Hi, guys. So I installed my new stereo myself in my 1999 TransAm, except for the external amp and subwoofer that I had professionally installed.

RECEIVER: Sony MEX-N5200BT
FRONT DOOR: Orion Cobalt 6.5"
REAR PASSENGER SEAT: Kicker COMP Subwoofer 6.5"

(Before installing external amp and subwoofer.)

Well, I installed those and while it sounded really clear, it was lacking the bass I wanted, so my friend sold me his subwoofer and amp sitting in his garage for a good price. When the company installed them they called me up and said "Uhh... this is not an entry level sound system. Most people work up to this. When people say 'I bought a sub from a friend' it is usually garbage, but this is extremely powerful. We have it turned down very low, and if you want to turn it up, I suggest you get a secondary car battery. Meanwhile, watch your voltmeter on your dash when playing your music."

So, I have the system EQ'd where it sounds AMAZING between the highs and lows, I have HPF at 120 LPF at 60 on the receiver, about -3dB subwoofer on the receiver, and on the external amp everything is very low, like 5% amp power, 5% bass boost, and I'm not sure what the LPF is on the amp. Anyways, even at this level, it sounds absolutely FANTASTIC. The lows get my whole car to shake like thunder, and I have the instruments and vocals super clear in the mid and high range out of the Orions. I'm really satisfied, except for one problem: There's a certain point (that varies by song) where the Subwoofers make this horrific popping sound. On the reciever, (0-50 is volume numbers), it's usually right around 35. I can get it to 33 on most music, 36-37 some songs, but usually anything above 33 it starts popping every 5-15 seconds. Pulling back the volume one single level immediately fixes the problem. But I thought this was a BAD *** amp and subwoofer? My understanding is it has like 95% more potential than I'm pushing it. WTF?

Would lowering the LPF on the amp help this? Or am I underpowering it because of the single battery and low amp level? Would getting a second battery help or is that not related? (Voltmeter is staying in safe ranges, even when popping happens.) It really sucks, because there are songs I want to just BLAST that sounds amazing, EXCEPT for the popping every 15-30 seconds completely ruins it. Aside from the popping, it sounds great. So being limited to 33 when my less expensive speakers can play up to like 37-38 (out of 50) is really pissing me off. It's like getting music blue *****. What can I do? Thank you for any help.

(Picture of amp and sub installed.)

 

Don't let the popping continue. That's the sound of you destroying your stuff. If you crank the volume to compensate for bad settings you're going to blow out alot of equipment.

Double check all the wiring between the amp and the speaker. A loose connection can cause it. Make sure to look inside the box to be sure that the speaker itself is wired tightly.

The other possible cause is that the power of the amp and the demand of the speaker aren't matching. It could be anything from the ohms being wrong to the amp settings being off. Basically the amp is overheating and cutting out for a second because it's trying to feed more power than it can.

 

Am I really overpowering the supply of a 3000 watt amp? I guess I'm not a stereo expert or electrician, I was just under the impression that I was barely scratching the surface of either of their power. Like, the volume level or power level whatever on the external amp is at like 3% and on the receiver it's like -6dB. I was told I had enough power to blow my windows out if I wanted, and to be careful turning the amp up.

But yeah, I am avoiding the popping, definitely. I've kept it in the safe ranges, but it's annoying because each song is different. Amour from Rammstein hits bass hard with no popping at 35 volume (it gets my rear view mirror out of alignment it thunders and slams so hard), but then I switch to a different song, even one with less bass, and the popping is out of control and I have to turn it to like 31 quickly. And then I have pathetic *** bass and it's too quiet for my tastes, but the popping goes away, at least.

 

You just answered your own question. You need to stop playing with the volume **** and turn up the amp. You're telling the amp you want it at 35/50 which is almost 3/4 max power, but you have it artificially limited to a tiny fraction of its power. A 3,000 watt amp at 5% is only 150 watts. That's less than the factory monsoon amp put out.

Once you get the amp turned up to the appropriate level to avoid popping you'll need to readjust your eq to match. Then you'll know if you need a bigger alternator or capacitors or some other electrical upgrades.

 

That makes sense. I turned up the power just a little bit, and the bass boost to 0 on the amp. It seems to have a good balance of power, but I don't seem to be able to get the subwoofer quiet enough as the power goes up, even at 0 Bass Boost and -6dB on the receiver. Once I turn up the volume to hear the highs/mids, the subwoofer completely overpowers all the audio. I guess I just got it too big, because that's as low as it can go (not counting amplifier power.) I have it in a fairly decent spot, though, I guess. lol Thanks, bammax.

 

That amp is rated at 3000w max but in reality you want to know the RMS or minimum power. After a quick search on the gargler it appears your sub wants 2000w rms but the amp only puts out 600-1500 watts rms depending on the impedance of the sub. It would be helpful to know the impedance and wiring configuration of the sub to know what the amp is able to put out to it. It sounds like the amp is clipping at higher volumes as it doesn't have enough power to control the subwoofer properly. Do you have a speaker amp? If not then yes your bass setup will drown out the mids and highs.

 

This is confusing because the amp looks like an Orion XTR 1500.1D and the sub is an Orion HCCA that appears to be a 15" model 152 or 154 (they don't make a 16.5"). The front door and rear passenger seat references seem out of place.

Not to put too fine a point on things but I think a couple of clarifications/corrections are necessary here...
- RMS is not minimum power - it is the maximum continuous power (the power level that an amp can produce or a speaker can handle over an extended period of time). There is no minimum power output rating for an amp - if you have a good enough volume control you can reduce the output of any amp to fractions of a watt.
- Subs don't "want" RMS power levels. In fact, there is no physical minimum power necessary to run a sub. That sub is rated at 2500 watts RMS (assuming it's the 15" HCCA that it appears to be) but it will run at any power level less than that without issue. It may not have much punch or volume at low levels but it won't distort or suffer any damage. The only time the power difference between the amp and the sub would be a problem is if you try to turn up the amp beyond its rated output and start clipping the output. Otherwise it will run at the rated 600-1500 watts (or even something as low as 20 watts or less) all day long without problem.

I agree with bammax... I think the amp gain has been incorrectly set although that would seem unusual if it was installed by professionals.

 

Whoops, I meant 6.5" Orion for the front door speakers and 6.5" Kicker subs for the rear speakers (passenger seat), and 10" for the trunk subwoofer. I don't know where I got 16.5" from. Sorry. lol. But all useful information, thank you. They told me they had the amp down low to protect my alternator/battery. But I was able to turn it up a little bit and my voltmeter/interior lights seem good so far.

 

That's a 10" sub? It looks bigger in the photo. Must be my glasses.

Did turning it up help with the popping sound?

 

I'd have to measure it, but that's what my buddy told me when he sold it to me, and he mentioned getting this as a 10" for his Genesis to go down from two 15" he had in his Grand Prix, so that seemed pretty specific.

I'm not sure about the popping, because now I can't put it higher than 31 without the bass being unbearable. lmao :/

 

Everyone thinks more power is better but in reality anything over a certain point just makes the trunk rattle and the rear view mirror drop. The cutoff between good sound and rattling crap is different based on the setup and the car it's in. For a daily driver I've always stuck around 350 watts for a regular car or 500 for a big car like a Caprice. I've been around a few systems that sound amazing at over 2k watts, but you have to be outside the car to listen and it took a ton of electrical upgrades and a boatload of money to do.

Maybe I'm just getting old lol