Is it possible to have an amplifier which can power a 400-500W sub plus two 100W speaker channels without distortion or noise issues? Is this a specific type of amplifier or can it not be done? My goal is to power a system using as little space as possible, without compromising quality. I would like this amp to be able ot fit into a 14" sub enclosure, so it has to be about 10 x 10 x 3 " or smaller.
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You are talking car audio ?
The answer is yes.But alot of times you will need another crossover.
I have a Jensen with a built in crossover that will run either the sub or two mid/highs. In order to run all three it requires another crossover for the sub.
The answer is yes.But alot of times you will need another crossover.
I have a Jensen with a built in crossover that will run either the sub or two mid/highs. In order to run all three it requires another crossover for the sub.
True but the crossover for the sub would be an inductor which you could mount in the box, or go for a four channel..
This is not for car audio, I am planning to use it for my computer speakers. Available space around my computer is low, so I need to make a system that uses as little space as possible.
So basically I would just have to add a crossover circuit to the channel that powers the sub? Now would it be better to have this crossover include the mid/high channels, so the bass would be directed to the sub and the mid/high frequencies go directly to the L/R speakers?
Would it be possible to mount the crossover, along with volume and tone controls, in a seperate unit which I could have on my desk? OR would this all have to be in the same place?
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So basically I would just have to add a crossover circuit to the channel that powers the sub? Now would it be better to have this crossover include the mid/high channels, so the bass would be directed to the sub and the mid/high frequencies go directly to the L/R speakers?
Would it be possible to mount the crossover, along with volume and tone controls, in a seperate unit which I could have on my desk? OR would this all have to be in the same place?
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Why on earth do you want 400-500W for a sub on your computer speakers? I run my professional three ways at 300W each and literally makes the furniture move around the house. My 10" sub running at 150W true RMS makes the neighbor's dishes rattle in the cupboard... I wouldn't even think of running my sub a 400-500W unless I wanted to use it outside for a large gig.
Also, 100W a channel doing only mid and high will be loud enough to kill your hearing very fast. Unless you have fairly inefficient speakers or you want to break glass you shouldn't need that much power.
What kind of sub are you using anyway?
Also, 100W a channel doing only mid and high will be loud enough to kill your hearing very fast. Unless you have fairly inefficient speakers or you want to break glass you shouldn't need that much power.
What kind of sub are you using anyway?
More power does not = louder. A system with more power can perform better at high and low volume levels, and with a good amp that has low THD, well, that just makes it better.
The sub I plan to use is a dual 8" ported unit, where each driver is rated to handle about 250W RMS / 400 W Peak. The enclosure is designed any built by me. The left and right speaker drivers I plan to use are rated at 100W RMS / 180W peak.
I use my computer for listening to music quite often, and having a kickin' high power speaker system is just what I want. And games these days have impressive soundtracks as well...better speakers mean a better gameplaying experience, at least for me. 🙂
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The sub I plan to use is a dual 8" ported unit, where each driver is rated to handle about 250W RMS / 400 W Peak. The enclosure is designed any built by me. The left and right speaker drivers I plan to use are rated at 100W RMS / 180W peak.
I use my computer for listening to music quite often, and having a kickin' high power speaker system is just what I want. And games these days have impressive soundtracks as well...better speakers mean a better gameplaying experience, at least for me. 🙂
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if you want lower bass, use a bigger speaker 10inch, or 12, rather than 2 speakers.... No, you can't use the one stereo amp to run 3 speakers... and am yet to see an 8inch sub rated at 250watts RMS, but thats probably just me.... higher power does mean louder... and high power system is going to perform the same at low volumes as a low power system at high volumes.... plus, what is your definition of low? for your mids and highs, I say 50watts per channel would be enough, and 100 for th sub...
First of all, simply because you CAN play the system with a 500W power level does NOT mean it will ALWAYS be playing at that power level. If you have the volume set low, the amount of power being generated will NOT be 500W. It's called a VOLUME knob, you may want to look into the fascinating world of volume knobs. It is amazing what those things can do...
Secondly, the question is not, "How much power should I have in my system", it is: "Can I use one amp to power L/R and sub channels". You can also note that I did not ask how to get "lower bass", as the dual 8" drivers I am using will provide the ideal SPL at the frequency I want.
So far, the answer has been YES, using a crossover. Now my last question was how to set up the crossover within the amp. I DID NOT ask for opinions of whether this is "too much" power or not.
Please answer my questions helpfully, or do not reply to this thread with off-topic nonsense.
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Secondly, the question is not, "How much power should I have in my system", it is: "Can I use one amp to power L/R and sub channels". You can also note that I did not ask how to get "lower bass", as the dual 8" drivers I am using will provide the ideal SPL at the frequency I want.
So far, the answer has been YES, using a crossover. Now my last question was how to set up the crossover within the amp. I DID NOT ask for opinions of whether this is "too much" power or not.
Please answer my questions helpfully, or do not reply to this thread with off-topic nonsense.
