Sounds

someone told me my subwoofer was going to blow ( just bought a alpine mrp m500 300W rms amp paired with a kenwood 400WRMS 12" sub) and someone told me that because my amp is only 300W rms that it will clip and ruin my sub because it’ll try to put out more power than it can handle. How is that even possible? Is that true? When I tuned my amp, i put the gain less than 3/4 of the way up, the bass eq is a little higher, and all the settings on the headunit are neutralized (High-0 Mid-0 Low-0 and the loud is off), and my volume on the headunit is 20/30, which is loud enough to make my ears ring! (i’m just not used to it this loud) is my amp really gonna clip and blow my sub? Thats really dumb if it is.

Also, will i get used to the loudness of my music? It’s like a concert in my car!! I’ve only had the sub for less than two weeks, and the whole time its been tuned wrong, only today I found out that i was expecting a full sound at too low a volume and i was complaining about the bass being to powerful on some notes and less powerful on others, and i found if i turned the volume up louder (without distortion), and tune the amp accordingly, it sounds MUCH better. IF my panels ARE rattling, i can’t even hear them. So will my ears stop ringing? thanks!!!
my amp is 300Wrms @ 4ohms and my sub is single voice coil 4 ohm

Well lets start out with your first question of will a 300W RMS amplifiers hurt or destroy a 400W RMS 12" subwoofer and the answer is yes its possible but in your situation I highly doubt it will happen and here is why.

First off Alpine makes some great amplifiers, if you were using a Dual amplifier and it is 100W shy of the power your subwoofer is expecting then I am almost certain that the amplifier would overheat and be destroyed (Not the subwoofer).

Amplifiers have rates of lets say 300W at 2 ohms, which means if you bridge your subwoofer down to 1 ohm, the amplifier can actually push out more then 300W but it may not be stable pushing out more then 300W and the amp may overheat and stop working.

If your using a top quality Alpine amplifier and its only 100W RMS shy of powering your 400W Kenwood Subwoofer, nothing is going to happen, actually thats incorrect this is exactly what will happen, over time your Subwoofer will adapt and get used to being under-powered, which means if you (in the future) begin to over power it by using a different amplifier, the voice coils won’t be able to handle it and will give out ( thats where the clipping and poping will come into play).

However it shouldn’t be a huge concern with your setup, even though lots of people will argue both ways, yes it will hurt it (But ask them why it will, if they just say because its under-powered without giving an in-depth explanation then they most likely don’t know what there talking about, or they think they do but they only really know the basics of how an audio system works).

Another thing to keep in mind is that if your Amp is 300W at 2 ohms stable, make sure your subwoofer is wired up to support 2 ohms and not 1 ohm, 4 ohm, or 8 ohms.

What you even could do if you are concerned about it is to bridge the amplifier up to a 4 ohm load, if its a duel voice coil subwoofer, what this will do is lower the power requirements needed from the amplifier.

The first link below will show you how to put your subwoofer to a 4 ohm load.

As for your ear’s ringing, well when I had my first system I could barely sit in it but you get used to it so just hang in there and very soon you’ll want more bass.

Anyway the second link I posted is a YouTube video which will show you how to properly tune your amplifier and the third link I posted is a website which you can use if your ever looking to buy another amplifier.

Setting the gain (input level) on the amp is most important at this point.

Some people suggest doing this by ear. This is the worst way possible and will most likely damage your sub(s).

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 prevent damaging clipping.

Unless you know EXACTLY what distortion sounds like, I don’t recommend setting this by ear.

Here is a guide that will help you set the gain correctly 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, e-mail me and I’ll send you a condensed version sparky3489@yahoo.com

See my site for more info http://spkrbox1.spaces.live.com

This has been a Public Service Announcement.
I’m not advertising…I’m educating.

what are you advertising sparky? lol

I was playing rockband with my friend the other day, and I was actually pretty good on vocals, I actually almost nailed run to the hills on expert… Then I recorded myself singing it a few times, later that day… I’m not really satisfied with how it sounds… Rockband can be quite deceptive that way…… It seems a little nasal, there’s like an underlying sound beneath the notes, and there’s what do you call it… distortion, or a dryness in it, somehow… What do you think? And how can I improve? I’m considering singing lessons, but for now any tips are appreciated.Oh, and how can I get rid of the S wistle sound?

