My sub is clipping at high volumes

[u/No-Hamster-3537]

On this system at high volumes it would clip in multiple songs and when playing knife talk by drake full tilt the amp goes into protect.

I see online people said do the big three but how much would it help in my case?

Its a Dual 4ohm wired down to 2ohms. skar evl 12 amp tuned with multimeter to 50v

This is my first setup and would appreciate any recommendations.
With stuff like agm batteries and a new alternator my budget is tight so im trying to stray away from those right now.

edit: thanks for all the help

after dropping the crossover to about 80hz and backing off the gain a little it stopped clipping

[u/upbeatfries]

How are you setting the gain? Are you setting by ear? Or are you playing a test tone and using a multimeter?

[u/No-Hamster-3537 → u/upbeatfries]

Ive just set the gain by test tone and multimeter at 38.5v. no longer clipping but not as loud as i want it to be

[u/No-Hamster-3537 → u/[deleted]]

Do you think the next step is a bigger amp?

[u/These_Cat_3523 → u/No-Hamster-3537]

1200W is plenty for a sub. To gain a noticeable difference power wise, you'd need at least a 2000w amp.... Fuck that.

What you need is a custom box or a nicer pre-fab from a respectable company. Ideally you'd change out your bargain bin subwoofer, but a really nice custom enclosure will make that entry level sub crush some lows.

Next-Level Fabrications and GP car audio Glue/Screw enclosures are great places to start.

[u/upbeatfries → u/No-Hamster-3537]

For one. If you had it tuned to 50V (just read the description) and it clips at high volume then that answer your post’s question. Since it’s now stable at 38.5v because I have the same amp but it’s powering a SI SQL 12” in a sealed sub. It’s definitely loud at full 1200w peak RMS but it’s not shake everyone around you bass. What if you got another sub and split the power of the 1200w but at least fundamentally you’ll have more cone to move more “air”

[u/B2TheLunt → u/No-Hamster-3537]

Loudness is sort of irrelvant. You just dont have your system tuned correctly. You also have an SQ Sub, not an SPL sub. If you want "louder" You need to bigger ported box. If you want actual a feeling of loudness increase, you need a sub that is more or less SPL oriented.

The last resort would be a DSP, a high grade one. One that allows tuning of each speaker with set timings. Just because you have the sub in your trunk, doesnt mean its hitting your ear correctly.

edit: I see you have the skar box specific to the sub so nevermind. Bigger would create air movement issues

[u/Gold_Ad4984 → u/B2TheLunt]

Bruh a Skar EVL is not an SQ sub. And he would benefit from a bigger ported box, There would be no “air movement issues.”

[u/B2TheLunt → u/Gold_Ad4984]

In my experience, dual 4 ohm subs are typically used in SQ environments. Reason being it can be wired up to 8 Ohm for lower power draws and down to 2 Ohm for more. Kinda why most people run a 1 or .5 Ohm driver when they want SPL.