i have very limited space in the back of my hatchback so i mounted my amp to the back of my sub box. anything bad about doing this?
Replies (5)
Swez on 08/4/2003 20:54:15
Not really and many do same. As long as the heat sinks can cool the amp well enough, this will work. The only down side of this type of install is... if you get a break in, a few snips of the wires and good bye amp and subs.
You may want to tint your windows a tad and maybe invest in an alarm system too.... other than that, hiding the amp and wires to a more discrete location are not bad options.
Swez
ttocs on 08/4/2003 23:03:49
what the heck does a tracer look like, I cannot remember?????? how big is your amp?
Tray on 08/5/2003 16:08:03
I heard somewhere, long ago, that doing this is bad for your amplifier in the long run.
Something to do with the vibrations from the subs, firing directly backward to the amplifier circuitry can cause problems in time.
I don't remember where I heard this, so will not testify to it's integrity, and I have not ever tried this to find out, but I just thought I'd throw it out there for ya.
Isn't the tracer the same as the escort gt? If so, you may be able to utilize the space under the passenger seat, or depending on how the 89s are set up, there may be enough space against the rear panel, behind/above the wheel well. Can't remember what they look like either.
baine on 08/5/2003 18:25:40
Ok I would never install a amp on a box. I too heard it is bad for it , if you think about it really the amp is nothing more than a board with caps and diodes solderd to it vibrations cant be good for it . Also it is way to easy for someone to get your stuff , and not even have to cut wires , a screw driver will get rid of the connections for the Power, ground , and turn on , the speaker wire can go with it . Take less than 1 min to break glass and unscrew it . If it was under the seat however and screwed down It would take a lot longer .
baine on 08/5/2003 18:31:36
I found this on a web page and it makes sence to me heres the link:http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm
Amplifier mounting:
DO NOT mount an amplifier on your subwoofer box. I know that there has been a great deal of discussion over mounting an amplifier to an enclosure and many people do it all of the time with no problems but those people probably build good enclosures from 3/4" (or thicker) MDF with extensive bracing. Most people (especially young impatient people) are too lazy to do that and build unbraced enclosures from 5/8 MDF. These enclosures will flex considerably more than a proper enclosure and will likely cause amplifier failure if the amp is mounted to the enclosure.
REASON:
When the woofer(s) moves in or out, the box flexes and therefore causes the sides of the box to vibrate. This vibration is transferred to the amplifier mounted to the box. All of the electrical components in the amplifier have mass. Inertia (an object in motion tends to stay in motion, an object at rest tends to stay at rest) tells them to stay at rest, the box vibration is trying to make them move. The energy from the box's vibration is transferred to the components through the electrical leads which are soldered into the circuit board. All of this will cause the components to break loose and therefore cause the amplifier to fail prematurely. Basically, the amplifier will commit suicide! :-) I'm not telling you this because someone told me it was bad. I've been repairing amplifiers since ~1985. Virtually every amplifier that's come into my shop with parts rattling around inside them have been mounted on the speaker box. It causes the legs of the semiconductors to break (which causes amplifier failure). It causes the capacitors to break off of the board (which can cause catastrophic amplifier failure). It causes solder joints to break on the semiconductors mounted to the heat sink. It causes transformer windings to grind into one another (which causes lots of smoke to pour out of your amplifier). People who repeatedly tell others to mount their amps on the speaker box because they've never had a problem remind me of people who drink and drive and say there's nothing wrong with it because they've never crashed their vehicle. Eventually, in both cases, problems will arise.
NOTE:
Mounting the amplifier on the enclosure also allows someone to steal BOTH your amps and speakers at the same time with no extra effort. It's bad enough to have one or the other stolen but losing amps and speakers (and anything else mounted to your speaker box) is really gonna suck.
Replies (5)
Swez on 08/4/2003 20:54:15
Not really and many do same. As long as the heat sinks can cool the amp well enough, this will work. The only down side of this type of install is... if you get a break in, a few snips of the wires and good bye amp and subs.
You may want to tint your windows a tad and maybe invest in an alarm system too.... other than that, hiding the amp and wires to a more discrete location are not bad options.
Swez
ttocs on 08/4/2003 23:03:49
what the heck does a tracer look like, I cannot remember?????? how big is your amp?
Tray on 08/5/2003 16:08:03
I heard somewhere, long ago, that doing this is bad for your amplifier in the long run.
Something to do with the vibrations from the subs, firing directly backward to the amplifier circuitry can cause problems in time.
I don't remember where I heard this, so will not testify to it's integrity, and I have not ever tried this to find out, but I just thought I'd throw it out there for ya.
Isn't the tracer the same as the escort gt? If so, you may be able to utilize the space under the passenger seat, or depending on how the 89s are set up, there may be enough space against the rear panel, behind/above the wheel well. Can't remember what they look like either.
baine on 08/5/2003 18:25:40
Ok I would never install a amp on a box. I too heard it is bad for it , if you think about it really the amp is nothing more than a board with caps and diodes solderd to it vibrations cant be good for it . Also it is way to easy for someone to get your stuff , and not even have to cut wires , a screw driver will get rid of the connections for the Power, ground , and turn on , the speaker wire can go with it . Take less than 1 min to break glass and unscrew it . If it was under the seat however and screwed down It would take a lot longer .
baine on 08/5/2003 18:31:36
I found this on a web page and it makes sence to me heres the link:http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm
Amplifier mounting:
DO NOT mount an amplifier on your subwoofer box. I know that there has been a great deal of discussion over mounting an amplifier to an enclosure and many people do it all of the time with no problems but those people probably build good enclosures from 3/4" (or thicker) MDF with extensive bracing. Most people (especially young impatient people) are too lazy to do that and build unbraced enclosures from 5/8 MDF. These enclosures will flex considerably more than a proper enclosure and will likely cause amplifier failure if the amp is mounted to the enclosure.
REASON:
When the woofer(s) moves in or out, the box flexes and therefore causes the sides of the box to vibrate. This vibration is transferred to the amplifier mounted to the box. All of the electrical components in the amplifier have mass. Inertia (an object in motion tends to stay in motion, an object at rest tends to stay at rest) tells them to stay at rest, the box vibration is trying to make them move. The energy from the box's vibration is transferred to the components through the electrical leads which are soldered into the circuit board. All of this will cause the components to break loose and therefore cause the amplifier to fail prematurely. Basically, the amplifier will commit suicide! :-) I'm not telling you this because someone told me it was bad. I've been repairing amplifiers since ~1985. Virtually every amplifier that's come into my shop with parts rattling around inside them have been mounted on the speaker box. It causes the legs of the semiconductors to break (which causes amplifier failure). It causes the capacitors to break off of the board (which can cause catastrophic amplifier failure). It causes solder joints to break on the semiconductors mounted to the heat sink. It causes transformer windings to grind into one another (which causes lots of smoke to pour out of your amplifier). People who repeatedly tell others to mount their amps on the speaker box because they've never had a problem remind me of people who drink and drive and say there's nothing wrong with it because they've never crashed their vehicle. Eventually, in both cases, problems will arise.
NOTE:
Mounting the amplifier on the enclosure also allows someone to steal BOTH your amps and speakers at the same time with no extra effort. It's bad enough to have one or the other stolen but losing amps and speakers (and anything else mounted to your speaker box) is really gonna suck.
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