RMS audio help?

[TheWu]

I've just bought a pair of MB Quart PVI-216 and MB Quart PVI-269 and I need to buy an amp. I'm looking to buy an amp. I'm looking at Hifonics ZVI-150 which puts out 150 RMS @ 4 ohms to 4 channels. The minimum RMS on the PVI's are 70 and 50. Would 150RMS blow my speakers out? or is there something on the amp to just turn the RMS down?

Or something please explain what exactly RMS is .

Thanks.

 

[Usatuff]

RMS stands for root mean squared. You use RMS to tell you in part how loud the speakers are going to be, you also you its sensitivity rating. RMS also tells you the most amount of watts that you speaker can handle on a continuous basis. This is the figure you use when looking for an amplifier and powering the speaker. RMS is the wattage that your speakers should run at. for example if you see speakers that say 1500w peak power and 750w rms, you should run your speakers at 750w because that is the level your speakes will run at without getting damaged or blown.

 

[NeMiZiS]

All you stated is the minimum RMS wattage for your speakers.
Looking here, from one of the model numbers you posted.
MB Quart PVI 216 6.5" Component or Coaxial Car Speakers (PVI216)
It says the peak wattage is 140, so you the amp you buy is pushing 150 RMS.
You will be fine, as long as you set your gain properly.

Usatuff is right, you shouldn't run them above or even at peak wattage.
But you can if you want too, with out immediately blowing them.

 

[TheWu]

So I would need at least an amp with 70RMS to run my front speakers? or am I fine with a 50RMS 4 channel amp at 4 ohms?

My front speakers are 70 min 140 max, my rear are 50 min 110 max. So what RMS range is safe, and does the brand of amp matter?

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Use the gains on the amp to turn the power output up or down. Best way to set these, turn gains all the way down on each channel of the amp. Set your head unit volume to 75% of max volume, then slowly turn gains up until the speakers start to distort. Back down just a hair.

 

[ChiTownHussla]

its like tuning the engine, but YOU are dSM LINK

 

[TheWu]

So I got in all my speakers and stuff, and me and my friend tried to install them in my car, only to find out that the previous wiring has been done by a 4 year old. So we gutted my car and ripped out all the old speaker wire. Does anyone know how much speaker wire is need to rewire an eclipse?

 

[Usatuff]

a 100' spool should do. I used a 100' spool and did a whole 325i with none left over

 

[bryceorbiter]

To get your gain right on your amp, you can do some easy math to get it set perfectly. Also using a bigger amp with the gain turned down is going to give cleaner sound.

Get the RMS wattage you want the amp to put out, say you want 50. Then you get the ohmage its going to run at, so well go with 4. Then you multiply those together and get the square root of that. That gives you 20, which is the volts you want your amp to put out.

Now on your headunit set all your eqs flat and turn off any extra settings like loud. Now get a test tone cd, i used 50hz for subs, not sure what youd want for regular speakers, but you set that to loop at the highest volume you will listen to music. You want to have your amp hooked up without the speakers right now by the way. Now get a Digital MultiMeter and set it to read volts ac. Hook that to your speaker terminals + to + and - to - and then adjust the gain to match your volts calculated above. That will allow you to get the optimal gain settings.