I have a 400 watt class A/B amp running 2 10's right now. When I'm listening to rap music, after an hour or so, the amp shuts down from overheating, even if I don't have the volume up too high. Should I switch to a class D amp or would it not be worth it? I listen mostley to rap, but listen to rock and country too, I like to have acceptable SQ.

The class won't make a difference, what do your grounds look like?

I honestly couldn't tell you, the shop that installed it removed the back seat to put it in and i can't see where its grounded at with out taking out the back seat and pulling up the carpet, all I can see is that thay used Raptor 8ga battery cable. I was just wondering if a class D would run cooler and draw less current.

yes class D amps run cooler and draw less current, but this could be another problem, like a bad ground, an inadequate electrical charging system, or the gain on the amp being turned up too far.

Yeah, that was another thing, after the last time it happend I pulled off the interstate at my grandma's and checked the amp and finally looked at the gains, they had them turned all the way up and had siliconed them so I couldn't adjust them. I took the silicon off and tuned the gain down 1/3 of the way, turned the bass bost all the way down, and the lowpass filter all the way up (I use the one in my stereo). Since then I'd swear its actually louder, but I havn't driven my truck for over an hour, while jamming, since then, and it hasn't cut out on me either.

Depending on where it's installed it also may not be able to cool sufficiently.

Do happen to know the voice coil configuration of your subwoofers?

Do happen to know the voice coil configuration of your subwoofers?

Yes they are dual 2ohms run at 4ohms each....supposedly. I've never taken them out of the box and looked though.

Your amplifier only makes 250Ws of power at 4Ohms, and you are powering 2 subs with it? Chances are without even knowing it, you are driving it as hard as it can go. If you know the problem is heat, which at this point I wouldn't be surprised, then just add some ventilation to it, as it sounds like the shop that installed it crammed it in a tiny space.

EDIT-you also said you turned the gain down 1/3 of the way. Did you properly set it, or does it perhaps need to be turned down more?

Edited May 31, 201015 yr by Ford12508

Your amplifier only makes 250Ws of power at 4Ohms, and you are powering 2 subs with it? Chances are without even knowing it, you are driving it as hard as it can go. If you know the problem is heat, which at this point I wouldn't be surprised, then just add some ventilation to it, as it sounds like the shop that installed it crammed it in a tiny space.

He said 4ohm each, which wired together in parallel would yield a final 2ohm impedance on the amplifier.

Your amplifier only makes 250Ws of power at 4Ohms, and you are powering 2 subs with it? Chances are without even knowing it, you are driving it as hard as it can go. If you know the problem is heat, which at this point I wouldn't be surprised, then just add some ventilation to it, as it sounds like the shop that installed it crammed it in a tiny space.

EDIT-you also said you turned the gain down 1/3 of the way. Did you properly set it, or does it perhaps need to be turned down more?

I use the subwoofer control on my head unit to set the level I want to listen to. It also has a remote gain control, but it doesn't work properly. I have the remote gain set at around 1/4-1/3 of the way up and the sub control set at 0 for rap and -10/-14 for country and rock depending on the song....am I still doing something wrong?

Your amplifier only makes 250Ws of power at 4Ohms, and you are powering 2 subs with it? Chances are without even knowing it, you are driving it as hard as it can go. If you know the problem is heat, which at this point I wouldn't be surprised, then just add some ventilation to it, as it sounds like the shop that installed it crammed it in a tiny space.

He said 4ohm each, which wired together in parallel would yield a final 2ohm impedance on the amplifier.

Yes the amp is running at 2ohms putting out around 400 watts.