Honda Amp Power
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Hey there -
The Honda amp puts out 270 watts PEAK (not RMS):
4 x 50 watts peak (reality is 18 RMS @ 4 Ohms stereo) for the door speakers
1 x 70 watts peak (reality is 40 RMS at 2 Ohms mono) for the dual voice coil subwoofer
So in reality it's a 112 watt system.
Not very funky at all.
The reason people are recommending highly efficient speakers to you is because high effiecency speakers simply do more with less power.
But if you use those speakers on a well amplified system they'll sound like hell because they are too sensitive - conversely, good speakers will sound terrible on poorly amplified systems because they are starving for the power to properly run them.
If you're on an extremely tight budget, get really sensitive and highly efficent speakers only.
If you can spend a little more, upgrade the head unit too and wire the extra power from the head unit into the amp.
And if you can spend more than that, do all of the above - and add a good amplifier.
And if you want to go all out - again, do all of the above and add another amplifier and a subwoofer.
This was all probably too much info - but I'm feeling verbose today.
The Honda amp puts out 270 watts PEAK (not RMS):
4 x 50 watts peak (reality is 18 RMS @ 4 Ohms stereo) for the door speakers
1 x 70 watts peak (reality is 40 RMS at 2 Ohms mono) for the dual voice coil subwoofer
So in reality it's a 112 watt system.
Not very funky at all.
The reason people are recommending highly efficient speakers to you is because high effiecency speakers simply do more with less power.
But if you use those speakers on a well amplified system they'll sound like hell because they are too sensitive - conversely, good speakers will sound terrible on poorly amplified systems because they are starving for the power to properly run them.
If you're on an extremely tight budget, get really sensitive and highly efficent speakers only.
If you can spend a little more, upgrade the head unit too and wire the extra power from the head unit into the amp.
And if you can spend more than that, do all of the above - and add a good amplifier.
And if you want to go all out - again, do all of the above and add another amplifier and a subwoofer.
This was all probably too much info - but I'm feeling verbose today.
Thanks for the reply. I wish I could go all out, I even have the amp to do it with left over from my old car. But it's too big. It's an Pioneer 5 channel, I think the only place I could put it is in the tailgate.
So, which way is more sensitive? the lower db or higher db?
Thanks.
So, which way is more sensitive? the lower db or higher db?
Thanks.
[quote:2fd7a8dee6="inspiron"]Thanks for the reply. I wish I could go all out, I even have the amp to do it with left over from my old car. But it's too big. It's an Pioneer 5 channel, I think the only place I could put it is in the tailgate.
So, which way is more sensitive? the lower db or higher db?
Thanks.[/quote:2fd7a8dee6]
Higher.
So, which way is more sensitive? the lower db or higher db?
Thanks.[/quote:2fd7a8dee6]
Higher.
Rule of thumb is higher db rating of speaker = more output. This is all relative to testing method. Whitch can be more involved, but generally the higher the number the louder the output with given power. As far as RMS goes it's .707 of max output of amp. Hope this helps you out. :wink: Show me an amp thats 4"x6" that puts out a clean or even distoted 270 watts and I'll buy every one!
[quote:86fce6648d="stimpn8r"]As far as RMS goes it's .707 of max output of amp.[/quote:86fce6648d]
.707 is an average - it can be far more or far less - PLUS - amplifier ratings can be seriously misleading based on how much juice they are tested with.
It goes like this:
An auto's electrical system is 12 volt, right? Wrong - it fluctuates up and down a few volts based on the alternator, charging state, draw and drain rate.
Some manufacturers cheat and when they rate thier amps they test them at the highest concievable voltage - up around the high 14 volt range - thus inflating thier numbers significantly.
The other misleading amplifier rating practice is to advertise an amps wattage based on a lower impedance load - example - 2 ohm Vs. 4 ohm. Most speakers are 4 ohm but many manufacturers will tell you thier amp is something like 2 x 150 but that is at 2 ohms. Those 4 ohm speakers will probably run at 2 x 75 (if you're lucky) at 4 ohms.
Just in general, if someone is advertising a 1000 watt amp and it has a 10 amp fuse on it - well, stay away! You can also judge better quality amps by thier weight and size (just be sure it's not filled with lead or mostly empty - yes I've seen this) and brand name. You get what you pay for.
Based on all of this I felt that there's no way that the small amp in the E is good for anything but a door stop. Mine is coming out and is being replaced by a couple of JL Audio 2 channels - 1 for the front speakers and 1 for my Eclipse 12" DVC sub. 1 will go in the existing sub enclosure (the factory sub enclosure comes out so this will fit) and the other will go on the back cargo panel wall or under the passenger seat.
