SMD Amp Dyno AD-1 - First amp tested Sundown SAZ 1500D

[E a r t h]

Many props to that amp. 8ga wire under 14v @ .5 ohm and it didn't pop!

Can't wait to see the power wire tests. That is what intrigues me the most. People read the wire does 300a and think I only need one run or two, but they don't put into consideration the loss over foot after foot of wire (15' run won't be 300a). Most of us lose wattage solely from under powering the 'power' to the amp(s).

that being said, i think a 1/0 pos/neg would probably yield a higher reading on the dyno. How much? I don't know. I am going to set up a sick ass test bench for all this stuff and have all sorts of options available on it. I will be doing experiments on all sorts of scenario's.

Once you have that set up, I want to see that sundown retested with 1/0, then again with atleast one more of those batts to see what changes.

After all, this is what the amp dyno was meant to be used for right....

[CJ18]

Many props to that amp. 8ga wire under 14v @ .5 ohm and it didn't pop!

Can't wait to see the power wire tests. That is what intrigues me the most. People read the wire does 300a and think I only need one run or two, but they don't put into consideration the loss over foot after foot of wire (15' run won't be 300a). Most of us lose wattage solely from under powering the 'power' to the amp(s).

that being said, i think a 1/0 pos/neg would probably yield a higher reading on the dyno. How much? I don't know. I am going to set up a sick ass test bench for all this stuff and have all sorts of options available on it. I will be doing experiments on all sorts of scenario's.

Once you have that set up, I want to see that sundown retested with 1/0, then again with atleast one more of those batts to see what changes.

After all, this is what the amp dyno was meant to be used for right....

Test bench number are one thing, real world is completely different. Benching the amp just shows if it will do what the manufacture claims under ideal conditions. All of that gets tossed out the window once you put it in a vehicle.

[CJ18]

I do have one question for Steve or tony. Once the amp dyno is used in vehicle to see what type of power you are seeing with your amp and electrical, could you then use the "other" clamping method only to test different frequencies to find out what your reactive impedance is? This way you could then match up the impedance a you are actually seeing at 30,35,40,45,50hz etc and know how much power your amp is truly putting out.

[TonyD'Amore]

I do have one question for Steve or tony. Once the amp dyno is used in vehicle to see what type of power you are seeing with your amp and electrical, could you then use the "other" clamping method only to test different frequencies to find out what your reactive impedance is? This way you could then match up the impedance a you are actually seeing at 30,35,40,45,50hz etc and know how much power your amp is truly putting out.

You could use clamps to calculate impedance as long as you could guarantee no clipping. Two reasons for this: 1. The number on a digital multimeter will keep increasing after clipping because it is trying to measure the average or RMS value of the sine wave. 2. Clipping produces other frequencies other than the harmonic. 50Hz clipped will generate 100Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz, 250Hz and so on. So if clipping you would be calculating some sort of average of impedances at all of those frequencies combined.

As you probably know the IM-SG works well to measure your impedance at any audio frequency you desire. I measured 4.0 ohms at 40Hz on my two 12s ported box in my Jeep. Then when using clamps and burping and recording max numbers it calculated to 3.8 ohms. The difference is I was clipping when clamping. Using clamps and doing the same test but making sure no clipping resulted in 4.0 ohms, just like the IM-SG read.

[CJ18]

I do have one question for Steve or tony. Once the amp dyno is used in vehicle to see what type of power you are seeing with your amp and electrical, could you then use the "other" clamping method only to test different frequencies to find out what your reactive impedance is? This way you could then match up the impedance a you are actually seeing at 30,35,40,45,50hz etc and know how much power your amp is truly putting out.

You could use clamps to calculate impedance as long as you could guarantee no clipping. Two reasons for this: 1. The number on a digital multimeter will keep increasing after clipping because it is trying to measure the average or RMS value of the sine wave. 2. Clipping produces other frequencies other than the harmonic. 50Hz clipped will generate 100Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz, 250Hz and so on. So if clipping you would be calculating some sort of average of impedances at all of those frequencies combined.

