Is my AMP GONNA BLOW!!!!!

[Kyleebbert 0]

So my amp outputs 3500watts, but its fuses are only 3X30amp so 90 amps which is what 900 watt rms or something around that???? so whats gonna happen if i set it higher then what the fuses can take. I really want to set them higher since i got the bad boy 18 Fi BL.

[XxedgarxX 2]

if you set it higher well your going to clip that amp

[sqjeep 9]

What amp do you have??

Also the 3500 watts is that rms or peak??

[Kyleebbert 0]

Its a Boss cx 3500 its a decent amp nothing special...And it gets 3500rms at 1 ohm and 2100rms at 2 ohms,,btw what does clipping your amp mean???

[poundindak69 15]

Its a Boss cx 3500 its a decent amp nothing special...And it gets 3500rms at 1 ohm and 2100rms at 2 ohms,,btw what does clipping your amp mean???

not to be a party pooper but with 3 30 amp fuses i doubt that thign will even come close to do 3500 watts rms, someone who cna explain clipping better will chime in on that

Edited August 5, 2009 by lil98cabrio

[rushnrun 14]

If your amp has 90 amps of onboard fusing there is no way it's able to produce 3500watts...

Basic math that you've already done yourself... 12volts, 90 amps, 80%efficient=864watts... I'm not saying that the amp can't do a little more but I would say it's a 1000watt peak amp and no where near 3500.

**even at 14volts it's only good for roughly 1000watts

adjust your gains properly for best performance... turning up the gain knob will be detrimental if you clip the signal..

if you're running that high-quality/expensive of a woofer, why don't you look into a better amp?

[rushnrun 14]

those amps can be picked up for 130 brand new btw...

try looking into a better quality amp for your BTL...The Sundowns are the big performer around here... even the SAZ1000D would out perform the amp you have now..

[Duran 387]

"Is my AMP GONNA BLOW!!!!!!"

Yup...and nuclear fallout will occur. Like Judgment day, Skynet is gonna kill us all.

[Kyleebbert 0]

Nooooooooooo it really does put out 3500watts look it up and tell me what i should do

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Nooooooooooo it really does put out 3500watts look it up and tell me what i should do

What does the owners manual say? They designed the amp and wrote the manual. Go by the recommendations and your good to go!

Be careful though Sknynet is watching!

[topgun 262]

Nooooooooooo it really does put out 3500watts look it up and tell me what i should do

I hope you are joking.

Do a little bit of research and reading to learn more about amplifiers and then go from there.

[rushnrun 14]

Nooooooooooo it really does put out 3500watts look it up and tell me what i should do

Just because they claim it...... it must be true...... even if it's against the laws of physics....

we tried...

[KU40 173]

Seriously? If you draw more current than the fuses can handle, the fuses blow. They are there to protect the amp from drawing too much. That's their whole point of existence.

ps- even if lightning struck that amp it couldnt put out 3500 watts. Not only that, but if it did you'd likely blow your 1000 watt-RMS BL sub.

[topgun 262]

ps- even if lightning struck that amp it couldnt put out 3500 watts.

But if you were driving 88mph you would achieve 1.21 gigawatts of power out of it.

[jcarter1885 995]

Boss amps are overrated all day and that 3500 watts is PEAK NOT RMS, your amp is putting out anywhere from 800-1000watts RMS. So that amp will be fine your subwoofer now if you already have it in your possession but eventually I would suggest you step up the quality of the amp eventually. just my .02

[Kyleebbert 0]

Boss amps are overrated all day and that 3500 watts is PEAK NOT RMS, your amp is putting out anywhere from 800-1000watts RMS. So that amp will be fine your subwoofer now if you already have it in your possession but eventually I would suggest you step up the quality of the amp eventually. just my .02

Ight so saying that is it safe to say i can turn my amps input level max and the fuses wont blow???

[topgun 262]

Boss amps are overrated all day and that 3500 watts is PEAK NOT RMS, your amp is putting out anywhere from 800-1000watts RMS. So that amp will be fine your subwoofer now if you already have it in your possession but eventually I would suggest you step up the quality of the amp eventually. just my .02

Ight so saying that is it safe to say i can turn my amps input level max and the fuses wont blow???

No. Do NOT do that. It is stupid.

Read.

[jcarter1885 995]

Boss amps are overrated all day and that 3500 watts is PEAK NOT RMS, your amp is putting out anywhere from 800-1000watts RMS. So that amp will be fine your subwoofer now if you already have it in your possession but eventually I would suggest you step up the quality of the amp eventually. just my .02

Ight so saying that is it safe to say i can turn my amps input level max and the fuses wont blow???

No. Do NOT do that. It is stupid.

Read.

x2, I never turn any input gain above 75%, just for the wear and tear on the amp. You need to buy a dmm or oscope to properly set your gains my friend.

[rushnrun 14]

Boss amps are overrated all day and that 3500 watts is PEAK NOT RMS, your amp is putting out anywhere from 800-1000watts RMS. So that amp will be fine your subwoofer now if you already have it in your possession but eventually I would suggest you step up the quality of the amp eventually. just my .02

Ight so saying that is it safe to say i can turn my amps input level max and the fuses wont blow???

the fuses won't blow... but don't just turn the gain all the way up.... you can set the gain using a basic multi-meter as well, but a scope is preferred but not practical for most.

