Kicker ZX.300.1 question

[wolf201]

Hello,
I'm currently powering a 12" clarion 4ohm subwoofer with a Kicker zx300.1 amplifier. It states that at 4ohms this amp pushes 150rms, how ever my subwoofer is rated at 350rms at 4ohms, is this amplifier fit for my speaker?

 

[anwaypasible]

if the box is big enough to allow the speaker to work as if in free-air ... then yes, 150 watts RMS could allow the subwoofer cone to move in and out as if it was getting 350 watts RMS in a much smaller sealed enclosure.

there is a distortion factor to weigh-in with how much the cone moves in and out.
and
there is an output factor to weigh-in with how much the extra wattage allows the speaker to make more details.

sometimes the speaker will make the same exact details if you simply put the speaker in a much bigger box and feed it less power.
but
sometimes the speaker will not make the same amount of details, no matter how big the speaker box is, simply because the power going to the coil is less.

and sometimes..
if you feed the speaker full power, it sounds worse.
so if you back off the power, it makes the speaker less hyper-active and things start to sound improved.. but maybe not as loud.


think about it like a balloon if you want.
sometimes the balloon pops a lot easier when the balloon is totally full of air.
if the balloon is filled with only half the air it can hold.. sometimes the needle will bounce off the balloon and it wont pop or leak.


only way to know is if a professional has given you instructions.. or if you try it yourself.
maybe you feed the speaker 350 watts RMS and you completely burn the aluminum or ceramic inside of the voice coil and it doesnt sound as good ever EVER again.
so if it was professional instructions.. dont test it yourself.
if they werent professional instructions.. you need to ask yourself if it sounds good, do you want it to sound better, and are you willing to take a chance breaking it for trying?


there are a lot of subwoofers that sound much better when they receive the maximum amount of watts.
sometimes they sound better if they get a little bit more than their maximum amount of watts.
so..
it doesnt suprise me to come across a speaker that sounds better when it gets less power than the RMS value.


the audio industry has really shredded the situation in all sorts of ways.

 

[wolf201]

Best answer selected by wolf201.

 

[wolf201]

well i've done quite a few tests at loud volume, it seems to be flexing about 5.5 out of 10 in a rating. The size of my box is roughly 1.5cu" if not bigger, the box is made from clarion. The port in my opinion is small, small enough that i can't fit my hand through. A budy of mine has JBL 250watt rms sub that seems to flex way more than mine, but then again that could be an amp issue. Unfortunately i can't run my speaker at 2 0hms since its a single voice coil only : (

 

[blackhawk1928]

The port in my opinion

Generally speaking, the bigger the port volume, the louder your bass will sound, but the quality degrades massively. This is generally speaking, not always.

A budy of mine has JBL 250watt rms sub that seems to flex way more than mine

By flex, do you mean excursion?...Higher excursion is bad...your bass will not be accurate and sound extremely distorted. The lower excursion the better. Even if it can move in and out extremely fast, it still won't be able to catch up with the signal and the cone itself will warp under such massive movement.

But then again...I am assuming you mean excursion by flex...if not then ignore what I said in the above paragraph

 

[wolf201]

your right i ment excursion, would you say that Clarion is mediocre compared to other brands?

 

[wolf201]

also his seemed to be hitting a lot harder than mine, and it was very good quality not distorted

 

[blackhawk1928]

I'm not all familiar with clarion. My favorite car equipment at reasonable price ranges in kenwood.

Also, the *hitting harder* has a lot to do with the settings, the song, the quality of the song, the cable. Plus it may not sound distorted, but if the excursion was big, the woofers were likley lagging behind the signal, you just didn't notice.

What I am saying is, you may think it wasn't distorted...but if you listen to the same song on a high quality system with no distortion, and compare them, you will have a reference of comparison in your brain and then will be able to tell.

His amplifier may also be different/better. In addition, the trunk of the car matters (if we are speaking of car audio). The acoustics of it matter a huge amount, and the enclosure matters a lot. Sound is pressure in air so the environment makes all the difference.

