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Why you need big electrical to run at less than rated impedance


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Exactly as impedence drops amperage goes up. Current draw is the cause of low voltage. AMI customs had a good explanation for this somewhere.

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^^^ all that, plus the fact that at lower impedance loads the EFFICIENCY of the amp drops. generally at 1 ohm most amps run around 70% efficiency give or take. that is for every 1000 watts of input current (amperage x voltage = wattage) you'll generally get 700 give or take back out of it.

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I'm going to have to take issue with this one. If the manufacturer specifies a minimum operating impedance (they all do), and they don't tell you on the phone - "well, you can actually run that amp at half of what we say . . . " (most don't), then follow their guidelines.

Most all amplifiers have protection circuits that are designed to PROTECT the output devices from failure when they are asked to pass more current than they are designed to handle - such as what happens in a dead short or in cases where the amplifier is connected to a load with an impedance below what the engineers intended it to operate. In other cases, the amplifier won't actually go into protect, but it will reduce it's power accordingly to prevent failure of the output devices.

I've been in and around car audio since 1983. This is one thing I will NEVER understand. Why so many people think that they can, could, or should operate an amplifier outside of the parameters set forth by the company that designed it is baffling. If you own an amplifier that is rated to produce 1,000 watts into a specified impedance and you desire to operate into half of that impedance, what you really need is another identical amplifier.

But, guess what? This is widely understood at the design level at most companies that make a living selling amplifiers. Most make the assumption that the user will attempt to operate the amplifier at 1/2 of the impedance it is rated. SO, they design protection circuitry to protect the amplifier from damage when doing so.

Let's make this simple - IF you attempt to operate an amplifier at 1/2 of it's rated impedance, you will likely have troubles. But, if you're one of those people that shifts well after the needle on your tach is in the red zone, I guess you'll just have to find out the hard way.

Tony Candela - SMD Sales & Marketing
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THERE IS NO BUILD LOG!

1998 Chevy Silverado ext cab

Alpine CDA-9887

4 Team Fi 15s

2 Ampere Audio TFE 8.0

2 Ampere Audio 150.4

3 Digital Designs CS6.5 component sets

Dual Mechman 370XP Elite alternators inbound!

8 XS Power d3400

6 XS power d680

Second Skin

Stinger

Tsunami Wiring

Sky High

A Real Voltmeter not a piece of shit stinger.

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Share on other sites

Good explanation and i have experianced it. Ran my amp at .5 of a ohm (is only 1 ohm stable) and only one run of 0awg the with one batt, amp would get really hot and ocasionlly turn off. Now have the same amp at 1 ohm with dual inputs 0awg runs on same batt and it is puttin down good power at long periods of time and barely gets warm if that..

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