i have stock front splits
pioneer 80w rms 6 x9's
Alpine 300w D Class mono block amp
Alpine type S 350w rms 12" sub
stock head unit.

on tues im getting an eclipse CD3434 head unit with remote control, sub control, mp3 bla bla
and getting a dual sealed box with another 12" alpine sub same as the other one, with the same d class amp running them.

i was just wondering what peoples thoughts on that set up are and if anyone has something similar and if it was any good?

i was told that with sub control (which needless to say the old stockie one didnt have) and the 2 subs it would crank like hell and i wouldnt even have to crank it much to get some good doof doof....!?

also ive been told to get 2, 5" 's in the rear instead of my 6 x 9's any thoughts on anything ive posted would be greatly appreciated.

go 6-6.5 " in the rear... Why 5"??? You want more surface area. And the rounder the better. ;)

Eclipse h/u are awesome, very high quality.

Doof doof? U can never get enough doof!!!!!

Eclipse make great head units, this should be fine. :thumbsup:

Your subs have a higher power rating than the amp. It's always best to have more amp power than the speakers can handle, so the amp won't clip and distort, which will shut down your amp or blow up your subs, or both. :shock:

Running splits off the H/U can blow the internal amp if you crank it too much, especially given the output is only 13W on the 3434. Best bet is to run them off an amp, the 3434 should have pre-outs to do this.

And get some new splits. :D . The stock speakers in my TH were 15W. Not sure what Verada speakers are rated at, but a reasonable set of Pioneer 50-80W should be cheap enough.

Forget the 6x9's, and spend on the splits. Loud 6x9's will drag your sound stage back and muddy the bass coming from your subs.

Having said all that, if you just want doof without quality, ignore what I've said. :nuts:

Eclipse make great head units, this should be fine. :thumbsup:

Your subs have a higher power rating than the amp. It's always best to have more amp power than the speakers can handle, so the amp won't clip and distort, which will shut down your amp or blow up your subs, or both. :shock:


Ummm i think you've got it the wrong way around, if your amp outputs more than the speaker can handle and you crank it, the speakers will blow. Its better to have the speakers at a higher rating than the amp, that way when you crank it, you're not wearing out the speakers as much as you would if it was equal to the max power or over it (but over could blow them quite easily). I was told that if you run speakers at about 3/4 capacity they'll last a ****load longer than if you ran them at their full capacity.

You would be surprised how loud 80w rms is through a speaker. A headunit puts out about 20w rms, but happy listening would be about 10-15.
You never want to run your amps so hard that they clip/distort. This is the worst thing for your speakers. Your speakers will usually handle anywhere within their stated range. 0 watts to 80 watts for instance

With the gains set correctly, a 200w rms amp can run a 80w rms speaker and this will be good for the speaker as it will never clip/distort. (lots of headroom) But if you set the gains too high, the speaker will be trying to handle more than it can, this will lead to broken surrounds, damaged motors, etc etc...

You can hear when a speaker is in pain, just set your gains so that the amp will never try to hard, and the amp can never provide enough power to damage your speakers

Yeh if you set your gains lower it would be good. You'd still have to be careful not to crank it too much though. I guess it just depends on how much lower the speaker can handle compared to the amp output :).

Ummm i think you've got it the wrong way around, if your amp outputs more than the speaker can handle and you crank it, the speakers will blow. Its better to have the speakers at a higher rating than the amp, that way when you crank it, you're not wearing out the speakers as much as you would if it was equal to the max power or over it (but over could blow them quite easily). I was told that if you run speakers at about 3/4 capacity they'll last a ****load longer than if you ran them at their full capacity.

You are a goose :p u should always run a bigger amp then subs for many reasons one is u can always turn down hte amp, also another big one is it is much chpeaer to buy new subs then amps runnin high powered subs off a low powered amp is really unhleathy for it and although it will last i while iwill eventually give up and u will have to buy new amp.

