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[Cory Short]

So I am a newbie to true full range live sound as I have just recently added subs.   I have a pair of 1600 watt passive subs with built in crossovers.  They can link directly to the tops which are 500 watt passive Yamaha mains.    My question is, how is the amount of power sent to the top determined??  What amplifier should I get that would adequately push each side...    or am I much better off getting one amp for the mains & a separate amp for the subs using an outboard xover??

[Paul G. OBrien]

My question is, how is the amount of power sent to the top determined?? 

It's determined by that built-in crossover which in every single example I have seen is very poor at separating frequencies between the subs and mains and offers no level balancing.

What amplifier should I get that would adequately push each side...    or am I much better off getting one amp for the mains & a separate amp for the subs using an outboard xover??

This method produces the best results by far, and there are a range of amplifiers now with built-in crossovers and DSP processing so you could power your complete PA from a single 2-channel amp if you don't need full stereo output. But much depends upon your budget for amplifiers and how much power your speakers can actually handle.. seismic audio is not a highly regarded brand and their published specs are optimistic, so post up the actual model numbers or a link so we can have a look and suggest appropriate amplifiers.

[Cory Short]

In this system is a pair of Behringer 1800X Pro Subs...     Pair of yamaha br15 mains...     BBE MAX-X3 CROSSOVER WITH SONIC MAXIMIZER (just purchased)   with a Samson xm910 pushing the mains..    Thinking about a Behringer Nu6000 for the subs, it's rated at 1500 watts per side at 8ohms..       Thanks for your help Paul.

[Cory Short]

and furthermore...     Still learning ohms and how daisy chaining works.         If the NU6000 Amp is 1500 watts per side at 8ohms, does that mean I can daisy chain the 2 subs together off one side of the amp and it will actually send 1500 watts to each sub at 4ohms??   The subs are said to operate at 8ohms.   A little lost on this.   

[Paul G. OBrien]

Still learning ohms and how daisy chaining works. If the NU6000 Amp is 1500 watts per side at 8ohms, does that mean I can daisy chain the 2 subs together off one side of the amp and it will actually send 1500 watts to each sub at 4ohms??   The subs are said to operate at 8ohms.   A little lost on this.

2 subs daisy chained together is a 4ohm load so you have to look at the 4ohm output of the amplifier to see what each speaker will get. If you believe the amp's rating then yes each sub will get 1500w maximum which is about double what they can realistically handle for live sound sources and 4 times what they can handle for recorded music.. meaning you'll be looking for new subs pretty quickly so a smaller amp may be a better choice.

[ProSoundWeb Community]