mounting amp on enclosure

[ssh 924]

I'm going to mount my amp vertically on the side of my enclosure, anyone have any tips or suggestions for reducing vibration?

I've read where people mounted them straight on the box then ruined the amp after heavy playing... So should I mount the amp to some mdf with rubber grommets then have that mount to the side of the enclosure?

Any help would be appreciated

[///M5 2,833]

I'm going to mount my amp vertically on the side of my enclosure, anyone have any tips or suggestions for reducing vibration?

I've read where people mounted them straight on the box then ruined the amp after heavy playing... So should I mount the amp to some mdf with rubber grommets then have that mount to the side of the enclosure?

Any help would be appreciated

Without vibration? No. Not possible.

Need lots of extra mass layers with something between to decouple to get anywhere close. I'd start with a shit ton of bracing and really thick enclosure walls. Even better if you can decouple them from each other.

[Frostedflakejake 148]

Just don't mount to the box. Its just a bad idea.

[ssh 924]

Sounds like im better off making a mount to just hold it near the box but not actually on it... Vehicle space FTL

[Frostedflakejake 148]

Yeah =[ sorry to hear the bad news. Wranglers aren't the best sub vehicles. Just mounting the amp on the box would be extremely difficult to do well without the amp getting destroyed. Good luck man

[ssh 924]

thanks, well once I order 2 s-a12's, sae-1200d amp, custom enclosure, and its all in then ill post pictures

I can ensure you that the inside of my jeep is one of a kind

[Frostedflakejake 148]

oh?? then I'm even more excited to see the pics! Maybe you should put some up today of this custom jeep.

[sq_mgb 21]

My apologies if this is a threadjack, but with all the vibrations caused by subwoofers and 1,000+ watt amps that flex the roof, windshield, etc....is there ANYWHERE you can mount an amplifier in a car and NOT have it vibrate all to hell??? M5 touched on this, and I like to think I understand about decoupling of the amp from the mounting surface, but wouldn't the sound pressure waves still vibrate the amp? I've just never gotten a good answer to that question which seemed to flow along with yours so I just thought I would ask in here. Should make for some good learning opportunities for all of us!

[///M5 2,833]

My apologies if this is a threadjack, but with all the vibrations caused by subwoofers and 1,000+ watt amps that flex the roof, windshield, etc....is there ANYWHERE you can mount an amplifier in a car and NOT have it vibrate all to hell??? M5 touched on this, and I like to think I understand about decoupling of the amp from the mounting surface, but wouldn't the sound pressure waves still vibrate the amp? I've just never gotten a good answer to that question which seemed to flow along with yours so I just thought I would ask in here. Should make for some good learning opportunities for all of us!

Acoustic energy transfer is much weaker than something directly coupled to a vibrating source. Decoupling is definitely the key.

Amusingly though at super high levels indeed you can destroy things. I work with airplane manufacturers where we will bombard metal with high enough amplitudes of acoustic energy to fatigue parts of the plane. It is a rather standard test in the industry, but the only thing causing the parts to fail is acoustic excitation. Strain on turbine blades for planes is also measured via acoustic excitation and unlike the fatigue tests these are at high frequencies.

Moral of the story, if you truly want everything to be isolated not only vibration decoupling but acoustic decoupling could be beneficial. At the same time worrying about the acoustic levels is not something I'd be focused on as realistically only the levels in burp competition would be real harmful to an amplifier. This of course is where you will find cheaper amplifiers to fail more easily as the design process may not take into account resonant energy excitation which is a primary cause for printed circuit board failure. ie if the capacitors on a board resonate at 35Hz obviously ANY acoustic energy at 35Hz is going make them shake like hell and fail.

[sq_mgb 21]

So....I'm just guessing here.....if I wanted to TRULY isolate an amp, I could build a well braced box around the amp and use some sort of elastomer under the box the amp is in to decouple it from the mounting surface (asuming proper airspace around the amp for cooling). BUT... that is un-neccessary if you have a well designed and built amp because it would be able to withstand the vibration anyway, correct? I'm just wondering because since the mid to late 80's I've put I don't know how many amps on the back of sub-boxes and it's never been a problem before, I've just been reading a lot about it online lately.

That's really interesting about the difference in acoustic energy transfer and I guess what would be called mechanical energy transfer? I'm thinking that just to be safe, I'll use some of the closed cell foam I have under my amps this time around, although I just can't see a pair of isobaric 10's with about 500 watts shaking my truck like the systems that have multiple 12's, 15's or larger with 1,000's of watts! Thanks for the info!

[///M5 2,833]

TRULY its not possible to isolate it completely, but that would be truly unnecessary. In your case in particular. If your goals are as I think they are, and the LP amps are anything like they should be based on their price, then you shouldn't have to worry at all. If the OP has different goals which I assume he does it is a different story. He didnt' give us the required background to make the thread super helpful for him though.

[ssh 924]

Im getting a sae-1200 amp and 2 sa-12's. So around 1200watts. I'm going to have a enclosure built by argent audio (ported).

This will not be in any competitions, just playing music on my way from a to b

enclosure volume will be around 4.5cubes, the height being high enough to mount an sae-1200 on the side.

I'll post pictures in a bit

[ssh 924]

So my rear tailgate is bent and allowed water to leak in and get on my box... But its alright, I ordered a new tailgate so that problems fixed now...

