Am i overpowering my subwoofer? One of the two blew..?

Question

I have two 12'' jackhammer subwoofers (jh55) and one hifonics brutus amp that puts out 1600 watts rms at 1 ohm. Both subs already blew a while back and i got them replaced by the mtx, and the next day i got it back one of them blew...i tried to call mtx again but now they think im overpowering them. I went to circuit city where i had it installed but they say its not overpowered, but i dont believe them. The gain was at 3/4 full and is wired in parallel at 2 ohms, this is what i overhead them saying to one another. I got the subwoofers at circuit city and i have no warrenty so they cant replace them unless there is a wiring problem. The link for them state it is 2 ohms but the mtx website says its 4 ohms, what gives?

http://www.gooddeals18.com/product/BXI1606D?meta=FRG

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/MTX-JackHammer-Dual-12-Subwoofers-in-Vented-Enclosure-JH5512X2D/sem/rpsm/oid/192804/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Answer 1

It seems like you are powering them just fine. How long did you have the subs the first time. Maybe they did a spotty job manufacturing the sub. The subs are wired together to get 2 ohms. 800w each. The amp is putting out 1100w at 2ohm thats 550w per sub. Your underpowered. Although underpowering the subs can hurt them also.

Answer 2

"Although underpowering the subs can hurt them also." is totally false.

It sounds as if you don't have the gain set right as it's not the position of the gain that sets it.

The purpose of the gain is to match the signal volts RMS coming from the source (CD player, etc.) to the input of the amp to prevent clipping (damage by over powering).

Here is a guide that will help you set the gain correctly http://www.datafilehost.com/download.php...

You'll need a multi-meter (AC voltmeter, $15 from Radio$hack), Microsoft Excel and a way to burn an audio CD from an MP3.

If you don't have Excel, use this link http://www.box.net/shared/nkkw1dhk4g

Answer 3

That amp puts out 1100 watts at 2 ohms, the final impedance on that setup is 2 ohms.... they are 1600 watts max, it says 400-800 rms.   you are overpowering them by at least 150 watts on each sub, probably more.