Fedora0304

I have a 2005 TL, 6 sp 3.2 L. I recently got a system hooked up in it, I have the GPS screen so the shop put an adapter on the back. I got a yellow top battery as well to accommodate the extra juice. I bought two L7's but decided to only put one in since I would be taking the box out to go grocery shopping, and I also have a kill switch because I have children. About 7 months ago I had the subwoofer installed in a custom ported box, 8 gauge memphis audio wiring kit, and an Orion 500w amp (I wanted a 1000w but the guy kept saying 500 was all I needed..although I had 2 15's with a 4000w amp in my old car) I think he put in the 500 because they had no 1000w amp's in stock and was greedy and wanted the cash then and there...my mistake. Well, about two days ago my subwoofer seized up...now it's only use could be a paper weight. This sub was only 7 months old! It's a 2 ohm subwoofer, and I was told the amp is a 1 ohm amp. The shop bridged the amp, I guess trying to push as much power out of it as possible. I would adjust the bass using my screen, it had four options, treble, bass, subwoofer (the TL has a stock 8 or 9 in woofer) and another option that escapes me right now. The only adjustment I would make would be to turn the subwoofer up, but never all the way. Looking at the amp, they had it set at about 3/4 of the way up, and I never touched it, however the BASS BOOST (with a scale of 0 dB to 18 dB) was set at 0.
So my main question is (after this long rant) would it be safe to put my other subwoofer in the box and connect it back the amp and setup I have now? I want to put a 1000w amp in there with an RMS of 750 since that is what the subwoofer is made for. The shop told me distortion caused the sub to seize up, and others said the sub wasn't getting enough power. I have had many problems with the amp overheating, and the shop here in Frederick, MD is crazy expensive, I guess people up north aren't big on systems? (I'm from TX but in the army so here I am up north). I was told to get a new amp 1000w would be $400 then $150 for the wiring set and $150 to install it. I've installed my own systems before, but that was on a 91 integra, and I don't want to hurt anything in the newer car. In Texas I could get all of this for about $300. In reality, I want an amp for my highs and an amp for my bass, but for all that the shop quoted it for $2000, saying I'd need new door speakers, some adapters and all types of other crap. So for now, all I want is my sub back, I'm feining for some bass. I was looking into getting a Kicker amp, 750w, perhaps it would be better to stay within the same brand? I still have this Orion amp that works, but I'm scared to connect my other L7 because I don't want to throw another $250 in the trash....any electrical engineers or system pros here that can help me out???

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

1. add cliff notes.
2. distortion from playing to loud or a lack of power can easily burn up a sub
- 500 watts is plenty of power for one sub assuming your amp is seeing good voltage
- that woofer is good fro 20-100htz anything outside of that will mess it up
3. if its 7 months old its under warranty... just keep burning them up LoL

InFaMouSLink

iTrader: (10)

the sub is 750RMS/1500 max. i dont know the specs of the orion amp but 500 watts is not enough power to run the sub properly. Since you said it overheated a few times and the gain was set at 3/4ths, the sub probably messed up due to distortion. if you need bass for the moment, i would lower the gain and dont play your music loud until you get a bigger amp. Also, search for a new audio place. 2K sounds crazy... and 150 for an amp kit is crazy too unless you running high quality stuff...

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

eggyhustles

Sending a small signal to something that can handle a large signal does not mess things up............

DiamondJoeQuimby

iTrader: (2)

Yes. If too little power blows stuff up, we'd shell speakers every time we turned the volume down.

Also, noting the position of the gain is pointless. The gain needs to be matched to the output of the source in front of it. If the gain knob is 4v at the 6 o'clock position, 2v @ 11 o'clock, .5v @ 4 o'clock position it depends on what the output voltage of the signal directly in front of it is. Let's say you have a head unit with a 4v output. On the above described amp, 6 o'clock would be the correct gain position. If a .5v? yup, 4 o'clock is where you want to be. Both are correct.

All this assumes the manufacturer has used a good quality pot, and has accurately silk screened the markings on the case. Or you can use a multi meter and know for sure.

the_tl_man09

That amp is really underpowered for that sub. Did the amp ever even go into protect mode? im guessing the signal clipped really bad and heated up the voicecoil. they say underpowering is worse than overpowering. ive been overpowering mine for a year straight and they are going strong. i have to cvx 12 basically round versions of your l7's

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^you replied to something that is over a year old.

The OP hasnt been back since he posted this thread 1-02-13

I hate cars

Not only that but his info is a rumor. As it was already stated under powering is not a problem or we would blow subs anytime the volume isn't maxed out. It takes 90w total for my subs to get very loud. They're rated at 500w each and I doubt they see more than 1-2w for normal listening considering they're 91db efficient at 1w plus cabin gain can put output well past 100db with only 1w on each sub. Many ported setups are more efficient even if the subs have a lower efficiency so they require even less power.