I'm planning on having the new enclosure go from behind the driver seat to the tailgate. The subs will be facing the roof.

I'll mount the amp somewhere behind the driver seat and new enclosure.

[Mynameismcgyver 6]

I wouldn't mount my amp to a paint shaker. Would you?

[philipstanfield 0]

What if you were to get an inch thick piece of rubber or something similar and secure that to the enclosure and then secure the amp to the piece of whatever material? That seems like it would greatly dampen the vibrations..

I ask because my amp in my girlfriend's car pretty much has to be mounted to the box unless I want to mount it under the back seat or side of the trunk. There just isn't any room.

[///M5 2,833]

A sandwich of many layers is more effective, but who knows what is enough. The cheaper the quality of your amp the more I'd worry.

[ssh 924]

I'm just going to make a mount behind the driver seat and it'll solve my problems, don't want to ruin a brand new sae-1200

thanks for you input M5

[bartwo 0]

I'm going to mount my amp vertically on the side of my enclosure, anyone have any tips or suggestions for reducing vibration?

I've read where people mounted them straight on the box then ruined the amp after heavy playing... So should I mount the amp to some mdf with rubber grommets then have that mount to the side of the enclosure?

Any help would be appreciated

I've had my amps mounted to my enclosure for YEARS. There is NOTHING wrong with doing this.

[PhishHead 6]

I'm going to mount my amp vertically on the side of my enclosure, anyone have any tips or suggestions for reducing vibration?

I've read where people mounted them straight on the box then ruined the amp after heavy playing... So should I mount the amp to some mdf with rubber grommets then have that mount to the side of the enclosure?

Any help would be appreciated

I've had my amps mounted to my enclosure for YEARS. There is NOTHING wrong with doing this.

Please dont give advice that could potentially ruins someone's equipment. Just because for some miracle you never had a problem doesnt mean that someone else will. It all depends on the amp build quality.

[ssh 924]

After reading respected members input, I'm just going to make a L-bracket underneath the driver seat and mount the amp vertically behind the seat.

[PhishHead 6]

After reading respected members input, I'm just going to make a L-bracket underneath the driver seat and mount the amp vertically behind the seat.

Good Choice

[jcarter1885 995]

I'm going to mount my amp vertically on the side of my enclosure, anyone have any tips or suggestions for reducing vibration?

I've read where people mounted them straight on the box then ruined the amp after heavy playing... So should I mount the amp to some mdf with rubber grommets then have that mount to the side of the enclosure?

Any help would be appreciated

I've had my amps mounted to my enclosure for YEARS. There is NOTHING wrong with doing this.

Please dont give advice that could potentially ruins someone's equipment. Just because for some miracle you never had a problem doesnt mean that someone else will. It all depends on the amp build quality.

There is no problem mounting an amp to an enclosure especially if you have a well built enclosure that doesnt flex, its not wrong information he posted just how he posted it. Ive never had a problem and others have not as well, it comes down to whether or not it is a good installation. If your wanting to be cautious then that is another story but dont turn this into another one of car audio's myths'. In the past I have ran plenty of amps on plenty of enclosures with no problems, to me its a personal preference. If you have to room to mount it to something else then I would do that but if room is lacking then mount it to enclosure (if you weary about it then take steps to protect the amplifier).

[PhishHead 6]

I'm going to mount my amp vertically on the side of my enclosure, anyone have any tips or suggestions for reducing vibration?

I've read where people mounted them straight on the box then ruined the amp after heavy playing... So should I mount the amp to some mdf with rubber grommets then have that mount to the side of the enclosure?

Any help would be appreciated

I've had my amps mounted to my enclosure for YEARS. There is NOTHING wrong with doing this.

Please dont give advice that could potentially ruins someone's equipment. Just because for some miracle you never had a problem doesnt mean that someone else will. It all depends on the amp build quality.

There is no problem mounting an amp to an enclosure especially if you have a well built enclosure that doesnt flex, its not wrong information he posted just how he posted it. Ive never had a problem and others have not as well, it comes down to whether or not it is a good installation. If your wanting to be cautious then that is another story but dont turn this into another one of car audio's myths'. In the past I have ran plenty of amps on plenty of enclosures with no problems, to me its a personal preference. If you have to room to mount it to something else then I would do that but if room is lacking then mount it to enclosure (if you weary about it then take steps to protect the amplifier).

Well when he says there is NOTHING wrong with doing it that is in fact misinformation due to the simple fact that it could actually cause damage to the amp. The OP had decided he had room to mount it else where why let someone convince him that it would be ok to do it anyway? Just dont want to see someone waste money if they dont have to. Not trying to be rude just giving my .02

Jeremy

Edited March 17, 2010 by PhishHead

[jcarter1885 995]

I understand and agree with you to a certain extent, like I said it comes down to: personal preference, space available, compromise, amp quality and the installation itself. He wasnt convincing him, rather just giving his .02 like you did and everyone else.

OP, dont forget pictures with a build log once you start installing and good luck

[ssh 924]

Thanks, yea I'll post pictures once I get everything ordered and installing. Its going to be a brand new sae-1200 so I'm not gonna take a chance.

sae-1200

sa-12's

custom enclosure by argentaudio

Can't wait to get paid!