i blew my subs amp

[Qxxx4]

yup the other night after work i pumped it loud right away and all i smell is what seemed to be a popped capacitor. I couldnt locate the smell and it went away after a minute or two. Today i realized my amp was not powering my subs! voltmeter indicated battery voltage and my connections were good...turns out I blew the sub channel (1500W ch) which my subs were wired in parallel with. So i ended up wiring my subs to their own individual 350W ch each. (i have 1x1500 and 4x350)

sucks. just thought id share. ALWAYS spend more for the better brand. i got a great deal on my subs in the box with the amp. The subs are great clarions but the amp was a boss which isnt exactly top name as far as i know. Definately going for a pioneer or clarion once this one completely craps out.

Also....any advice on adding ports to my box? is it as easy as cutting some holes on the box? my bass is clean so im not sure if its a good idea. Its not a powerful bass just clean but now im starting to realize its more of an aesthetic upgrade of having subs since its not a huge difference without them.

Oh also i really need new weatherstripping. balls.

and my computers power supply crapped out so i got a new one with a LIFETIME warranty...if only more things had that!!

oh i also removed the blue license plate covers and got smoked ones. much btr. props to AJRK for the advice

[slickroger]

adding a port is like adding another sub depending on the location of the port on the box.

but if it sounds clean leave it im pretty sure the box you got was made for those subs when i saw it. so they should have the proper amount of airspace for each sub.

as for an amp Pioneer Clarion

[nnorton44]

Yeah BOSS amps are horrible, just curious but what models are your Clarion subs?

[JonathanPrem]

The weather stripping is like 150 a piece .

[fueler]

dont go cutting ports into a sealed box expecting for improvement. Box dimensions are actually quite important. A crappy sub in a good box will outperform a good sub in a crappy box all day long..

Clarion should list specs for the subs - how much cubic feet is recommended and you will see the #'s are different between sealed and ported. The ported box is always bigger than the sealed box for the same sub. It should also tell you what size of port is best for that sub. Then you can either go to a stereo shop with a ruler and check dimensions of pre-fab boxes (thats what i did) or you can get a custom box professionally made (way more expensive)

[AJRK]

Sorry to hear that! that sucks!

Good news on the plate covers though, I want to see a pic!

[Empty V]

dont go cutting ports into a sealed box expecting for improvement. Box dimensions are actually quite important. A crappy sub in a good box will outperform a good sub in a crappy box all day long..

Clarion should list specs for the subs - how much cubic feet is recommended and you will see the #'s are different between sealed and ported. The ported box is always bigger than the sealed box for the same sub. It should also tell you what size of port is best for that sub. Then you can either go to a stereo shop with a ruler and check dimensions of pre-fab boxes (thats what i did) or you can get a custom box professionally made (way more expensive)

Good advice. I used to run ported boxes but finally got into making boxes to spec, perfectly tuned and cut precise to the 0.001". I could makes boxes and send them unassembled if anyone's interested. You'll get much more accurate responses out of a sealed enclosure opposed to a modified ported one. IMO ported enclosures have a muddy sound.

BTW I totally disagree about having a box for aesthetics. Mine is about as low profile as possible and completely changes the way my system sounds. I didn't build my system to show off, I built it because I really want my music and films to sound incredible. You'd be amazed at what a properly designed system sounds like, it makes sitting in traffic almost tolerable, almost.

Billy
Modified by Empty V at 7:39 AM 5/18/2009

[Qxxx4]

yeah I didnt go for aesthetics either...or else I would have gone bigger and better with 12's. I went with the 10's and sealed box because i wanted a quick pulse of bass for my dance tunes and rock instead of that BOOM that i would LOVE if i listened to alot of rap which i dont really. (aside from the ocasional biggie) My friends give me a puzzled look when I went with 10's but when they hear it they agree it was a good choice, along with the "why didnt you get 22's" its all about practicality people!

but 12's would work great I might upgrade, they could most likely be tuned to sound good with my music, but i really dont want to spend more money on audio, I need paintwork done and gotta get my sidesteps redone since their rusting out at the bolts. Lets not forget the $$$ for preventative maintenance!