You are a goose :p u should always run a bigger amp then subs for many reasons one is u can always turn down hte amp, also another big one is it is much chpeaer to buy new subs then amps runnin high powered subs off a low powered amp is really unhleathy for it and although it will last i while iwill eventually give up and u will have to buy new amp.

I've got a 600w sub running off 2x 200w ch, bridged, is that too much of a difference?
And i just assumed the amp runs at what it can, and the sub just accepts what the amp gives it, the sub doesn't pull more power from the amp than its given, or do i have it the wrong way around? :confused:

You can't damage a sub by not giving it enough power. If this were so, then every time your turned down the volume you would damage your sub.
You will not be using ur sub to it's potential, but as long as you don't push your amp too hard, so that it is clipping you can't damage anything.

So yes TR-Envy you've got it right. You will hear when the amp is struggling, the sub will distort. Just don't run it at these volumes such that it causes distortion and you will be fine.

Also, don't run the amp so hot that it goes into protection. This is also bad for your amps. And will occur if the input signal is too high, or if you load the amp down past it's ratings, eg 2 ohm/1ohm

You can't damage a sub by not giving it enough power. If this were so, then every time your turned down the volume you would damage your sub.
You will not be using ur sub to it's potential, but as long as you don't push your amp too hard, so that it is clipping you can't damage anything.

So yes TR-Envy you've got it right. You will hear when the amp is struggling, the sub will distort. Just don't run it at these volumes such that it causes distortion and you will be fine.

Also, don't run the amp so hot that it goes into protection. This is also bad for your amps. And will occur if the input signal is too high, or if you load the amp down past it's ratings, eg 2 ohm/1ohm

Yeh i try not to run my amp at that volume anyway cuz it sounds ****. Also my amp has been overheating a little the last few days with the over 30 degree heat :(. I think maybe i should have the system on low when its hot from now on, cuz i cant imagine this is good for the amp either. Thanks for clearing that up :), i started thinking everything i've learnt was bullsh!t :bowrofl:

u can slap me for asking this, but whats clipping?

To Add to my first Post

my mono amp is 350w rms and my subs r 300w rms.
does that mean my amp wil run at 175w or what?

whats the difference between a mono and 2 channel amp..?

i know bugger all and want some decent quality without blowing anything...

u can slap me for asking this, but whats clipping?

To Add to my first Post

my mono amp is 350w rms and my subs r 300w rms.
does that mean my amp wil run at 175w or what?

whats the difference between a mono and 2 channel amp..?

i know bugger all and want some decent quality without blowing anything...
Soz, should have explained. Clipping occurs if you feed an amp an input signal that is too large for it to amplify. Instead once it get beyond the capability of the amp it produces a "clipped" signal. Think of a wave, as your amps are producing waves of certain frequencies. Now the peaks of the waves are flattened in a clipped wave, and this produces distortion.
You can feed a sub a clipped wave and it will not damage anything as long as the wave is within the power limitations of the sub. Eg if its a 300w rms sub and the clipped wave is only 100w rms, this will not damage ur sub and ur sub will play this all day long. (although it will sound sh!t) But the danger is when your sub starts clipping/distorting the power level generally rises very quickly (well beyond the rms rating of the amplifier) and if this rise is beyond the limitations of the sub, it can get dangerous.
Your monoblock will power your subs fine. You are better off with two subs then you will not be providing 350wrms to a 300wsub. And you can load these down to 2 ohm nps.

so u think my set up wil be ok?

i havent really thought beyond sub, amp and head unit at this stage.
but im sure soon enuff ill be upgrading the speakers in the front and rear.

the only reason i have pioneer 6 x 9's in the rear was because i told myself that, that was the only upgrade i was going to do. like i spose everyone has and that idea lasted all of about 3weeks before i was doof doofing.

Two types of distortion.

1. With an amp which has a higher power rating than the speaker, you can adjust the gain to prevent speaker distortion. This basically involves cranking your H/U volume to the max (or very close to it), then turn up the amp gain until the speaker distorts. Now turn it back a little until you get no distortion.

