1 Ohm, 2 Ohm, 4 Ohm for best SQ? Subwoofer

[bunnerrabbit 10+ year member]

I have a RE Audio 1000.1 amp.

RMS Power Rating (14.4V):

4 ohms: 330 watts x 1 chan.

2 ohms: 560 watts x 1 chan.

1 ohm: 800 watts x 1 chan

I am more worried about SQ and want to be in the 200-300 watt RMS range. Being at the low end is it going to make much difference what ohm load I run? As in 4 Ohm with gain turned up, or 1 Ohm with gain turned down? Also D4 being in the middle is also a option but wanting a d2. Only running single 8 with no room to expand. Have not bought a sub yet but considering many options. Suggestions welcome but think SQ.

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[Hertz Mafia]

Run 1ohm with gain turn down for clean power...

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Which single 8 do you have?

Better to have more power than not enough. 1ohm gets my vote.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like you have a small 8. You will need all the power you can get.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Higher impedance will always sound better and be easier/more efficient for the amp. That said, if we're talking

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Higher impedance will always sound better and be easier/more efficient for the amp. That said, if we're talking
That's been busted for a long time. Sure it will be easier on the amp but if the amp is rated to do it it will do it fine.

There's plenty of even 2ohm tweeters that sound beautiful.

 

[Hertz Mafia]

Higher impedance will always sound better and be easier/more efficient for the amp. That said, if we're talking
Higher impedance can sound like crap too. People try and run 4ohm for better SQ but then are trying to over work the amp to get the output to the listening level that like and then not a clean signal and sounds like crap, but at 1ohm they could have head room and clean power and sound sooooo much better.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

Treat drivers like motors and discuss the benefits of voltage versus current for a given application. Most will find that dumping current into a motor is what best suits the low frequency applications. Nearly everything thriving off high current/low voltage amplifiers sounds better to my ears.

 

[Wabatuckian]

I've always run the highest impedance that I could on subwoofers. This generally meant 8 ohm. Passive crossovers were generally used, and any changes in impedance meant a recalculation of values of crossover components.

Though I prefer the sound of a good passive crossover to powered, I began using the powered crossovers so I didn't have to keep changing components when I'd shift speaker values.

We didn't have Class D amplifiers at the time, either. Running high impedance kept our A/Bs cool.

Now, with that said... For pure SQ today, I'll still run higher impedance and an A/B amp, at least on everything but the subs. I was rather shocked at the THD y'all are running today. My cheap old school amps are less than 0.04% THD, while it looks like some good Class D amps are running at twice that.

I'm still catching up, but it looks like the very best SQ will come from a mixture of new and old school parts.

Regards,

Josh

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

I've always run the highest impedance that I could on subwoofers. This generally meant 8 ohm. Passive crossovers were generally used, and any changes in impedance meant a recalculation of values of crossover components.
Though I prefer the sound of a good passive crossover to powered, I began using the powered crossovers so I didn't have to keep changing components when I'd shift speaker values.

We didn't have Class D amplifiers at the time, either. Running high impedance kept our A/Bs cool.

Now, with that said... For pure SQ today, I'll still run higher impedance and an A/B amp, at least on everything but the subs. I was rather shocked at the THD y'all are running today. My cheap old school amps are less than 0.04% THD, while it looks like some good Class D amps are running at twice that.

I'm still catching up, but it looks like the very best SQ will come from a mixture of new and old school parts.

Regards,

Josh

You are way behind. The very best in sound quality is the one that overcomes the car itself. You won't hear

You will find everything in SQ cars. But you will rarely see old amps for the fact of reliability. We don't want to risk a failure because if we swap gear we have to retune which takes a lot of time. Once the tune is locked in its set it and forget it.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Treat drivers like motors and discuss the benefits of voltage versus current for a given application. Most will find that dumping current into a motor is what best suits the low frequency applications. Nearly everything thriving off high current/low voltage amplifiers sounds better to my ears.

How many high voltage amps have you auditioned? Really the only benefit of high current is that we're starting with only 12V at the power supply. Were our cars to use a 120V generator I think 8 ohm drivers would be a lot more prevalent.

I've always run the highest impedance that I could on subwoofers. This generally meant 8 ohm. Passive crossovers were generally used, and any changes in impedance meant a recalculation of values of crossover components.
Though I prefer the sound of a good passive crossover to powered, I began using the powered crossovers so I didn't have to keep changing components when I'd shift speaker values.

We didn't have Class D amplifiers at the time, either. Running high impedance kept our A/Bs cool.

Now, with that said... For pure SQ today, I'll still run higher impedance and an A/B amp, at least on everything but the subs. I was rather shocked at the THD y'all are running today. My cheap old school amps are less than 0.04% THD, while it looks like some good Class D amps are running at twice that.

I'm still catching up, but it looks like the very best SQ will come from a mixture of new and old school parts.

Regards,

Josh

Almost everything has crossovers built in these days and for the most part they're good quality.

Don't for a minute imply you could hear the difference between .04% and .1% THD though. Double blind studies show that distortion under 1% THD is inaudible.

