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i just picked up a jl audio 12w3v3 sub. Oh yeah it's a 4ohm sub.
The amp I have right now is a poineer 520t (yeah... from walmart a year or two back).

I had that amp powering a xplod 12". i never really sounded worth a shit.

i've been told my next best step is a nice box for my new 12", then upgrade the amp.

I'm wondering if i should even hook my new sub up to this amp? It claims 360w rms at 4 ohms. Which should be enough power to drive my new 3w.
But something tells me i should just leave the 3w in the box till I can get a better amp.

Am i right on this?

p.s. please excuse any mispellings or things of the sorts. Still on my first cup of coffee .

Welcome, thats really up to you the amp isnt gonna hurt it unless you drive it to. So if it were me bass over no bass any day :)

Am i correct in thinking that; rated on a scale of 1 to 10, that my cheap little pioneer 520t is mabey a 1.3 .

A lot of good info on here! Something tells me that good value isn't the first thing on the minds of the people at the local car audio place.

The first thing I'm going to say is, figure out the actual rms power rating of that amp.

If its really 380 rms, you are going to spend a lot to get an amp that will get you noticeable gains. I have a feeling however, that may be a max rating.

To get a noticeable jump in output you'd need to double the power. Building a nice ported box could gain you a lot more.

According to Pioneers website the rated power of the 520t is as follows....


Maximum power output.......................... 250 W × 2 ( 4 &#937 / 760 W × 1 ( 4 &#937
Continuous power output ...................... 125 W × 2 (at 14.4 V, 4 Ω, 20 Hz — 20 kHz 0.2% THD)
380 W × 1 (at 14.4 V, 4 Ω, 20 Hz — 20 kHz 0.8% THD)
190 W × 2 (at 14.4 V, 2 Ω, 20 Hz — 20 kHz 0.8% THD)
Load impedance.................................... 4 Ω (2 — 8 Ω allowable)
(Bridge connection: 4 — 8 Ω allowable)


Here is a link to the owners manual...
Pioneer 520t

I'd run with it and see how it does.

If you had no amp and was looking for one I probably wouldn't suggest buy it, but since you already have it you might as well use it.

falkenbd wrote: If its really 380 rms, you are going to spend a lot to get an amp that will get you noticeable gains.
To get a noticeable jump in output you'd need to double the power. Building a nice ported box could gain you a lot more.

So with a high dollar amp with the same Rms rating I may not notice any differance?
Everything i've been told up till now is that it would be like a night and day difference.

oilspot wrote:So with a high dollar amp with the same Rms rating I may not notice any differance?
Everything i've been told up till now is that it would be like a night and day difference.

well.... rating and actual output are not the same.

a 300 watt rated amp from one company might put out 150 watts while another does 330...

I'm talking about actual output.

If your amp has 350 watts of actual output on a test tone, you should be alright on music. Just make sure you set it up right.

falkenbd wrote:well.... rating and actual output are not the same.
a 300 watt rated amp from one company might put out 150 watts while another does 330...
I'm talking about actual output.
If your amp has 350 watts of actual output on a test tone, you should be alright on music. Just make sure you set it up right.

Is there a sticky or mabey a good link to getting measurements on this?
I don't have a clue on how to go about this!

There is a way to measure the actual output of an amp but you need some tools. DMM and a Clamp Meter and preferably an oscilloscope.

Your pioneer will put out close to rated power. I think you will be fine using that for now.