Need help on Sound System .

[G.C]

i have a Alpine 3552 Power Amp with 500w and subs that have 600W . can the amp still work for the subs? or do i need a bigger amp for the subs.

[Mangrum]

it will still work but the sub willnot have the power it needs to be running optimal

[G.C]

dam that sucks.

[toxxxic]

yeah 500 watts is not a very powerful amp at all but yeah it will work.

[JDM-95-Hatch]

well i would say it should be more than enough... what kind of subs are they? reason asking is most subs over rate the power handling as where alpine amps you can bet your ass its true to what it says it will do.

[Jaimecbr900]

People, I wish you could hit the "back" button and take yall's responses back because they made yall look like true audio noobs.


First off, an Alpine 3552 is a 4 channel amp and its no where near 500 watts unless you run a straight short across it.... It is intended to drive component type speakers. It does NOT have sufficient power to power subs unless they are small subs. The rated power on a 3552 is more like 4 x 30 or 40w if memory serves me correct. You can bridge 2 channels, but you will still not sufficient power to properly drive big subs.

As for ratings, all of you are really way off. Ratings are simply there to tell you an MAX value. It is NOT a MINIMUM value. Sheesh, whoever said that needs to be shot.

If a sub is rated at 500w MAX, that means that is it's MAXIMUM wattage RECOMMENDED. You can run it with 1 watt if you want. It will not make much noise, but it will "run". It also does NOT reflect the subs "optimal" anything. That is determined mainly by the enclosure it goes in. Some enclosures are more power hungry than others simply by design and physics. You can go and buy you a cheapo flea market pre-fab sub box, slap some cheapo subs, plug up a cheapo amp, and you will have BASS. Crappy bass, but BASS regardless. The question is: What KIND of BASS do YOU want? That is going to determine what sub to use, what kind of power you need, and more importantly how much are you going to have to spend. A 3 cu. ft per box for some mack daddy 15's with 1000w to each can make your ears bleed IF done right. The same equipment in a crappy box and weak power will sound like a it came out of a cracker jack box. A properly designed enclosure with medium amount of power, say 500w, will sound 10x's better than a crappy enclosure/crappy install/crappy equipment with 1000w hooked up to it. Remember, not all watts are created equal in the audio world. 1000 Legacy watts will never equal 1000 JL watts.

Bottomline: You should use the 3552 for your front stage, buy another amp (the best and most powerful your budget will allow), and get a proper install done. That's the only way you'll be truly happy.

[G.C]

thanks!!! jaimecbr900.