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It was in a sealed box...maybe that was "part" of the problem.
TEDD

Box design has an impact also.

Sealed boxes naturally get hotter.

But your sub could have failed due to other reasons also :)

I can vouch for burning up a voice coil. I live 7 hours away from skool and i was giving a 600rms sub only 420rms...but played it pretty loud for most of the 7 hours. well, it only lasted 6. So if you are going on a long trip, turn the sub off (if you have that option) or just turn the volume down everyonce in a while to let the voice coils cool down.

As noted MTX usually rates their amps at 12.5V. The extra volt usually give it more power.

If you tell me the fuse rating on the amp then we could get a better idea of real world power output.

ANyhow it may be possible that you are supplying to much power....

well, what I said earlier was obviously unclear...the rating for my MTX amp is 600w RMS, but I have heard people say it was more, like as much as 850w, I was merely wondering if they overstated this, or if MTX underrating their amps was gonna kill my subs
my subs are 300 RMS each, and my amp puts out a rated 600w RMS, but I dont know if the extra that MTX conservatively leaves out of the rating would damage either my subs or my amp...thanks for all the help

Continuous overpowering will build up heat in the motor structure.

You will literally burn the coil. The wire used in the coil is fairly small. It is a bare copper covered with a real THIN layer of clear coat. If that layer degrades or burns off you can blow a sub like that and possibly your amp if the sub blows closed (Short circuit).

Very slight overpowering is usually acceptable. Some manufacturers purposely rate the RMS values low to avoid so many burned ('Blown") coils/subs. Some companies find the absolute highest RMS and list it (eD).

Thats been my experience at least :)

Ryan, you make a good point. I agree it is BEST to obey rms guidlines on a sub for normal everyday use. I'm glad you backed up w/ some info regarding coils having time to cool down. I must confess...i have fallen slightly victim to the misconception w/ rms power handlings!...( partly because I want to do some SPL competing) I guess it's true you learn something new everyday. To better my understanding i'm going to ask this question: Assuming you are exceeding a sub(s) reccomended power handling by 100-200wrms and even when sending a clean signal to the amp..it boils down to more than just a "clean" signal. The continuous amount of excess heat received by the voice coils on a regular basis could fry the coils?..or the tinsel leads? Ryan, thanks for the good post..lemme know if i'm understanding this fully. Thanks

Ok this misconception on overpowering has to stop.

An RMS rating is asigned for a reason, end of story.

It usually entails as a Thermal power handling. For a short answer if your sub is 200 WRMS and your running an amp rated at 225 WRMS you should be fine.

YOU CAN NOT however go overboard. So running 850 WRMS to a set of 600 WRMS subs is a STUPID IDEA! WARNING WARNING WARNING you are flirting with danger.

This whole misconception is born out of the competition scene where overpowering is acceptable. Its acceptable because the subs are not subject to the excessive power for long periods of time. Thus the coils have time to cool. In an every day driver car (99.5% of us) it is not a good situation.

Be safe, obey the RMS guidelines.

If you want to run your system as such I advise you to turn it off often. Otherwise your running a risk...

Distortion is also a large factor in damage to a subwoofer. Especially when an amplifier clips (sends a square wave to the sub (flat)).

Anyhow

Not at all..Overpowering subs will not damage them. Distortion is what damages subs. Set your gain properly and never turn the volume above what you set the gain at so that you will not send the amp a clipped signal..which in return sends distortion to the sub.

will the fact that they are overrated damage my subs? they are only rated for 300w RMS...I dont want them to be damaged!