first let me tell you my set up, eclipse avn5435 souce unit, eclipse xa1000 mono amp, eclipse ea4000 4 channel amp. my question is, im getting clipping from my mono sub amp, even when speakers arnt attached to it. now my 4 channel amp has no signal problems, its playing just fine no clipping no nothing. now i know the unit has 5v pre outs, and the xa1000 amp wants no more than 8v rms. i was thinking possibly the amp is seeing higher than 8v so thats why its clipping out? i tried testing the voltage coming from the head unit but i only read like 4/5v. nothing higher than that. sooooo my question is what would be causing it to clip out? trying to get more volume out of it than it has the power to play? its 640w at 2 ohms so it should be able crank out what i want it too.

now the obvious resolution to this is to turn my gains down, but doing that doesnt give me the volume id like for it to be. im trying to figure this out lol

 

I would check your power and ground points and also make sure you have a good remote connection.

Also what subs are you running and what wiring configuration are they in? make sure your not wired at a lower ohm rating causing the amp to overload and go into circuit protection.

 

well I'm using eclipse sw4200 subs. single voice coil 4ohm, wired down to a 2ohm load. the eclipse amps have a light that blinks every time the signal is clipped. with the volume up at my normal listening level, the amp will still clip with out and subs connected to it. that is what I'm trying to figure out

 

Well even with the subs out and amp powered and receiving signal it still could. How does it do when you turn your gain down?

Also is the amp ventilated properly, nothing covering it up?

 

Looking at the Amp and subs specs thats not to much power for those subs

The amp in bridged mode is 480watts @ 2ohms and running those speakers @ 2ohm and there 200Watts each RMS so roughly 240RMS to each sub

That sounds like a good combo to me it sounds like though youve got the gain up to high. I never turn my gain over 1/4 of the way up on amps I run.

It is possible there could be something wrong with the circuitry of the amp or its going bad.. but as long as your gain isnt cranked it doesnt sound like your overworking the amp

 

yes the amp is well cooled, nothing covering it, its not over heating. when i turn amp gains down, it stops clipping. but to get more volume and turning the source unit up, it starts clipping again. i cant seem to get a good volume with out the amp clipping. now even tho the light is coming on, you cant hear any distortion. the gains are low enuff to not cause any distortion to the subs, so thats not the problem. id just like for the amp to stop clipping lol. the gain is set to about 1/3 of what it could be. ive heard that music these days are recorded with clipping, so possibly that is the cause of it? really not sure how true that is

 

Is it one perticular type of music..?

Do you like burn all your music and thats all you listen to? could be a cd writer going bad?

you just like it to loud.. :D

The only thing I can suggest is to try a different amp and see if hte problem continues. it sounds like you got all the basics covered as far as wiring and ohm load so its either the source music or the amp..

Let us know!

 

haha well i do listen to alot of rap, alot is burned. but even store bought cds still have a tendancy to clip the amp. ive tried everything not to get it to clip lol. i guess as long as im not getting distortion i shouldnt worry about it. just wanted to see what others think.

btw i also tested powersupply to the amp, when it clips the powers not going below like 12.5v so its not like its struggling to get power.

i just finished like an almost 2 month fiberglass project in my trunk, with my amps flushed in and stuff, so changing amps is kidna out of the question, i dont feel like redoing my whole layout again lol.

 

You know, from everything you've described thus far it really sounds like your only issue is the clip light. No distortion, gain set correctly, other amp is fine...maybe the clip light is simply at fault?

 

they just threw that clip light on there to annoy the hell out of me. i go crazy tuning my system, i cant seem to get it perfect. i mess with it like every other day

 

maybe turn down your sub on your deck, then turn up the gain on your amp to your liking?

 

Almost ALL stereo systems you EVER listen to will be clipped to some degree... if you have a system that's playing completely without clipping, generally speaking it won't be very loud...

clipping to a certain degree is ok, but that degree is rather small... That's why I usually go by ear when adjusting a stereo, distortion is very easy to hear..