A REAL 1500w amp!

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Nigel Goodwin said:


The 1500w + car amps!, the original post amp is fine (although only theoretical), but I see no reason that it wouldn't work, and the design is OK for the rated power. It's also NOT going to require 166A off a mains supply :D


Can you fill me in on why you find this not to be true....personal exp?

Becasue I've personally witnessed plenty of 1500+watt amps tested on an AP machine
 
RMS power is a true indication of what is available on a continuous basis, within a specified amount of distortion and into a specified load. However, just as my 240V mains swing to +339V and down to -339V and the 240 is an RMS figure, the peak wattage from an amp will be double the RMS value.

RMS is like an average (although average is a slightly different thing). AC RMS is the amount of power that will cause the same amount of heat dissipation in a device as the equivalent amount of DC. Being practical, the peak power figure is not very useful unless trying to impress.

If you look at the maximum voltage swing from an amp and figure the power with a certain load, you'll get a higher power figure than in practice due to the fact that amps typically struggle to some degree with a load. Music power is an international standard (as far as I know) figure of merit based on producing peak power into a load for a short period. This is an attempt to replicate real conditions where peaks tend to be instantaneous. It is easier on the amp and will produce a higher power figure.

RMS is still the real thing though.
 
trusound said:



Can you fill me in on why you find this not to be true....personal exp?

Becasue I've personally witnessed plenty of 1500+watt amps tested on an AP machine

Personal experience, simple examination of the provided specs, and common sense.

The ONLY power spec worth mentioning is RMS, and car amps rarely do that, they publish wildly imaginary figures - as do car speakers as well, so there's no problem matching car speakers to car amps, as the figures should match reasonably well. But don't try a car speaker on a proper specced amp, it will most probably kill the speaker very quickly.

It's uncommon for car amp manufacturers to quote RMS, and if it doesn't say RMS then it's an inflated value.

For example, I've managed to find ONE amp in a catalogue that gives RMS figures:

Magnat Hot Rod 2000

Maximum power 1x500W

RMS 2x70W

So it's called '2000', it's got a supposed 'maximum' power of 500W, but is only 70W per channel RMS, so 140W total power.
 
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