Step 0 — Signal source

Select your source type. This sets the expected output voltage range and drives gain-setting guidance.

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Step 1 — Main amp (highs, mids, midbass)

Channels on main amp 10 ch
Power per channel (RMS) 150 W
Amp damping factor ?Damping factor = how tightly the amp grips a woofer cone. Higher = tighter, more controlled bass. <50 loose, 50–200 good, 200+ excellent. Class A/B usually 300–800, class D usually 100–500. 200
Amp THD+N at rated ?Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at rated power. Lower is cleaner. Class A/B: <0.05%. Class D: 0.05–0.5%. Above 1% is audibly poor. 0.10%

Source signal in

Input volt.
Amp gain 50%
Gain range

Tweeter (HPF only)

Sensitivity
Impedance
HPF 3,500
Band: 3,500 Hz +

Midrange (bandpass)

Sensitivity
Impedance
HPF 350
LPF 3,500
Band: 350 – 3,500 Hz

Midbass 6.5" (bandpass)

Sensitivity
Impedance
HPF 80
LPF 350
Band: 80 – 350 Hz

Rear fill (bandpass)

Sensitivity
Impedance
HPF 350
LPF 8,000
Band: 350 – 8,000 Hz

Main amp gain position vs signal voltage

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min1/41/23/4max

Step 2 — Subwoofer amp & array

Sub amp channels 1 ch (mono)
Sub amp power (RMS) 500 W

Source signal in

Input volt.
Amp gain 50%
Gain range

Sub array

Number of subs
Voice coils
VC imped.

Wiring & load

VC wiring
Array wire
Amp sees —

Sub speaker & filters

Sensitivity
Sub Qts ?Qts = total Q at resonance. Low (0.3–0.45) tight/accurate, prefers ported. Mid (0.45–0.55) flexible. High (0.55+) warm/boomy, prefers sealed.
Enclosure
LPF (high cut) 80 Hz
Subsonic HPF 25 Hz

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Band: 25 – 80 Hz

Sub amp gain position vs signal voltage

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min1/41/23/4max

Channel map

What each driver sees from music content

How loud will it play? (Max SPL estimate)

Listening distance 1.0 m

Estimated max system SPL

—dB SPL

Headroom rating

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80 dB100 dB120 dB140 dB

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Sound quality & bass quality factors

Damping factor ?How tightly the amp grips the woofer. Higher = tighter, more controlled bass with less overhang.

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Amp distortion (THD+N) ?Lower distortion = cleaner, more accurate sound. Affects high-frequency clarity especially.

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Bass character (Qts × box) ?Tight bass = clean, accurate transients (best for music). Warm/boomy = more weight but less accurate.

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System efficiency ?Average sensitivity of all main drivers. Higher = louder per watt = more dynamic headroom.

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How to get more dynamic headroom from this system

Dynamic headroom is how much louder your system can get on transient peaks (drum hits, orchestral crescendos) before clipping. More headroom = punchier, more lifelike playback. Specific tips for this build:

Electrical headroom

Total system RMS

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all amps combined

Peak current draw

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at 14.4V, class D eff.

Min power wire (OFC)

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to main fuse block

Main fuse at battery

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ANL, within 18" of battery

Step 3 — Power wire: OFC vs CCA

OFC carries more current per gauge than CCA. CCA has ~60–65% the conductivity of solid copper. Go up 1–2 AWG sizes to carry the same current safely.

Power wire run length ?Battery to amp rack, one way. Longer runs mean more voltage drop — the calculator sizes wire to keep drop under 0.5V at peak draw. 16 ft

Full gauge comparison — OFC vs CCA (under 20 ft run)

Current loadOFC gaugeCCA equivalentNotes
Up to 40 A8 AWG6 AWGSingle small amp
40 – 60 A6 AWG4 AWGOne mid-power amp
60 – 100 A4 AWG2 AWGTwo-amp systems
100 – 150 A2 AWG1/0 AWG1,500–2,500W systems
150 – 200 A1/0 AWG2/0 AWGHigh-power builds
200 – 300 A2/0 AWG4/0 AWG or dual 2/0Competition-level
300 A +4/0 AWG or dualDual 4/0 Not recommendedExtreme — OFC only

Build summary — copies a plain-text spec sheet (source, amps, crossovers, sub wiring, SPL, wire & fuse) for quotes, texts, or install notes.