Topic: would this kind of power be overkill?

[craziechild]

hi all,

there is a question of giving out headroom in my head...
situation is like this, my component set is around 70wrms running on 2nd order custom passives... would feeding them 300wrms x 2 be a good idea?

would like inputs on:
1. would giving that huge amount of headroom be a good idea?
2. would it socically change the speaker responces?
3. would it gives me more dynamic music?
4. 300wrms vs 70wrms 2ch amps, which one would perform better, considering both amps are giving real clean power...
5. some discussion says that giving headroom is good... but how much is enough? or how to determine whether its enough or it needs more power?

or basically any pros and cons are welcomed...

enlighten me sifu and sikung... 

thanks, cheers!

[mnkh27]

seriously depends on the quality of the amp you are using. if you actually play the music loud, especially difficult to play materials, and measure the output programme, you'll noticed that you are only using between 3wrms-30wrms at most even at insane volumes.

most importantly, you need to maximize the amplifier's capability rather than add an extra load to your charging system and not utlizing it. having said that, more power is actually better but look out for bottlenecks in your system first.

[Zenn]

perhaps better to disclose what amp is it just to make sure theyre in the same league or not.

usually i overpower all my speakers, around 50% more than the rated rms of the speaker

since youre running passives, the extra power will help, since some passives do eat up a bit of power, but in my mind 300 is a bit too much la, 200W will be nice, at least 150W is good.

i dont know what u mean by socially change the speaker response, but as far as dynamics, have to see what amp it is first

[craziechild]

sorry typo.... its sonically

amp is a PPI 2300AM old school amp... the art series that is selling in mycarhifi... reason i am very fond with this amp is because i am a old school PPI collector and also user...

now powering the front with PPI PC2150 which is 2x150w rms... its nice for me now... but as i like dynamic music so i am thinking if adding more power would be nice or not... i mean based on experience, real experience in my car would only be known when its up and running...

so mike, you are suggesting that i check on my charging/power supply system before thinking of upgrading my amps? i run on a rebuild 150A alternator and also a NS60 battery... NS70 is nice but its too big for my engine bay...

cheers...

[ero]

NS70L can fit in Proton Wira`s engine bay perfectly. Perhaps u`d changed your car engine? Or other major modification?

[craziechild]

will try that... just scare it hits my bonet cover... then dented... haha...

[ero]

no need to scare, u can ask the installer 1st... mostly ppl driving Wira (i know OEM engine la) can perfectly fit NS70L for SURE! 

[ckmoy007]

having headroom is alwez gud. but i heard dat too much headroom might not be gud as well, dunno how true is it. my personal preference is 30-50% extra power for midbass and sub. can't afford more, haha.

[craziechild]

ck...

what are the pros and cons we are talking about here? 

[ckmoy007]

i have no personal exp in this, but i will translate wat i've read. take phoenix gold MS2125 and 2250 for example. powering a 100w mid and tuned by the same ears. MS2125 sounded better in a AB test, it has more controlled mid bass, punchy, and better midrange response. MS2250 gives too much rumbling, still has punch but unnatural and midrange not as gud as the MS2125. making the mid to sound more like sub, maybe this is oso up to personal preference la.

[craziechild]

hmm... good point... didnt thought of the rumbling problem up to date... and my door panel are pretty "loose" to start with...

thanks for reminding...

[mnkh27]

come to think of it, there is no such things as "too much headroom". with power comes responsibility. that merely means you must know how to use the headroom and most importantly, not overdrive the amplifier to clipping. as simple as that. remember too that any midrange/woofer needs a highpass and that the drivers are not meant to play sub frequencies, especially with a freeair configuration.

[craziechild]

mike...

so with what you are saying, its safe for me to say that giving more clean power is good, not enough power is always bad...

i guess with the tons of headroom i am giving, i would hardly need to turn on the gain knob... it would probably be set to the very min... so i guess amp clipping doesnt happen in my "planned" setup... unless i missed something here... again...

cheers...

[mnkh27]

mike...

so with what you are saying, its safe for me to say that giving more clean power is good, not enough power is always bad...

i guess with the tons of headroom i am giving, i would hardly need to turn on the gain knob... it would probably be set to the very min... so i guess amp clipping doesnt happen in my "planned" setup... unless i missed something here... again...

cheers...

yes giving more clean power is good and power supply to the amps is equally important as not to "choke" or "suffocate" the amps. not enough power is not necessarily bad per se but you will be limited to how loud and how complex the type of music you can play.

headroom has little to do with setting the gain knob levels low but nevertheless, headroom of an amp is gain knob dependent. confusing huh? best levels for a good quality amp is still around 9-11 o-clock depending on the pre-outs fed to it.

[craziechild]

would you say a hard rock music is complex music?