speaker distortion, will an amp fix??

Audio, Electronics and Lighting questions and answers

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mmx005
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speaker distortion, will an amp fix??

Postby mmx005 » Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:39 pm

Hi guys,

when i crank my bose upgrade speakers up (i mean WAAAAAAAAYYY up) i start to get distortion. will an amp fix this problem??

will have to replace the existing loom with wire in a bigger size to cope??

can i get away with a 2ch amp eventho there are 4 speakers??

anything else i need to know??

cheers guys and sorry for the nooob questions

Ben

SPy vs. SPy
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speaker distortion, will an amp fix??

Postby SPy vs. SPy » Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:25 pm

mmx005 wrote:Hi guys,

when i crank my bose upgrade speakers up (i mean WAAAAAAAAYYY up) i start to get distortion. will an amp fix this problem??

will have to replace the existing loom with wire in a bigger size to cope??

can i get away with a 2ch amp eventho there are 4 speakers??

anything else i need to know??

cheers guys and sorry for the nooob questions

Ben


Um No or yes.

distortion is either the amp clipping, which is bad for speakers, and eventually bad for the amp when the speakers let go in a smoking rage.
Or, your speakers are having the knacker flogged out of them by the amp.

To answer the question more cohesively we will need:

The head unit you are running
type of Bose speakers
model of car you have
whether any of the above is standard or optioned.
whether any of the above has been fitted after manufacture
Went for a drive and there were slow cars everywhere, why are NC's so common . . . must be NC = Normally Cardiganed.

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AJ
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speaker distortion, will an amp fix??

Postby AJ » Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:36 pm

sounds like a mismatched amp & spkrs to me
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graemebc

speaker distortion, will an amp fix??

Postby graemebc » Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:14 pm

As Spy & AJ said.

A little background though
Clipping distortion is when an amp has reached its maximum output capacity yet tries to keep up with the input signal gain ratio between the signal source and Amp. ( you keep turning it up higher)The amp hits a "wall", the output signal is no longer a symmetrical replication of the input signal. Input = output = important.

The amp tries to put out the power your asking it too, runs out of voltage from the supply rails and you get a flat spot at the upper and lower peaks of the wave form, a "square wave" --------------> Square wave = bad.
The speaker when it tries to replicate a square wave is trying to move max out and max in at the same time (they cant do that).
In really severe clipping, there is so much energy buildup (heat) into the coils at the back of the speaker) but la cone she no move enough to cool the voice coil nespa?. (When your speaker moves its creates waves that cool the coils at the back)
Your coil she over heats and either seizes or burns the windings. Result kaboom. I know I've blow a nightclub system from overdriving it when dj'ing (she canna take anymore captain!) and a studio 22 inch main driver that cost 900 bucks just for the driver. doh... studio owner not a happy camper.

Nooooooooow.... when you use a small amp to drive a high powered speaker, the speaker can take all the "clean power" (note the words clean power) the amp can deliver. You don't get lots of volume though. It's when you push the amp into "clipping" mode, the speaker can't move in and out a to cool the voice coil. Eventually, this will fry even a very expensive speaker.

As rule of thumb... Use amps that match or modestly exceed the power rating of the speaker. A 100 watt speaker will love 125 watts of clean power vs a 100 watt speaker getting 25 watts of badly clipped (distorted) power.

Learn to turn it down to the sweet spot where input = output.
I spent years trying to tell dj's I span with that simple rule, trouble is their all fooking deaf. :D
That's the simple version, hope its not to much info and helps a bit to make a decision.

OHPLEZ
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speaker distortion, will an amp fix??

Postby OHPLEZ » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:55 am

i 2nd that comment about djs
ive been djing for 12 years cant stand djs who walk in to a both n start clipping everything
its all about quolity not loudness


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