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I set the gain on my amps (100W RMS and 110W RMS@4Ohms w/HP filter on) connected to 100W RMS components and the resulting gain was ~ 25% and the volume is loud but not as loud as I would like. I thought matching the amp and component ratings would give me good results. I was surprised. Are these amps being used to their full potential when they clip this low? Did I waste money on this 110W RMS/channel amp? Do I need more powerful amps to end up with a louder system? How can I get the most out of highly rated amps? (I set the gains with 1kHz@0dB test tone and by ear with some CDs recorded at high levels.)

Kicker ZS350.2 2-channel Amp
Kenwood KAC-848 4/2-channel amp
ADS 246ix 100W RMS 6.5" Components (4)

The reason it's not as loud as it could be is because you set your gains with a 0 db test tone. Unless you listen to 0db test tones, you're not going to get what you potentially could out of your amp.

Try setting the gain by ear with some normal music. Probably louder, more compressed music to be on the safe side, as opposed to very dynamic music.

I used the test tone to find the clipping voltage ( I wasn't positive what the target V was even though I used a Voltage calculator at JL Audio. I thought I'd just use my ear to find it.) then I used a loud CD to set the gain to that voltage which was a little higher than the test tone gain.

I havnt had much luck with those Kenwood Amps, Im willing to bet they overrate their amps a bit