1,2 or 4 ohm amp?

[bdjacks 10+ year member]

I've heard it said that the greater resistance that your amp/sub setup has equals "more control"

If this statement has any validity, can someone explain exactly why 1200 watts at 4 ohms provides more control that 1200 watts at 2 or 1 ohm. And exactly what is a good definition of "control" in this context.

How much of a difference are we talking about here? Apples to apples class ab vs. class ab. (Or D, v. D, whatever)

Does this statement carry more weight among different amp classes?

Is damaging your equipment a concern with the 1 ohm setup?

With that being said, I have two 12 SE beast DR subs, 600 wrms each and each with dual 2 ohm vc. I have them boxed individually, (sealed) perfectly tuned and one at a time they sound awesome.

I currently only have one amp that I drive one sub at a time, a txa500hc that puts out

4 Ohm RMS Power: 2 x 100 Watts

2 Ohm RMS Power: 2 x 200 Watts

1 Ohm RMS Power: 2 x 300 Watts

Bridged 2 Ohm RMS Power: 1 x 600 Watts

I have it bridged getting every bit of 13.8 and estimate it putting out about 400wrms at 4.3 ohm.

I want a new amp but on them meantime should I wire the two subs up at 2 for the 600 wrms that the amp will push? Will I need to worry about clipping?

And as for an amp to run them both properly, any recommendations? LOW budget as this is just a hobby for me?

Thanks

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[tcguy85 10+ year member]

i know a higher impedance is easier on your electrical system. an amp will have a better damping factor at a higher impedance. how important that really is is debatable.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I've heard it said that the greater resistance that your amp/sub setup has equals "more control"

Rubbish.

If this statement has any validity,

It doesn't, so ignore it.

How much of a difference are we talking about here? Apples to apples class ab vs. class ab. (Or D, v. D, whatever)

See above.

Does this statement carry more weight among different amp classes?

See above.

Is damaging your equipment a concern with the 1 ohm setup?

Not as long as 1) the amplifier was designed to operate at 1ohm and 2) the subwoofers can handle the power delivered to them.

I have it bridged getting every bit of 13.8 and estimate it putting out about 400wrms at 4.3 ohm.

How did you wire two 2ohm/coil DVC subs to 4.3ohm //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

I want a new amp but on them meantime should I wire the two subs up at 2 for the 600 wrms that the amp will push?

I would.

Though I'm still not understanding how you currently have them wired.

Will I need to worry about clipping?

Not as long as you properly set the gain, bass boost, EQ, etc.

And as for an amp to run them both properly, any recommendations? LOW budget as this is just a hobby for me?

What is your budget ?

Low is a relative term.

Give us an actual amount you don't want to go over price wise //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/greedy.gif.5a53e6246569d7ab79867170f3b06629.gif

 

[bdjacks 10+ year member]

4.3 is my DMM measurement at the amp (4.2-4.3), voice coils wired in series. (is that odd, I'm just trying to be precise)

So, the damping factor is irrelevant?

Under $200 shipped

Thanks for the info.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

So, the damping factor is irrelevant?

there is a debate to whether it matters or not. personally i have no idea.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

When you're comparing solid state amps of similar output topology it certainly is irrelevant.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

When you're comparing solid state amps of similar output topology it certainly is irrelevant.

there ya go. some companies still feel the need though for some reason to brag about that spec. some on the other hand won't list it at all.

 

[bdjacks 10+ year member]

OK, so what about amp recommendations? I would like to be at about 600@4 and 1200@2 if possible

Some examples of what I have found are the BXI 2006, Opti2000d or the MTX TA 8101, all of which are about $100 over my price range.

even better would be an efficient two channel at 600 x 2 @4 bridgeable that would give me room to grow and get some good use out of the amp.

Or if there is a four channel out there like the MTX TA7804 that is supposed to be really efficient and can run either 4,3,2or 1 or just 4,3 or 2 channels, just with a little more power. this would be pretty versitile.

Thanks again

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Ignore the DMM measurements. The DMM is not measuring the nominal impedance of the drivers. For your purposes, it's more relevant to focus on the nominal impedance rather than what a DMM measures (which is actually the DCR, also labeled Re).

And yes, in most solid state amplifiers the damping factor is irrelevant. There generally is not going to be significant enough differences in damping to matter.

As for amplifiers....why do you want a multi-channel amp for your subwoofers ?

 

[bdjacks 10+ year member]

As you ask the question and I do mono d research, I am slowly changing my mind. but the short answer is future versatility/options, what I am finding out is that if I buy a high powered multi channel amp, it may be too much power for my future applications, for example, I have looked at the txa 6004 that gets me 600 x 2 @ 4 ohms but to re-use that amp for components down the road, I'll be putting out a lot of power which will probably call for a pretty expensive set of speakers.

I split this thread because I figured that nobody noticed the amp question and it is re-posted as so the amp question has been named opinions please, and has seen no activity.

Any recommendations/ideas/thoughts on the topic are greatly appreciated. thanks for the follow up.