28 replies to this topic

[Brams96]

The earthquake's dont seem that powerful, only 500Wrms, where as the RE Audio one is 1500Wrms (3000max).

Now that's a sub!

[monkeybiz]

and where will you get an amp to power it and then fit it in the mini??
the thing is most of these big subs never tell you the efficiency. it may be in the 80's whereas the bigger names like earthquake, especially the old school stuff, are in the mid ninties.
if you have a sub that is efficient at 89db@1w@1meter to get to 90 db you have to double the input power

so.......

89 @ 1w still a good sensitivity db level but many are lower some dont spec it as its so poor
90 @ 2w
91 @ 4w
92 @ 8w................. we are now at the earthquake at 1w
93 @ 16w...............2w
94 @ 32w...............4w
95 @ 64w...............8w
96 @ 128w.............16w
97 @ 256w
98 @ 512w
99 @ 1024w

ok not realistic values but you ger the idea. look for the most efficient sub and you need less power for the same result

thats why i run focals, yes they are 6ohm so in theory are "quieter" that 4 ohm speakers. ie more power required but............... they are about 98db efficient compared with 4ohm speakers at 91db
thats why the jackhammer sub costs more that out mini's because it has a 92db sensitivity rating, my diamond audio 8" is rated at 93db

so stop looking at the silly power ratings and look at the sensitivity in db's, the higher the db the less power you need

[Brams96]

When comparing amps I am always taking into account the S/N ratio anything less than 100 and I'm not relly interested in it, less than 90 you can forget it.
Subs tend to mostly be around the 83-93 dB sensitivity rating, even some of the Focal subs are only achieving 90db.
Even the smaller speakers like 6.5" are only achieving around the 90 mark. The Focal K2 power 46 KX 4 is the best I found at 96.5dB

[Sam Walters]

More like double the power/cone area for double the volume.

so 90 to 93

[Sam Walters]

Double

Edited by Sam Walters, 04 November 2009 - 09:08 PM.

[monkeybiz]

not quite its not cone size its amplifier headroom thats important

Equations used to calculate

dBW = Lreq - Lsens + 20 * Log (D2/Dref) + HR

W = 10 to the power of (dBW / 10)

Where:
Lreq = required SPL at listener
Lsens = loudspeaker sensitivity (1W/1M)
D2 = loudspeaker-to-listener distance
Dref = reference distance
HR = desired amplifier headroom
dBW = ratio of power referenced to 1 watt
W = power required

i was refering to Lsens which is speaker sensitivity at 1w at 1m which requires approx (ok its less) double power in to increase per db............... i was giving a rough analysis and not acurate

anyway back on topic................. RATE YOUR AMP

Edited by monkeybiz, 05 November 2009 - 09:23 AM.

[Sam Walters]

Mutant


Dire

[Shifty]

Mutant


Dire

Disagree!!

I've got a mutant amp, and for a budget unit I thought it was excellent.

Having said that I'm not a audiophile but for £80ish I was impressed, powered my sub and speakers well.

No cutting out when worked hard, sounded clear.

You get what you pay for and I thought I got more than I paid for.

[Sam Walters]

Mutant


Dire

Disagree!!

I've got a mutant amp, and for a budget unit I thought it was excellent.

Having said that I'm not a audiophile but for £80ish I was impressed, powered my sub and speakers well.

No cutting out when worked hard, sounded clear.

You get what you pay for and I thought I got more than I paid for.

I would never spend money on them new.

The amps i have in my car are the

NW480SP
NW280SP

Not worth the 150 pounds worth when they were new thats for sure.

But okay for what i paid for them 40 pounds

[Jimmy Hat]

The Mutant ascension 5 seems like an awesome deal, 135 from a dealer on ebay brand new, for a good quality 5 channel amp! If i'd have known about that i might not have bothered with my Fli amps and my active sub but hey.

Also, check out the Mutant amps on the Halfords website - ridiculously cheap and even cheaper when they do 20% off!

[monkeybiz]

just dug out of my loft a pair of 1990's orion cobalt 230 amps

rated at, if i remember correctly 2x30w. now this was in the days of under estimation

2x30 @12v @ 4ohms
reality was about 2x120w and 200w+ bridged <0.01 TDH
these were the little brothers to the HCCA range which would run down to a quarter of an ohm
fitted with teh HCCA unregulated PSU with will allow 1ohm stereo and 2ohm mono bridged
designed for raw power but with SQ in mind as well
orion amps were well known and used over the pond but never really took off here due to price (£300+ for 2x30w)
BUT
it wasnt unknown for one of these to run 4X15" subs without breaking into a sweat

sometimes its better to pay out on the old classics than but a new mutant............. sometimes the old classics are cheaper as well!!

[Brams96]

I should be recieving my JL Audio 4300 4-ch amp tomorrow so will post what it runs the system I'm setting up when it's installed.

[shnevpayne]

Mutant


Dire

Disagree!!

I've got a mutant amp, and for a budget unit I thought it was excellent.

Having said that I'm not a audiophile but for £80ish I was impressed, powered my sub and speakers well.

No cutting out when worked hard, sounded clear.

You get what you pay for and I thought I got more than I paid for.

I Dunno Fusion Amps seemed to me to be a little weak at the knees compared to Mutant or Vibe/Fli. I ran a singular 800w Mutant 12" sub off a 400w fusion, mutant and then fli amplifier.

I would have to say they came out performance wise in this order.
1.)Fli,
2.) Mutant
3.) Fusion.

Now I know I may gte slated for that above! Fusion the all mighty and powerful?... well not in my books.


My system wich going right back in the topic relates to DB not Wattage makes a beautiful noise and its still not complete as of yet.

Knowing Fli amps can work ina 1:4 ratio with the subs they are powering (Ie a 500w amp for 2x1000w subs) I made my most recent system using a combo of 4x250w mutant subs, and 1 singular 900w Fli amp. The 4x 6" circulars are direct from the head unit. It works like a dream giving brilliant bass and treble balanced tho at times it seems to want more juice, (hence why I now have my 75amp alten and larger battery) I'm copnsidering splitting it into 2 and getting 2 800 watt fli amps and then powering 2 subs and a singular 6x9 off each, the 6x9s which I found have been the best have once again be vibe. I do love em! a set brand new of 575w 6x9s may set u back 70 bob, (unless u know where to look) but they are awesome.
The other reason for this change is a fact that although the 900w fli amps are brill, they are a fair bit bigger than the 800ws, and well if having 4 subs and 8 speakers in the car wasn't enough, I still have a back seat to keep!

Work that out and you'll get a gold star!

Edited by shnevpayne, 15 November 2009 - 02:36 AM.

[shnevpayne]

Or see topic about subs in the boot!

CLICK ME!