These are both the same. 800W is the limit. This is only for the voice coil. There are other limiting factors.
By the way, these have a claimed sensitivity of 98dB for 1W (at 1m). You may not need 800W.
Last edited:
In principle it´s very doable, BUT you must protect it in two fronts:
1) THERMAL: use any amplifier you want but add a limiter (some amplifiers have a built-in one, many do not) so it never ever clips, period.
Then even if your amplifier can deliver 1200W RMS, continuously driven by a sinewave, when driven by Music it will still deliver short 1200W bursts but given the dynamic range implicit in any Musical program, on *average* your speaker will get quite a bit less.
Since voice coil and magnet in a subwoofer arev typically very heavy, you have a thermal mass there which will average temperature to a survivable level.
Of course, that works if woofer can *actually* stand 800W RMS sinewaves all day long.
2) MECHANICAL: even as low as 100 or 200W can destroy your speaker if very low frequency and bang voice coil against back plate, HARD.
Open/reflex/tuned cabinets offer essentially zero load at very low frequencies, so add a strong highpass filter to prevent that.
Simulate your cabinet to check excursion and stay well above the self smashing zone (hint: where excursion reaches/surpasses "X damage" datasheet parameter).
1) THERMAL: use any amplifier you want but add a limiter (some amplifiers have a built-in one, many do not) so it never ever clips, period.
Then even if your amplifier can deliver 1200W RMS, continuously driven by a sinewave, when driven by Music it will still deliver short 1200W bursts but given the dynamic range implicit in any Musical program, on *average* your speaker will get quite a bit less.
Since voice coil and magnet in a subwoofer arev typically very heavy, you have a thermal mass there which will average temperature to a survivable level.
Of course, that works if woofer can *actually* stand 800W RMS sinewaves all day long.
2) MECHANICAL: even as low as 100 or 200W can destroy your speaker if very low frequency and bang voice coil against back plate, HARD.
Open/reflex/tuned cabinets offer essentially zero load at very low frequencies, so add a strong highpass filter to prevent that.
Simulate your cabinet to check excursion and stay well above the self smashing zone (hint: where excursion reaches/surpasses "X damage" datasheet parameter).
considering that 1200W compared to 600W would give you just a few dB in SPL, you shouldn't really obsess yourself with max power.
A higher powered amplifier, if available, is always preferable compared to a small one, even if you only give 500W from a 1200W amplifier.
But for a subwoofer, I would be more focused on low frequency extension and control, good frequency response and enclosure build. You don't want that to be boomy or the box to rattle.
A higher powered amplifier, if available, is always preferable compared to a small one, even if you only give 500W from a 1200W amplifier.
But for a subwoofer, I would be more focused on low frequency extension and control, good frequency response and enclosure build. You don't want that to be boomy or the box to rattle.
I completely agree. On paper it's 3dB, in reality it's more like 2-1,5dB because of the power compression. Plus, if the power compression kicks in, the Qt rises because of the increased resistance of the coil, that makes the sub boomier and the bass loses a lot of precision (that's also the reason why a slow slope to the low end is often preferred in PA instead of a clean, linear response of an 'ideal' BR). Yes, the power changes the sound!
To use the maximum power regularily will end the life of the driver much sooner, even if you stay within its rating. The isolation layer of the VC ages and very high power burns through it much faster. You can't undo that, what's done, that's done. The mechanical part ages too. So, if you need these few dB more, it's much better and cost effective to just add more subs instead of using the maximum power. And don't forget your lowcut! Without that, you exceed the mechanical limit way below the maximum power.
If you want to EQ the subs for 'fatter' bass, do it on exactly the tuning frequency. There the membrane got the least excursion since most of its energy is used to drive the port. That way you get much fatter, louder bass without exceeding the Xmax. At least, if the driver can take the power. Remember: +3dB is double the power, +6 is 4x the power!
Many of the newer high-tech drivers with monster excursion actually need excursion for cooling. Aside from the obvious air movement, the VC can dissipate much more of its heat to the pole plate and the ends of the VC can not. Results are burnt up ends of the coils even way before the maximum rating. That means, you have to know your drivers, and more Xmax isn't always better. You often can't use the max excursion because the air velocity in the ports gets too high if the port surface is too small. That's another compression.
You can get recone kits for most drivers though, so if a driver has died, it's a lot cheaper than a 'complete' new driver.
Exactly. Like JMFahey said it, avoid clipping!
Is this for home or pro use? I agree with the comments on clipping and amp power. If home, only really overzealous EQ will take you anywhere near where power's an issue (like an EQ'd flat to 20 sealed box at high volume). Unless you're crazy with the volume levels or have a HUGE listening room, for home use you'll be absolutely fine.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.