running a sub with no amp?

[slinky29]

i recently bought a 12" vrx sub & was wondering if anyone had heard of this make before, because i know i havnt.
anyway my question is - i decided to unplug one of my rear speakers so that i could have a quick listen to the sub, minus an amp & i gotta say i was so impressed with the amount of bass coming out although it was running straight of the head unit & i was wondering if theres anychance of damaging the stereo or the sub itself by doing this? i realize that with an amp the sub would kick out much more ooompth, but do i really need one if it sounds awsome without one?
thank you.
slinky29.

 

[davidol]

I think VRX is actually a branding of SPLx, which has its place in the audio industry but it still is pretty cheap awful stuff by comparison.

As long as its a 4ohm subwoofer the headunit wont be damaged by running the subwoofer from it but it'll be extremely easy to damage the subwoofer as when you try and drive it harder to increase the volume the headunit wont be able to produce the sort of power required and the signal will start to "clip" which'll turn a AC into a DC signal, the equivant of plugging your subwoofer into a mains socket...

so to sum it up, it will be ok if ur not expecting much from it but dont drive it too hard

 

[slinky29]

thank you for the advice, think i'll buy an amp them...
cheers mate.