Hometheatre system, more subs=overheat?

[sitnet]

Hey ppl!!! Haven't posted for ages... I'm so busy!

But anyway though, I have a question for all the sound techies out there. I have a Wharfedale 5.1 Surround sound system, and decided to add an extra sub-woofer. OK so it came with only one sub so this is what worries me. I'm afraid that something will blow or overheat over time. The amp does have a fan in though. Oh and BTW the second sub came off an old and cheap diamond home theater. About the same size as the original sub (and same independence, not sure about watt though, doesn't indicate).

Is there a way of telling if I am screwing up my amp?

Thanx

 

[ponder]

I'm afraid that something will blow or overheat over time. The amp does have a fan in though.

How? The subs have their own power supplies and the amp does nothing but supply the signal in a unamplified form.

 

[sitnet]

How? The subs have their own power supplies and the amp does nothing but supply the signal in a unamplified form.

no, no. The subs dont have their own power. The subs only have one cable each going to the amp/dvd player. Thus the amp provides the actuall amplified signal.

 

[PostmanPot]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)

 

[crysis]

You could always add your own fan. Do some DIY work. There is a company called yebo electronics that sell small AC fans that can work just fine.

 

[AMG133]

but how many sub out's does the amp have? or are you going to split the cable and share the 1 port with the 2 subs?

 

[sitnet]

but how many sub out's does the amp have? or are you going to split the cable and share the 1 port with the 2 subs?

Yes exactly, I'm splitting one cable to 2 subs. Tonight I discovered that there is definitively not a problem for the amp to produce enough power because when I turned up the volume higher than normal the one sub (the cheap Diamond one) totally bottomed out. Like reached it's limit.

That was quite surprising

 

[ponder]

no, no. The subs dont have their own power. The subs only have one cable each going to the amp/dvd player. Thus the amp provides the actuall amplified signal.

So what is the rating of the subs? You must have one beast of an amp to drive any reasonable sub, 200W+

 

[sitnet]

So what is the rating of the subs? You must have one beast of an amp to drive any reasonable sub, 200W+

You're pretty close: 230Watt

Oh and bad news, teared the one sub

 

[Dolby]

What is the model ?

If it's a home theatre in a box with smallish speakers, you're probably looking at less than 40 watts per channel - thats REAL watts. Even that I doubt :/

 

[Mier]

The chances are good that you will stuff up the amp. By splitting the cable and connecting more than 1 sub, you are effectively reducing the load impedance. This will force the amp (and its power supply unit) to deliver more current (ampere) to drive the load. Apart from the excessive heat, which will reduce the life expectancy of the equipment, the amp can also start to clip which can damage the speakers.