HST18

[nwf477]

Trying to find out how much power the HST18's can handle. I have the HST18D1's and I am planning on getting the Sanway FP14000 amp. The amp will be ordered next week I just want to know where to set the VPL and the db settings once I get the amp. I have a balanced minidsp and mine is set for 4v. I asked this question on AVS Nick replied 2000watts, not trying to doubt this rating but if Ricci used a K10 Bridged then at least to me 2000 is a little on the weak side. Having written that I am not looking to play it on its ragged edge so can anyone help??

[Ricci]

K10 bridged was used for testing the limits of the driver in a controlled setting. That's a big difference from the amplifier size it would be safe to use on one driver in a daily use system.

 

What type of cabs are you using? Sealed, vented, tuning, air volume?

[nwf477]

Just got the info from Nick he said the HST18 will handle a max. of 2500 watts RMS and 5000 watts peak. He also said as long as I do not do anything stupid and leave the room for hours on end I should be fine. The enclosure I am using is the MartyCube ( I think everybody and their brother has one on AVS ) the enclosure is 4.75cu.ft. but after reading your tests using a sealed enclosure at 4.2 cu.ft. I sealed the vent to the cube and I think considering the difference in size from the SI HT18 to the HST18 the volume should be if nothing else at least close. My subs are wired in series 2 ohm per drvr. Which brings up another question the majority of everyone I have asked say whether I run the amp at 4 ohm bridged or 2 ohm stereo is the same but there are some that also say it is better to run the amp at 4 ohm bridged it puts less stress on the amp. I hope I gave you enough info and I am also using a balanced minidsp it is set for 4V output.

[Ricci]

I would recommend bridging the amp for best performance and stability. However that is a lot of amp strapped to even 2 drivers. Take care with the limiter settings and volume control, at least until you get a grip on what they can handle with difficult content. You can easily power 4 HST's well with that amp. In 4-5 cubes sealed per driver and judging from the measurements here the drivers should be able to handle short term voltages of 180-200v across both drivers in series with coils in series. You would want to be careful with that much applied with long duration signals like Nick said. Perhaps start with the voltage limiter set a little bit lower and see how things go. Better to be cautious at first. I'm not overly familiar with the sanway amp but I believe the voltages are a peak rating. I'm talking about rms voltage above so you'll need to convert to peak voltage.

[nwf477]

I am not doubting you but could you please explain why bridging the amp is better than 2 ohms per channel regardless it is still 2 ohms per channel. You are the second one that says I should bridge most others say the amp sees the same one way or another.Being cautious I should stay within the 2500w area?

[Infrasonic]

Read up on Josh's finding here:

 

http://data-bass.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/470-amplifier-comparison-speakerpower-sp2-12000-and-powersoft-k20-dsp-aesop/

[nwf477]

Right before you posted that I spoke to a friend of Nick's his avatar is Shred and I am going to wire the amp for 4 ohm bridged.There were two reasons that I never heard before one if they are wired in stereo you will never get the exact same signal from each channel due to the front panel knobs. Much easier to adjust one channel the second he tested an amp first at 2 0hm per channel and then at 4 ohm bridged the 4 ohm had a little more wattage then the 2ohm ( this was w/ a smaller amp so might be a potential for more improvement ).So today I will rewire the cables. As a side note it stinks waiting for funds from a sale on e-bay it stinks even more when you have very little patience. Hopefully fingers crossed I will be ordering next week.