Does it suck beyond hope?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtJ4a6rGQ94
I really don’t mind if my singing voice sounds really bad, I’m a drummer . But if you think there’s some potential, I wouldn’t mind singing, too.

Don’t quit your day job…

i have been told many times that using bass boost on the amplifier and deck is more harmful than it is helpful……
meaning more distortion and more heat……
and it makes sense to say that if you wanted heavy earth shattering bass then you should have bought a $2000 amp
$700 subs and upgraded your alternator/wires…and battery…..
however i find this reality very dissapointing…i spent $335 on an Alpine MRD M1005 (1000w @ 2 ohm load)…a 12 inch Alpine type R for about $300 with the box…$150 for Alpine head unit…..4 guage wires….and another $120 for 2 eclipse
6 x 9s…..and still i havent achieved the sound i want….well actually i have but its limited because i have to turn the gain and bass boost all the way up to get that whole car vibration i like and naturally this causes overheating issues as well as clipping at high volumes sometimes………ive always been under the impression that Alpine was a world leader in mobile audio…
my power and ground are 4 guage…ground is less than a foot long…dual 2 ohm type r is wired in series for a 4 ohm load to the amp which should produce 5 to 700 watts RMS at that impedence…alternator is 75 amp/standard battery/big three not yet upgraded….what am i missing? does alpine suck or am i just too picky or does a satisfying sound system that wont give you hell have to cost a few grand? im sick of this trial and error
crap i never seem to get it right and i refuse to go to a shop because i want to learn but i feel like i spent all that money for nothing much at all…im not sure what my question is but any helpful suggestions would be appreciated i know a lot of you guys are pros…what is my next step??

ok. bass boost is no good. not sure about alpine amps, the old v12s were ok but not considered heavyweight. alpine is best for head units and their mids and highs are pretty clean. I believe your woofer and enclosure are whats stopping you from achieving that sound and kick you want. I would recommend selling them and buying a 15" or 12" FI Q series. research them online its a great company. online only with free shipping. great prices. check them out on you tube too. I have and 18" on an xtant 1000/1 and its ridiculous. At least 50% of the sound depends on the enclosure. sealed is simple but a ported box tuned properly will almost any woofer sound good. turn the gain 1/4 to 1/2 on your amp. and bass boost off. In car audio if it has a bass boost it’s crap. I would run amp at 2 ohms and just keep bass levels down and definitely watch the clipping. Clipping and dirty power blows woofers. Also 4 gauge is not that great when running 1000watts.

i turned up my front speakers until distortion and then lowered the volume a few levels. (i dont have my new 6×9s yet, so no back speakers.) After that, I kept the volume up and started turning up my gain levels and set my low pass filter around 100hz.

My head unit has a 4v preout and built in bass blockers for the front and back speakers, which i have set at 120hz in front and 100 hz for th 6 x9s when i get them.

I have a 200 rms blaupunkt ampt and a 200 rms blaupunkt 12" ported tube sub. When I set my gain at 4v (about 2/5 of the way up), and my bass boost to 3db, (about 2/5 of the way up) it doesnt seem like its putting out alot of sound, its puts out some, but nothing like i expected. I dont want the amp to clip, but I thought this setup would blow away my old bazooka 8"sub tube that only handled 100 rms and i had a 200 rms amp on that one.

I am running 4 gauge from the battery to a distribution box (and then 8 gauge from there to the amp.

I have 12 gauge speaker wire

One thing I would like to point out is how you set the gain. If you set it by using the numbers on the amp then I would definetly recommend resetting it. Doing it that way is not going to be accurate at all.

Use the links below to set the gain more accurately.
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=143
http://www.bcae1.com/gaincon2.htm

Everything else looks really good. I don’t know why you are not getting a lot from your setup. The only thing I can really think from seeing this information is what enclosure you are using. Do you know the specs on the enclosure? If it is in an enclosure not suited for the sub or if it is built to a certain type of sound you are not going to be getting the sound you want from your sub.

Good Luck!!!

i turned up my front speakers until distortion and then lowered the volume a few levels. (i dont have my new 6×9s yet, so no back speakers.) After that, I kept the volume up and started turning up my gain levels and set my low pass filter around 100hz.

