I JUST RECEIVED MY ib3 12 sub which looks better than imagined and alot heavier too!! i read that its 550@20hz. i was looking into getting an alpine pdx 5 for my car wich is 350 rms at 2 ohms. does wattage affect output in a free air sub? does the 550 @ 20hz mean i shouldnt give it more than 550 or would 550 be the minimum power. i dunno, its a bit confusing. some help on this would be appreciated im not much of a noob in the audio world so scientific explanations are welcomed! haha

550 is the maximum recommended power at 20 cycles per second.

so basically your saying i can play a test tone at 20hz with 550 watts and it wont damage the speaker? higher hz means it can handle more power, correct? iv heard of people using like 100 watts on a free air sub and supposedly it rocks. i dont want to blow the sub nor under power iit too much neither.

underpowering does not hurt subwoofers what-so-ever

The IB3 drivers are a little different than others. We rate them at a maximum excursion per power (normally 20Hz). So at 350 W, without any sort of clipping or boosting of any kind you should have no issues over over excursion. As mentioned above, its not an issue to have less than "rated" power for a speaker. It is no different than just not turning up a larger amp past the 350W mark.

Thanks,

Scott

The IB3 drivers are a little different than others. We rate them at a maximum excursion per power (normally 20Hz). So at 350 W, without any sort of clipping or boosting of any kind you should have no issues over over excursion. As mentioned above, its not an issue to have less than "rated" power for a speaker. It is no different than just not turning up a larger amp past the 350W mark.

Thanks,

Scott

so will i have the same output at 350w as i would if i powered them at 500w???

something tells me you should have gotten a different woofer

something tells me you should have gotten a different woofer

no way...im tired of having a big box in the trunk of my car.....my main issue is that i want to get rid of my big 5 channel amp and get the smaller nicer alpine pdx 5

I believe he's saying that if output is your goal IB isn't the easiest method of achieving it. I would agree with that. There shouldn't be any audible difference between 350W and 500W. I don't see any reason to push that sub beyond its limits.

I believe he's saying that if output is your goal IB isn't the easiest method of achieving it. I would agree with that. There shouldn't be any audible difference between 350W and 500W. I don't see any reason to push that sub beyond its limits.

see..you just answered my question! haha i just want good sound. i dont want to shatter my windows or anything, i have my trunk sealed from the cabin and iv already had multiple opinions of this sub in my same car without any modifications. i already went the extra mile so it can only get better :dancing: