scrappy said:
The shop I had install it in my car had the gain about 3/4 of the way up and it hit really hard no matter what.
Every amp requires different gain adjustment. It hit hard because it was dialed in right.
scrappy said:
Does clipping occur in every amp?
In short, yes. Eventually, a signal can be driven harder than the electronics inside of the amp/headunit/equalizer/crossover can accurately reproduce. This is the limit of its performance.
scrappy said:
My understanding was that the box blew my subs, but what about the clipping could that have done it?
Was the box built by a professional? Was it sealed or ported? Where did the specs for the box design come from, the sub manufacturer? A computer program like LEAP? Or just invented from thin air? The answer to that is complicated, but if it was built by a pro (at least someone who REALLY understands what they are doing) then it is unlikely that a poorly designed box was the issue. Operator error is the typical cause of blown subs. When an audio signal originates from its source, the waveform is a smooth, curvy line. As the signal gets stronger (louder), the waveform becomes stretched vertically, but still retains its curvy shape. All is fine until you hit the limits of an amp's power supply voltage. This is the ceiling that a waveform can accurately acheive. Since the wave cannot exceed the voltage ceiling at all, what happens is the tops of the wave become flattened as volume continues to rise. The nice curvy form now has sharp angles and flat spots. This is known as 'clipping' and doesn't jive well with the movement of a speaker cone. Under an un-clipped signal the cone moves out, slows down, changes direction, moves in, slows down, changes direction, etc.. It is a natural and smooth movement that is easy on the speaker. But an clipped signal take the speaker, slams it out hard as fast as it can, reaches its limits and just stays there for a little while, then as hard as it can, slams the cone the other way and hold it there for awhile. Terrible for the moving parts of a speaker.
Also, under a clean signal, the amp reaches full power for only a VERY small portion of the waveform (just the peaks). This is like duty cycle--the amp spends 99% of its time doing less than its full output. But under a clipped signal, the flattened peaks mean that a significantly larger chunk of the waveform is under full power, maybe 5%, maybe 50% depending on how badly you abuse it. The amp heats up and worse, the voice coil has to deal with potentially 10x the amount of thermal loading. Most of the time, this is what happens. The voice coil gets so hot so fast, that its tiny windings melt and burn. The speaker is then 'blown'.
scrappy said:
Are some amps more prone to clipping than others?
Technically, no. Every amp has its limits, but reputable companies tell you TRUE specs, while other companies find ways to bend the rules and exaggerate the performance of their amp. This is why a 1000 watt Pyramid amp is not the same creature as a 1000 watt US Amps amp. So realistically, you could say that some amps are more prone to clipping, but only because the manufacturer didn't accurately tell you where that point is. Just buy quality, you'll be fine.
scrappy said:
The low pass filter how do I know where to set that at?
Trial and error. For a sub, start at about 100hz and then start turning it down till you get to where it sounds right. Most people find that between 80-60 hz is the place to be, but it depends on the midbass drivers ability to go low.
scrappy said:
So the only way to get more out of my subs would be more power not turning the gain up.
You got it. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts when it comes to power. If you want it louder, get more power. No way around it.
scrappy said:
Maybe Ill get another 1200.1 and strap them together I wonder what kind of ohm that would put out?
I don't know about the specific amps you are talking about, but it is a RARE thing to get amps that can be hooked together. Don't do it, unless the amp manufacturer says thats cool. They would also list the impedence that would drive.