really? it was a toss up between the rsdc and the orion... i chose the orion... i can find the rsdc for 100

 

go for the rsdc then

 

why? ive asked a few people and the results are torn..mixed answers

 

Sorry Brian, I haven't been on the computer since Friday.

OP, here's what I'd do. Since you're gonna be running a sealed box, that will help the suspension of the sub to handle a bit more power. That is, if the coil can dissipate the heat, and everything else in the sub is up to par. Since you said that's the enclosure that the manufacturer suggests, you should be alright to run rated power or a bit more. Now, the old school Orions were beasts, the new ones, not so much... Just keep that in mind...

Now, another disadvantage that most people are forgetting is the fact that an amp is less efficient at lower ohm loads. So if your amp is somewhere around 80% efficient at 4 ohms (which I doubt it is), when you drop to 2 ohms, or even 1 ohm if you want to do that, you're going to have a decent little drop in efficency. I'm pretty sure my Sundown is like 80-85% efficient at 4 ohms, and something like 60-65% efficient at 1 ohm...

The real way to set your gains (in an ideal world) would be using a DMM, clamp, and an O-Scope. This way, you could use the O-scope to find where the signal starts to clip, and the clamp to figure out exactly what kind of power output you're getting. At the same time, you can use the O-scope to know exactly where your head unit starts to send a clipped signal to the amp(s). Then you'll know where you can't turn your hu up past. Now, unfortunately, you can't exactly use music to do this type of work. Unfortunately, you'll have to use some type of test tone. So to counteract this, you'd have to check at several different frequencies for a daily setup. If it were for a pure SPL setup that's only going to play 1 note, then you don't have to worry about inconsistencies due to frequency change. You're also unable to account for any clipping in the input signal. This would include things like clipping in the actual recorded track itself, or if someone has altered the music in any way, then it could have clipping in it, which the test tone wouldn't. The way around this is to use either a -3 or 0db tone. Most music only gets to -10 - -20 db, so you should be ok.

 

I usually just do it by ear lol

 

pretty informative man...how about the amp/sub combo at 4ohm i should be good right?

and so you dont have to flip back
sub is orion xtrpro102, amp is performance teknique icbm-896

 

Never used them, can't say...

But the IA 187 is supposed to be a very solid sub. There were guys using them in DB Drag's lowest class (Street Stock) which allows for 2000w on 1 15, 2 12s, or a couple other sub combinations. I'm pretty sure the current record car is running 2 12s... So keep that in mind when you're looking at power ratings... I'm not suggesting you do that by any means, not until you've got the experience that some of those competitors have...

 

i meant power wise...the specs are on the first page..but if i had money to compete..i would do sq....i used to be an spl nut when my brother had his re xxx back in the day(2000w rms beast) weighs 70 lbs or something... bigger then most 8 yr olds lol. now im more sq orientated but still want something nice n loud

 

so save up for an idq, or fi q..

 

A new amp and a sub won't do you any good if you're getting a lot of distortion from your source unit.

 

1 ohm per channel here! they sound good.. its more about distortion then sq. but with type r's they cover up the dirty sounds

 

seriously...wtf norm....

 

^ You can put Martin Logans and McIntosh amps in your car but if the source is distorted, GUESS WHAT HAPPENS?!

I keep telling you to fix something else besides your sub but you don't seem to like to listen. You call me a hater when I told you your amp sucks but deep inside you knew that when you posted this:

I can sugarcoat it for you and tell you that your system sounds clean but what is that going to do for you? Stop going by specs alone and look for a quality brand. Stop going to the swap meet to buy your stereo equipment.

 

+1zzz