[shizzzon 461]

Gain = voltage matcher (bet nobody ever heard it called that, hehe)

All preouts on the back of a head unit have a certain voltage that is uses. The gain control on an amp is used to MATCH that voltage.

So, if your head unit outputs 4v, for example, that would be 4.0v flat which probably isn't perfect in the real world but if it was, then you'd turn the gain up until it matched to 4.0v.

Not turned up high enough... just wastin potential, turn it up above what it is suppose to be, and you will start clipping the amp, overdriving it, etc...

This is why gain controls are rated by volts and not numbers because it is NOT a volume control.

Hell, there are some head units out there that output so high a voltage that if u buy a real cheap amp that can't accept the voltage high enough, it can damage the amp's inputs!

Line driver's are a good example of this happening since they can output some serious voltage if not set properly.

If you use a DMM, for best accuracy, it's also best to use an Ammeter to find actual resistance in real time so u can then properly set the gain via DMM in accordance to the real time resistance reading.

Dmm measures voltage, Ammeter measures Amps

Dmm probes go on + and - of amp's terminal.

Ammeter CLAMPS around ONLY 1 of the 2 wires, positive or negative, not both! (or all the positives or all the negatives only)

To get resistance, divide amps INTO voltage

To get power output, multiply volts and amps together

Once you have resistance, look up the approximate power output at that load.

If it said 450w @4ohm rms, then you would do this match for example-

44v

10.5A

Multiply those together to get 441w

When divided, it equals 4 ohms, that's why i chose those numbers because it works with the example.

So, now that we know that 44v is where it should be at at a real 4ohm load, if u were measuring in real time and got that resistance, 44v is what the DMM should be reading.

That's how to bypass an o-scope.

[inkfx 3]

Gain = voltage matcher (bet nobody ever heard it called that, hehe)

All preouts on the back of a head unit have a certain voltage that is uses. The gain control on an amp is used to MATCH that voltage.

So, if your head unit outputs 4v, for example, that would be 4.0v flat which probably isn't perfect in the real world but if it was, then you'd turn the gain up until it matched to 4.0v.

Not turned up high enough... just wastin potential, turn it up above what it is suppose to be, and you will start clipping the amp, overdriving it, etc...

This is why gain controls are rated by volts and not numbers because it is NOT a volume control.

Hell, there are some head units out there that output so high a voltage that if u buy a real cheap amp that can't accept the voltage high enough, it can damage the amp's inputs!

Line driver's are a good example of this happening since they can output some serious voltage if not set properly.

If you use a DMM, for best accuracy, it's also best to use an Ammeter to find actual resistance in real time so u can then properly set the gain via DMM in accordance to the real time resistance reading.

Dmm measures voltage, Ammeter measures Amps

Dmm probes go on + and - of amp's terminal.

Ammeter CLAMPS around ONLY 1 of the 2 wires, positive or negative, not both! (or all the positives or all the negatives only)

To get resistance, divide amps INTO voltage

To get power output, multiply volts and amps together

Once you have resistance, look up the approximate power output at that load.

If it said 450w @4ohm rms, then you would do this match for example-

44v

10.5A

Multiply those together to get 441w

When divided, it equals 4 ohms, that's why i chose those numbers because it works with the example.

So, now that we know that 44v is where it should be at at a real 4ohm load, if u were measuring in real time and got that resistance, 44v is what the DMM should be reading.

That's how to bypass an o-scope.

Very good post.

[shizzzon 461]

yes, it's good to know.

Also, before even beginning to set the gain, i usually turn the head unit up 75% of the way. Whatever volume that the amp was tuned at, that volume level should ONLY be exceeded with caution because anything above the tuned volume should technically be nothing but clipping and distortion.

I forgot to add that you can turn an amp's gain all the way up at a very low volume and it not clip but you should never turn an amp's gain all the over in the first place unless competing and burping for a couple seconds!

[sqjeep 9]

Ok i pulled the manual this is what it says

RMS @4 -- 1200watts

RMS @2 -- 1700watts

then it jumps to max ratings

Max @2 -- 2200watts

Max @1 -- 3500watts

Now i've was told and read that Steve Mantz who has made amplifiers for the company that the numbers they give are absolutely absurd. They put out half the number listed . Which goes along with the fuses. do what shizzon said and you will be good

[shizzzon 461]

RMS in typical car audio language nowadays means to most people a constant output power.

Well, you can't get constant output power with 90A of fusing with those numbers...

At 85% efficiency of constant power at 2 ohms is only 1100w.

Since.... the amp is rated real crazy off, all the guess work laid out here is gonna be just as crazy.

So, best bet would be to assume the following-

4 ohm -

56V

14A

784w is what i'm expecting from this amp at 85% efficiency.

2 ohm-

68V

17A

1156w is what i'm expecting from this amp at 85% efficiency.

remember, resistance rises and is different at each frequency so when the amp comes on to test... don't just assume because it's wired at 2 ohm (which is really anywhere between 1.2-1.8 ohms) that it's at 2 ohms.. because it isnt.

That's why the ammeter completes the equation for finding actual resistance.

[Kyleebbert 0]

ok everyone thanks for all the posts i understand alot better now,,,,,,and btw my box wouldnt fit into my trunk so now its in my back seat! F**K....