Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Amp Power Question

I am looking at the MTX Thunder 405 five channel amp for my car. The RMS output is 25w x 4 + 100w x 1. This rating is at 12.5 volts, so how much more power will it put out with the normal 14 volts that a car puts out? I like that MTX tests their amps at 12.5 volts....you get more than you bargin for!

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2000 SE Sport
Toredore Red, MTX

1994 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo
320HP Stock

it depends if the power supply is regulated
i have an mtx 500d and it pushes 2 12"s very well the results from the factory test say it puts out 690W @ 12.5 V RMS. just a note if you get mtx amp make sure you use 4ga power wire. check www.carsound.com they have a review for the 500D.

It should provide slightly more power. 35Wx4 and 130x1 would probably be within reason. 4 Guage would be overkill unless you plan on adding amps in the future. It'll be right around 250 watts which should be ok with 8 guage. That being said, If it were me, i'd probably go with 4 guage because I tend to overdo everything.

Could that be why I popped my old 10" clarion sub? My Amp is rated 600W RMS at 12.5v. The sub was rated 600W Max. The guy who sold me the sub and amp said it would be fine but as soom as I turned it up, the sub cut out. If I shook it, it sounded like broken glass. I wonder how much the amp is putting out at 14v.

RMS is what the amp can continuely put out... If the amp puts out 600 watts all the time and the speaker can only handle 600 watts then when your amp works harder then usual(such as bass cd's, deep bass,etc..).....say bye-bye to speaker.

[This message has been edited by Pollo_loco69 (edited February 23, 2001).]

Most speakers can handle quite a bit more power than their RMS rating but in short intervals. What kind of box were the clarions in when they blew? If it was ported there is a 99% chance that the enclosure was not tuned properly. Basically, it was probably tuned to high. As an example, if you tuned an enclosure to 45 hz, to maximize the SPL, and then proceeded to send it a 25 hz at anything higher than a couple of watts, you can kiss the speaker goodbye. Ported boxes unload under the tuning freq.

Dave