confused on what the subs will see??

[porkchop 304]

okay, i have gotten myself confused here, need some help fellars.

oh, and only moderate flamming of the equipment here, it is not mine! lol

American Legacy LA-2278 amplifier, 2 ohm stable @ 450 watts.......

Three(3) Kicker CompVR 12"s , I believe they are 2 ohm DVC., 400 W.RMS......

If they are indeed 2 ohm. DVC., I will wire them parallel / series, so a 3 ohm. load on the amp.....

if for some reason we find that they are 4 ohm. DVC., then the wiring will be series / parallel , which is a 2.67 ohm. load. ........

the question is, how many watts will the subs be seeing? I am assuming that there is a good chance that the amp will not do it's true rated power, but for all general purposes, what would the subs each see?

Thanks for the help, I get confused if they each see the 450 watts or they will divide it..... when trying to read up, i see both examples but i never find out how to determine the math of it all.

thanks again,

chop

[shizzzon 461]

it's divided by the number subs being used.

Although with that amp, each sub will probably see 50watts...

You'd be amazed how loud 10-20w per driver is if u ever measure output power.

[porkchop 304]

wow, that sorta sucks though.....

what is the way to measure what the subs are seeing?

which tool do you use?

thanks for the quick reply.

[shizzzon 461]

every frequency will put out different, or should i say it better- Every different note will be at a different resistance, therefore output power "should" be different.

However u can have a resistance of 2.65ohms put out 150w and 1.8ohms put out 150w..

How is that possible?

When the resistance was higher, the note being played had a lot higher amplitude than the lower resistance note did. that's why i had to reword that.

Also, because resistance fluctuates, we base power like u said 450w off of amplifier power..

When u put a 1,000w amp on a sub, it isn't gonna see 1,000w, it's just wired that way to specifications...

Lots of times, it may only see 200w or less off a 1000w amp so when using a 450w amp, it's really gonna be low split among three subs.

The only way to compensate would be to use LARGE enclosures.

Just like i plan on runnin 39,000w of rated power to 3 subs next year...

Now, i know they wont see that. Hell, they probably won't even see a total of 15,000w of actual power... But, that's not the point or the goal for me.

The goal is to ensure i can get lots of power so i can provide a boat load of CLEAN power to the subs for long term metered use such as bassrace or driveby or the new 60sec FCBC competition coming next year around Louisville only(as of now).

[porkchop 304]

the subs were wanting from 1.75 to 2.25 cubes per,

i ended up with 5.48 net or 1.82 per. ,

tuned to 34hz. and 87 sq. in. of port area.

so if he was to upgrade his amp, 1200 watts rms. would be very suitable, correct?

OT :

left comment on your future install in othere post.

[shizzzon 461]

i dont know what they are rated at...

I also dont know what u are expecting to hear either.

Only way to know is just do it and then comment on any complaints you "might" have.

If u do, then i\we can tell you why based upon what a problem might be.

[///M5 2,833]

Take your final impedance, figure out what your amp does at that impedance and divide by the number of drivers.

[porkchop 304]

Take your final impedance, figure out what your amp does at that impedance and divide by the number of drivers.

thanks bro

[shizzzon 461]

wow, that sorta sucks though.....

what is the way to measure what the subs are seeing?

which tool do you use?

thanks for the quick reply.

I completely forgot to answer your question, lol.

You take a DMM and set it to AC volts and connect it to your speaker terminals on the amp which is easiest.

You also take an ammeter and clamp ALL wires of the same polarity together coming off that amp only. If you clamp + and - it will not read anything.

So, you then get a live reading of AC volts x AC amps and this will give you wattage output.

It's easiest to measure on a sine wave and have sturdy connections!

[porkchop 304]

i dont know what they are rated at...

I also dont know what u are expecting to hear either.

Only way to know is just do it and then comment on any complaints you "might" have.

If u do, then i\we can tell you why based upon what a problem might be.

they are rated for 400 watts rms.

posted above, he he....

he will be playing loud hip hop, in a trunk of a caprice, i will do the install tomorrow and let you know, thanks.

[porkchop 304]

wow, that sorta sucks though.....

what is the way to measure what the subs are seeing?

which tool do you use?

thanks for the quick reply.

I completely forgot to answer your question, lol.

You take a DMM and set it to AC volts and connect it to your speaker terminals on the amp which is easiest.

You also take an ammeter and clamp ALL wires of the same polarity together coming off that amp only. If you clamp + and - it will not read anything.

So, you then get a live reading of AC volts x AC amps and this will give you wattage output.

It's easiest to measure on a sine wave and have sturdy connections!

i have watched you use these some and have seen multiple times where they are coming into play for my needs, i think santa needs to bring me a set of them....

what would be a good set, price and quality that you would suggest, keep in mind, santa don't spend very much on me, lol

[///M5 2,833]

For your needs a clamp meter is overkill. What would be better is a way of visualizing the voltage output (ie oscilloscope)

[shizzzon 461]

i tend to read reviews from multiple sites until i find one, a decent one.

I typically don't spend no more than $50 for a DMM, $150 for an ammeter and $200 for an oscope.

[shizzzon 461]

For your needs a clamp meter is overkill. What would be better is a way of visualizing the voltage output (ie oscilloscope)

Please elaborate because without current, there is no wattage.

My oscope has a setting to calculate wattage but it's only based upon what ohm load you want it to calculate with which is funny since you can't know the actual load without voltage and current.

[porkchop 304]

wow, perhaps a small college class and 2010's santa will get me closer to what i need to have / know, lol.

[///M5 2,833]

For your needs a clamp meter is overkill. What would be better is a way of visualizing the voltage output (ie oscilloscope)

Please elaborate because without current, there is no wattage.

My oscope has a setting to calculate wattage but it's only based upon what ohm load you want it to calculate with which is funny since you can't know the actual load without voltage and current.

I know how electricity works. Simple actually.

The real question though is why would pchop need to measure current? As a first measurement tool it is not the right one, understanding voltage and visualizing clipping would be much more helpful.

[shizzzon 461]

he was askin how to measure wattage output out of curiosity, not how to setup an amp although people need to know this even if they don't want to know.

As a first tool, YES an oscope is great. I believe everyone should own one but even more a DMM at the same time.

I typically only use my ammeter to measure output\input loads for fun or strictly for fused based competition usage.

[///M5 2,833]

he was askin how to measure wattage output out of curiosity, not how to setup an amp although people need to know this even if they don't want to know.

As a first tool, YES an oscope is great. I believe everyone should own one but even more a DMM at the same time.

I typically only use my ammeter to measure output\input loads for fun or strictly for fused based competition usage.

He was asking as he was curious as to what his subs were getting. A less dangerous way would be to measure voltage and compute. As a tool for fun for someone who doesn't understand what is actually happening it can cause more harm than good and without having any other knowledge or measurement equipment would be a waste of money.