1.5 ohm load on a 2 ohm amp?

[babsuhl81 10+ year member]

I have a concept ca525m that is rated at 525 rms at 2 ohms. Will this be alright running it at 1.5 ohms? I've never ran an amp under the recommended ohm load. The most it gets played at a time is 20 minutes. Any info is appreciated

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[Falcons 5,000+ posts]

Should be fine if your not clipping.

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

running an amp below its stable rated ohm load is a very touchy thing. some amps can be ran at virtually any load with no problem. but if your amp is rated at 2 ohms i would run it at 2 ohms. IF you have good electrical, and IF you are lucky you might be able to run it at 1.5 ohms. but if it wont do it the amp will either blow fuses, go into protect, or blow completley(more likley is blowing completley)

Matt

 

[Undisputed King 10+ year member]

You also have to remember you have box impedance rise, you could probably have a final 2.5 ohm load even if your subs are wired at 1.5. It just varies per enclosure. So you should be fine, if your amp goes into protect then its too much for your amp. Like stated above dont set your gains to clipping.

 

[babsuhl81 10+ year member]

Thanks. They guy I got the subs from didn't know if they were dvc and I haven't had the time to take 1 out and see. I just checked it and it was 1.5 ohm just on the speaker. I didn't have the amp on. Does that make a difference?

 

[Undisputed King 10+ year member]

What brand and model are they? Unless theyre powerbass then i see it unlikeky to actually be 1.5 ohms, maybe your dmm is off.

 

[babsuhl81 10+ year member]

They r powerbass. Think they r the s series but haven't been able 2 check yet. I knew they sounded good in the box they came in and it wasn't a bad deal. I figure they are dvc

 

[babsuhl81 10+ year member]

Do u have experience with powerbass? These are only the 2nd set I've heard and they do what I need them to

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

You also have to remember you have box impedance rise, you could probably have a final 2.5 ohm load even if your subs are wired at 1.5. It just varies per enclosure. So you should be fine, if your amp goes into protect then its too much for your amp. Like stated above dont set your gains to clipping.

ok, for starters box RISE is only important to SPL competitors because they are playing ONE tone. on music impedance rises AND FALLS... if it only rose then you could essentially run a 4 ohm stable amp at 1 ohm all day in the right box. PLEASE read up on box impedance graphs before you cause someone new to audio to blow their **** up.

to the OP: unless you can find a ton of proof that your amp can run at 1.5 ohms please stick to 2 ohms.

Matt

 

[babsuhl81 10+ year member]

I'm gonna get a 1 ohm stable amp just don't have the $ right now. I have a 2channel amp and it should be around 3 ohms each sub right?