Silas Sycamoreent Williams Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Yo guys, fairly simple question here. How much power can a 1.5" voice coil reasonably handle? Here's the back story. I traded for a 6.5" kicker cvt a while back. Threw it on the home amp and it smelled a little after I pushed it hard. At the time I thought I was giving it about 170 watts or so and it's rated at 150 watts so I just backed off. Fast forward almost a year later and I actually understand what I'm doing. For lols I put it in a sealed box and reverse mounted it for maximum cooling. Threw it in the trunk and clamped what I was giving it. It was on a rockford fosgate 451s bridged into 4 ohms so I had tons of head room. Came out at about 50 watts +-10 watts or so. Already the motor was getting pretty hot and it was starting to stink a little. So basically I'm wondering if kicker just flat out lied about the 150 watt rms rating (tho I've seen lots of other 1.5" voice coils rated at that) or i there is something wrong with my sub. I know early on I bottomed it out a few times and there's some vc rub on low notes that push the excursion to the max, but surely that wouldn't decrease the overall power handling, right? When I had it hooked up earlier I high passed it so it was just midbass and above so I wasn't hitting mechanical limits. Surely 150 watts isn't too much to ask for out of a 1.5" voice coil. I know it's not uncommon on those monster 8" subs to have 2" voice coils with 500 watts+ of power handling. Subs = 2x Rockford Fosgate p110's in custom ported box Amp = Rockford Fosgate 451s (115 watts rms x 2 into 4 ohms) Rear = Sony xplod 6.5 coaxials (they were on clearance at target ) Front = Soundstorm 6.5's Wire = some 8 gauge crap my friend gave me head unit = an older alpine I'M POOR OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 how did you tune the gains on the amp. you're probably clipping the crap out of the amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silas Sycamoreent Williams Posted June 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Like I said, it's a 400 something watt amp and I was only using 50 of that so it should have been clean. Plus I was running the driver as a full range so if it was clipping bad I should have been able to hear it. Is it possible that I did permanent damage to it forever ago when I got it? Subs = 2x Rockford Fosgate p110's in custom ported box Amp = Rockford Fosgate 451s (115 watts rms x 2 into 4 ohms) Rear = Sony xplod 6.5 coaxials (they were on clearance at target ) Front = Soundstorm 6.5's Wire = some 8 gauge crap my friend gave me head unit = an older alpine I'M POOR OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIDE SHOW Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Running the SUB as a fullrange driver is what woulda killed it or a dirty/crappy/distorted signal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g2shuck Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 anything is possible 2000 Toyota Camry With Sealed Off Trunk Sky High OFC Wiring DC Power 270 XP Alt AQ 2200 Sub Amp Two DC Level 4 m2 12s 80 Mil Murdetmat Gathering Parts For Wall Build. Team DC Audio 2014 Member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silas Sycamoreent Williams Posted June 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I can guarantee it wasn't a dirty signal. I had my hu volume at 19 out of like 35 so that should be good. I've cheked my ipod before on an oscope and it doesn't clip at all. Amp gains were set fine and since I didn't have my hu up at all there is 0 chance it was clipping. Amps clip when you ask them to output too much power. 50 watts out of a 450 watt amp is not clipping. So basically I'm asking if the kicker is just crap. But back to the original question about the power handling of a 1.5" vc. I'm wondering for future reference as well when it comes to other small woofers. Subs = 2x Rockford Fosgate p110's in custom ported box Amp = Rockford Fosgate 451s (115 watts rms x 2 into 4 ohms) Rear = Sony xplod 6.5 coaxials (they were on clearance at target ) Front = Soundstorm 6.5's Wire = some 8 gauge crap my friend gave me head unit = an older alpine I'M POOR OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEvil Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 depends on the coil, 1.5" just tells us the basic size, not winding material (round, flat, aluminum, copper), exposed surface area of the coil, effective cooling force of the motor (vented pole or closed, siped pole cap or not), etc etc etc... I would say 100-200w RMS on a 1.5" coil of kicker build quality though, depending on play style. Less if you're running it hard full time. MickyMcD - "Capable of making some serious trouser flapping volumes at where's-my-testicles frequencies, the Servo-Drives used to be fairly jaw dropping..." Any time you have have a power wire next to your frame put some rubber hosing (or cut up an innertube) around it. The wire is bound to wiggle (due to driving or flex) and the casing will eventually wear through. Hammerdown... 1% no links to outside websites, business related FB/YT pages allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silas Sycamoreent Williams Posted June 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I'm assuming more exposed surface area on the coil results in better cooling? Subs = 2x Rockford Fosgate p110's in custom ported box Amp = Rockford Fosgate 451s (115 watts rms x 2 into 4 ohms) Rear = Sony xplod 6.5 coaxials (they were on clearance at target ) Front = Soundstorm 6.5's Wire = some 8 gauge crap my friend gave me head unit = an older alpine I'M POOR OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 doesnt matter where any volume was up at. if you're just guessing, then you have absolutely no idea how clean the power coming out of the amp is. you can be at volume 1 and clip if you try (fail) hard enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrionStang Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 How do you know you were only using "50 watts of a 400 watt amp?" SMD Super Seller My Feedback Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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