Amp clipping?

[Raxe]

So I bought a new set up today, consists of a Clarion DPX2250 amp, Clarion PXW1052 sub and Clarion SSS500 component speakers. I think I just screwed up, the amp will clip due to it not having enough power for the sub and speakers right? The amp puts out

• 125W &#215; 2 Into 4 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz @ < 0.05%THD

• 200W &#215; 2 Into 2 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz @ < 0.1%THD

• Bridgeable, 400W &#215; 1, 20Hz-20kHz @ < 0.2%THD

The sub is 4 ohm and has an RMS of 500W, and the speakers an RMS of 100W.

The guy at the shop said it would handle it no problem, but I'm not confident he wasn't just trying to sell it fast... can anyone confirm?

[StereoInstaller1]

OK, That woofer is a poor choice. Get the PXW1051, not the 1052. That will allow your amp to make the most power it is capable of, safely.

The amp will power the subwoofer, not the components, so that is of no concern.

"Clipping" is where the amp is unable to produce the complete waveform, thus "clipping" off the top and bottom of the wave. ALL amplifiers clip...just don't ask 1000 watts out of a 100 watt amp and all is good.

Get that woofer swapped out!

Luke

[Raxe]

Thanks for the reply! They seem to have it mixed up in their catalogue as on one page they say the PXW1052 is 2-ohms and on another they say it is 4-ohms. I'll go an get it switched for the PXW1051 (2-ohms, correct?), but that still leaves me wondering about the component speakers. I also bought a headunit Clarion DXZ675USB (decided to stick with the whole Clarion theme, plus they were clearing out 2007 stock), would that be sufficient to power the pair of speakers up front? The salesman said he was concerned it would be too much of a stretch, that's why he recommended that amp.

[StereoInstaller1]

Fucking fucktard salesmen....bane of my damned existence.

OK, here is the deal. I (MY opinion, use at your own risk) like to see the same amount of power above and below 100Hz. In other words, I would choose a BIGGER amp to power the mids and highs in your car than you run on bass.

Why you ask?

Because upper end distortion is far more nasty than bass distortion. Having that amp run out of power sounds like shit and blows things up.

IMO, everyone should start off using a small 4 channel amp to power their entire system. Half on the bass, half on the mids and highs. (Ideally, using a DVC 2 ohm/coil woofer) Then, later, you could add a small 1 ohm stable mono subwoofer amp to run bass and a 3 way electronic crossover...use half of the 4 channel to run tweeters and the other half to run the mids. Viola, true tri-amped bliss!

Just my opinion. Whatever Clarion deck you get, make sure it has high pass filters...kind of rare in Clarion...it is REALLY important.

Luke

[Raxe]

I really appreciate your help.

Looks like I'll be making a trip back there next week. He's my new idea:

-Amp would be the 4 channel APX4360:

• 90W &#215; 4 Into 4 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz @ < 0.05&#37;THD

• 150W &#215; 4 Into 2 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz @ < 0.2%THD

• Bridgeable, 300W &#215; 2, 20Hz-20kHz @ < 0.2%THD

-Speakers would remain the pair of 100rms components

-Sub would be 300rms, single 4-ohm VC 10".

2 channels would be used for powering the components, the other 2 channels would be bridged for powering the sub. That would make it 90W for each 100W speaker and 180W for the 300W sub if I understand correctly. Would this setup fly or fry? I know the 4-ohm sub is not nearly as good as a 2-ohm one, but lowest 2-ohm ones seem to suck considerably more power (and money) than low 4-ohm ones and I would like to keep it to a single (affordable) amp for now. I don't know if you can split it 2 channels on 4-ohm and 2 on 2-ohm? Thanks for any help, I'm spending a ton of time trying to learn this stuff.

edit: oh, and the deck does have high-pass and low-pass filters.

[StereoInstaller1]

Sweet. Just remember if you decide to upgrade you will need a 2 channel bass amp if you go SVC.

I chose SVC, 2 channel and 4 channel amps because they are the same size...varrry schexy IMO.