3 Subs, 1 Amp or 3 Subs, 3 Amps

[DRBagabundo]

Hey guys, I'm currently running a 5 channel BA2200.5 to power my Alpine SWR-1042d and my mids in a ported box. I'm picking up 2 more SWR-1042D's tomorrow for a helluva price.

I'm on stock electrical with 4ga cca wiring. I will be ok with running the mids off the headunit once I remove the 5 channel amp.

I found an awesome price on 3 Alpine MRV-M500 amps for under $200 shipped. The subs do 500w RMS each.

Should I go this route our should I be looking for a mono sub that can give me at least 1500w RMS at 2ohms?

Any suggestions, recommendations, critiques, are welcome.

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Matching gains on the 3 amps will be tricky, but at 200$ for 3 of them that's not a bad deal and they should be better than most of your other 1500W options at that price point.

 

[fly_marlin]

You can do a 1500W rms amp for not too much more. I'm against running speakers off the HU - no point in even having after market speakers then. Used, maybe even new, you shouldn't have much trouble finding a solid 1.5kW for $300 or under.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Gain matching issues, if you can perfectly have them play evenly then 200 aint bad

 

[DRBagabundo]

I did end up purchasing the 3 amps and have the subs sitting in my trunk waiting to be installed. I believe I'll end up either picking up a MRV-F300(if I can find one cheap enough) or a KTP-445U.

 

[DRBagabundo]

I was also able to find a KTP-445U for $80 so that's on its way.

I'm currently on stock electrical with a 70a alternator. I have an OEM grounding kit from SunAuto and 4ga cca wiring running to the back. I picked up 0ga cca wiring so that I can run it into a distribution block and feed 4ga to each amp.

Should I be worried about my alt if I'll be at 1500w RMS? I plan on matching gains on the amp by using a basic volt meter.

 

[big scott]

ya 70a is not much for the car alone.

so look into a bigger alt.

 

[macsdad 10+ year member]

With that amount of possible current draw, you will prob need a bigger alt. I have that alpine power pack running my mids and highs, does well for what it is, very small amp.

 

[DRBagabundo]

I was able to verify that my stock alt is 90amps vs the 70 I mentioned before.

What's the formula related to adding the fuse ratings on each amp to figure how many amps your alternator should be producing for you?

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Alt size appx's are so vague they're almost useless.

The fact of the matter is you have a ton of amplifier power for that electrical system.

Anything bigger would be better.

If you play it loud very often I'd be surprised if the stock alt (90A?) lasts a year.

150A would be great.

180A even better.

Bigger than that wouldn't hurt, but probably wouldn't be worth the expense vs the 150A range.

It often has more to do with what is available vs what you think you need.

I've been running 1200-1500w for over 10 yrs now in various cars. Alts have been 75, 110, 130 and 160A.

The 130A gave me the most trouble -- I think I replaced that 3x in 4+ yrs.

 

[DRBagabundo]

So this is what I have going on right now...

I've got 3 MRV-M500's powering 3 SWR-1042D's @2 ohms. I'm running Knu Konceptz KCA 0GA to a silly Bullz Audio 4.4(yeah ok) Farad Capacitor, and using it as a distribution block to run 4GA Knu Konceptz KCA into the amps.

The KTP-445U I ordered was no good so I returned it and was able to get my hands on another MRV-M500 for dirt cheap to possibly run my mids @ 45w using the speaker level inputs.

According to the Capacitor, I'm at 14.1v at idle. I haven't done the big 3 & I'm still on the stock alt. I have HID's for my headlights/fogs and I have no dimming issues whatsoever.

What do you guys think?

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

View attachment 26553547View attachment 26553548this what I'm working on

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

No dimming with music loud?

That's hard to believe.

What's the voltage while it's playing?

If you don't have visible dimming at high volume I would have to guess your alternator's not able to recover to ~13 between moments of high demand so you're sitting at ~12.5 or lower constantly.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

You need to play your hardest hitting song and then see what the voltages read. That mrv m500 is a subwoofer amp, its not meant to be used for anything besides subs.