Amp and Sub Output

Hey guys, im a bit of a noob when it comes to amps and subwoofers. its chinese to me. right now i have a 700 watt amp (or 350x2 rms.) somethin like that. I have 2 subwoofers in the back. One is a Punch P2 sub and the other is a 350watt pioneer sub. My question is, if i get a sub for 1000 watts, will the amp have to be 1000 watts as well? i just need to know the basics about amps and subs. (mainly wattage)
thanks guys

no the amp doesn't need to be the same size, make sure that the amp is actually rated slightly less than the max power handling of the speaker so you don't blow it.

Also, some things to look at when considering a purchase, is the amp 400 watts as in 4 speakers at 100 watts each or 1 output at 400watts?  Is it rated in Peak output or Continuous output? (will the amp only peak at top wattage during a big hit or is it rated to sustain a certain level of output) 

quote:

ORIGINAL: sir_nasty

Also, some things to look at when considering a purchase, is the amp 400 watts as in 4 speakers at 100 watts each or 1 output at 400watts?  Is it rated in Peak output or Continuous output? (will the amp only peak at top wattage during a big hit or is it rated to sustain a certain level of output) 

 
I have the amp hooked into the subwoofers right now. and i think it is peak output. thats what it says on the amp. so 1 question now, could i use the amp i have now to power 2 1000 watt subs?

go by the rms wattage on your subs, the rms on 1000 watt max is prolly somewhere between 500-700, so yes you can run that amp, you can run 300 watt amp on them if you want to they just wont hit as hard, also how many channels is your amp? If its 2 channel, hook one up to each channel, if its mono, bridge them both between the one channel, if its 4 channel bridge on speaker on 2 channels and one speaker on the other 2 channels.

The thing about wattage ratings is quite different between amps and subs.

With amps, the RMS or continuous rating is basically the "real world" power or the power that a particular amp can make pretty steady.  Its an average number so its what you can expect to get.  The peak or max ratings are hogwash.  Take the 50x4 ratings of a typical CD player.  Maybe if it were struck by lightning you could get that but otherwise its more like 7 or 8. 

Also, a quality amp will exceed its RMS rating by quite a bit.  Take an Alphasonik or Sony and youll be lucky if you get the rated power.  Now take a Rockford Fosgate, MTX, PPI, Xtant and so on and youll get much more than what its rated at.  My Crossfire 50x4 amp actually makes more like 75x4.

When it comes to speakers or subs, the wattage rating is a thermal measurement of how much heat a speaker can take.  The ONLY thing that will kill a speaker is overpowering.  Either you build up more heat in the voice coil than it can dissipate or you push the suspension beyond its limits.  So when a manufacturer say their speaker can handle 100 watts, that doesnt mean itll blow up at 101. 

Music is very dynamic and not always drawing out the full power of your amps.  As a result, a 100 watt speaker can handle a 200 watt blast so long as its really quick like a big deep bass note.  If its quick then the voice coil can dissipate the heat and wont be affected.  So you can run 1000 watts to a 200 watt sub and so long as youre not pounding on it or listening to sine bombs all day, itll work just fine and youll have plenty of dynamic headroom.

Bottom line is its best to match up a subs rating with an amps rating.  If you have a sub that can handle 1000 watts and you only feed it 500 then youre not pushing it as hard as it can go and it wont sound as good.  Plus youre in more danger of killing it because by not having as much output, you may want to compensate by cranking up the gains and volume and if you push too hard youll cause the amp to clip and when it does that it sends out a signal at about 10% distortion and at a power level limited only by its input voltage.  So your 500 watt amp will shoot out a signal about 1200 watts of pure distortion which could fry that 1000 watt sub if it lasts too long.
 
One other thing.  Dont run mixed brands of subs.  Different timbre, different effeciency, different sound altogether.  If you cant afford a pair of the same subs, youll be better off using only one.  If youre just wanting sheer output then it doesnt matter but if you want good sound, stick to matched brands.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MacLeod

The thing about wattage ratings is quite different between amps and subs.

With amps, the RMS or continuous rating is basically the "real world" power or the power that a particular amp can make pretty steady.  Its an average number so its what you can expect to get.  The peak or max ratings are hogwash.  Take the 50x4 ratings of a typical CD player.  Maybe if it were struck by lightning you could get that but otherwise its more like 7 or 8. 

Also, a quality amp will exceed its RMS rating by quite a bit.  Take an Alphasonik or Sony and youll be lucky if you get the rated power.  Now take a Rockford Fosgate, MTX, PPI, Xtant and so on and youll get much more than what its rated at.  My Crossfire 50x4 amp actually makes more like 75x4.

When it comes to speakers or subs, the wattage rating is a thermal measurement of how much heat a speaker can take.  The ONLY thing that will kill a speaker is overpowering.  Either you build up more heat in the voice coil than it can dissipate or you push the suspension beyond its limits.  So when a manufacturer say their speaker can handle 100 watts, that doesnt mean itll blow up at 101. 

Music is very dynamic and not always drawing out the full power of your amps.  As a result, a 100 watt speaker can handle a 200 watt blast so long as its really quick like a big deep bass note.  If its quick then the voice coil can dissipate the heat and wont be affected.  So you can run 1000 watts to a 200 watt sub and so long as youre not pounding on it or listening to sine bombs all day, itll work just fine and youll have plenty of dynamic headroom.

Bottom line is its best to match up a subs rating with an amps rating.  If you have a sub that can handle 1000 watts and you only feed it 500 then youre not pushing it as hard as it can go and it wont sound as good.  Plus youre in more danger of killing it because by not having as much output, you may want to compensate by cranking up the gains and volume and if you push too hard youll cause the amp to clip and when it does that it sends out a signal at about 10% distortion and at a power level limited only by its input voltage.  So your 500 watt amp will shoot out a signal about 1200 watts of pure distortion which could fry that 1000 watt sub if it lasts too long.

One other thing.  Dont run mixed brands of subs.  Different timbre, different effeciency, different sound altogether.  If you cant afford a pair of the same subs, youll be better off using only one.  If youre just wanting sheer output then it doesnt matter but if you want good sound, stick to matched brands.

omfg thanks man.

Macleod, very good post.

i agree with his post, u look at rms not peak. try to get amp with rms close to sub or subs. u will neva hit peak unless u are trying to burp your sub then u may get close.  the amp u have now may work pending on amp and ohm loads that will be ran to it, but it will not be of great power the setup u are looking at. 

b4 you go buyin stuff left and right, make sure you understand impedance.  say your amp is rated at 400w continuous @ 2ohms and you got a sub thats 400w rms but its resistance is 4 ohms.  when you hook that sub up, it will only get 200w continuous from the amp.  you need to match the imedance of the amp and sub.  oh and make sure you know how to properly set your gains.  theyre not volume knobs.  you can find tutorials online or on caraudio.com or you could always just ask a shop to do it 4 u