As you probably know the IM-SG works well to measure your impedance at any audio frequency you desire. I measured 4.0 ohms at 40Hz on my two 12s ported box in my Jeep. Then when using clamps and burping and recording max numbers it calculated to 3.8 ohms. The difference is I was clipping when clamping. Using clamps and doing the same test but making sure no clipping resulted in 4.0 ohms, just like the IM-SG read.

Gotcha that makes sense. Would it hurt the dd-1 to be reading while I am clamping so I know exactly where to stop to ensure an accurate reading for impedance? I have always used the dd-1 with no load on the amp, dont want to use it with a load and damage it.

[TonyD'Amore]

I do have one question for Steve or tony. Once the amp dyno is used in vehicle to see what type of power you are seeing with your amp and electrical, could you then use the "other" clamping method only to test different frequencies to find out what your reactive impedance is? This way you could then match up the impedance a you are actually seeing at 30,35,40,45,50hz etc and know how much power your amp is truly putting out.

You could use clamps to calculate impedance as long as you could guarantee no clipping. Two reasons for this: 1. The number on a digital multimeter will keep increasing after clipping because it is trying to measure the average or RMS value of the sine wave. 2. Clipping produces other frequencies other than the harmonic. 50Hz clipped will generate 100Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz, 250Hz and so on. So if clipping you would be calculating some sort of average of impedances at all of those frequencies combined.

As you probably know the IM-SG works well to measure your impedance at any audio frequency you desire. I measured 4.0 ohms at 40Hz on my two 12s ported box in my Jeep. Then when using clamps and burping and recording max numbers it calculated to 3.8 ohms. The difference is I was clipping when clamping. Using clamps and doing the same test but making sure no clipping resulted in 4.0 ohms, just like the IM-SG read.

Gotcha that makes sense. Would it hurt the dd-1 to be reading while I am clamping so I know exactly where to stop to ensure an accurate reading for impedance? I have always used the dd-1 with no load on the amp, dont want to use it with a load and damage it.

Nope, DD-1 doesn't care. You would have to use 40Hz though.

[CJ18]

Also Tony/Steve, I am dead set on this if it can be arranged, I want the first production AD-1 that you release for sale to the general public. I know it is a pricey tool, but the best always are.

Just dont let my fiance find out!

Edited April 29, 2013 by CJ18

[CJ18]

I do have one question for Steve or tony. Once the amp dyno is used in vehicle to see what type of power you are seeing with your amp and electrical, could you then use the "other" clamping method only to test different frequencies to find out what your reactive impedance is? This way you could then match up the impedance a you are actually seeing at 30,35,40,45,50hz etc and know how much power your amp is truly putting out.

You could use clamps to calculate impedance as long as you could guarantee no clipping. Two reasons for this: 1. The number on a digital multimeter will keep increasing after clipping because it is trying to measure the average or RMS value of the sine wave. 2. Clipping produces other frequencies other than the harmonic. 50Hz clipped will generate 100Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz, 250Hz and so on. So if clipping you would be calculating some sort of average of impedances at all of those frequencies combined.

As you probably know the IM-SG works well to measure your impedance at any audio frequency you desire. I measured 4.0 ohms at 40Hz on my two 12s ported box in my Jeep. Then when using clamps and burping and recording max numbers it calculated to 3.8 ohms. The difference is I was clipping when clamping. Using clamps and doing the same test but making sure no clipping resulted in 4.0 ohms, just like the IM-SG read.

Gotcha that makes sense. Would it hurt the dd-1 to be reading while I am clamping so I know exactly where to stop to ensure an accurate reading for impedance? I have always used the dd-1 with no load on the amp, dont want to use it with a load and damage it.

Nope, DD-1 doesn't care. You would have to use 40Hz though.

Understood.

[meade916]

I think Ray is getting #2....but i will be happy to pencil you in for #0003. They should be building them soon. I haven't sold any officially because it's not officially released, but i can save that one for you if you really want it.

[CJ18]

I will shoot you an email tonight when I get back to the hotel.