My head unit has a 4v preout and built in bass blockers for the front and back speakers, which i have set at 120hz in front and 100 hz for th 6 x9s when i get them.

I have a 200 rms blaupunkt ampt and a 200 rms blaupunkt 12" ported tube sub. All this is in my extended cab pickup truck, so theres not alot of room that the sound has to fill.

When I set my gain at 4v (about 2/5 of the way up), and my bass boost to 3db, (about 2/5 of the way up) it doesnt seem like its putting out alot of sound, its puts out some, but nothing like i expected. I dont want the amp to clip, but I thought this setup would blow away my old bazooka 8"sub tube that only handled 100 rms and i had a 200 rms amp on that one.

Suggestions? Thank you!
i am running 4 gauge from the battery to a distribution box and then 8 gauge from there to the amp.

I have 12 gauge speaker wire
the 4 gauge runs about 15 ft from the battery to the distribution box. the 8 gauge runs about 2 ft from the distribution box to the amp.

Check these sites out…it is a good reference.

http://www.bcae1.com/
http://www.termpro.com/articles/articles.html#How

This site explains the "BIG 3" upgrades.

http://www.sounddomain.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/312025/page/1

This list was featured in the October 2007 issue of Guitar Player and is called "The Top 40 Common Newbie Guitarist Mistakes."

It was made up by Harmony Central Forum Members and, in the issue of GP, is not numbered–I just numbered them so you can say which numbers you agree with (or disagree with), instead of the whole statement.

1. Investing in distortion boxes instead of a good amp.
2. Learning 100 intros and no songs.
3. Limiting yourself to one style of music–usually metal.
4. Not taking the time to learn music theory.
5. Playing "Smoke on the Water" on the high-E string.
6. Playing too loud, and with too much distortion.
7. Setting your amp’s Gain on 10, and Mids on 0.
8. Relying on picks.
9. Not learning how to perform a basic setup.
10. Not maintaining your gear.
11. Not jamming enough with other players.
12. Over use of legato with a complete disregard for tempo.
13. Poor phrasing.
14. Weak vibrato.
15. Buying too many effects.
16. Listening to tone snobs.
17. Immediately launching into thirty-second-notes during a blues solo.
18. Thinking that playing the local bar circuit constitutes a "tour."
19. Believing that opening for a national act means you’re on your way.
20. Not knowing the difference between tube watts and solid-state watts.
21. Relying too much on printed music and tabs.
22. Thinking a year of lessons and $5,000 worth of gear makes you ready to play in a band.
23. Wearing the guitar way too low.
24. Using too much hand/finger pressure when fretting.
25. Taking guitar lessons from a friend.
26. Giving up immediately because you sound like dog doo.
27. Not learning how all your gear works.
28. Tuning every guitar at Guitar Center to dropped D, and then not returning them to standard pitch.
29. Bringing full stacks to tiny bar gigs.
30. Saying, "All [insert hated style of music] sucks, dude!"
31. Learning with your eyes, instead of your ears.
32. Not learning to play in time with good groove and feel.
33. Not investing in good earplugs for playing loud gigs.
34. Obsessing about playing burning solos, and not caring about rhythm guitar.
35. Thinking that playing fast pentatonic-box patterns makes you a hot guitarist.
36. Not putting casters on viciously heavy amps.
37. Wearing bowling shirts emblazoned with flames and dragons.
38. Realizing guitar is too difficult and taking up bass instead.
39. Spending more time on Harmony Central than actually practicing.
40. Forgetting that playing music is meant to be fun.

Personally, I actually agree with a lot of this. I mean, how many times have you acted out #30? I have heard so many people say that country sucks just because it’s country. I’ve also heard someone say that they hate jazz. And then, I completely agree with #3. A lot of guitarists do limit themselves to one style of music and, like this list said, it tends to usually be metal. Very rarely will you see a guitarist like the late Danny Gatton who could play ANY style from rock and blues to jazz and country and even rockabilly. It also seems that guitarists who are known as country guitarists are more willing to listen to and play other genres. Take Brad Paisley and Brent Mason, for example. Both are great country guitarists, but they can both play jazz and blues very well. I’m not sure about Mason, but Paisley can even play surf rock and rock (Eric Johnson-style, from the short clip I’ve heard) and just about anything else he wants. #15 is another great one. A lot of guitarists do buy too many effects. Henry Garza–from the Los Lonely Boys–only has a Vox V847 wah and an Ibanez Tube Screamer. I find that spectacular, considering many modern guitarists just want to get as many effects pedals as they want. Even I tend to want a lot of effects from the Keeley-modified Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and the Keeley Compressor to the Vox V847 wah, the Visual Sound Route 66 Overdrive/Compression and a lot more than I’m listing.

