I honestly don't believe that hondamx320's 10" sony xplodes are going to hold up under that 1200w amp because they aren't rated for that kind of power. As for Tad1299, I do not know the power of his system. Therefore, I couldn't say exactly what is causing the dimming. If you are pushing 750w subs with a 1500w amp, then a cap as well as high performance wiring is suggested. On the other hand, if you only have a 150w amp and you lights are still dimming, forget the cap and invest your money in monster cable with gold terminals. Gold is the best conductor.

 

Actually, copper is a better conductor, but gold gets used for connectors more often as it doesn't oxidize. Having an amp that's a little over-rated for the speakers is not a bad thing; in fact, it's better than the opposite. Most speaker destruction comes from using amps that are under-powered. These under-powered amps get over-driven, cause the output to clip and distort, which damages the speakers much quicker than be driven by an over-powered amp. Most audio guys will recommend that you take the over-powered amp and just keep your volume under control. I didn't look up the specs on this particular amplifier, but usually the advertised total wattage of the amp is just marketing hype. For example, 1200 watts is usually peak power, limited bandwidth, driven into a 2 or 1 ohm load. The real key is what the amps RMS power is, from 20 - 20 kHz, is for the impedence being used. As was pointed out, proper wiring is essential too. This wattage range should be using roughly 4 guage wire to the amp for the power, with the ground not being more than 2 or 3 feet long (also 4 guage). If the lights dim with a 150 watt amp, try shutting off those 8 PIAA driving lights you must have on.

 

I was not talking about my lights dimming, and Actually Pure Silver is the best known conductor. Only pure silver corrodes, and is expensive. I believe All other metals are measured off the basis of silver being 100%. At any rate. I am running a bit more than 1.3K watts in my system. Check out my gallery. Just my Sub amp is 1.3K. at Full Tilt. I am pushing a single JL 12W7. And yes I have plenty of capacitance, along the lines of 3 farad. Running 0/1 power wire, and a stinger 200 AMP alternator, set at 15.6 VDC.

 

I posted this message in another place earlier, I believe it has relevance here as well. tad1299

First things first, excess power doesn't kill subs. I had 1300 RMS power (when demanded) going to 3JL Audio 10W0's Those particular speakers are only 125 continuous (RMS) so X 3 is 375 max continuous. The key here is continuous wattage or RMS (root-mean-square). The problem with amps is there is no regulatory system to say that your amp is 1000 watts. A good rule of thumb is, look at the fuse rating, of the fuse in the amp. And remember that the Watt formula is Amps X Volts. If you have 12 or 14.4 volts going to your amp, more likely 12~ or so, multiply that by the fuse rating and you have your max theoritical wattage your amp can produce. Keep in mind that your fuse is a protective device, so it will be sized higher than that of which the amp can handle. Also look where the AMP measures its power. Make sure you get an amp that measures its power throughout the entire bandwidth. Most cheep amps measure there power at 1K, which isn't realistic, they also rate them at 14.4 VDC, which in most everyday vehicles isn't really realistic.
So whith that said. I would also look at a Class D amp. They run much more efficient then the Class A or B amps. Also look at the amp's Mono ohm load capability. Most cheep amps are only 2 ohm Stereo, and 4 ohm mono. If your speakers are 4 ohm speakers, and you wire them in parallel, your amp will see a 2 ohm mono load. Series would be an 8 ohm load. Make sure you do your research and find an amp with some of the details I have mentioned, and you shouldn't go wrong. Ensure you don't skimp on power or expecially ground.

 

to 302 v8
Ill be fine with my 1200 watt amp. because its rms output is 260 - 400. and my sonys are rated a 200 watts rms a piece... and i have them bridged. i dont think ill be keeping these subs for long ive been lookin at a 10'' kicker L7 do guys think this is a good buy. ive been lookin at a L7 at car domain it comes with the encloser also. that L7 will be better than my two sonys combined.
thanks hondamx320

 

Are the Kicker L series the new Solo-Baric subwoofers. They are square aren't they?

tad1299

 

I would go with kicker components over any other. That is just my personal preference. I can't provide any facts or ratings in this instance, but as far as all around performance kicker has always been the way I have went

 

Caps Are Only Needed On Very High Power Systems, I Put A System In A Buddys Truck That Had An Rf 800.2 And A 500.2, The 800.2 Was Running 2 Ohm Stereo And Pulled A Significant Amount Of Power And He Was Getting A Large Voltage Drop When The Bass Hit Hard. We Put In A 2.5 Farad Cap And The Voltage Drop All But Went Away, Keep In Mind That Single Amp Would Blow A 60 Amp Fuse When Cranked Up, So Both Amps Were Getting Close To 100 Amps Draw .. It Was A Very Loud System, And It Helped His System Out A Lot, Also These Are Real Deal Amps , I Am Not Putting Any Ones Amps Down But You Get What You Pay For And These 2 Amps Cost Well Over A Grand At Retail ..

