General Discussion General discussion about all things car audio, from pioneer, orion, alpine and eclipse.

My Setup

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 12:24 PM
  #1  
01Forester's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Watt CAFz'r
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
Thumbs up My Setup

Hey hows everyone today? I have a few questions concerning my car audio equipment. I'm still fairly new at this, so anything would be greatly appreciated. I bought two 10" Pioneer Champion series sub woofers, a Kenwood 2-Channel Car Amplifier (KAC-7205), and an Alpine IDA-X303 head unit. I recently looked up the specifications for the amplifier and from what I do know this isn't the best amp for my subs. Can anyone please tell me if this is the proper amp I need or if i should invest in a new one. If it is the recommended amp does anyone have a tuning setup? Thank you very much in advance. Also I'm using 4guage wiring.
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 12:47 PM
  #2  
veeman's Avatar
2000 Watt CAFz'r
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,455
Are the subs dual 4ohm or dual 2 ohm models? Generally most people would recommend a mono block (one channel, frequency response limited) class d amp for the subs. However, depending on the voice coil configuration you have, that will determine what's the best amp to get as not all amps are stable to lower impedance. You'll want an amp that puts out 700-800 watts rms at the final impedance load created by your subwoofers to get maximum results.
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 02:30 PM
  #3  
01Forester's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Watt CAFz'r
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by veeman
Are the subs dual 4ohm or dual 2 ohm models? Generally most people would recommend a mono block (one channel, frequency response limited) class d amp for the subs. However, depending on the voice coil configuration you have, that will determine what's the best amp to get as not all amps are stable to lower impedance. You'll want an amp that puts out 700-800 watts rms at the final impedance load created by your subwoofers to get maximum results.
Dual 4-ohm voice coils

heres the amp
RATED OUTPUT POWER (14.4V):

* 170W RMS x 2 @ 4 Ohms (20Hz-20kHz @ 0.08%THD)
* 250W RMS x 2 @ 2 Ohms (1kHz @ 0.8% THD)
* 500W RMS x 1 @ 4 Ohms (1kHz @ 0.8% THD) (Bridged)

no clue what any of this means.....
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 02:51 PM
  #4  
veeman's Avatar
2000 Watt CAFz'r
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,455
so, it'll play reasonably loud, but you're at about 2/3 the max rms that the subs can handle. a more appropriate amp (read that as; able to get your subs louder) would be a single channel mono block that delivers 700-800 watts @ 1ohm as your final load impedance is either 1, 4 or 16 ohms (at 4ohm would be just as good or better but they are much more expensive and not needed for subwoofers under daily use).

Last edited by veeman; Jul 31, 2010 at 02:54 PM.
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 03:07 PM
  #5  
01Forester's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Watt CAFz'r
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by veeman
so, it'll play reasonably loud, but you're at about 2/3 the max rms that the subs can handle. a more appropriate amp (read that as; able to get your subs louder) would be a single channel mono block that delivers 700-800 watts @ 1ohm as your final load impedance is either 1, 4 or 16 ohms (at 4ohm would be just as good or better but they are much more expensive and not needed for subwoofers under daily use).
I see, thank you very much for the response. Is there and amp you would recommend?
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 03:46 PM
  #6  
veeman's Avatar
2000 Watt CAFz'r
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,455
Amps are like hookers, depends on your budget. Any decent brand name amp will do the job. If you find a good deal on a 1000 watt amp, as they tend to sell amps in 500 watt increments, that would be fine...the subs will rarely see full power for a prolonged time unless you're a teenager with no idea of what distortion sounds like.
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 03:50 PM
  #7  
01Forester's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Watt CAFz'r
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by veeman
Amps are like hookers, depends on your budget. Any decent brand name amp will do the job. If you find a good deal on a 1000 watt amp, as they tend to sell amps in 500 watt increments, that would be fine...the subs will rarely see full power for a prolonged time unless you're a teenager with no idea of what distortion sounds like.
alright great. thank you very much.
Old Jul 31, 2010 | 03:54 PM
  #8  
veeman's Avatar
2000 Watt CAFz'r
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,455
No problem...welcome to the board!
Old Aug 7, 2010 | 07:30 PM
  #9  
01Forester's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Watt CAFz'r
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by veeman
No problem...welcome to the board!
quick question. Since I'm only running 2/3rds the power can I tune the bass on the amp for max power? Or will I blow my speakers. Thanks in advance!
Old Aug 7, 2010 | 08:25 PM
  #10  
BigRedGuy's Avatar
2000 Watt CAFz'r
iTrader: (11)
 
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,383
Lightbulb

Originally Posted by 01Forester
quick question. Since I'm only running 2/3rds the power can I tune the bass on the amp for max power? Or will I blow my speakers. Thanks in advance!
You should set the amp to deliver it's maximum undistorted power with all bass boost controls and any EQs set to neutral or minimum. Once you have done this, any extra you achieve with those controls will come at the expense of added distortion. Your subs will handle a certain amount of this before they reach their thermal or mechanical limits and the damage begins.

If you do tweak anything higher, keep a very close ear on your subs.....if you hear distortion back the volume off.....the subs will thank you by continuing to work until you get the bigger amp......

HTH



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:33 AM.