Amp sizing/output

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From a newbie starting point, is there a guide to how much amp power for say a single 12" is a good starting point? I've had 400rms before and could have done with more, will 800rms be noticeably better? Need to jump to 1500rms?

If my alternator and car is fairly new and decent, when do I start needing to do extra power upgrades/capacitor etc. would this be around 1500rms+ generally?

Lastly, if I got an 800rms amp, and the single sub is rated around 600rms this sounds like it should still be ok if gains are set correctly? Would I configure the amp gain to 800rms or limit it to 600rms?

Thanks

 
Typically stock electrical will support anywhere from 800-1200 rms at the most before running into any issues afterwards. Such as if your looking to do 1500-2k amp/watts, then I would strongly suggest big 3 HO alt or a few batteries to keep up with the current demand. Don't bother with a capacitor...they're useless once the electrical has been upgraded.

As for your 12, need to know brand. The more power you give it based on it's rms ratings, the better.

 
Thanks, so if I had a 1500rms amp, would I need to get a 1500rms rated sub or can get away with say a 1200rms rated one? But if I could choose always better to get the higher rated subwoofer  right? 

 
Thanks, so if I had a 1500rms amp, would I need to get a 1500rms rated sub or can get away with say a 1200rms rated one? But if I could choose always better to get the higher rated subwoofer  right? 
taramps hd 3000.1 and an american bass Elite 15 would be a good budget starting point. Or a pair of the elite 12s or 10s depending on your space. Make sure you do a custom ported box.

RMS doesnt matter you just need a lot more power than needed to compensate for impedance rise, efficiency and keeping your signal clean while getting the output you need.

You can run any amp even on your stock electrical as long as you aren't full tilting it and tanking your voltages.  Install a stinger voltmeter to monitor voltage drops and make sure you dont drop below 12.0 Volts.

 
RMS doesnt matter you just need a lot more power than needed to compensate for impedance rise, efficiency and keeping your signal clean while getting the output you need.
So this part....how do I know how much power I need? How does impedance rise work....so I should size my amp highest as possible and not worry so much about sub rated RMS? .....so if I had 1500w amp, what single 12" American Bass sub would be best?

 
So this part....how do I know how much power I need? How does impedance rise work....so I should size my amp highest as possible and not worry so much about sub rated RMS? .....so if I had 1500w amp, what single 12" American Bass sub would be best?
just because you have several thousand watts doesnt mean you need to use all of it. The head room keeps your amps from clipping and keeps the signal clean while providing the output you need while keeping cool and efficient.  Just dont full tilt and recognize your system limits, check for heat on the sub and smell to make sure the coils are fine and you should be good.  Another indicator should be voltage drop, make sure you dont drop below 12. volts.

 
I just came back to this site yesterday, and Im seeing a lot of people talking about impedance rise being a reason to buy oversized amps. Keep in mind that impedance rise is frequency based, so it applies more so to SPL competition where the sub is burping at a given frequency than it is on a daily system which plays a wide(r) frequency spectrum. This thread was started with the words "from a newbie starting point", so imo its not a good idea to recommend a largely oversized amp and then just dismiss the possible problems with 'dont full tilt' and watch for the smell of melting voice coils.

 
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