A 300w rms sub @ 2ohm, with a 600w x1 amp?

GoBlue
GoBlue Posts: 30
edited February 2008 in Car Audio & Electronics
I have the Polk MM2104DVC - 300w RMS, and an Alpine MRP-M650 mono amp - 400w RMS @ 4 ohm and 600w RMS @2 ohm.

I obviously should have chosen the SVC sub... but I wired the sub for the 2 ohm load. Will this be fine? Too much power? I figure as long as I keep the gain on the amp down so I dont kill the sub it will work fine, am I right?

Thanks.

Theater:

Pioneer Elite VSX-55TXI
Adcom 555
Acoustic Research AR9 (Latest)
JBL S Center
Definitive Technologies ProCinema 1000 (Surround x2)
JBL PS1400 Sub
Monster 3600 MkII Conditioner
NAD T572 DVD
PS3
Lots of wire

-Looking for a decent Sunfire MK II-

Samsung LNT-4665F
Polk OMW3 - TV Speakers

Vintage:

Pioneer SX-780
Pioneer PLA-45D Turntable
Advent Heritage Speakers
Post edited by GoBlue on

Comments

  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited February 2008
    make sure your box is capable of handling the power and you will be fine... two would be better though.
    Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.

    Home Setup: Sony VPL-VW85 Projo, 92" Stewart Firehawk, Pioneer Elite SC-65, PS3, RTi12 fronts, CSi5, FXi6 rears, RTi6 surround backs, RTi4 height, MFW-15 Subwoofer.

    Car Setup: OEM Radio, RF 360.2v2, Polk SR6500 quad amped off 4 Xtant 1.1 100w mono amps, Xtant 6.1 to run an eD 13av.2, all Stinger wiring and Raammat deadener.
  • pentavolvo
    pentavolvo Posts: 68
    edited February 2008
    set ur gains accoringly and you will be fine
  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2008
    Yup. That 600 watt amp aint making 600 watts all the time. If you use common sense with the volume and not overdrive your sub youll actually come out better running more power in terms of sound quality.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
  • 95Honda
    95Honda Posts: 77
    edited February 2008
    Don't forget that the gain control has nothing to do with how much power your amp can potentialy put out. Even with the gain set at 1/8th or 1/4 of the way up, you can still get 600 watts out of that amp with most head units... Gain settings are almost completely misunderstood, all they do is set the sensitivity of the amplifier input, and have no real control of output power... Just don't make the mistake of setting everything up and thinking your in the clear...

    Trust your ears most...
    www.forceaudio.com .... We cut through the BS.
  • 1996blackmax
    1996blackmax Posts: 2,436
    edited February 2008
    Having extra headroom is always a nice thing....
    Alpine: CDA-7949
    Alpine: PXA-H600
    Alpine: CHA-S624, KCA-420i, KCA-410C
    Rainbow: CS 265 Profi Phase Plug / SL 165
    ARC Audio: 4150-XXK / 1500v1-XXK
    JL Audio: 10W6v2 (x2)
    KnuKonceptz
    Second Skin
  • dice727
    dice727 Posts: 22
    edited February 2008
    95Honda wrote: »
    Don't forget that the gain control has nothing to do with how much power your amp can potentialy put out. Even with the gain set at 1/8th or 1/4 of the way up, you can still get 600 watts out of that amp with most head units... Gain settings are almost completely misunderstood, all they do is set the sensitivity of the amplifier input, and have no real control of output power... Just don't make the mistake of setting everything up and thinking your in the clear...

    Trust your ears most...

    So 95honda, then what is the main function of the gain, i don't understand what you meant in the post
  • 95Honda
    95Honda Posts: 77
    edited February 2008
    All the gain does is set the sensitivity of the amp, i.e. how much voltage drive is required for maximum output. If the gain is set at a small level, like 200mv, than that is all that would take on the input to put out full power. If it was set higher, like 2-3V, than that is how much voltage it would take to put out full power (voltage drive on the input). Most higher voltage output head units will put out enough voltage at full volume to get full power (clip) out of most amplfiers requardless of gain setting. Some people think of the gain control as a power output control, which it is not in the slightest.

    It's intention is to maximize Signal to Noise ratio and level matching from amplifier to amplifier, not to control maximum output level.

    There are way to many variables in most systems to say a certain gain setting is safe regaurdless of volume setting and source material. It simply doesn't work that way.

    If you have one amp, it is almost arbitrary where you set your gain, as long as you have it set sensitive enough to get full power and not so sensitive that you run into hiss (thermal noise) problems...

    You will see very long an indepth ways to set the gain of an amplifier, often using O-scopes and reference level CDs... It is almost a complete waste of time, and completely useless as soon as you change any 1 variable in your signal chain.

    Set the gain primarily to match the output voltage of your headunit. If you aren't getting enough power out when your deck is running out of gas, you need to set it a little more sensitive, if you are overdrivning your amp, just turn down the volume, it's that simple...
    www.forceaudio.com .... We cut through the BS.
  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited February 2008
    The short version is it sets the amps input to match the head unit's output. For example, when your head unit's volume is at 75% you want your amps output to be at 75%. This way nothing blows up. If your gain was set too high so that the amp was at 75% when the HU is only at 40%, if you cranked up the volume, youd push the amp overboard which causes clipping which frys speakers.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
  • 95Honda
    95Honda Posts: 77
    edited February 2008
    Clipping (by itself) killing speakers is a misconception right up there with gain settings....

    http://www.forceaudio.com/showthread.php?t=15
    www.forceaudio.com .... We cut through the BS.