Kicker 300W Amp Only Putting Out 78.80VA???

[Souldrop]

He is correct using volt amps since he is only measuring apparent power, you can't use the same unit for 2 different measurements Watts are not the same as VA in this scenario. In dc circuits yes they are one and the same, in AC circuits not with how he calculated it...VA= V_rms*I_rms...... Obtaining watts_avg in this case could be calculated by V*I*cos(theta) with theta being the phase difference between the current and votage waveforms, without knowing the phase difference its impossible to do. .

yeah just measure the impedance of the speaker. If you had a way to keep track of instantaneous impedance your measurements should make a lot more sense.

[DSMKilla]

^^^ Sorry, he is using the correct method which is nice to see actually.

Impedance will change with frequency and 14ohms would not be out of the question but you should see more fluctuation then that.

Have you verified your nominal impedance is around 4ohms?

Don't have any damaged voice coils?

Yeah I did pull the woofer out of the box and test it with a DMM and I'm getting 4ohms. Voice coils are 2ohms wired in series.

I've actually got a completely different setup that I'm going to try to test later on today, just to rule out any faulty equipment which I have absolutely no reason to believe anything is faulty but this has really got me scratching my head. The setup is basically exactly like what I have now but just last years models.

Subwoofer: CVR102

Amplifier: DX1000.1

^^^ Sorry, he is using the correct method which is nice to see actually.

Impedance will change with frequency and 14ohms would not be out of the question but you should see more fluctuation then that.

Have you verified your nominal impedance is around 4ohms?

Don't have any damaged voice coils?

No one said he wasn't using the correct method. I said that when you multiply amperage by voltage the resulted unit is watts no VA. I don't know what you are referring to but it sounds ignorant saying VA when the result is watts.

Your ass needs to go do some more homework and study up on your AC Watts before YOU continue to be the one to "sound ignorant"!

Watch the whole video so maybe you learn something new. But especially make sure to pay attention to 1min 58sec.

Right, yeah I was thinking about that earlier, I'm glad you brought it up. So why is my load only 14ohms rather than 4ohms?

----- EDIT -----

Ok I just researched it a little. I don't think this is related to impedance/box rise. I will test again tomorrow with the subwoofer OUT of the box and see what happens.

yes it is impedance rise. hook an ohm meter up to the speaker terminals and play music. you'll see the number jump around like crazy. you dont even have to play music. just drop a penny on the cone and watch the ohm meter move.

Ok, I will pull the woofer out of the box and test it again. I'll report back when I have the results

[Wicks]

^^^ Sorry, he is using the correct method which is nice to see actually.

Impedance will change with frequency and 14ohms would not be out of the question but you should see more fluctuation then that.

Have you verified your nominal impedance is around 4ohms?

Don't have any damaged voice coils?

No one said he wasn't using the correct method. I said that when you multiply amperage by voltage the resulted unit is watts no VA. I don't know what you are referring to but it sounds ignorant saying VA when the result is watts.

V*A = Watts IF the power factor is 1 (both signals are in phase or happen at the same time).

Otherwise Volts * Amps = Volt-Amps.

Since the meters used don't measure power factor, the correct term is VA.

You shouldn't call people ignorant if you don't know the proper terminology yourself.

[Nightshade]

Well, I guess I was told misinformation from countless SPL competitors over the years. Because using the same method you are using here with RMS meters this is how I have been told to figure the power in watts not VA. I have never heard any manufacturer refer to the amplifier output in VA ever, always in watts.

[DSMKilla]

Well, I guess I was told misinformation from countless SPL competitors over the years. Because using the same method you are using here with RMS meters this is how I have been told to figure the power in watts not VA. I have never heard any manufacturer refer to the amplifier output in VA ever, always in watts.

AC doesn't have a PF (Power Factor) of 1. You cannot calculate the PF by using DMM's which is the value we need to get the true Watt's measurement. I'm only calculating the VA which is always gonna be about ~15-20% higher than the actual Watts measurement that I'd get if I was calculating in the PF, which is the Watts rating that manufacturers use. Well, most of them anyways because some of them are just full of shit

WATCH THE VIDEO!!!

[DSMKilla]

Just wanted to post back my solution to this issue.

I pulled the sub from the box and it made a substantial difference in the measurement. I was able to get 262VA out of the amp with the sub out of the box. I then tested with some load resistors and was able to get 326VA out of it.

So if you're gonna test with a sub make sure it's OUT of the box. But optimally it's best to use some load resistors. In my case, I cheated and used some heating elements wired in parallel to give me a 3.9ohm load which worked PERFECT for this test.

[Ritch40]

which tells me that box rise is biting you in the rear end.

After all, that 14ohm box rise figure is in fact the impedance that your amplifier is seeing. That is why the VA is real low when sub is mounted into the enclosure.