Ok I finally got rid of my Audiobahn A8000t amp. It was supposedly 800w RMS and it was powering my 12" Audiobahn AW1206t sub that's supposedly 1100w RMS. Now with that being said, that combination was great!!! Except for the fact that the amp kept overheating. So I bought a Phoenix Gold Octane R 15.0:1. It's another Mono amp but it's 1000w RMS and is more reputable than Audiobahn. I just hooked it up yesterday, Correctly. And it's hardly driving my sub. I had to turn the gains all the way up to get decent power out of it. Not to mention I had to turn the BASS gain all the way up to. There has to be a problem I'm not aware of because I seriously doubt that the Audiobahn Amp dishes out more power than this amp. Especially since it's a Class D vs. the Audiobahn Class A/B and it's PG. What is my problem here?

 

what ohm load did you wire the sub to ? Are you sure at that ohmload the pg amp gives out 1000 rms ? Because if im not mistakin' the octane series does 1000rms at 1 ohm. I would check the wiring on your subwoofer.

 

Sounds like the wiring might be an issue like DcMaN suggested try that out first the lets take it from there. Make sure to wire it in parallel to get a 2 ohm load if you have the dvc 4 ohm version.

 

most definately a wiring issue.

 

make sure u bridged the speakers good..

 

You can't "bridge" speakers per se. Its the amp that gets bridged.

 

lol.

did you check the wiring to the sub yet, mejestic?

 

Ok. Damn I didn't see all these responses. Thanks.

Now....It's a Mono amp so the connectors are already in Parallel. With the Audiobahn sub if you connect the wires backwards it will "cancel out" and not work at all so the wires are connected correctly. I have tried connecting them together on two terminals and I have tried using all four terminals separately.

Now. I get sound but it's very very low and I have to turn the gain all the way up to get decent bass. On top of that, It's pulling a whole lot more current than the old Audiobahn amp and it producing less sound. I moved my ground to a perfect place and that didn't help either. I'm out of ideas. The crazy part about it is that if I turn the gains all the way up and turn the bass boost up just a little bit, it's loud and distortion-free. How is that possible. The only problem with that is that it's pullin a ridiculous amount of current.

EDIT: The Sub is Dual 4ohm Voice coils so in parallel that is 2ohms....The amp's max load is 2ohm.

 

not to beat a dead horse but, you're certain you have it hooked like this correct?:

 

Also, besides the wiring (which you may want to double check anyways), where was the amp purchased? Was it used or new?

 

Question 1: I am 700% positive it's connected in Parallel.

Question 2:
http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29392-...m=140039640147

 

so it does 750 rms @ 2 ohms which is what your sub is supposedly wired to. Make sure you have the rcas in the input and not output, im not sure what else to tell ya.

 

does the thing move like as if it should be slamming but produces like nothing? if so, might just be wired out of phase. check your polarity from the amp to the sub box...


ive done this once

 

Maybe I'm not explaining my problem wrong. This amp supposedly does 1000w rms which is probably more like 800w rms. The sub does 1100w rms which is really more like 800w rms.

The amp is wired correctly and I am getting clean sound but I have to turn the gains all the way up just to get loud bass. Trust me, it's loud but I shouldn't have to turn the gains all the way up. The RCAs are connected correctly. While it's kicking out good loud bass it's pulling way too much current. Especially since it's a Class D amp instead of Class A/B which pulls a lot of current. It pulls 10x more current than my Audiobahn did. My lights are dimming like crazy...Way worse than before.

 

the amp does not do 1000 w rms. It does 750 RMS @ 2 ohms, and IS NOT 1 ohm stable you should read what your buying before you buy stuff. Your sub is wired to 2 ohms, so your amp is pushing out 750 rms.

 

how do you have your settings on your HU? is the bass setting all the way down?

 

I have read on multiple different websites 1000w rms and my paperwork included with the amp says 1000w @ 2ohms.

I never mentioned anything about 1 ohm. My subs are presenting a 2 ohm load. Read the whole thread before you go blabbing off.

 

I have my bass and sub settings at 0. Zero meaning not amplified just normal.

I also tried raising the sub output level to the max and that helped a little but not much.

 

Does running larger(2gauge) power wire solve dimming problems at all?

 

no, infact it would probably make the situation worse. Invest in the big 3.

 

I started the big three and upgraded the battery to -... but can't locate the alt - and the alt to battery wire. How many people have done this on a Max?

 

What head unit are you running? Depending on what Sony HU ur running that may be the issue. What is the pre-out voltage of it? If anything lower than 5V, that could be the cause.

 

Sony Xplod M8805x with 4v Sub Preouts. I thought about that but wouldn't the Audiobahn and my old Rockford amp had been underpowered also?

 

No not necessarily, some amps including some of the octane's require a high input. The audiobahn and rf can work with low voltage signals.

 

Ok. Maybe that's the issue with low output but would that have anything to do with the power it's pulling? I can live with the gains up high but I can't live with the dimming.

 

keeping the gains up high is pushing it, its not good for the amp or your speakers, it introduces distortion as well.

is there another amp you could try like a friends or something? just to rule out that its not the amp?

 

The weird part is that with the gains all the way up the music is distortion-free. I don't get distortion until the volume on the deck gets pass 65%. 60% is very very loud.

I could be the amp. My audiobahn or my rockford would have both blew that sub if I turned the gains up all the way. I just think the input sensitivity very low like somebody else said.

 

Hmm turn the gains and all other settings to 0 (bass on HU etc). Now turn the volume up to 75% of full tilt, then adjust the gains to the point of distortion. That should be set a little bit better. See if that makes a difference.

 

Right. That's what I did and they low volume is not problem I just thought it was weird that I have to turn the gains up all the way. It sounds great. I just can't understand why it uses so much current. More than any other sub I've had. Class D is suppose to be more efficient with a MOSFET switching power supply and use less voltage for the same output as a Class A/B amp. Oh well. I guess I will never understand that part.

 

Chances are this amp is putting quite a bit more power out than your audiobah was, no matter what class the amp is, it will draw current from all sources when there's that much power.

 

yeah I guess you`re right. I just thought it was odd. I'm used to my old Sony 1000w amp. it was loud and pulled hardly any current compared to this thing. I do thank you guys for your help and opinions.

 

Update: All this time it was my sub....That Audiobahn AW1206T sub made my old Rockford Amp catch fire, overheated my Audiobahn Amp, made this Phoenix Gold Amp seem powerless, and was making my headlights dim all this time. I just got back from an Audio Shop "Audio Connection" and bought a 10" Kicker L5 and hooked it up to that Phoenix Gold Amp. "Oh my God!!!!!". Lovely. I actually have a headache. Thanks guys.

EDIT: The guy at the audio shop tested the Audiobahn sub and unbelievably it actually went down to .5ohms.....That was causing light dimming, fires, and high current usage. My lights hardly dim now.

 

Nice, problem solved. PICS?!

 

I will take some today...