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Distortion from under powering

1K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  Aldarash 
#1 ·
ok...... well i got my system installed, its nice , i love it...... but it was having issues

my new components, Total 5.25's, the tweeters were playing bass..... aka the cross overs were not doing their job.....

so i get this horrible rattling paper crumpling type sound

i took it back, they put brand new tweets in.... does same thing

they finally install some type of cap(10$) that blocks bass, no more crumpling sound, but b4 i get my car back guy says its distorting because there isint enough power to it and says i have to have a 4-channel amp to power just the fronts....

so i was like, why do i need a 4 channel, why not just a 2 channel.... and he said, well 2 channels are made more to drive subs..... they arent a/b/c class........

well i go out back to my car after getting the price for a 4 channel amp with install and wiring and dis block, 365$, and turn the bass gain on my Headunit back up... No more rattling/paper cracking noise..... i turn the bass gain to +4, the Treble gain to +3, turn off the sub amp, and turn the volume all the way up to 30 out of 33(Clarion DXZ655MP) and what does it sound like..... clean, a little distortion, but nothing where to what the guy made it sound like.....

so yea, opinnions on this... i was going to take the 2 channel clarion amp i have pushing my sub (Clarion APA2160) and amp the fronts and get a new sub+amp down the road...... but is it ok if i just get a 2 chnl amp for the fronts? or do i need a 4 chnl


thanks in advance

aldarash
 
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#2 · (Edited)
after some reading i also noticed that i could blow my speakers by underpowering them....... so i guess i should amp them

well i guess my question really is.... if i dont amp them for around a year, will they blow because of distortion? and if i i have to amp them, can i use my clarion 2 channel and buy a new amp and sub, or do i need to buy a 4 channel amp.
 
#3 ·
Use common sense, most people blow their speakers because they are underpowered but keep cranking them up getting distortion.. Turn your system up, find out where it distorts and know your limit. I work at circuit city in the car audio department, most two channels are not made just for subs, thats what class d's are for. A two channel with the right power will be plenty, Sounds like someone was just tyring to make a sale.
 
#4 ·
that lil myth of blowing the speakers by underpowering is straight bs. the reason why people blow their speakers by "underpowering" them is those idiots turn up the gain on the amp because they want more ooomph and thats how "underpowering" a speaker gets blown.

running the fronts off of a two channel amp is fine. if the speakers are underpowered all would happen is that the speakers dont get loud. check the gain setting on your amp and turn it down. thats a possibility on what might cause the distortion, also check your wires. tell that guy at the audio shop he's a douchebag and they are not going to get your money.

so yea turn the gain down and go from there.

and yea what are the specs of your amp?
 
#5 ·
vietmandomy52 said:
that lil myth of blowing the speakers by underpowering is straight bs. the reason why people blow their speakers by "underpowering" them is those idiots turn up the gain on the amp because they want more ooomph and thats how "underpowering" a speaker gets blown.

running the fronts off of a two channel amp is fine. if the speakers are underpowered all would happen is that the speakers dont get loud. check the gain setting on your amp and turn it down. thats a possibility on what might cause the distortion, also check your wires. tell that guy at the audio shop he's a douchebag and they are not going to get your money.

so yea turn the gain down and go from there.

and yea what are the specs of your amp?


This is the amp i have powering my 12w0 right now
* Maximum Power Output 320 Watts

* Continuous Average Power Output 160 Watts (80 Watts × 2 Channels Into 4 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz @ 0.05% THD)

* Typical 2-Ohm Stereo 125 Watts × 2 Channels @ 0.2% THD

* Bridged Power 250 Watts × 1 Channel @ 0.2% THD

* Bass Extender Control 0~15dB @ 45Hz

* Adjustable 55Hz-550Hz, 12dB/oct. High-/Low-Pass Crossover

* Mixed Mode Operation

* Built-In Bridging Capability

* MOS-FET Output Design

* Speaker Level Inputs

* Double-Sided FR4PC Board



later when i get more $$ i wanted to buy a

Hifonics Brutus BX1205D

• Mono Brutus Series Power Amplifier
• 1 x 450 Watts @ 4 Ohms
• 1 x 900 Watts @ 2 Ohms
• 1 x 1200 Watts @ 1 Ohms
• Bass Remote with Blue LED Power On & Diagnostics Indicator
• D-Class Design
• Ultra-Fi MOSFETS
• Zeus EVXP (Exponential Vari-Power Supply)
• SPC - Simpatico Coil Design
• HSMD - Hifonics Surface Mount Design
• Fully Adjustable Accu-Cross Crossovers
• PWM MOSFET Power Supply
• Line Output for Amplifier Daisy Chaining
• Variable Bass Equalization
• Variable Sub-Sonic Filter
• 4 Gauge Power Connectors
• Additional High Speed MOSFET Output Devices
• Maxi-Fuse

and a JL Audio 12W6v2

and take that clarion amp i have now and use it for the fronts
 
#7 ·
Right now the speakers are running just off the head unit.

