Getting amplifier and subwoofer installed, what should I ask for?

[6-Shift]

Coming up soon I plan on getting my truck's subwoofer and amplifier put into my FR-S (alpine type E 10" and 800W amp). What wiring should I request? What will they need to add to make sure everything runs smoothly with the Bespoke HU? Plus for the actual installers what is your average price for a normal installation? For my truck it was about $100. Thanks guys!

[Gir]

At 800w you'll probably have to go with at least 6g cable (800w draws around 60amps, and 8 gauge can only handle ~55).

[JoeBoxer]

What amp is it? 800w rms is a little much for that sub but the amp's owners manual should tell you what size wire and fusing it needs.

[Gir]

I would assume it 800w max, so between 300-400 RMS.

[6-Shift]

Yeah...the sub is peak power is 750 watts and RMS is 250 watts...I was running the amp on a lower setting though...I can't remember the name of the amp for the life of me unfortunately, which is probably a bad sign . Yes I realize that the subwoofer is being overdriven but before this amp I had a 600w amp that could barely move the subwoofer. I never got a manual with the amplifier, it was just an amplifier off the rack at the local audio shop.

Basically at the current state this is no where near a professional or audiophile system. btw Thank you Gir. At the same time I got the subwoofer and amplifier for dirt cheap and in combination they sounded awesome in a crew cab truck so I'm sure it'll be absurd in a small car (frs). If the subwoofer or amp blows I won't shed a tear, I would love a full JL dual 10" with amp but I don't have $1400 lying around for a subwoofer. With this and upgraded tweeters I'm trying to do a poor man's OEM audio plus setup.

Anyway, another question: how do you get the head unit to tell the amplifier to turn on and off? For my truck the installer had to put something on the head unit. Once again thanks y'all.

[6-Shift]

From what I understand, RMS (root mean squared) is the middle value for the amount of energy going through the amplifier and sub. It is best to be toward the upper value for this correct? I know I'm over but besides that...

[Gir]

At 250wrms you can get away with 8g wire. If you plan on upgrading in the future, or adding another amp for your speakers, I would run a 4g line now and save the hassle later.

[d1ck]

I'm not sure how audio differs from other AC circuits, but RMS is usually the peak power multiplied by .70711. I'm more of a mechanical guy, so I can't remember much about electrical theory.

[frs23]

You can always wiki the meaning and equation, but simplified you want to select an amp for the RMS value and not peak. Also, you need to check at what load the RMS value is rated at. It is higher at lower impedance of course (ie 2Ohms vs 4Ohms).

Why buy more power than you are going to use? Lower distortion.

Wise to get an idea what will quality will make your ears happy and thus how much power you need for the setup.

[6-Shift]

Thanks y'all. frs23 That's kind of what I figured into the purchase of the "overpowered" amp. On my old amplifier I had basically every setting (even gain 0.0 ) all the way up and you still could barely hear it...Not a problem any longer! I'm thinking that I'll run 4 gauge wire that way if I do eventually do a full speaker set I'll be able to use a larger amp easily.