Running subs hard

[Jeff4661]

Ok I am curious about running subwoofers over rms ratings?

I mean for example a 1000watt rms sub 2k max and running it on a CLEAN 2K watts rms.

What are the good an bad about doing this?

Any help greatly appreciated

[ToNasty]

If you're smart. It's ok. I ran a sa12 on a saz1500 for over a year with no problems.

It's common sense and proper box

[Jeff4661]

What do you mean by if I'm smart?

Do you mean like tune everything proporly?

And make your enclosure accommodate for the increase in power? In order to keep the suspension under control?

[Cj Kumz]

I have ran a dd9515, B2 HN and zv4 off a sundown saz3500 @ .5ohms without any issues. Even 2 sa12s on a saz2500 @ 1ohm.. He says if you smart meaning the box built in account of the power, avoid clipping by all costs meaning set gains right, set subsonic accordingly, etc.. But due to impedance rise and stuff you won't really be sending all that power to the sub

[Raptorman]

Tune everything properly. Proper enclosure.

And most importantly, knowing how to manipulate a bass knob.

NOT EVERY song is recorded at the same amplitudes. Some are going to be louder than others, some are going to be quieter than the others. And setting your gain at something like -5 db is not going to keep you in the clear for every song. You may play a song that peaks at -2db, and then it's up to you to manipulate your knob to compensate for the louder signal.

I do it from song to song, I'll slowly roll into it, get a feel for where it stops getting louder, then I back the knob off a hair, boom clean signal. Takes practice, but keeps it a lot safer than just turning the knob all the way to the right for every song.

[Kyblack76]

Tune everything properly. Proper enclosure.

And most importantly, knowing how to manipulate a bass knob.

NOT EVERY song is recorded at the same amplitudes. Some are going to be louder than others, some are going to be quieter than the others. And setting your gain at something like -5 db is not going to keep you in the clear for every song. You may play a song that peaks at -2db, and then it's up to you to manipulate your knob to compensate for the louder signal.

I do it from song to song, I'll slowly roll into it, get a feel for where it stops getting louder, then I back the knob off a hair, boom clean signal. Takes practice, but keeps it a lot safer than just turning the knob all the way to the right for every song.

I do exactly the same..... Just know your gear.....

[Collin Bailey]

As far as I understand it, the two things that are most likely to break a sub are heat and excessive mechanical force.

RMS ratings are generally a rule of thumb kind of rating and aren't hard and fast, as you know.

Clipping will cause most of your excessive heat, due to the coil sort of pausing at the end of each stroke back and forth according to the waveform. If you look at a clipped wave, you see a flat portion at the top and bottom. That flat part is where the sub freezes at the end of the stroke for however long that flat part is.This causes the electrical current to build in the coil, degrading or destroying the glue holding your internal part together. They melt and fall apart, your coil unwinds and you sub explodes! Sort of...

Too much power to a sub in it's box makes the coil and suspension travel farther than it can safely. Your coil may come out the gap completely, smash against the back plate of the sub's motor deforming it, or you may damage a spider. Excessive mechanical force is most often caused by playing too far below the box tuning, your sub has no air spring in the box to keep it in check at this point and just flops around like it was free air. You will know when you bottom out a sub, you will hear slapping, clicking, knocking kind of sounds that are relatively loud.

The reason people can give a sub higher than it's RMS rating by being smart is that they avoid clipping through setting gains properly, avoid bottoming out the sub by not playing too far below tuning, and just having the experience to know when a sub is being stressed.

I am not a pro by any means so if anyone can correct anything I said feel free.

[Jeff4661]

Ok all good information...

I have a dd1 and a cc1 I was actually planning on tuning subs with a 0db track just to be extra safe I will be running my subs about 150-200rms below peak.

I am doing this Bcs I don't want to buy smaller amps.. I understand this sounds stupid but after I'm done with this setup (If I blow them up) I plan on throwing some subs with higher power handling on the same setup..

Again to all who don't know this is part of my budget build

[Triticum Agricolam]

Just to expand on what Raptorman said a bit, I don't know if everyone realizes just how much power difference a few db makes. If you have a song that peaks at -2db vs one that peaks at -5db, the -2db song is going to put twice the watts to your sub/s as the -5db song. This is why it really pays to know your music well and to choose your setup tone carefully, especially if you are going to be pushing things to the limit.

[Jessica]

i run my SA's at over RMS i even push into clipping cause its louder. I may get flamed fo that, but it does gain to the ear with some clipping. My motto is: rail em' till you smell em'.