 

Big three and a new HO alt.

 

I second this, Kicker puts out very high quality equipment, and for the price you pay, you get so much more. My friend had 12" solobarics and when they hit, it felt like the air out of my lungs got sucked out. He was hitting somewhere around 156 dB, and that was with 2 L7's in his trailblazer. I have another firend with a full size Bronco, and he has 2 12" L5's and has shattered his back window twice, and he swears by Kicker. I used to have a 12" Comp-VR and it hit hard, and had solid bass and I was very pleased. Their RMS ratings are very good, and I believe they're CEA complient.

But just for some stats on the 10" L5 and L7 solobarics (and to Tad1299 the L series are Solo-baric, there are some solobarics that are round too but, they're not as easy to find) Here is one on ebay: 5748707308

The L5 rates from 50-450 watts of true RMS, with a peak power handling of 900 watts. That's pretty huge for a little guy, that's not very expensive. And that sounds good. The L7's are 75-600 watts RMS with 1200 watt peak power handling. They're a little more pricey though. But these things will last a long time, and they go down to 24 Hz.
I'm all for Kicker products, and I go to the tent sales that they throw around here, and they're made just about 50 miles away from my house.

 

The square design is not an new one and was thrown out over 15 year ago. Yet here she is again and the basic design has not changes an iota. Course SPL wasnt an issue 15 years ago, SQ was.

Kicker is not very high quality. It once was tho. We'll see this year. :shrugs:

 

Now that Kicker is the subject of discussion, I'd like your guy's input. I've got a problem with a Kicker KX 800.4. When it hits hard bass notes, it goes into protect mode. I'm running two 10" Kicker CVR 4 ohm DVC connected in series.(together running 4 ohm) They are connected mono bridged to one of the outputs which should be giving about 400 watts at 4ohm at 13.6v. The power coming into it is stable at 13.6 +/-. The other two outputs are running my mids an hi's. I took it to a local Kicker dealer for inspection. They ruled out the subs as a cause by installing new ones for testing. They said it was the amp that was bad. Couldn't handle the load anymore. I contacted Kicker directly and they suggested I run an additional ground cable from the chasis to the ground battery post. That should be the problem b/c the amp is not getting the power/amperage it requires. The power wire I'm running is 4 gauge. What do you guys think? Is it an amp problem or power problem?

 

No flames here, but how do you guys who have the hundreds of farads of caps in front of your amp is enough? Watching headlights dim is just an extreme case where you have an insufficient setup, period.

Having a mongo cap isn't going to solve every problem, especially if your amps jump into protect mode if the transients are fast enough where the internal resistance of the cap, wiring, and alt/batteries are too high to make any difference.

Using a regular DVM or the caps and amps with the integral bling volts displays aren't going to tell you anything but an average voltage reading, so even if it says you're pumping 13.6V, it's somewhat meaningless. Better to measure and see real noise with a scope.

It's amazing to see what clever marketing can do to people... just like the guy who runs Monster Cable... he's a genious. Cha-ching!

Also keep in mind that some of the cheaper amps have worser efficiencies, so just because it says it'll pump out 1000 CEA Watts doesn't mean it's drawing only 1000W from the battery/alt. They can draw nearly 2000W or more if it efficiencies are really on the low end... No cap is gonna help much in that case... For the same number of output watts, you're better off spending the few hundred extra capacitor bux on a nice high-end class-D amp instead...

And... don't forget the simple law of thermodynamics. Energy in = energy out.

I bet you guys shaking the neighborhood for decent durations are ultimately eating into your already bad gas mileage.

 

Hey aquaman. If you have enough time to vent/flame, I think you might have some to make a suggestion on what my problem is. I'm no expert here that's why I post to search for answers. How bout answering my question/s now that you've vented? I don't have any caps and might not need any. All I'm looking for is a suggestion.

 

Blown2run: Getting a good supply of power to the amp is critical, so the a better grounding cable to the battery could help, but you certainly can't rule out that you just dealing with an amp problem. It doesn't sound like a thermal problem - unless it happens only after running for some time. The fact it kicks out on the high-output (loud bass notes) might be some other form of circuit protection, such as clipping protection or protection for the output stage transistors. I would be interested to know if this is happening at the rated power output, or at a lower level.

aquaman: I don't think that anyone is suggesting that a cap is going to solve every problem; far from it as a matter of fact. I would agree that it would be nice to see the performance of the power supply (and amp output both) on a scope to see what is happening in Bown2run's case, but most people don't have those resources. I had a long argument with some sales guy at BestBuy about the lack of significance between my $12/12 foot s-video cable from Target and their $83/12 foot s-video cable from monster cable or the like - so I agree with you there too.

I wouldn't switch to a class D amp just for the efficiency though. If an investment was to be made, upgrading the power system (alternator/wiring/battery) would be a good place to start. And, all of this may not have anything to do with Blown2run's issue.