OK....so based on the subs I am getting, will that Cadence amp work good or do you guys have any other suggestions?

 

You'll be fine with that set up. The amp seems to be stable at 2ohms so you can bridge it.

 

Your head unit can't decode 5.1....Definitely best to have an amp that can push the speakers, that goes without saying, but isn't it equally logical that you don't use a sledgehammer to kill a fly? I'd say an amp that puts out 600 watts rms when you only have a need for 300rms is a bit of overkill, especially when said amp costs $650.

It might not be a problem for him, but not for the reason you stated. When the amp gets the signal from the deck, it will sum the left and right signals into one signal, but then the signal gets amplified and split up among however many channels are being run. In this case it would be two, by default it's no longer a mono signal since mono = 1. So long as there's no discrepancy in the signal from either side of the amps outputs stage, everything will be fine. You can leave that up to chance if you want, I prefer not to.

I never said it couldn't be done, I said it's not a good idea. Plenty of logical reasons for that...but if one insists it can be done by simply turning the gains down, like I said in my initial post. How do you know how far to turn the gain down? Well, that's part of the reason I said it's not a good idea, not many people know how to properly set the gain so hooking up a set of 50 watt speakers to a channel that can put out 150 watts is a real good way to increase the chance of blowing said speakers.

Pushing an amp to "it's limits" is nearly impossible since the music we listen to is dynamic, not static. Now if we rolled around listening to test tones all day at full blast, that's one thing, do you do that?

You avoid distortion by adjusting the gain properly, period. Buying an amp with lots of headroom is only a good idea if you end up using it at some point, if you don't then it's a complete and total waste of money.

It's stable at 2 ohms STEREO, so bridging two 4 ohm subs would result in a 2ohm MONO load, an impedance load that amp is not stable at.

 

The HU can't decode 5.1 but it does have DSP settings for different sound projections. BTW, the amp was $475 (HD600/4). Whether it was a waste of money or not it's irrelevant to me because I'm vary happy with it's performance.

Distortion that results from under/over powered amps can be AVOIDED by getting the proper amp for the application. It can be tuned out but not completely, IF you raise the signal value to levels that will bring about the distortion.

Buying an amp with "lots" of headroom was the wrong thing to say, but one with 10-15% rms than the speakers it drives is a good idea.

 

LOL. Make your mind up...When I said "if you're using rear fill speakers on a 2dr, SQ isn't your goal....unless you have a DSP that can do 5.1 surround sound." You responded "I do, through my head unit." Now you say you don't. There's no confusion on my part, I know your deck can't do 5.1, so my point remains....

I don't care how much you paid for your amp or if you're happy with it, this thread isn't about you it's about helping the OP so I was pointing out the flaws in your equipment suggestions....

It's obvious that you don't know what you're talking about so rest assured that this discussion isn't a battle of the wills as much as it is me trying desperately to prevent anyone from listening to your shoddy advice.

The only way to over/under power an amp is to either give it too much voltage or not enough. Overpowering it would result in output above it's ratings, underpowering it would result in output below it's ratings.

Power doesn't kill speakers, distortion and clipping does so I don't know what you're talking about when you say "distortion that results from under/over powered amps can be avoided."....I do agree though that 10-15% headroom is good to have in most cases.

 

If the signal is from the headunit is mono, the amp doesn't sum anything and make it stereo. It's still mono signal the whole time. Electric signals don't leave much up to chance either.

When you hear the speakers have reached their limits, you back the gains down a hair.

It's plenty easy to push an amp to it's limits if the gains aren't set properly. I'm aware that music is dynamic and at a lower level than a test tone, but if you try pushing an amp too far, you can quite easily run it into clipping with music. I've done it myself.

As you increase the gain, distortion increases, even before you reach clipping. That said, it's generally not audible. But running at say 30% gain induces less distortion than say 50% gain.

Overpowering a speaker is what causes voice coils to melt. You can definitely kill a speaker by giving it too much power.

This thread really went bad. 04MonteLS, it seems like you have a decent knowledge base in audio, but some of what you're saying is just not accurate. Plus, the OP isn't looking to spend a whole lot of money and time chasing the perfect sound stage anyway. Why bring up time alignment and 5.1 systems? I mean, seriously, the guy posted up for advice about a budget pair of subs and an amp to power them. No need to freak out about others offering their advice.

 

Considering the sub preouts on a deck are left and right, there goes the mono signal theory.

Now you're just taking what I said out of context. The comment you made, to which I was responding, was in reference to using an amp with lots of headroom. Part of your justification for doing so is that you won't be pushing the amp to it's limits. If by that you meant improperly adjusting the gain, then I guess you're right. So if you can't set the gain right to prevent your amp from clipping on an amp that puts out exactly the amount of power your speakers need, how is tripling said power going to change anything for the better? Please, enlighten me.

You say that as if it's something that can be applied across the board when the reality is it's not. The level of gain you need to set your amp to is 100% dependent on the strength on the signal it gets from the head unit. The purpose of the gain is to sync the input signal with the output signal, not for volume control.

This is true, I stand corrected.

I know he's not looking to spend alot, that's why I said the JL amps suggested were overkill. I brought up TA and 5.1 because the guy who suggested the JL amp said the sound quality was awesome. Funny he should mention SQ seeing as how he's using rear speakers and suggests to others that they should run highs only on fronts, mids only on rears...so I called him out on the SQ thing because unless he has a 5.1ch setup in his car or spent lots of time dialing it all in via active xover network then he has no clue what SQ is, especially running highs on fronts only and mids on rears only, LMAO.

He gave some ridiculously shoddy advice and got called on it, I hope nobody takes audio advice from that guy cause it's clear he doesn't know what's up. Just cause you can afford to buy expensive equipment doesn't make your an audio guru. If anybody else care's to continue this conversation, feel free to pm me, but as far as this thread is concerned i'm done with it. My last piece of advice to the OP is to make sure you get an amp that puts out 300 watts rms x 1 @ 2 ohms for those subs. I wouldn't overpower them much, if at all, as they aren't built to handle that.

 

"You responded "I do, through my head unit." Now you say you don't. There's no confusion on my part, I know your deck can't do 5.1, so my point remains...."

Let me put it in simple terms, My HU has a staging application that allows me to alter the sound to my liking, albeit limited to the 4 choices it provides. I'm also aware that my deck can't do 5.1, I bought it, so your point is irrelevant to what I was trying to say. You are trying to say that my choosing the amp that I got is wrong but I don't care what you think or have to say about my choice. If you would have paid for it, it would be a different story but you didn't. I am well aware what the thread was about, but you had to make it about me criticizing my opinion and choice of equipment, simply stating as fact that a few of members were giving "BAD" advice. My intentions were honorable, but your agenda change that. Sorry my choice and opinion aren't to your liking, bud, but it's mine not yours. Besides, you don't have to agree nor read it, but whatever man!

 

take it to pm, this has absolutely nothing to do with this thread.

I apologize to the OP for getting OT.

 

You are totally correct. I apologize to the poster as well. Take it to pm.