How to Choose an Amplifier.

With regards to amp ratings I assume that max power is generated with transient signals.... a hard crash of the cymbals or a hard bass note etc. The amp is not designed to reproduce such signal levels continuously but can sustain brief periods without distorting the signal or clipping. So I basically cut the max power rating in half to give me a continous power rating of what I think that the amp is capable of running all day at. Just adding another $0.02

first, im not real new to car audio, i just really know about the installing aspect of it, and have minimal Knowledge of the component aspect. I have two Eclipse 88120DVC (year 2000 model) and i have been looking for an amp to push them. specs: 500W RMS 1,000W Peak. The FS - 27Hz, Qts - 0.30, DCR - 3.0ohm/coil, originally i had 2 Alpine MRP-M450 pushing them and they just seamed like they where not doing the job. the first thing i was looking at was 2 Alpine MRD-M1005. second was the Audiobahn A12001DT third was the Orion HCCA-D2400 but please help me...im not even shure if im heading in the right direction.

anthony71 wrote: Here's a good site that discusses some more features necessary when purchasing a car amplifier: guide to car amplifiers. It has very good info. Helped me a lot.

First sentence from the above link: "Car amplifiers convert low-power signals received by car speakers to high-powered signals, improving their volume and sound quality." Here's something to think about. Theoretically, I have never known of any amplifier in existence that actually improves the sound quality of a signal. This is why every amplifier has a certain percentage of THD. After a signal leaves a head unit, it's all downhill from there.   Every piece of conductor and electronics (even baffles and enclosures) that interfaces with the signal before it reaches your ear is going to cause an incremental decrease in quality. Another factor that I consider when selecting equipment is distortion.    Start with a good high volt signal and use the least invasive equipment, pertaining to THD, that your budget will allow. The signal is never cleaner than the moment it passes through the DAC and out of your head unit. Hey, this post was probably overkill, but it motivated me to finally register.

i have a volfenahg 200 watt amplifier , i also have two 10in cerwib nega v max subwoofers. the amp isnt stable at 1 ohm. but i just want to know the best way to wire themn without blowing anything? please hep a rookie out : )

i forget they are 600 rms and 1200 watt peak per sub.

Haemphyst, you offered some great information on choosing the right amplifier, but I being a lamen...ended up confusing myself with all that information.  I recently purchased two Audiobahn (yes...i know most people dont like Audiobahn, but they offered the best wattage versus mounting depth that I could find) ALUM10N Subs.  The subs are dual 6 ohms (someone already told me to buy a third one, but the box I have is specific for my vehicle and it only holds two 10's) and are rated at 800w RMS.  I plan on running these in parallel which means they would end up at 1.5 ohms, i think.  Now the difficult part, the amp I had planned on getting was an Audiobahn A2300HCT which is rated at 2400w rms @ 1 ohm.  If I can do math correctly, that means that I will get 1800w @ 1.5 ohms, plenty for my two 800w 10's.  After I found this thread, I tried to do the math and the calculations I got were not good, which made me think that either the amp was really bad or I screwed up the numbers.  FYI: the amp comes with four 40amp fuses.  Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

That amp won't do 2400 watts. It only get 2300 watts in, at 14.4 volts. That amp is probably 1100 to 1200 watts on a good day. I wouldn't run it at 1 ohm, either... 1.5? Close, but I think you'll survive with that. But, yes, you'll have either 1.5, 6, or 24 ohms to play with...It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

after reading this im alittle better on bits and bobs but still lacking the whole ohm bit lol, im gussing if an amp doesn't advertise rms/ohms per chanel its not worth buying ?? so if i buy a 1200w amp (600w,rms) and run 4 450w 6x9's (200w,rms) of each channel this wouldnt work i would need a 2000w (1000w,rms), like i say they dont advertise these details ??

SO whats the difference of Load and Impeadance? I have a 3 OHM Subwoofer, would a 4 OHM stable amp work?cj Lancaster