 

[Wabatuckian]

You are way behind. The very best in sound quality is the one that overcomes the car itself. You won't hear You will find everything in SQ cars. But you will rarely see old amps for the fact of reliability. We don't want to risk a failure because if we swap gear we have to retune which takes a lot of time. Once the tune is locked in its set it and forget it.

Hello,

No doubt I'm behind. I'll also not sure the audibility of THD, though i prefer to keep it as low as possible to keep distortion from stacking. Some people seem to be able to hear it. Dunno.

As for me, I can hear a difference between A/B and D amps, but cannot put my finger on what it is.

I cannot hear that difference when both types are applied to subwoofers, so I will personally use Class A/B for mids/highs but am open to D for subs.

However, I'm still catching up and may learn that I'm wrong and could find components today that will allow me not to hear distortion in the higher bands with higher THD.

Regards,

Josh

 

[Wabatuckian]

How many high voltage amps have you auditioned? Really the only benefit of high current is that we're starting with only 12V at the power supply. Were our cars to use a 120V generator I think 8 ohm drivers would be a lot more prevalent.


Almost everything has crossovers built in these days and for the most part they're good quality.

Don't for a minute imply you could hear the difference between .04% and .1% THD though. Double blind studies show that distortion under 1% THD is inaudible.

There just seems to be a different sound. It's like the difference between high quality .mp3 and old LP records, or even 320kbps and FLAC. There's a different tone.

Admittedly, I've not been able to hear much amp-wise. I checked out some Walmart amps (Kicker... at Walmart? Kill me now.) I wasn't impressed. However, if Walmart sells it, chances are it's nothing to be impressed by.

Unfortunately, most amp purchases must be made online these days, and I have to hear something before buying. This is going to slow me down a bit. I live in Small Town Indiana, and do not have time with a business and kids to go to Ft Wayne or Indianapolis to look at the good digital switching amps.

I also prefer the sound of passive crossovers to powered. The problem here is efficiency, again. That old stuff just wasn't efficient. That's bad if you're after SPL.

One time I'd have killed to have what you guys buy at Walmart. Now, not so much, but my needs (and budget!) have changed.

My goal is not to come here knowing everything. If I knew everything, I wouldn't be here. I completely understand that I'm behind the times on car audio and lured here for some time prior to signing up, learning. Heck, I didn't even plan on posting, but I did.

Just because new stuff is out, doesn't make old stuff any less effective at what it does. I'd rather keep THD down because it adds to the overall distortion of the system, and I want 0.000% distortion. I won't get it it, but it's what I want.

Regards,

Josh

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

what about the middle guys more power @ 2ohms than 4 but amp may not run as hot at 2 ohm than 1ohm maybe even less distortion..

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

As for me, I can hear a difference between A/B and D amps,

Provided you're not running things into clipping, you cannot nor can anyone else. The days of full range class D amps lacking are well over a decade behind us.

There just seems to be a different sound. It's like the difference between high quality .mp3 and old LP records, or even 320kbps and FLAC. There's a different tone.
Admittedly, I've not been able to hear much amp-wise. I checked out some Walmart amps (Kicker... at Walmart? Kill me now.) I wasn't impressed. However, if Walmart sells it, chances are it's nothing to be impressed by.

Unfortunately, most amp purchases must be made online these days, and I have to hear something before buying. This is going to slow me down a bit. I live in Small Town Indiana, and do not have time with a business and kids to go to Ft Wayne or Indianapolis to look at the good digital switching amps.

I also prefer the sound of passive crossovers to powered. The problem here is efficiency, again. That old stuff just wasn't efficient. That's bad if you're after SPL.

One time I'd have killed to have what you guys buy at Walmart. Now, not so much, but my needs (and budget!) have changed.

My goal is not to come here knowing everything. If I knew everything, I wouldn't be here. I completely understand that I'm behind the times on car audio and lured here for some time prior to signing up, learning. Heck, I didn't even plan on posting, but I did.

Just because new stuff is out, doesn't make old stuff any less effective at what it does. I'd rather keep THD down because it adds to the overall distortion of the system, and I want 0.000% distortion. I won't get it it, but it's what I want.

Regards,

Josh

Kicker amps are typically good quality, I suspect even their entry level ones won't sound bad. Far more likely the sound you didn't like was cheap speakers or a crappy sound board they were in.

There should also be absolutely nothing a passive crossover will do that active cannot short of some notch filtering (which I doubt any car x-overs have). Pick the slope you like and pick a point at which to filter.

You will NOT hear anything short of 1% THD period and your amp is far from the weakest link particularly in a vehicle. You should buy a good quality amp for efficiency, reliability, customer service, and resale value, but "distortion" specs are quite easy to fudge and mean very little provided you're not scraping the absolute bottom of the barrel in which case those companies will lie anyway.

Trust me, a lot of the old conventional wisdom as proven false or simply no longer applies due to advances in technology. The 100$ wal mart kicker amp will likely outperform 500$ amps from back when Marky Mark had his Funky Bunch, and that's coming from a guy who loves old school..... again, there's reasons to buy high quality or even use old stuff, but hearing the difference should be about the last thing worth considering.