What do you think of "The Top 40 Common Newbie Guitarist Mistakes" list? What do you agree with and what do you disagree with? Also, what would you add to the list?

haha, i agree with most of them, especially 21, 22, 26, 34, and 39. They are the oness i see the most with people. I don’t agree 100% with number 2. I think that learning many different soloing riffs help improvising a lot. But learning no songs is going to get you nowhere. back in the days when i got my first guitar i was guilty of 39. but that didn’t last long b/c i knew that no practise = no progress. I believe that most kids now, start guitar to get the girls, be cool, etc. and they end up running into number 26. there are those that dream and those that work at it, so motivation is the key to success.

I’m having a bizarre problem with the audio on my laptop. At this point I’m not looking for a solution so much as the problem. I’ve contacted many people for support in fixing the error, including Gateway customer support, and so far no one has been able to figure out what would cause the problem I’m having. So here it is:

The audio on my laptop has two main issues. First, it skips, like a scratched CD, despite the fact that the audio is not being read off of a CD. This one I can’t explain. I’ve double checked the music files and there’s no problem with them. They work fine when I play them on my MP3 player, just not if I’m playing them on my computer.
The second issue, my laptop adds a weird layer of distortion behind everything. It sounds like digital distortion as opposed to clipping you would expect from analog distortion. If I’m listening to the music through headphones, and I put the volume at 5, I can’t hear it, but once you raise the volume to 6, it presents itself, and very loudly. However, as you turn the volume up more, it doesn’t get louder. The music will eventually drown it out.
Now here’s where it gets really weird. All of these issues ONLY occur when the audio is being played through some kind of external speakers or headphones. If I play audio through the laptop speakers, the audio is completely fine. I double checked the speakers, the headphones, and all the cables. Everything works fine. This means my computer is skipping the audio, and adding distortion, but only if I send the audio out the audio jack.

So far no one has any idea what the problem is, let alone how to correct it. Does anyone have any idea what might cause this unusual problem?

tried new drivers? might be a start, also you could have some sort of short, laptops get hot something could have happened.

i have had a somewhat similar problem, not quite the same but i would get a scratching *chick* sound in my computer audio, it was always the same volume (this is a desktop i’m talkin bout) and i ended up just reinstalling windows (yet again….) and it fixed it. i did try everything i could think of including getting new drivers. hope you don’t have to do this cuz it sux and i’m not sure could just be me but i have to reinstall windows probably 2 – 5 times a year depending on who i let on my machine (lesson learned)

My choices are mixed, both 2.1 and 5.1. All the speakers will be on my computer desk so would there be a difference between the two? Also the 2.1 has more W. The prices for #1, and 2 are the same. #3 is about $30 more. I’m not sure which one to get. I’ll use the speakers for mostly movies and games.
The choices are.

1) LOGITECH Z2300 2.1 SPEAKRS-200W RMS

FEATURES:

-200 Watts of RMS power (400 Watts of peak power) deliver thunderous audio for music, movies, and games
-8-inch long-throw subwoofer driver with flared bass port pounds out powerful, distortion-free bass
-Polished aluminum phase plug at the center of the driver outperforms conventional 2-way designs

SPECIFICATIONS:

-Total RMS power: 200 Watts RMS
-Satellites: 80 Watts RMS (2 x 40W)
-Subwoofer: 120 Watts RMS
-Total peak power: 400 Watts
-Frequency response: 35Hz – 20kHz
-Signal-to-noise ratio @ 1Khz: >100dB
-Amplifier: Ultra-linear, high capacity analog
-Drivers: Satellites – 2.5" polished aluminum phase plug driver; Subwoofer – 8" long-throw ported driver with 6th order bass reflex enclosure

