Underpowing a sub

[TheNewbie]

The amp is underpowered, not the sub. You misread what was posted. It takes power to make power, and if you expect an amplifier to make 4,000 watts without sufficient power, it will try to anyways resulting in clipped signals.

Ohh, okay. Pretty sure i understand now, so it's also concerning voltage. Amp req a certain voltage to put out a certain amount of watts. So you have to have the electrical for it haha. So you can clip your sub because of things such as Amp trying to push more than what it's capable of, trying to push to much without having enough power for it. I know there are other ways, but im just concerning amp's right now.

Edited December 2, 2011 by TheNewbie

[TheNewbie]

P-rez......sigh

Lol, Read this comment saying damn.. what else did i do wrong? Even looked up P-rez on google to see the terms of what it ment. Haha glad im not to blame

[kam311]

Not at all! What do you think happens when you turn the volume down on your head unit?

The reason the "underpowering a sub blows it" myth exists is because when underpowering a sub a lot of people crank the gain all the way up or way past where it should be because they think their sub can handle moar powa!!!! But as we all know the gain knob isn't the volume knob. Set the gains right and there is no problem

Lol, alright man thanks much appreciated. I was guilty of that ^ haha not setting the gains correctly. Gotta get me a DD-1 here veryyyy soon. So people put the gain up alot more, so they can get more bass at a lower volume, but being that the gain is cranked most likely more than 3/4ths it causes clipping at a lower volume correct?

The gain knob's purpose is to match the voltage output of your head unit. Every head unit is different and every amp as well. So we can't really say if 3/4 is too much or not enough. And yeah lol the dd-1 will make your life much easier

[412 CVX]

the DD-1 tells you what the maximum point is that you can set the gain at before it starts clipping. anything below that shouldn't be clipping.

now you have to do something similar to the HU, tells you how much you can turn it up before it starts clipping.

if there's one point in the "chain" that starts clipping, for your sake we will say the chain is composed of the HU, the Amp, and the sub, then the rest just falls apart. so if the HU is clipping, the amp will see that clipped signal and reproduce it so the sub is being clipped. same for the amp, if it is clipping, then the subs see the same thing.

it sounds childish the way i wrote it, but that's the only way i could think to explain it.

[TheNewbie]

Not at all! What do you think happens when you turn the volume down on your head unit?

The reason the "underpowering a sub blows it" myth exists is because when underpowering a sub a lot of people crank the gain all the way up or way past where it should be because they think their sub can handle moar powa!!!! But as we all know the gain knob isn't the volume knob. Set the gains right and there is no problem

Lol, alright man thanks much appreciated. I was guilty of that ^ haha not setting the gains correctly. Gotta get me a DD-1 here veryyyy soon. So people put the gain up alot more, so they can get more bass at a lower volume, but being that the gain is cranked most likely more than 3/4ths it causes clipping at a lower volume correct?

The gain knob's purpose is to match the voltage output of your head unit. Every head unit is different and every amp as well. So we can't really say if 3/4 is too much or not enough. And yeah lol the dd-1 will make your life much easier

I'd have to have a DMM in order to see the voltage output of my HU right? This just confused me a little more haha.

[kam311]

Not at all! What do you think happens when you turn the volume down on your head unit?

The reason the "underpowering a sub blows it" myth exists is because when underpowering a sub a lot of people crank the gain all the way up or way past where it should be because they think their sub can handle moar powa!!!! But as we all know the gain knob isn't the volume knob. Set the gains right and there is no problem

Lol, alright man thanks much appreciated. I was guilty of that ^ haha not setting the gains correctly. Gotta get me a DD-1 here veryyyy soon. So people put the gain up alot more, so they can get more bass at a lower volume, but being that the gain is cranked most likely more than 3/4ths it causes clipping at a lower volume correct?

The gain knob's purpose is to match the voltage output of your head unit. Every head unit is different and every amp as well. So we can't really say if 3/4 is too much or not enough. And yeah lol the dd-1 will make your life much easier

I'd have to have a DMM in order to see the voltage output of my HU right? This just confused me a little more haha.

No, you really don't need to see that number. There is a way to set gains with a dmm but it's not the best way to set them. The best way is to set them with an o-scope or with the dd-1. Lol sorry for confusing you

[loudNlow87]

Another thing I haven't seen mentioned yet, but commonly overlooked. If you're using an iPod/mp3 player.. They will clip as well..

[ChevyBoy95]

if you under power the sub with a weak amp, the amp will explode and the subwoofer will melt, true story...

[TheNewbie]

the DD-1 tells you what the maximum point is that you can set the gain at before it starts clipping. anything below that shouldn't be clipping.

now you have to do something similar to the HU, tells you how much you can turn it up before it starts clipping.

if there's one point in the "chain" that starts clipping, for your sake we will say the chain is composed of the HU, the Amp, and the sub, then the rest just falls apart. so if the HU is clipping, the amp will see that clipped signal and reproduce it so the sub is being clipped. same for the amp, if it is clipping, then the subs see the same thing.

No, no. I needed it dumbed down just like this. Hard for me to comprehend some of the other things. So you see how far on the gain you can go on the amp before clipping anything under isn't clipping. Then the HU is the same thing, you put the dd-1 on it turn it up till it says it's clipping or distorting then back it off till it's not. Then you are able to go to that volume on the H/U. So would you do the HU first or the Sub? I'd think the HU right?

it sounds childish the way i wrote it, but that's the only way i could think to explain it.

[TheNewbie]

the DD-1 tells you what the maximum point is that you can set the gain at before it starts clipping. anything below that shouldn't be clipping.

now you have to do something similar to the HU, tells you how much you can turn it up before it starts clipping.

if there's one point in the "chain" that starts clipping, for your sake we will say the chain is composed of the HU, the Amp, and the sub, then the rest just falls apart. so if the HU is clipping, the amp will see that clipped signal and reproduce it so the sub is being clipped. same for the amp, if it is clipping, then the subs see the same thing.

No, no. I needed it dumbed down just like this. Hard for me to comprehend some of the other things. So you see how far on the gain you can go on the amp before clipping anything under isn't clipping. Then the HU is the same thing, you put the dd-1 on it turn it up till it says it's clipping or distorting then back it off till it's not. Then you are able to go to that volume on the H/U. So would you do the HU first or the Sub? I'd think the HU right?

it sounds childish the way i wrote it, but that's the only way i could think to explain it.

No, no. I needed it dumbed down just like this. Hard for me to comprehend some of the other things. So you see how far on the gain you can go on the amp before clipping anything under isn't clipping. Then the HU is the same thing, you put the dd-1 on it turn it up till it says it's clipping or distorting then back it off till it's not. Then you are able to go to that volume on the H/U. So would you do the HU first or the Sub? I'd think the HU right?