 

[anwaypasible]

you forgot to mention the cabin.. that plays an important role like the trunk.

and i think you should be thinking sound is more like electricity in air, but the electricity can build up to create pressure.

that is why you can go up to a speaker and hear the sound without feeling any pressure on the hair of your arm.
get into the realm of electro-static - and i dont mean the 'style' of speakers either.


but
if you think you have a good grasp on it already.. stay with the sound is pressure in air.
just realize how very little the pressure can be to have an impact and show a result.

electricity isnt the best word.
it is more like.. you push some molecules in the air - those molecules stumble and fall into the molecules next to them, and as time goes on - static force allows the domino effect.
and that brings it back to electricity.

no other explanation for the molecules to stay up in the air and not fall to the floor.
and
no other reason for the molecules to keep bumping into eachother like that when/if some of the molecules decide not to stumble and fall into their neighbor.

that is why it could be possible to have gas in the wall, a specific gas that doesnt allow any sound to escape because when you ask the molecules to move into eachother .. the molecules simply say 'NO' and thus no sound leakage.



anyways..
i heard a really good clarion subwoofer once.
i suppose i dont know if the voice coil was original.
but
the excursion was lower than usual.. and the output clarity was higher than usual.
i was impressed.

blackhawk is right about how fast the cone moves relating to how 'referenced' the timing is.

from front to back .. it doesnt matter how much .. it matters how fast.
too fast and it is bright.
too slow and it is warm or dull.

and if you really got it bad.. your speaker cone moves outwards faster than it moves inwards (or vice-versa).


children really do show their lack of compassion in the audio market.
there are simply too many definitions that can be had for the words they are using to describe what is going on.

i think it takes a paragraph to explain each thing.
that gives the best chance to get your view across.
nobody says you can see things the same.
if i see red, it might look blue to you.

that means you have to go on and on about how red looks warm, and it looks heavy-duty, and it looks thick, and it looks light - but thick.

same thing with blue.. it looks cold, it looks with a heavy impact.. blah blah blah
you have feelings and emotions inside of you.. you need to ride those emotions and say what you are feeling.
people really enjoy listening to it.. and they dont care if you use words that are not really words, as long as you are making some sounds and keep attacking your feeling with a description.


i already said it well above.
too much amperage and the voice coil can sound much different.
if you lower the amperage and listen with more voltage spikes, things can really change for the better.
and some speakers simply get more dull and boring.

when you try to run equal amounts of amperage and voltage to the coil.. the confusion and chaos might be high enough to make the sound emit from the speaker as confused and chaotic.

needs based is theorom.
reason to use the word theorom instead of theory, is because somebody has literally designed the speaker to perform the way it does.
all you are doing is becoming face to face with the best method of providing the speaker with power.
when you meet the design for it's intended purpose.. you get what the speaker is capable of without any of the other options.


i could build a store shelf with the intention of selling ONE scented candle.
but
i could throw together 6-8 more candles to fill the shelf up.
no i am not going to tell you exactly which candle i want you to buy.
and if those other candles are there to make my candle look better.. you shouldnt be confused about which one i want you to buy.
and
i shouldnt care about whether or not those other candles sit on the shelf and never ever get sold.

that is simply the way it is.
nowadays.. the shelf has a candle for EACH PERSON.
they are all supposed to get sold.. and nobody knows what candle is the best for you unless you see a chemist/therapist/psychologist that knows human emotion and chemical balances well enough to perscribe you a scent.

it could be the scent itself.
and
it could be the chemicals in the candle.
either one - it is a prescription to help you relax (or help you with whatever you were asking help for).


by god..
we dont even hear about scented candle advice anymore.
and these people want TOOLS.
cant go on vacation.. cant get appropriate tools.
the government is suing us for thinking.

oh how times rhetort.
as well as.. things that go up, inevitably go the opposite direction.


more truth be told..
we dont know why or if your speaker sounded better.
maybe it was the speaker.. maybe it was the amplifier.. maybe it was the trunk size.. maybe it was the box size.. maybe it was the space where the car seats are.. maybe it was the angle of the windshield and back window.. maybe it was an equalizer hidden behind the dashboard.

i could give you three different subwoofers that sound perfect.. and none of them work in the area of cubic space provided.
no matter how much you try to change the box size?