I'll let my head unit power the back speakers since I'll mostly be fading them very low because they'll just interfere with a good front soundstage anyway.
.707 is an average - it can be far more or far less - PLUS - amplifier ratings can be seriously misleading based on how much juice they are tested with.
It goes like this:
An auto's electrical system is 12 volt, right? Wrong - it fluctuates up and down a few volts based on the alternator, charging state, draw and drain rate.
Some manufacturers cheat and when they rate thier amps they test them at the highest concievable voltage - up around the high 14 volt range - thus inflating thier numbers significantly.
The other misleading amplifier rating practice is to advertise an amps wattage based on a lower impedance load - example - 2 ohm Vs. 4 ohm. Most speakers are 4 ohm but many manufacturers will tell you thier amp is something like 2 x 150 but that is at 2 ohms. Those 4 ohm speakers will probably run at 2 x 75 (if you're lucky) at 4 ohms.
Just in general, if someone is advertising a 1000 watt amp and it has a 10 amp fuse on it - well, stay away! You can also judge better quality amps by thier weight and size (just be sure it's not filled with lead or mostly empty - yes I've seen this) and brand name. You get what you pay for.
Based on all of this I felt that there's no way that the small amp in the E is good for anything but a door stop. Mine is coming out and is being replaced by a couple of JL Audio 2 channels - 1 for the front speakers and 1 for my Eclipse 12" DVC sub. 1 will go in the existing sub enclosure (the factory sub enclosure comes out so this will fit) and the other will go on the back cargo panel wall or under the passenger seat.
I'll let my head unit power the back speakers since I'll mostly be fading them very low because they'll just interfere with a good front soundstage anyway.
[quote:47db861392="eMass"]If you can spend a little more, upgrade the head unit too and wire the extra power from the head unit into the amp.[/quote:47db861392]
You can do that? That is, you don't have to bring the speaker-level outputs of the aftermarket head unit down to line-level before feeding the factory amp? If so, what's the limit and are there caveats?
-brendan
You can do that? That is, you don't have to bring the speaker-level outputs of the aftermarket head unit down to line-level before feeding the factory amp? If so, what's the limit and are there caveats?
-brendan
[quote:a25267368c=" "][quote:a25267368c="eMass"]If you can spend a little more, upgrade the head unit too and wire the extra power from the head unit into the amp.[/quote:a25267368c]
You can do that? That is, you don't have to bring the speaker-level outputs of the aftermarket head unit down to line-level before feeding the factory amp? If so, what's the limit and are there caveats?
-brendan[/quote:a25267368c]
You need to use a PAC integration device with a pot for "gain" adjustment but yes, it can be done. What are the limits? I don't know for sure but I can guarantee less is more. :wink:
You can do that? That is, you don't have to bring the speaker-level outputs of the aftermarket head unit down to line-level before feeding the factory amp? If so, what's the limit and are there caveats?
-brendan[/quote:a25267368c]
You need to use a PAC integration device with a pot for "gain" adjustment but yes, it can be done. What are the limits? I don't know for sure but I can guarantee less is more. :wink:
[quote:a21b81bc33=" "][quote:a21b81bc33=" "][quote:a21b81bc33="eMass"]If you can spend a little more, upgrade the head unit too and wire the extra power from the head unit into the amp.[/quote:a21b81bc33]
You can do that? That is, you don't have to bring the speaker-level outputs of the aftermarket head unit down to line-level before feeding the factory amp? If so, what's the limit and are there caveats?
-brendan[/quote:a21b81bc33]
You need to use a PAC integration device with a pot for "gain" adjustment but yes, it can be done. What are the limits? I don't know for sure but I can guarantee less is more. :wink:[/quote:a21b81bc33]
Heh. I mistook your "wire the extra power" to mean "additively". I think you're just saying "wire the high power speaker outs, via an attenuator device, to the amp's low-level inputs, unless the amp already has speaker-level inputs"...
...the first option is what I've already done in my E.
-brendan
You can do that? That is, you don't have to bring the speaker-level outputs of the aftermarket head unit down to line-level before feeding the factory amp? If so, what's the limit and are there caveats?
-brendan[/quote:a21b81bc33]
You need to use a PAC integration device with a pot for "gain" adjustment but yes, it can be done. What are the limits? I don't know for sure but I can guarantee less is more. :wink:[/quote:a21b81bc33]
Heh. I mistook your "wire the extra power" to mean "additively". I think you're just saying "wire the high power speaker outs, via an attenuator device, to the amp's low-level inputs, unless the amp already has speaker-level inputs"...
...the first option is what I've already done in my E.
-brendan
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Where would be a good grounding point for an amp around the back passenger seat area???
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