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Hey,
I'm curious about how this works. If i was to go out and buy one Phoenix Gold Xenon 12" Sub that runs at 500w rms and 900w peak. Would i match 500w rms with a amp that pushes 500w rms? more or less?
Thanks

 
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If you get a 500w rms amp for your 500w rms sub then you will have a harder time blowing your sub. If you plan on upgrading subs at a later point it is possible to run a more powerful amp than your sub requires, but this is not necessarily the best route to take for a novice.

 
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Hmm, ok so if i was to get 2 300w subs... a 500w rms amp would be fine if i turn the gain up a little?

 
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u can buy a 100 amp and run it it doesnt matter the size. how do u want it to be pushed do u want to push the woofer or have it hit and last a long time? running a 500 watt amp to 2 subs is fine, you wont be pushing all 500 to the subs though u will be pushing like 250 each unless u bridge the woofers into one and then run it like a single woofer which in return will push 500 watts to each woofer. so to anwser ur ? yes u can get the 2 woofers and one sub and be fine, i would just run it as 2 woofers so u are pushing the 250 or whatever the rms is when hooked up to the 2 woofers, then just turn the gain up. sit in the car as it plays and **** around with the gain though because u may think it sounds good from there with the gain hi but may sound like *** inside the car.

 
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you can run any size amp on those subs (within reason, don't run 2000w for daily driving) and not have a problem. I have the xenon 10's and run about 700 watts to each of them and have no problems. turning your gain up if the amp is too small for your subs won't help any... gain is not used to get more power out of your amp, it is used to get the most power out of your amp without distorting.

 
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Thanks for the replies!
So in the end, if i was to buy 1 12" xenon sub. How much watts do you recommend to put through it without overkilling.

 
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Here's a little rule of thumb I was taught. First of all if you have a 500w speaker and a 500w amp when you crank it up the amp will push distortion at higher levels and sound like crap. If you want a real installation you use about twice as much as you need and lower your gain levels. A 500w speaker can go on a 1000w amp and turn the amp 1/2 way on your gain levels. Never crank an amps gain levels all the way up because when they are pushed to the limits they distort the sound and tend to run hot. Just remember dont get carried away and blow your sub, if you hear popping or smell something cooking turn down your gain levels. Hope this helps a little.

 
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By the way a little tip. If you have a 500w sub and you push 200w to it you can actually hurt the sub. Bigger amp is always better just control your wattage. To much wattage will blow it or fry it and not enough wattage will damage your voice coils

 
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Good info thanks.
I'm getting confused tho, when people talk about there setups (including my bro) the subs are usually equal to the amp or a bit more. Now im being told they should run less than the amp. That sounds a bit expensive tho?
Thanks

 
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look you have to do the math. when an amp says 1000 watts it means at one channel with 2 ohms. so if the sub is 4ohm then its really 500watts max. meaning rms on the amp will be around 200-400 rms. max 500 with ideal conditions. ok then the sub. the rms is what your looking for. don't ever try to max out the sub. so if you have a 500 watt rms sub and want to only have that one sub then run a 1000 watt to it and tune the amp half way. that way it won't get as hot as if you had a 500 watt running at max. so good luck and try not to listen to some stupid things. if you have a 500 watt sub and push 200 watts to it it will not hurt the damn sub. people say that if you provide too little power to the sub it will blow, if so then everytime you turn the volume down it should blow. wrong. good luck

 
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btw subs< than amp. 500 watt sub at 4 ohm is good for a 1000watt amp at 2ohms. because the sub is 4ohms the power is halfed from the amp to 500. read the amp manual. it will explain all.

 
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Simple as can be, just by a good class D amp, bout 3-500 watts, and turn it to a lvl where your comfortable listening to it. Dont skimp on the amp, if you do you can underpower the sub, kiling the sub or the amp. And put a cap on it too.

 
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are you buying a phoenix gold amp as well? just curious because they have always been underrated for power. i had a 25x2 in my last civic that pushed 2 10" subs perfectly when ran bridged mono. i would pm whiterabbit for his input as well...

 
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He meant if you have a 200 watt rms amp running at max wattage (500-600 watts), the distortion is very high and damaging the voice coils.

My sub setup is 600 watts rms amp and a 500 rms sub. I always try to have a little more rms rating from the amp than the sub, cause it gives a cleaner sound at high levels. you can have any size amp for a sub, you just have to know the limits to push your sub.

 
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agreed^^^

 
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Sorry for the bad wording on the one. 05reverb said it right. A lot of times your amp is more important than a sub. Awesome sub with a crappy amp just means crappy sounds. Same thing if you have awesome aftermarket highs on crappy deck you just get crappy sound.