[Empty V]

yeah I didnt go for aesthetics either...or else I would have gone bigger and better with 12's. I went with the 10's and sealed box because i wanted a quick pulse of bass for my dance tunes and rock instead of that BOOM that i would LOVE if i listened to alot of rap which i dont really. (aside from the ocasional biggie) My friends give me a puzzled look when I went with 10's but when they hear it they agree it was a good choice, along with the "why didnt you get 22's" its all about practicality people!

but 12's would work great I might upgrade, they could most likely be tuned to sound good with my music, but i really dont want to spend more money on audio, I need paintwork done and gotta get my sidesteps redone since their rusting out at the bolts. Lets not forget the $$$ for preventative maintenance!

Bigger isn't always better. I went from 12's to 10' because I wanted more definition from my subs. The majority of what I listen to is hip hop and metal and all of it sounds crazy. I'm also running JL's which have the depth of 12's and the punch of 10's, the perfect sub IMO.

Billy

[nnorton44]

Definately get a mono-block amp next time around also!

[Adnan]

oh man that sucks,my friend blew my power supply + rca transistors on my hifonics amp...after litterally 1 hr playtime

if it helps there is a shop in scarborough that specializes in fixing amps,maybe you can find the exact part there and diy

about the box if you wanna go ported,i would recommend building a new one with the recommended dimensions.Sealed enclosers are usually smaller then ported,if you port your current box your subs won't sound as great as they would in a bigger ported box

[fueler]

Definately get a mono-block amp next time around also!

yessir !

[Qxxx4]

monoblock for sure. Theres no way ill repair this amp ill run it to the ground, the price i paid for this setup was worth it for just the subs alone, didnt expect much from this amp but i got alot more than i expected and shes still pounding on the other channels just not as hard.

so this ones 1500W peak on the sub ch, obviously thats a lie, but from SOMEWHAT reputeable amp manufactureres...specifically clarion and pioneer, whats a good rating for a mono block amp? remember I have two 10" clarions, i forget their RMS though

[fueler]

anything from 600-1200 peak should do you well. Im running two generic tens off a cerwin vega XL600 monoblock and it slams.

[Qxxx4]

ok. in the meantime, what do you guys think of my wiring setup

AMP (CH1-4 = 350W each, Ch5 = "1500W"...blown)

Each sub is connected to its own 350w channel. Should I bridge them to change resistances or am i doing this right. I had them in parallel when I had my mono channel working. My subs if i remember correctly are 4 ohm SVC, dont know specs on my amp

[W O T]

Peak wattage means absolutely nothing, forget you even know any of your equipments peak rating. If you gimme the model numbers for your stuff, Ill tell ya how to wire it properly.

Making a sealed box a ported box can be done I guess with a flared aeroport I guess but there spendy, you could make your own ported box tuned to your liking for the cost of a sheet of mdf ($25), carpet if your fancy lol and they pound, sealed definetely has the punchiest bass though, just alot less output, I like geting my chest pounded and jaws to drop when my stereos on....

The place adnan was talking about for amp repairs is called s&s electronics, there on ellesmere rd in scarorough, hands down best amp repair place in southern ontario, Ive gotten about 5 fixed there, 2-3 day turn around times and the most legit prices youll pay anywhere. Most amps dont cost more than $75 to fix

[nnorton44]

Peak wattage means absolutely nothing

+1

[fueler]

yea rms is most important but how you gonna explain that to a beginner. Just get a good brand like alpine or rockford (for amps only!!) and you cant go wrong.

[Qxxx4]

yea rms is most important but how you gonna explain that to a beginner. Just get a good brand like alpine or rockford (for amps only!!) and you cant go wrong.

i know all about rms/peak, and i can bet that just picking up a GOOD brand amp will make a world of difference because this one is barely pounding right now.

[W O T]

If youre sure your subs are SVC 4ohm, then youre looking at the 2ohm rating on a monoblock. Theres a few for sale locally for cheap

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com...imp=1