# Overpowering sub?



## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

i just bought my friends old audio equipment. a profile cl600m amp (450 X 1 rms @ 2ohm) and a jl w3v2d4 (300 rms max)

my question is...if i wire the sub for 2 ohm operation the amp would be capable of sending 450w to the sub...i know this is obviously too much...but if i dont have the gain set to max and/or my volume not even all the way up, would this make it ok? seeing as the amp doesnt push the power unless the volume rises...

i know its probably a stupid question, but i just wanted to make sure...

thanks...


----------



## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

copy and paste from a post I made on ECA, this is the 3rd time today I've had to do this....seems to be a popular issue this month


"There is no problem with having more power than necessary on tap. The way I see it, if you turn up the volume high enough to fry the sub, then your listening habits require more output than the sub in its current install is capable of, the amp is a non-issue. If your sub IS capable of as much output as you need, then it's best to give it an amp which is able to provide it with as much power as it requires to do it's job. If the amp is capable of even more that's fine, it just means the amp will run cooler and cleaner at the level you'll be using it at. Using a smaller amp will do nothing but cut off the sub's balls. The only downsides to using a larger amp vs a smaller amp are that the larger amp costs more and takes up more space in your trunk.

If I had the money and the space I would use 2kw amps on every one of my speakers, tweeters included, just to prove a point to all the people out there who think using a larger amp than necessary is somehow a bad thing. And never having to worry about clipping kicks ass...."


----------



## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

thanks for the info...i really appreciate it


----------



## ga16freak (Dec 31, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> copy and paste from a post I made on ECA, this is the 3rd time today I've had to do this....seems to be a popular issue this month
> 
> 
> "There is no problem with having more power than necessary on tap. The way I see it, if you turn up the volume high enough to fry the sub, then your listening habits require more output than the sub in its current install is capable of, the amp is a non-issue. If your sub IS capable of as much output as you need, then it's best to give it an amp which is able to provide it with as much power as it requires to do it's job. If the amp is capable of even more that's fine, it just means the amp will run cooler and cleaner at the level you'll be using it at. Using a smaller amp will do nothing but cut off the sub's balls. The only downsides to using a larger amp vs a smaller amp are that the larger amp costs more and takes up more space in your trunk.
> ...



And the audio god saves the day once again. yyaayyy hahahah


----------



## lnfamous (Sep 14, 2005)

McLaren F1 2003 said:


> i just bought my friends old audio equipment. a profile cl600m amp (450 X 1 rms @ 2ohm) and a jl w3v2d4 (300 rms max)
> 
> my question is...if i wire the sub for 2 ohm operation the amp would be capable of sending 450w to the sub...i know this is obviously too much...but if i dont have the gain set to max and/or my volume not even all the way up, would this make it ok? seeing as the amp doesnt push the power unless the volume rises...
> 
> ...



You arent going to overpower a JLw3v2 with a Profile amp...


----------



## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

What an ignorant statement that is, there are Profile amps that will legitimately do 1000rms, they will easily fry a w3v2 if you actually turn it up and use that power.


----------



## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

FINALLY someone who shares my ideals! POWER is not what blows speakers, DISTORTION blows speakers. People take a so called 1KW amp, crank up the gain thinking it will make it louder and let it rip. The distortion is caused because the signal is crap and then on top of that the gain is cranked when it doesn't need to be turned up at all. Common misconceptions with people that do not read the instruction manual first. 

I previously powered a dynaudio system 240 with two McIntosh monoblock amps. I had one 500W @ 4 ohm mono amp for each side of the car. It was nothing short of amazing... 

The moral here is that lots of power is a GREAT thing as long as it is clean power!


----------



## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

wes said:


> FINALLY someone who shares my ideals! POWER is not what blows speakers, DISTORTION blows speakers. People take a so called 1KW amp, crank up the gain thinking it will make it louder and let it rip. The distortion is caused because the signal is crap and then on top of that the gain is cranked when it doesn't need to be turned up at all. Common misconceptions with people that do not read the instruction manual first.
> 
> I previously powered a dynaudio system 240 with two McIntosh monoblock amps. I had one 500W @ 4 ohm mono amp for each side of the car. It was nothing short of amazing...
> 
> The moral here is that lots of power is a GREAT thing as long as it is clean power!


Want to give me your car?


----------



## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

pimpride said:


> Want to give me your car?


Well now the only soundsystem it has is a GT28RS, Greddy type s BOV, and a 3" exhaust... All of my audio days are now spent in doors!


----------



## wickedsr20 (Aug 8, 2002)

wes said:


> FINALLY someone who shares my ideals! POWER is not what blows speakers, DISTORTION blows speakers. People take a so called 1KW amp, crank up the gain thinking it will make it louder and let it rip. The distortion is caused because the signal is crap and then on top of that the gain is cranked when it doesn't need to be turned up at all. Common misconceptions with people that do not read the instruction manual first.
> 
> I previously powered a dynaudio system 240 with two McIntosh monoblock amps. I had one 500W @ 4 ohm mono amp for each side of the car. It was nothing short of amazing...
> 
> The moral here is that lots of power is a GREAT thing as long as it is clean power!


Very well put.


----------



## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

wes said:


> Well now the only soundsystem it has is a GT28RS, Greddy type s BOV, and a 3" exhaust... All of my audio days are now spent in doors!


That is the only soundsystem anyone would ever need. You are very lucky to have that setup...


----------