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Actually, I believe the answer is no... not if you want to power the sub with 500watts and the surrounds with 100, you could get something like a 200watt amp (WHICH IS ENOUGH) and do a 3way system but with the woofers in seperate enclosures to the mids and tweeters, then run seperate wires to the speaker boxes with the crossovers in the amp... its the only practical way of doing what you want to do... you seem to know what you are talking about, but you also don't seem to know what you are talking about.. 😛 lol, no offence, we are all like that 😀 lol...
SsZERO said:
1. I have a 25watt amp that I have used to power 2 3way speakers boxes containing 12inch woofers... this is PLENTY loud... you will NEVER push 500watts into 2 8inch woofers.. you will barely go above 200watts if you ask me.... I know what a volume control does, do you? 😛
What are you talking about? I have given no offtopic information, we have only given usefull advice that will save you money!! what impedence are the woofers? how do you intend on connecting them together? how do you plan on connecting them to the amp? Please draw a picture.. 🙂 Thankyou.. lol 🙂
Skinnybody is very right here. I have a pair of high end 8" drivers, they're rated at 200Wpeak which is really truly 140Watts rms, which at that level is still way more bass than I need. I'm running on a Harman/Kardon a 402 amplifier rated at 75WRMS per channel with a pair of two way speakers. The sound out of this system is absolutely incredible and the harman/kardon has enough real power to make my woofers reach the end of their excursion. My friend has a Marants 1200B which is rated at 100W per channel at 8ohms, he uses JBL L220's on that sucker and the sound is ubelievably powerful.
You must realize that just since your system may be 100W and 500Wbiamped doesn't mean it'll be any better at all. Like Skinnyboy mentioned, his setup at 25W is plenty.
Try setting up a test setup and meaure the output of an amp into a 3 way speaker and run it to about 50W, you'll be amazed at just how loud that is.
If you want to be practical, do something like Zen or SOZ amps for your mid/highs and then do a Rod Elliot Project 3A for your subs. If you make that very system you'll have one hell of a powerful clean quality simple system....
Either way, amplifying computer noise that much will literally wreck the tonality and range of your hearing.
You must realize that just since your system may be 100W and 500Wbiamped doesn't mean it'll be any better at all. Like Skinnyboy mentioned, his setup at 25W is plenty.
Try setting up a test setup and meaure the output of an amp into a 3 way speaker and run it to about 50W, you'll be amazed at just how loud that is.
If you want to be practical, do something like Zen or SOZ amps for your mid/highs and then do a Rod Elliot Project 3A for your subs. If you make that very system you'll have one hell of a powerful clean quality simple system....
Either way, amplifying computer noise that much will literally wreck the tonality and range of your hearing.
SkinnyBoy said:
Ok, forget power and let's just talk about the design of the amp. So I should plan my design to include 2 amps -- one for the sub and another for stereo?
If the two drivers are connected sequentially, pumping 400W into them should not be an issue. You can run more power into the driver than it is rated for as long as you do not play it at full volume for extended periods of time. But like I said, just forget the power and stick to the actual amp design/config, because that is what I am currently working on.
If a response doesn't answer something originally asked, then it qualifies as off-topic. 🙂
The sub drivers are all 8 ohms, and depdending on the amp I may wire them in sequence or parallel. They would be connected directly to the amp's output terminals. The unit is going to be integrated, meaning the amp is inside the sub enclosure.
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Well, I can agree with too much power causing less frequency response, as is the case with those Sunfire subs that have 2700W amps on 8" drivers.
However I would say that more power to high quality amplification circuit will yield better performance than a lower power to the same quality circuit. My computer outputs a clean signal, though the S/N ratio is not super high, it is more than adequate.
Are there any pre-built stereo amps, or amp kits that I could look at, that meet the specs of 100W RMS x 2 @ 8 ohms? I was considering the Tube amps...but they're pretty expensive, at least the Zen ones. Are there any comparable tube amps that don't cost as much as the Zen amps?
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However I would say that more power to high quality amplification circuit will yield better performance than a lower power to the same quality circuit. My computer outputs a clean signal, though the S/N ratio is not super high, it is more than adequate.
Are there any pre-built stereo amps, or amp kits that I could look at, that meet the specs of 100W RMS x 2 @ 8 ohms? I was considering the Tube amps...but they're pretty expensive, at least the Zen ones. Are there any comparable tube amps that don't cost as much as the Zen amps?
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Duo said:
I think a high pass filter close to the sub would do what you want.
Or vice versa a low pass near the mid/high but I have heard that these inline filters add impedence to the system. Maybe someone else knows about this. I have a pair in my hand of bass blockers that read non-polar 10% capacitor they will block 200hz @ 4ohm or 100hz @ 8ohm,199uf100volt.
Or vice versa a low pass near the mid/high but I have heard that these inline filters add impedence to the system. Maybe someone else knows about this. I have a pair in my hand of bass blockers that read non-polar 10% capacitor they will block 200hz @ 4ohm or 100hz @ 8ohm,199uf100volt.
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