The reason I ask Is I just upgraded to a 1200 watt amp and a really good sub so I'm left with my old subs and amp.

They are MTX terminator's rated at about 400 watts.

Anyway, I'm playing around with them trying to get them to distort just for learning purposes and I simply can't, even with 1200 watts! They just stop getting louder once they hit, what I assume to be, 400 watts. No clipping, no bottoming out, nothing. Just clean bass no matter how much I crank it.

Is this a common thing in car audio today, or am I doing something wrong?

 

actually, if you have clean power you can give them way more power than they rated for.

if you WANT them to distort then crank your amps gains to max. your amp is sure to clip at that point and youll have no problem blowing your subs.

oh,and to answer your initial question, no (not that i know of). subs will continue to take power up until its voice coils blow.

 

Just because its a "1200watt amp" does not mean your sub is getting 1200wrms. You have to factor in the subs impedance, box rise, voltage and some other stuff. Your sub could very well be getting the 400watts its rated. What sub and amp are u using anyway?

 

Its all wired up right. 1200 watts at 2 ohms, subs are wired for 2 ohms, It was a loaded setup so the box size is correct.

Anyway I cranked the gain and sure enough it sounded horrible. The whole purpose was just so I could hear what distortion sounds like so I don't hurt my new sub. I was under the impression that It would be hard to tell, well, it's not . You can easily tell.

So if I understand correctly as long as you give a sub "clean power" or a non-clipped signal it will only "use" the amount of power it is rated for?

Thanks again VWdude for answering my questions. You have been a great help. I'm gonna need you to help me pick out a new 4v preamp HU here soon too.

 

And how do you surmise that a simple coil of wire will be able to shed or reject power in excess of its rating?

Your 1200 watt amp, playing music, likely never actually delivers 1200watts for more than a few milliseconds at a time. The speaker manufacturer counts on this when rating a driver. It all has to do with the heat that has to be dissipated by the coil.

 

"Subs will continue to take power up until its voice coils blow."

 

I'm not quite sure I follow what you are saying. I don't see how it ties into my question. Are you saying maybe my wire isn't big enough to sustain 1200 watts or...? It's not you, I'm just new to car audio.

If a 1200 watt rms amp doesn't deliver 1200 watts when called to do so I don't know why they would label it as a 1200 watt amp. Assuming my gain is set correctly I figure and expect it to deliver what it says it will.

Edit: I see what you are saying now. I thought maybe there was some sort of device that would cut the wattage after a certain point. That was what I was asking after all lol.

 

I follow ya, thanks man.

By the way, I ordered a SSA 12" sub as you recommended. Here in ~21 days I'll be looking to you to help me build a box. I hope you have some time then =)