes on each side that air came out of. I probably didnt make to much sense there, but i didnt have an amp to power it so i sold them. In my friends car they sound really good. So if i can't make a box i was gunna get a box like that one.
 
chr0n03939 said:
my grandpa has a wood working shop and he builds all sorts of stuff outta wood. so i was gunna ask him to help me make a custom box.
i used to have 2 punch 12's in a recangle box with a sound proof panel over the middle and 2 holes on each side that air came out of. I probably didnt make to much sense there, but i didnt have an amp to power it so i sold them. In my friends car they sound really good. So if i can't make a box i was gunna get a box like that one.


i'm anal when it comes to sound and i would not just fabricate a box just out of the top of my head with random holes here or there. their are optimal box dimensions and venting locations for all subs. you might get a box diagram when purchasing your sub but even if you do, still research on box designs to get the most out of your sub. you'd be surprised what you can get out of smaller subs if you enclose them correctly.
 
alright i'll take that into consideration. I don't wanna waste money on a system that wont sound good.

also just off the top of my head i need a couple more questions answered.

1. Has anyone else had probelms with their stock stereo only playing certain burned cds?
I used to own a ford festiva, and i had a reworked high powered 1g eclipse stock stereo in there, and it played all my burned cds fine. Now i have my stock stereo in my 2g eclipse and it doesnt like to play to burned cds.

2. What does a speaker sound like if its blown. I think there may be something wrong with my rear speakers, they make a ratteling sound when i have the bass tuned up to full and the volume up high.
 
chr0n03939 said:
alright i'll take that into consideration. I don't wanna waste money on a system that wont sound good.

also just off the top of my head i need a couple more questions answered.

1. Has anyone else had probelms with their stock stereo only playing certain burned cds?
I used to own a ford festiva, and i had a reworked high powered 1g eclipse stock stereo in there, and it played all my burned cds fine. Now i have my stock stereo in my 2g eclipse and it doesnt like to play to burned cds.

2. What does a speaker sound like if its blown. I think there may be something wrong with my rear speakers, they make a ratteling sound when i have the bass tuned up to full and the volume up high.

i've never delt with the stock stereo system on our cars but some stereo (especially older ones) don't like playing burnt cds. one thing that i learned though is try burning your cds at a lower speed (like 12x or something along those lines) also don't use crappy cds, the kind where you can buy 100 for 10 bucks isn't really a top buy. the quality of the material used isn't top end and especially when burning with faster burners, they don't take in all the information.

as for your speaker, sounds like it's blown. you'll know if it's blown by the bass response especially. blown speakers don't like bass at all.
 
marcmsj said:
as for your speaker, sounds like it's blown. you'll know if it's blown by the bass response especially. blown speakers don't like bass at all.

Yea, typically, with a blown speaker, it will "pop" when the bass hits.

As for the box, as everyone said, read up on them, just cutting a hole in the side of one will make it sound like shit, you have to use ports, and tuning them helps a ton. Bandpass boxes can also make some nice deep bass. I used to have a 12" Alusonic (aluminum coned sub), in a 4th order bandpass box (basically a sealed box inside a ported box), only gave it 140 watts and it hit ~139dB and still played down to 30hz pretty decent.

As for what you wanna get, I'd very much recomment listening to what you get before you buy, subs and the different kinds of boxes will have a different sound. I've had my current subs in both ported and sealed boxes. I like the sound of a sealed better, it's not as loud as the ported box was, but the sound is much tighter.

Another tip I use when looking at the cheaper amps, check the fuses. If it's only got like a 40 amp fuse but it says it's making 1000 watts, they're waaaaaaaaay off.

I'd visit stereo shops by you and find last years models and close-outs. I got my amp for $280, it went for $500 new, I got my CD player for $270, it went for $480 new. Last years models are the best way to shop :D
 
Well my speakers don't "pop" but they do rattle when the bass hits hard, i've also noticed it's only on certain notes, like lets say when a deep 'A' is played it rattles but a lighter 'C' at the same volume won't rattle. It bugs the hell outta me.
 
chr0n03939 said:
Well my speakers don't "pop" but they do rattle when the bass hits hard, i've also noticed it's only on certain notes, like lets say when a deep 'A' is played it rattles but a lighter 'C' at the same volume won't rattle. It bugs the hell outta me.

Then something's probably just loose, and that 'A' is the right frequency to really make it vibrate.
 
yeah chris ur speakers arnt probably blow but the sub is making interferance/disturbing the speaker. mine does that too. im my grand prix when my sub hits my speakers like squeek cuase of th sub. speakers will prob blow soon. and yea for your system amp and box makes everything. like right now i have a Kicker 15 " L5 sub in a custom built Ported box for SPL comps and the box makes everything. i went through 3 boxes to find hte right one. and boxes that are ported will only sound really good if the ports are calculated correctly. also ur amp makes everything. right now im running a Audiobahn A8000T which is pushin about 1000 watts to the sub. ur best bang for the buck will be a 2 channel or 1 channel mono and then put the subs in a parralel circuit. make sure you match it up right to the ohms the way u wire it. if not u will over load the amp and it will go into protection mode. thats what mine did and i had to get a whole new amp. also look up alot of specs the company recommends on box sizes... those work! good inline fuses, good wiring kits and cd player make it sound even better. good luck. lemme know if ya need anything else.

-Ryan
 
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