What AMP do i need ?

[e36boy]

Just wondering if anyone can help me out, I have just purchased a 10" sub, in carpeted box. The guy who sold it me said its 400 watts. Heres my problem !! Im a complete thicko when it comes to things like this, as ive never really done anything more than buy a new head unit. I need to know what sort of output and also how many channels the amp should have ? Any help would be appreciated. By the way i paid bugger all for the sub, so i dont want to spend alot on an amp.

[33lop]

hi e36 boy,
what's the brand of this 10" sub? 400watts RMS or peak power?

[Ziggy]

You only need a single channel amp to run a sub. However, (especially on the cheapy cheap!), you're more likely to get a 2 channel amp that can be 'bridged' to run as a single channel.

Another option is to get a 4 channel amp so that you can use 2 channels for your front 2 speakers, & 2 (bridged again) for the sub. It'll make more difference than you'd imagine - try and think about how small the amp must be in your head unit!

As for power, more details on what you're powering are needed really... It's best to get the most powerful amp you can (within reason!), whilst making sure that you're looking at RMS figures rather than PMPO/peak output/whatever else they want to call it. (As a guide, if it says it makes 1000W & doesn't cost a fortune, that power figure doesn't mean anything - look for the small print!) A powerful amp can be turned down to run a speaker that can't take it, & will actually be far less likely to blow the speaker than an over driven amp that's distorting / clipping. Plus you've got the upgrade potential then too...

& don't forget you'll need a bunch of leads too!

[e36boy]

Thanks for the help so far guys. Ive just text my mate who i bought the sub from, He reckons that the sub is 400 watts peak power, but he's not entireley sure. Also ive just looked at the sub and its SPL X. My mate reckons i'll be ok with a 2 channel amp and 200 watts will be more than adequate, Doe this sound right.

[kam325itouring]

no way dude 200w is too less!!! 200w rms yes. you need an amp thats around 500-600w max to run the sub properly.

[dark_sounds]

no ones said anything about the impedance of the sub?

single 4? single 2? dual 4? dual 2? etc???

no point getting a 500 watt amp that does that @2 ohm when your sub can only run at 4 ohm or 1 ohm?

underpowering a sub often does more damage then overpowering. nothing wrong with a bit of overpowering as long as you give it a clean signal. underpowering you are more likly to work the amp and thus creating a clipped signal. (bad signal)

find out what impedance the sub is, if its a single 4 you will have to spend more money to get more power at 4 ohm if its a dual 4 or single 2, then this can be wired to show 2 ohm which most budget amp show thier highest power at.

dont bother with a multichanal, they arnt geared up for the sub (phase controller, frequency bands etc..) you can pick up cheap power from a monoblock, just means searching ebay.

avoid shitty brands, its been shown, 10 000 watts RMS from a shit brand will prob be equal to 100 of a high quality brand.

my recommendation,,, search hard on ebay, be patient, and pick up a genesis profile sub monoblock, they go around 70Ԛ£, sound brilliant, and offer the power you need (500 watts rms) assuming your sub is 2 ohm. you can get cheaper power,, though its more likely to be less realistic, ie uneffecient. ]

jbl do decent budget power, as is some older alpine gear, m350's can be picked up for sub 50Ԛ£!

[kam325itouring]

e36boy have a look on the back of the sub if you can has it got a pair of speaker terminals or two pairs, if it is on set then you will be fine with a two channel amp like i said i reckon it is a single 4 ohm sub.

[fowler]

its all swings and roundabouts
bes sub amp for you is prob a nice little alpine mfr350 about 550 watt mpo about 300 watt rms
Ali a Gensis is an awsome bit of kit and his sub prob won't do it justice
plus Genesis like Max power @ 1oHm generally speaking

[tomtomiS]

lets face it, if its an spl x sub its not gonna be up to much so an amp no more than 200 watts will be fine

[kam325itouring]

i doubt you will find i 200w amp that has got the filtering you will need for the sub..... also the sub will be playing in a saloon not a hatch back so you will need that little bit of extra power to get the sound through.

[dark_sounds]

Ali a Gensis is an awsome bit of kit and his sub prob won't do it justice

true true,

poss upgrade at a later date though?
dont know about the 1ohm, the profile series say 2 ohm, and a friend of mine tried 1 ohm, and wasnt too good tbh. maybe the higher end possibly.

gotta agre with your choice though fowler, lower end alpine do make some good reliable power at a decent price.