they are Total Mobile Audio 5.25 Component set



that clarion amp is bridged running the 12w0 at 250watts RMS, 320peak

i was going to take the clarion and amp the fronts with it when i buy a new sub and amp
 
#9 ·
vietmandomy52 said:
yea that clarion should be fine.

what is the voice coil configuration on the sub? because i hope its either SVC 4 ohm or DVC 2 ohm because i think you want a final ohm load of 4 ohms. if anything lower than that you might blow the sub. w0 doesn't need a lot of power too.

the sub is a 4 ohm SVC 4 ohm

in a couple months ill probably sell the w0, buy a w6 and a Hifonics Brutus BX1605D and take the clarion and run it to the front speaks

thanks guy

aldarash
 
#10 ·
vietmandomy52 said:
that lil myth of blowing the speakers by underpowering is straight bs. the reason why people blow their speakers by "underpowering" them is those idiots turn up the gain on the amp because they want more ooomph and thats how "underpowering" a speaker gets blown.
Actually you can underpower speakers causing them to blow without even having an amp, factory speakers are blown all the time. The problem lies in that you don't have enough power to get it to a decent volume so you just crank it louder sending distortion to the speaker which kills it. more people blow there speakers from underpowering without an amp than just about any other reason.
 
#11 ·
^ yea thats true. kinda the same thing i was talking about regarding the gain. they want more oomph, so they just crank up the volume like idiots. hence blowing the speaker.

but technically if you listen to music in normal listening levels, you cannot blow the speaker if the gains are set correctly and you dont put too much volume on the HU.
 
#12 ·
Aldarash said:
the sub is a 4 ohm SVC 4 ohm

in a couple months ill probably sell the w0, buy a w6 and a Hifonics Brutus BX1605D and take the clarion and run it to the front speaks

thanks guy

aldarash
well like i said if you buy that hifonics, then i think you should be fine although i know the rms on the w0 is like 125 or so i think? not quite sure. just watch your gains on the amp and you should be fine.
 
#13 ·
Let me get this straight, so if I set my volume at 2 on my radio, I'm going to blow my speakers because I'm "underpowering" them? GTFO. That is pretty absurd thinking. The only way you can blow your speakers is if you send them excessive power which may be a product of a clipped signal. If you don't know what a clipped signal is, please look it up. Hence the word BLOWN is the result of user error of melting down the coils of a driver. :rolleye2:
 
#14 ·
No because your headunit/ amplifier has plenty of power to drive them at that volume, now turn your volume up to 30, if you don't have an amplifier, you'll probably hear distortion because the amplifier/ deck can't produce the clean power that the speakers need to work properly so it sends a distotred signal which, over time, melts the copper wire around the voicecoil. It's not as ludacris as it sounds feel free to prove me wrong, the education would do me good. Here's a few sources that may help explain it better than I:
Both quotes from edmunds tech guides http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/techcenter/articles/44841/article.html

"Another misconception: speakers blow because they can't handle power. Again, not true. They blow because the power sent to them is of an inferior quality.

You see, when a power amp is pushed beyond its limits, it generates a signal high in total harmonic distortion. That distortion gets reported to your ears by the speakers (but it's not their fault!). If pushed hard and long enough, the signal will become so distorted that it melts the thin copper wire around the voice coil. Voila — blown loudspeaker. "

"Remember one thing: Speakers often blow because the amplifier got turned up too high and subsequently went into distortion. When this happens, an "unclean" signal heats up the thin copper wire surrounding the voice coil and melts it. Believe it or not, it's much easier to blow a speaker in a standard OEM car audio system because of the low quality sound signal produced by a typical OEM amplifier. Increasing the quality of sound produced at high volumes by improving the amplifier design goes a long way toward protecting your speakers from meltdown."
 
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