Is it possible to turn the power in a car amplifier down?

Question

I need 1 channel at 350 Watts RMS to match the specifics of my 10" subwoofer, BUT ALL I can find is 500 Watt RMS or 400 Watt RMS, etc, so is it possible to turn the power output down to avoid damaging the speakers?

Answer 1

It'll do 350watt OK!

Answer 2

Just use the 400W amp if that's all you can find, RMS is a horrible way of rating a sub anyway.

The amount of power a sub can handle will vary based upon the enclosure it is in.

Answer 3

funny .. usually people would have been using that for a excuse to buy a bigger sub ! ...lol when you pick up a amp they are very open to advertise the max power ok ok but that is at peak conditions.......i dont know the ohm load of you sub but i would venture to say 8 or 4 ok well i would suggest either a mono amp (1ch) or a bridgable 2ch when bridging it drops the ohm load from 8 to 4 the amp to the lessining the circuit resistance ..............the k**b you are looking for is the max gain ok adjust thast to reach desired levels ....good luck

Answer 4

this will tell you everything you need to know- get the 400watt RMS amp because it is better to over power than under power, and the gain cant control the "power" sent out but it is used to maximize clean signal strength from your amp also known as input sensitivity settings

If you send too much power to your sub, you risk damaging it. The cone of the speaker and the mechanical parts that make it move may break under the stress. Surprisingly, too little power can also damage your subwoofer — in fact, it's actually more common than damage caused by overpowering.

When the volume is turned up and the amp doesn't have enough power, the signal becomes distorted, or "clipped." This distorted signal can cause parts of the speaker to overheat, warp and melt. Not good!

You don't have to match speaker and amp wattages exactly. An amp with a higher output than the speaker's rating won't necessarily damage the speaker — just turn the amp down a bit if you hear distortion from the sub and don't run the speaker at extremely loud volumes for lengthy periods. Likewise, you'll be OK with a lower powered amp if you keep the volume down and don't feed a distorted signal to the sub.

Answer 5

jus dont turn the volume all the way... u can tell wen u do cuz the sound will start sounding like ****

Answer 6

yes you will be ok. usually on the amp you can set it. so that way if you do get bigger subs or more you wont have to buy another amp. Also you can even use your radio as a your bass control. The bass on the radio is also like your bass control for your amp. Even after market radios have a specific one for woofers so that way you dont have to keep goin to the trunk. Also most newer amps today come with a bass control k**b that you can apply anywhere on your dash to control your bass. to keep it short and sweet yes you will be ok you will be able to tune your amp just right.