New to Audio : What to Get/How-to Install?

[BumpNGlow]

ummmm... you blow a lot of subs. Sure it isn't a user error? There are quite a few ways to blow subs

[Flashpoint2]

I'm a Clarion guy myself. I've got a Clarion head unit, a 200.2 running the two front JL speakers, and an APX1000.2 running 2 12" PPI c2's. It's LOUD. I had a set of the Clarion Proaudio subs a few years back, and I couldn't kill them. I beat the crap out of them for like 2 years and then sold them to a buddy who still has them running, 3 years after I sold them. Yay Clarion.

[Typhoonk]

Tech Info on how to "Blow" or damage a subwoofer or speakers, besides putting a drill or screwdriver through the thing... I love this article, I wish I said it first
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Clipping and Distortion

Simply put, clipping is when you ask your amplifier to do more than it is able to do. Lets say your amplifier can only deliver 500 watts, So you are pounding away at around 400-500 watts, you are good to go and your speakers are seeing a clean signal. BUT, the very second you take your amp past 500 watts, your amplifier is clipping and you are now sending some DC current to your speaker/s. Ac currentis what should be going to the speaker (alternating current) but DC is direct current and this will not MOVE the speaker's coil like AC will and thus; the coil will act as a heating element as it normally does but with o movement it will just retain heat and then start to melt or burn up. What happens is the outputs of the amplifier start to overload or saturate and then Dc signal is now being sent to the speaker causing more damage than even running to much power. Even if you have a 1000 continuous watt rated speaker on a 10 watt amp. It WILL blow the speaker in no time flat. Clipping sounds like distortion so it is very easy to detect. Simply put, if your speaker is distorting it is either blown already or the amp is clipping or you are sending to much power to the speaker. If the speaker is already blown (get another), if your amp is clipping (turn it down), if your speaker is distorting due to too much power (turn it down). Bass, bass boost and other EQ controls are just extensions of the volume control. All they do is add more volume for the respected frequency range you select. Keep in mind that just because your volume control goes to 10 or whatever, does not mean you can turn it up to 10.

As mentioned before, there is a such thing as headroom. Some Hi Fi amplifiers have headroom, these amplifiers give you a little more room to play, but you can still clip them.

I have 100 watt speakers and I use a 100 watt amp and my speakers blew up and the clip light did not come on---I see this question all the time. Could be a few different reasons for that. 1. it is a cheap amplifier and the clip circuit for the LEDs is not set right. I have seen some amplifiers where the clip light came on at 1/2 power and I have seen some do the opposite. 2. LED on the amplifier is burned out. 3. You were drunk and couldn't see the LED. 4. Did you let a friend mess with your system and play it when you were not around? 5. are your speakers really able to handle 100 watts rms (NOT PEAK)? It doesn't mater if the speakers are blown from clipping or over powering. The only thing I can tell you to help you understand why you have blown speakers is this and it is kinda harsh: I have yet, in my whole life in this business, ever seen a speaker blow under clean power, with CLEAN SOUND. If you have a blown speaker, it was either distorting or clipping before it blew up and I can tell you right now that it must have sounded like garbage, so why didn't you turn it down? Why do you want to listen to distorted music? I will say that most of the damage I have ever seen comes from guys or gals who lent their system out to someone and it came back blown or the hire DJ's who know how to spin but don't know sound or some other thing out of their control. In either case, there is no need to listen to distorted music, I don't think there is anybody who doesn't know what distortion sounds like.

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Referenced from:
http://quadrasub.netfirms.com/#Clipping%20and%20Distortion

[PATDIESEL]

I think that the best way to purchase your first stereo system is to get a friend who know a something about car audio and go with them. Let them show you about price and product. You can get a killer stereo for a small budget, but you need to know what you are looking for. Start with a head-unit and small sub and amp. This will give you a boost in sound without drowning out the stock mids and highs. Then graduate to good mids and highs and amp for them. Then save your money and replace it all with a high grade head-unit, sub/s, mids and highs. After that you can add cap, better battery, line driver, crossover, EQ.

As for AtlMX3's post about 150x2 or 435 by one, have any of you ever read specs for an amp? They will give RMS power and max power, RMS is what it really pushes, so when you read 150 on a amp you need to realize that it is really pushing about half that. The 435 comes from one channel install. All amps that have muliple channels give more power when you use only one channel. Also it probably has something to do with the number of OHMs. I know that he is reading it off of the paperwork that came with the amp. So you are right it doesn't push that much more, but it does have more power in one channel.