So no matter how loud you crank the H/U volume after this, the speaker won't distort. :cool:

2. A quote from FHRX Studios website.

"Underpowering the sub can easily damage it if the person running the stereo doesn't realise the amplifier is beginning to struggle. This resulting damage is usually caused by the amplifier being overworked and 'clipping'. "

This means the speaker can handle higher power but the amp can't produce it, and it sends a distorted signal to the speaker.

Anyway, 300W is ****ing loud enough for most people. :D It's just that you sound like you want maximum doof :badgrin: , so be careful not too crank it too much if you go with that setup.

Ok ive got it all installed now and it sounds awsome with the new subbie and deck!
What i wanna know now is.....

my mono amp is 350w rms and my subs r 300w rms.
does that mean my amp wil run at 175w per sub or what?

whats the difference between a mono and 2 channel amp..?

cheers if anyone can shed some light on this

Ok ive got it all installed now and it sounds awsome with the new subbie and deck!
What i wanna know now is.....

my mono amp is 350w rms and my subs r 300w rms.
does that mean my amp wil run at 175w per sub or what?

whats the difference between a mono and 2 channel amp..?

cheers if anyone can shed some light on this
Mono = 1 channel
2 channel = 2 channel ;)
Mono blocks are suited to subs. They are d class usually and as such they are designed to produce low frequency. And dont handle high frequencies well. They genrally provide much more power than a class ab amp. Although running subs with a class ab amp will provide better sq, they are very inneficient. As such they can heat up and cause damage quickly.

2 channel amp just means it can have 2 channels ie left and right. You dont need two channels for a sub as the bass in undirectional and there is no audible stereo gain. Ie, music cant come from the left or the right as it comes from everywhere.

Your amp will run at 300w when it has the maximum input going into it. Subs will take 150 each when this occurs

How did u wire up your subs/amps?

Oh and ul need to set your gains correctly to protect your equipment and get the best range out of your headunit volume control. (no point in having full power to your subs at 1/2 volume)
Firstly, gain isnt a volume control, more a sensitivity control, It will make ur amp more or less sensitive and will not increase how loud you can pump it, but instead should be tuned according to how high the voltage is through your rcas.
Turn the gain down on your amp
Find the loudest volume where your speakers don't distort. Ie the loudest volume you would listen to ur music.
Slowly turn your gains up until just before the subs distort.

Now you have the best range and the finest control out of your gear.

My amp is D Class.

i dont know how it was wired up cos Tonkins In Salisbury did it. but my deck has two sub pre outs and sub control and they did all the tuning of the gain and all that gear. but it sounds awsome. but if i got a 600wrms amp it would crank the subs even better right? or i should stick to the one i have so i dont kill my ears?

is it better to leave the amp settings the way they are or do you think it could be done a little better than what they would have done in the work shop?
they had it cranked in their work shop and the roof was vibrating, so its doing something right.
but i turned the fader? i think it was down to halfway cos i didnt wanna wreck the subs. there was a whole host of settings like bass, treble ect but i didnt wanna touch them cos i didnt knw if they were setting for the sub or what. i guess im gonna have to read the instruction book

Your amp will be fine. Get used to it then decide if you want to upgrade, i think ul be happy.
If they've done it it should be fine. You will not wreck anything as long as you can hear when/if your subs distort, then turn it down. Also if your amps go into protection (subs stop playing) also turn it down. (turn your gear off and let it cool.)

Give ur amps lots of breathing space too for ventilation.

Sounds like you got a pretty rockin system. Congrats.

thanks mate. i love it.

the amp is under the passenger seat but i keep my aircon on most of the time. it should be right hey?

Yep will be fine, they recommend an inch or so of room to breath... Worst case u can install a 12v fan with a temperature control. But I dont think ul have any problems.

Ok thanks alot guys for all your help. it was greatly appreciated !! :D

np's systems r cool. Just out of curiosity how much was your install?