Speaker dimensions (H x W x D):
-Satellites – 6.75" x 3.5" x 6"
-Subwoofer – 11" x 11" x 15"

2) Altec Lansing 5.1 Surround Speaker System

4-Channel Sound Card No
Colour Black
Driver Size (Per Satellite) 2.5" Full Range
Frequency Response 120Hz – 40kHz
Headphone Jack Yes
Included In Box 5 Satellites, Subwoofer, Remote, Manual
Inputs 1 x RCA
Location of Controls Remote Control
Microphone Jack Yes
Mute Button Yes
Number Of Satellites 5
Product Warranty 1 Year
Remote Yes
Subwoofer Yes
Subwoofer Construction Moulded Plastic
Subwoofer Power 25 Watts RMS
Total Satellite Power 9 Watts RMS
Total System Power 70 Watts RMS
Treble and Bass Control Yes
Volume Control Yes

3) Logitech X-540 Speakers

# 6 piece surround sound speaker set
# Frequency Directed Dual Driver technology eliminates uneven response created by conventional dual-driver designs
# Matrix mode: creates 5.1 surround-sound effect from 2-channel stereo sources
# Innovative centre channel LCD clip: speaker attaches to the top of most flat-panel monitors
# Satellite speaker stands rotate for easy wall-mounting and positioning
# Dynamic, real-time bass equalisation maximises low-frequency response at all volumes
# High-excursion, ported, down-firing subwoofer displaces more air for deeper bass
# Total RMS power: 70 watts RMS; Satellites: 45 watts RMS (2 x 7.4W front, 15.4W centre, 2 x 7.4W rear); Subwoofer: 25 watts RMS
# Total peak power: 140 watts
# Frequency response: 40 Hz – 20 kHz
# Speaker dimensions (H x W x D): Satellites: 8.4" x 3.2" x 5"; Centre channel: 7.8" x 4.75" x 3.75"; Subwoofer: 11.25" x 6.5" x 9.75"

Altec Lansing 5.1 Surround Speaker System
That company is great. I choose Klipsch over Altec Lansing, but they are better than most. if you have the money:
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/promedia-2-1.aspx for $150.00
or
http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/groove-pm20.aspx for $100.00

I recently did an upgrade to my car audio system, and I’m concerned that there may be an issue with it. I previously had a "Dual" brand bandpass subwoofer (2 12"s) that was getting 500w RMS from my Kenwood KAC-9104D amp. It was only about $160, and it hit REALLY hard.

I decided that I wanted to take better advantage of the 9104D, and get a nice subwoofer that could handle a 2-ohm load. I ended up getting a single 12" Pioneer Premier TS-W3002D4 (can handle 1000W RMS, has dual voice coils that I have wired to present a 2-ohm load) in a sealed box. The problem is, even at the 900W level, it still doesn’t sound as good as my previous sub.

The box volume matches what Pioneer recommends, and is perfectly sealed. I made sure that the wires were big enough to handle the power (4 Ga power and ground, and 10 Ga. speaker wire going to the sub). I even have the gain all the way up (no clipping or distortion), and it just doesn’t sound that good. The sub is passing 100hz and below, and the speakers are passing 100hz and above. I know that you lose some SPL when you go with a sealed box, but I thought that the extra 400-ish watts of power would make up for it, and it would at least sound the same as my previous setup.

Do I just need to wait for a while so it can break in? Anything else I can do that anyone recommends?
Something else to note- it sounds really good playing rap songs, and frequency tests. I have this frequency test track that makes the mirrors shake just like it did with the other sub. Why is it that when I play rock songs, it doesn’t feel like it’s hitting as hard? It sounds like it’s playing 25% as hard as when I play rap songs.
Forgot to ask, how much more "oomph" would I expect from it if I put it in a ported box?

The sub should be giving you a lot cleaner, higher quality bass. The issue is that you are using a sealed box rather than a bandpass… The bandpass is used to make cheap subs sound loud. And the second issue is that the 2 12s have more surface area than the 1 12… Its kind of a take and lose… You sacrifice some loudness for sound quality. I wouldnt push the amp gain all the way up though, not good for the amp. I may break in a little bit, but its pretty much what you hear is what you get. Maybe you could put it in a ported box…