2ohm Or 4ohm

[TH3R3APER]

I have a question about 2ohm loads vs 4ohm loads. I am fairly new to car audio so I just didn't know the difference. I know you must match up your ohm loads form amps to speakers but how do you do this? Also, is there any advantage to running a 4ohm over a 2ohm or vice versa? I heard that a 4ohm load will run cleaner, is this true? Thanks in advance for any help.

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[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

doesnt matter... whichever your amp puts out the most power

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

if you have dual voice coil subs you will match up your speakers to your amps by the way you wire them (parallel or series). if your sub only has one voice coil then you will have to match up the impedence (ohms) that your sub is spec to, and match that to your amp. there really isnt any advantage or disadvantage to running them at 4 or 2 ohm, just depends on the power of you amp at what impedence, and you need to match everything up

 

[dyabolical 10+ year member]

It is believed by some that 4 ohm will have a more accurate sound then a lower load.

I think in some cases an amp will have lower THD at 4 ohm then it would at 2 ohm or lower.

 

[Drunkship 10+ year member]

I know you must match up your ohm loads form amps to speakers but how do you do this?

Well, let's say you have a pair of speakers that are 100 RMS watts at 4 Ohms each. You'd want to get an amplifier that puts out 100 RMS watts at 4 Ohms x 2 channels (one channel for each speaker).

But also, if you bought an amplifier that put out 110 RMS watts at 4 Ohms x 2 channel you could turn the amplifier gains down.

Likewise, if you had an amplifier that put out 90 RMS watts, it'd also be safe because you wouldn't be giving your speakers for than their recommended RMS wattage.

Anyone want to tell me if I'm right or just preaching bull****? This is what I've gathered from reading the forums anyways.

I say go 2 because you end up saving money on amps

That too.

If your amplifier puts out 100 RMS watts @ 4 Ohms, it'll most likely put out >100 RMS watts @ 2 Ohms. Though, this is not always the case, sometimes they put out the same.

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

since many amps put out more power the lower the impedance, you can get more power for your money using a 2 ohm sub vs using a 4 ohm sub, but not all amps are stable at 2 ohms or 1 ohm, so if you try and use a 2 ohm sub or a 1 ohm sub, it might ruin the amp

and no, you wont hear a difference using a 4 ohm sub vs a 2 or 1 ohm sub

wiring info http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=145

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

For your main speakers don't go out of your way trying to find speakers that are other than 4 ohm. Any increase in amp power running at a lower load is offset by the reduced efficiency of the lower impedance speaker. For subs this isn't that much of an issue. Simply choose the subs that you want to run and then find an amp that will deliver the power you want (it doesn't have to be RMS rated power, only what you need to get it as loud as you want to listen to it) at an impedance to which your sub(s) can be wired.