Do you think a 2dB gain is worth an extra $70? - Page 2

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Sorry, I'm not big on the electrical aspects of things

My reasonings were voltage doubles, as well as flow rate (current). I guess my intepretation of voltage in relation to current is wrong

Would voltage "and" current be better, or is "thus" still correct?

Like I said, I'm poor with the electrical terminology. Thanks for the correction.

Thus is correct, because current depends on voltage and resistance/impedance. Well, with a voltage source like an audio amplifier, anyway. There is such a thing as current source as well, in which case voltage would be dependant on current and impedance. It would be correct to use "and" without "thus" but using "thus" is just being more specific. Doubling the voltage with impedance held constant doubles the current.

Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation!

One thing I'm not sure on is adding another sub with another identical amp.

Does this yeild +3dB due to the additional driver, or +6dB due to the additional driver and additonal amp?

I'm assuming it's +6dB, but not exactly clear. I am then assuming a sub added while halving the power of a single amp would yeild a 3dB gain?

no. adding another driver + amp will yeild a 3dB gain.
there are different perspectives to take which make the db (logorithmic) scale a little confusing.

+3dB of acoustic power is a double of acoustic power
+3dB of electrical power is a double of electrical power

however doubling your electrical power will not yeild a double of acoustic power. This coming from the fact that the woofer is far from an efficient sound producer. Adding a 2nd woofer to a single driver system will increase the efficiency of the system but the laws of physics cannot be broken ie power going into the system > power leaving the system.
So by adding another amp to the system implies you are doubling the watts to be converted to acoustic power. The woofer doesn't make any power

Would the SPL of 2 drivers at half the power be the same as 1 with double the power? Or are you saying it would be a loss?

2 drivers at half the power each (overall the same amount of power) would be the same as 1 driver with double the power IF you exclude compression and other nonlinear factors of the drivers.

I would do it. Whilst 2dB is not a lot of clean level, perhaps it may prevent the odd clip, which I personally find very annoying. However, it's up to you and your wallet to decide if that's important or not - I paid $A70 for an average meal for two and a few beers last week, and I think I'd rather have spent it on some gear as the benefits would last longer.

Does a digital amp clip? What does happen when you push a digital amp too hard?

Yes
It clips: depending upon the load impedance the amplifier will eventually run out of voltage or current to provide to the load, the same as every other amplifier. Whether the clipping artifact sounds the same will depend upon the design and topology of the amplifier.

Class D "digital" amplifiers are PWM switching amplifiers, which are in fact analogue.

to answer the question,
in my opinion, I would pay the extra for the bigger amp, 2dbs is not a huge difference, but it is a difference.


and not to continue the argument
I have always thought
double the power = 3dbs (not taking compression into account)
double the cone area = 3dbs
double the cone area, and double the power = 6dbs

so, adding a second sub with the same amp is 6dbs. This would be ideal and not actual, but it would be more than 3dbs.

And as far as clipping goes, I listen to music quite loud, and i know my amp clips. But to me its not audible until clipping is quite bad.
Find a rock song, that you know is quite loud in volume, if you open this up in a sound editing program, you will see lots of clipping. I was amazed the first time I saw this.
This will give you more overall spl, but less dynamics.
Same thing with clipping a sub amp, more overall spl, with the same max spl, and overall less dynamic.

I really think the average person clips their amps much more than they think.
I have never blown a sub, and am quite sure I clip my amp quite often. But I try to keep it down enough that it still sounds clean.

This again is all based on my view,


Anyways 2 dbs, will give you a little more headroom, and offer a more dynamic sub.
I would pay for the bigger amp, thats just me though.