QuestionHi, I had a poor man's set up recently installed in my car with a 150W amp, and a 500W sub woofer.
However, I just purchased a Max 1000W Amp (Legacy Rebel LA-759) and hooked it up to my sub, bridged over both channels, using the same wires and whatnot from my previous amplifier.
When I turn the system on, I get sound coming out of my sub, but nothing nearly as close to what I was getting previously (with the other amp). When I turn the gain up on the amp, I get zero improvement, and when turned to max, the sub just kind of "flutters." As well, adjusting the "bass boost" on the amplifier does nothing.
Do I need a larger gauge power cord?
Have I blown my sub?
Is my amp a lemon?
Thanks.
AnswerFirst off, ignore peak wattage values. These are arbitrary numbers with no real value.
RMS (Root Mean Square) power is what an amp or speaker is capable of running continuously.
Ideally you want to match the RMS watts between sub and amp at the right impedance (ohm) load. You don't want to exceed the RMS watts of ANY speaker by more than 10%.
Legacy amps are a low end brand and will fudge the ratings. The only way to keep this from happening is to look for CEA-2006 compliant amps. This means the amp has been tested by the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) and is accurate in the RMS power output.
The purpose of the gain is to match the signal volts RMS coming from the source (CD player, etc.) to the input of the amp to preven clipping (damage - blown subs).
Here is a guide that will help you set the gain correctly and find the proper power wire size http://www.datafilehost.com/download.php?file=6d26c621
You'll need a multi-meter (AC voltmeter), Microsoft Excel and a way to burn an audio CD from an MP3.
If you don't have Excel, let me know. Radio shack has $15 meters or you may be able to borrow one.
