Diamond Audio Disclaimer wtf

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MattinMO

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I wanted to see what ole diamond audio was putting out these days since about 10+ years ago I used a lot of their stuff but knew they started making some junk but just wanted to see what was up and I see this weird red bolded disclaimer on every subwoofer they have listed on their products page. 

SPECIAL NOTE:   LIKE ALL DUAL VOICE COIL SUBWOOFERS A DUAL 2 OHM SUBWOOFER IS ACTUALLY A 1 OHM...OR 4 OHM SUBWOOFER -IT WILL NEVER BE JUST 2 OHMS!!   AND A DUAL 4 OHM SUBWOOFER IS ACTUALLY A 2 OHM...OR 8 OHM SUBWOOFER -IT WILL NEVER BE JUST 4 OHMS!!BE CAREFUL WHEN DESIGNING YOUR AUDIO SYSTEM AND YOUR SELECTION OF AMPLIFIER/SUBWOOFER COMBINATION(S).   LOWER IMPEDANCE IS NOT A GOOD THING.  DAMPENING FACTOR OF THE AMPLIFIER SUFFERS (HOW IT CONTROLS THE SUBWOOFER) AND THE HEAT OF ANY AMPLIFIER DOUBLES WITH EVERY HALVING OF IMPEDANCE.  NOT A GOOD THING!!!  REMEMBER THAT HEAT IS YOUR ENEMY. 

 
I knows subwoofer technology has changed immensely over the past several years hell even ferrite magnets are made stronger today then they were 10 years ago but I still love me some older subs too  

 
Technically you can run just one coil of a DVC. It cuts the power handling in half, and alters the t/s specs, but it wont hurt the driver if you account for these changes. Some manufacturers even use to design subs specifically to allow this, and published t/s parameters when using only one coil. But yes for the average consumer, the disclaimer is basically true, except for the generality about a lower impedance always being bad.

 
Technically you can run just one coil of a DVC. It cuts the power handling in half, and alters the t/s specs, but it wont hurt the driver if you account for these changes. Some manufacturers even use to design subs specifically to allow this, and published t/s parameters when using only one coil. But yes for the average consumer, the disclaimer is basically true, except for the generality about a lower impedance always being bad.
Well in theory.... They are correct about the lower impedance generating more heat. You have to remember wire is rated to amperage, not wattage and this is true on Voice Coils as well. The amperage running along Voice Coil on a Subwoofer is higher.. For example... For 1000W a 1 ohm load would be 33.3V x 33.3A (rounded up), for 4 ohms it would be 63.3V X 15.825A. Now go look at AC Wire rated at 16amps vs 33 amps...  

An interesting test would be to wire a DVC 2 Ohm Sub and See how long it lasts running  @ 1 Ohm and  @ 4 Ohms

 
Well in theory.... They are correct about the lower impedance generating more heat. You have to remember wire is rated to amperage, not wattage and this is true on Voice Coils as well. The amperage running along Voice Coil on a Subwoofer is higher.. For example... For 1000W a 1 ohm load would be 33.3V x 33.3A (rounded up), for 4 ohms it would be 63.3V X 15.825A. Now go look at AC Wire rated at 16amps vs 33 amps...  

An interesting test would be to wire a DVC 2 Ohm Sub and See how long it lasts running  @ 1 Ohm and  @ 4 Ohms
I understand and you are correct. But imo you are missing the forest through the trees. The disclaimer said "lower impedance is not a good thing" and then went on to prove this statement by describing how a lower impedance affects heat generation and dampening factor. Technically everything they said is true, but where does that logic stop? If a lower impedance is bad, why aren't we all running 1 million ohm drivers and wishing we could afford those sweet 1 billion ohm drivers that just hit the market. Logic tells us that their statement is unbalanced towards error on the side of caution. Which makes sense for a tutorial, but this often leads to over generalizations for the sake of simplicity, which has occurred here.

 
I understand and you are correct. But imo you are missing the forest through the trees. The disclaimer said "lower impedance is not a good thing" and then went on to prove this statement by describing how a lower impedance affects heat generation and dampening factor. Technically everything they said is true, but where does that logic stop? If a lower impedance is bad, why aren't we all running 1 million ohm drivers and wishing we could afford those sweet 1 billion ohm drivers that just hit the market. Logic tells us that their statement is unbalanced towards error on the side of caution. Which makes sense for a tutorial, but this often leads to over generalizations for the sake of simplicity, which has occurred here.
We are all running at 1ohm because that is marketing pushed us towards.... its “easier” to get big power numbers out of amps at lower ohm loads... however if you wanted gear to last we would be running at higher ohm loads... Now we have gone full retard and running gear at .5 and .25 and crying when the crap breaks.... 

 
clipping at higher impedances will still damage the sub depending on the limits of the equipment. I'd rather have more power at lower impedance(but safe) with a cleaner signal with all the head room in the world vs an almost square wave at a higher impedance and still not achieving the output desired.

 
We are all running at 1ohm because that is marketing pushed us towards.... its “easier” to get big power numbers out of amps at lower ohm loads... however if you wanted gear to last we would be running at higher ohm loads... Now we have gone full retard and running gear at .5 and .25 and crying when the crap breaks.... 
Properly designed gear will factor in for things you seem to be suggesting will always make an item fail prematurely. It is true to say that given a specific amplifier, it will last longer if its running at 8ohms throughout its life rather than at 4ohms. But it is not true to say that all amplifiers that run at 8ohms will last longer than amplifiers than run at 4ohms. Back to my original point, a lower impedance is not always bad. Its an over simplification meant to have novices error on the side of caution.

 
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MattinMO

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