I have alpine type x ref speakers which are 70w rms and im trying to amp them with a pdx 4.100w amp. It seems that with the number the amp would over power the speakers and what I have heard after hooking them up it doesn't seem far off. However, this is supposed to be the ideal system, so I don't know if the speaker aren't handling the 100w or if it's an installation error. The speakers and amp clip out after a certain volume which isn't very loud, I can play them louder off the 50w x 4 deck I have (CDA-9855). If someone can give me some suggestions that would be great..Please

 

check the gain setting on the amp, double check your wiring (rca cables, speaker wires), and ensure that the amp is properly wired (large enough power and ground wires, and a really good grounding point). If it still sounds better with the deck, then you need to get professional help..could be a bad amp.

 

Does that fact that the speakers are being over-powered have anything to do with this problem?

 

It's not a fact. The only time your speakers will be over powered is when you're at or very near the top of your volume control (assuming that your gains are set properly). The fact that your 50x4 deck, which is actually about 18-22 watts rms, can power your speakers to a higher output level than your 100 watts rms amp, tells me that the speakers are anything but overpowered. Remember, power is proportionate to the output voltage of the deck, as you turn the volume up, the output voltage rises, and the amp corresponds by increasing it's output. The power your speakers can handle is the thermal ability of the voice coils, in this case 70watts rms, your amp will deliver from 0-100 watts rms based on your volume control. Many car audio nuts like myself, always use amps that are capable of producing 2-3 times the rms rating of the speaker...we want headroom (in my case, I have 300 watts rms going to a 150 watts rms midbass). It allows an experienced operator to get cleaner, more powerful, dynamic sound because there is much more power available for transient peaks in the music (notice I said experienced, as I would never provide this much power to a speaker used by an inexperienced person...very easy to overdrive the speaker, if you don't know what you're doing). My point is that 100 watts is certainly not the problem for your 70 watt speakers. Has your deck ever been hooked to an amp before, are the rca outputs good? This is why I said to check all those wires, etc.. If you can't find a problem, then you need a pro to test the deck and the amp. It could be a bad pre amp section in the deck, amp problem(s), etc... Something else is wrong.

 

Alright thanks for the tips, I will look into my wiring, I think I may have cross a wiring somewhere. I will look into it and get back to you, thanks though

 

good luck!