Anyone know about car audio ?

Anyone know about car audio ?

Author
Discussion

f1rob

Original Poster:

316 posts

175 months

Saturday 16th August 2014
quotequote all
Not sure if this is the right place but cant find any other ?
Now f1 junior is about to turn 17 and has his first car and it seems the music system is as important as the car itself !
Now I can do any spannering on the car but audio is totally alien to me
One of my sons presents is a pair fusion (I think)6x9.s that are 310 watt
Now presume he needs a 2 channel amp ??? but what power ???
cheers for any help

TonyRPH

12,963 posts

167 months

Saturday 16th August 2014
quotequote all
310watt is the maximum power the speakers can handle.

You can use any amp up to 300w.

Important things to look out for:

Check the impedance specs of the amp - e.g. it'll state something like 100w into 4 ohms, 200w into 2 ohms.

The speakers are bound to be 4 ohms (most, if not all car speakers are 4 ohm).

Also - it's easy to blow a speaker by driving it with an amp that is not powerful enough.

This occurs when an amplifier is overdriven (driven into 'clipping').

Finally - check if the speaker power ratings are RMS or maximum power. You may well find that they can handle 150w RMS but 310w maximum.

In which case - you want to keep the amplifier power below 150w RMS.

Also check that the amp is rated in RMS terms.

HTH.

probedb

824 posts

218 months

Sunday 17th August 2014
quotequote all
Fusion 310W speakers, 310W is probably PMPO, i.e. the point at which the speakers is completely annihilated.

Find out the RMS output they can take smile

TonyRPH

12,963 posts

167 months

Sunday 17th August 2014
quotequote all
I thought I already said something along those lines... smile

"Finally - check if the speaker power ratings are RMS or maximum power. You may well find that they can handle 150w RMS but 310w maximum."

Ray Luxury-Yacht

8,910 posts

215 months

Sunday 17th August 2014
quotequote all
TonyRPH said:
310watt is the maximum power the speakers can handle.

You can use any amp up to 300w.

Important things to look out for:

Check the impedance specs of the amp - e.g. it'll state something like 100w into 4 ohms, 200w into 2 ohms.

The speakers are bound to be 4 ohms (most, if not all car speakers are 4 ohm).

Also - it's easy to blow a speaker by driving it with an amp that is not powerful enough.

This occurs when an amplifier is overdriven (driven into 'clipping').

Finally - check if the speaker power ratings are RMS or maximum power. You may well find that they can handle 150w RMS but 310w maximum.

In which case - you want to keep the amplifier power below 150w RMS.

Also check that the amp is rated in RMS terms.

HTH.
Tony talketh the sense. Listen to the man.

And to this I might add, after 20-odd years of installing decent ICE in my cars:

Please use decent cabling. Both the signal cable from the source to the amp, and speaker cabling from the amp to the speakers. Don't go bananas, as a lot of cabling is a result of marketing over substance - but do spend a few quid on something half-decent, and try to route it inside the car away from other cabling - both the original car cabling, and any power feeds to your amps etc. Also buy / build cables with decent connection terminals.

Amps-wise...they do run quite hot, so it is helpful to mount them to a metal surface (although not imperitive). But you do tend to get fewer problems by mounting them to, say, the metal backs of the rear seats. Also, mount them with the heatsink casing facing up / down - i.e. so the convected air can rise.

Also, and this is my own personal preference - don't always default to buy brand-new amps. A whole lot of modern stuff is knocked up in China, and despite the brand, just does not have the quality and longevity of many older, Japanese-built units.

I still have in my collection, several Japanese-built Kenwood amps, of early to mid-90's vintage, still going strong. And unless my ears are mistaken - they nowadays deliver a really lovely, rich sound. In the meantime, some more modern Chinese equipment has frequently come and gone.

HAve a look on Ebay for some vintage 1990's stuff. It's cheap, and it is good.

HTH!


probedb

824 posts

218 months

Monday 18th August 2014
quotequote all
TonyRPH said:
I thought I already said something along those lines... smile

"Finally - check if the speaker power ratings are RMS or maximum power. You may well find that they can handle 150w RMS but 310w maximum."
I'm very good at skim reading and not noticing things wink

FlossyThePig

4,083 posts

242 months

Monday 18th August 2014
quotequote all
probedb said:
TonyRPH said:
I thought I already said something along those lines... smile

"Finally - check if the speaker power ratings are RMS or maximum power. You may well find that they can handle 150w RMS but 310w maximum."
I'm very good at skim reading and not noticing things wink
According to http://www.fusionelectronics.com/car/products/spea...
Peak Power (Watts) 310
Rated Power (Watts) 55
Voice Coil Impedance 4 Ohm
Isn't Google "wonderful" (now I'll get lots of adverts for car audio)!

Sparky137

867 posts

180 months

Monday 18th August 2014
quotequote all
TonyRPH said:
310watt is the maximum power the speakers can handle.

You can use any amp up to 300w.
Use a 'proper' 300w amp and you will most likely turn the cones inside out!!

I suspect that a 100w RMS amp will be able to do sufficient damage to them with the bass turned up. Go for a quality brand older amp of between 50w and 100w. It will do less damage and sound better than a newer cheaper brand amp.

TonyRPH

12,963 posts

167 months

Thursday 21st August 2014
quotequote all
FlossyThePig said:
probedb said:
TonyRPH said:
I thought I already said something along those lines... smile

"Finally - check if the speaker power ratings are RMS or maximum power. You may well find that they can handle 150w RMS but 310w maximum."
I'm very good at skim reading and not noticing things wink
According to http://www.fusionelectronics.com/car/products/spea...
Peak Power (Watts) 310
Rated Power (Watts) 55
Voice Coil Impedance 4 Ohm
Isn't Google "wonderful" (now I'll get lots of adverts for car audio)!
Good find.

Put 300w in to those, and you'll end up wearing the voice coils as earings lol.

Most sensible manufacturers use double the RMS value for the peak power - but evidently these are P.M.P.O. (as someone mentioned above) - a good reason to avoid buying them on that basis alone.


Arif110

794 posts

213 months

Thursday 21st August 2014
quotequote all
Okay - hijacking this thread slightly, as the OP hopefully has the bulk of the relevant input!

Double-DIN - I have a Toyota Landcruiser, with apparently one of these units. However - my impression is that it's completely un-upgradeable (as just too built-in in terms of functionality), & need your collective erudition on the matter.

The front screen tilts electrically to reveal a single CD slot, & the DVD slot for the Satnav mapping. This screen is also the Satnav screen/controls of course, as well as all audio settings.

Now - is it really true that I can get an upgraded affair? I'll ask more if anyone says 'Yes'.