2ohm or 4ohm for Rockford Fostgate P3 12

[Derekb]

Hi All,

I'm Derek. Nice to meet you.

I just placed an order for a Pioneer 9701 amp and Rockford Fostgate P3 12 inch enclosure.

I contacted the audio seller for install. They said they will rewire the Punch 3 from 2 ohms to 4ohms which will give me 500 watts RMS. But then I will not get the full capability of the P3? Is this correct? I am not sure if the P3 should be 2 or 4 ohm and I am not an expert. But I want the best chest pounding hit I can get from these 2 components but do not want to go against a professional installers advice or break the hardware.

Fyi I will also be using a Wavtech LOC.

Fyi.... I previously had a Kicker Solo Baric and JBL amp which was awesome.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Click to read more...

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

if its a dual 2 ohm sub, you can wire it 1 or 4 ohms...

Dual Voice Coil (DVC) Wiring Tutorial

With multi-driver sub systems, which often feature dual voice coils (DVC) on each driver, the level of wiring complexity can be enough to turn-off even the most adventurous of car audio do-it-yours...

jlaudio.zendesk.com

tons of good stuff to know...

Car Audio Support – JL Audio Help Center - Search Articles

jlaudio.zendesk.com

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

You'd want dual 4 ohm subs wired to 1 ohm with that amp. That amp does 1200w rms @ 1 ohm and those subs say 600w rms each so 1200w for a pair

 

[5t4y_50L0]

You getting 2 subwoofers ? And the pioneer

GM-D9701 ? What's the enclosure tuned too ?​

 

[Old_Slapper]

I'm guessing you're only going to have one sub? Pioneer amps are underrated. However, so are Fosgate subs. You can run 1200 watts to your 600 watt sub and not damage it as long as you don't push the sub to the point of clipping.

You say your last system was a Solo Baric and a JBL amp? Was the sub an L7? How much power did your JBL push? If you use to have an L7 with over 500 watts pushing it, your new setup might not match it. L7's push a lot of air and JBL amps hit really hard.

 

[Derekb]

You'd want dual 4 ohm subs wired to 1 ohm with that amp. That amp does 1200w rms @ 1 ohm and those subs say 600w rms each so 1200w for a pair

Hi Spokey9

Thank you. Another vote for just leaving this sub as is rather than the installer wiring it down to 4ohm.

Leave it as is at 2ohm and turn down the gain on tge amp....

 

[Derekb]

I'm guessing you're only going to have one sub? Pioneer amps are underrated. However, so are Fosgate subs. You can run 1200 watts to your 600 watt sub and not damage it as long as you don't push the sub to the point of clipping.

You say your last system was a Solo Baric and a JBL amp? Was the sub an L7? How much power did your JBL push? If you use to have an L7 with over 500 watts pushing it, your new setup might not match it. L7's push a lot of air and JBL amps hit really hard.

Hi Old_Slapper (messed with my moral compass typing that ). Another vote I guess for leaving the sub as is and turn down the gain... I have plenty of space for the thump as this kit is going into a VW Touareg with a currently empty boot!

Indeed - just the 1 x P3 12 sub enclosure hooked up to the Pioneer 9701.

Yes, I used to have a Kicker SB L7 12. The JBL amp was a beast and the gains were only up to around 11am on the dial. What a smooth cigar type thump... I miss it!

 

[Derekb]

You getting 2 subwoofers ? And the pioneer

GM-D9701 ? What's the enclosure tuned too ?​

I cannot see what the P3 enclosure is tuned to here:

Punch Single P3 12" Loaded Enclosure | P3-1X12 | Rockford Fosgate ®

The P3-1X12 is a single P3 12” vented enclosure with 600 Watts RMS power handling wired to a 1-Ohm load. The enclosure is constructed with 5/8” MDF.

rockfordfosgate.com

 

[Derekb]

if its a dual 2 ohm sub, you can wire it 1 or 4 ohms...

Dual Voice Coil (DVC) Wiring Tutorial

With multi-driver sub systems, which often feature dual voice coils (DVC) on each driver, the level of wiring complexity can be enough to turn-off even the most adventurous of car audio do-it-yours...

jlaudio.zendesk.com

tons of good stuff to know...

Car Audio Support – JL Audio Help Center - Search Articles

jlaudio.zendesk.com

Hi Nauc

Thank you! I have read lots about ensuring the sub does not receive more power than it can practically handle. I'm just baffled as to why my installer wants to drop a 600w RMS sub down to 4ohm 500W on the Pioneer amp.... Makes very little sence to me.

 

[Derekb]

I'm looking for a cable kit for this amp. Pioneer book for the 9701 states the following:

4AWG power and ground wire
150amp fuse

That fuse seems a tad ott! Most wiring kits in the UK (Vibe, Juice, Stinger etc) come with 40, 60 or 80amps.

Any advice? See image from the manual.

Install manual is here:

https://pioneercarentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GM_D8701_D9701_OI.pdf

 

[5t4y_50L0]

4 ohms is the best, you can always turn up the gain or tell them you want it to be at 600 rms, your amp will push 1,000 Watts at 4 ohms. Either way I have two subs and pushing just over half the RMS and they hit hard.

 

[5t4y_50L0]

I'm looking for a cable kit for this amp. Pioneer book for the 9701 states the following:

4AWG power and ground wire
150amp fuse

That fuse seems a tad ott! Most wiring kits in the UK (Vibe, Juice, Stinger etc) come with 40, 60 or 80amps.

Any advice? See image from the manual. View attachment 62981

Install manual is here:

https://pioneercarentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GM_D8701_D9701_OI.pdf

125 amp fuse is the minimum for 4 awg wire, try mini ANL fuses if your concerned about size.

 

[Derekb]

125 amp fuse is the minimum for 4 awg wire, try mini ANL fuses if your concerned about size.

Hi

Won't 125amp plus be too much of this sub is at 500w RMS on the Pioneer?

Does this OFC kit fit the bill?

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-amps-and-subs/vibe-slick-4-gauge-amplifier-wiring-kit-154271.html

 

[5t4y_50L0]

Hi

Won't 125amp plus be too much of this sub is at 500w RMS on the Pioneer?

Does this OFC kit fit the bill?

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-amps-and-subs/vibe-slick-4-gauge-amplifier-wiring-kit-154271.html

Yes, you are correct, 80 fuse would be fine. Nice kit, get that one

 

[5t4y_50L0]

If I was you, I'd also get the wave tech bass restore, I got the DD Audio BSI and all my music hits HARD !

 

[Derekb]

Ok. I think I have my kit in my basket. Sub and amp are coming on Monday and Wavtech LOC arrived today.

OFC power cable

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y16HYDD/

100amp fuses

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CTFK4FDM/

The rest of the install kit

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0007LCL6S/

Look ok? I'm trying to stick to a budget and OFC put me a tiny bit off course! But happy to make a small adjustment if still needed.

 

[5t4y_50L0]

Looks solid ! Enjoy and let me know the results