Amp to power my new subwoofers

[toledokid 10+ year member]

I just bought 2 Diamond Audio 12 inch D6 Dual 2 ohm woofers. (These are what I bought: http://www.diamondaudio.com/content/view/129/143/)

But my problem is, I hastily bought the woofers because my friends were convinced my Kenwood KAC-8101D (Specs of it are here: http://www.lightav.com/car/kenwood/amps/amps.html) would be able to power them.

So I got two quick questions, (Sorry I'm a noob to all of this), should this amp be able to power at least one of these woofers? Cause my cousin hooked up the woofer and it keeps sending the amp into protect mode if I turn it up and keep it up for a couple minutes, and obviously if it's sending into protect mode this isn't good for my new woofer.

My second question is what are some amps that will be able to power both these subs in the price range of $350 to $500?

Thanks!

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[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

If those diamonds will handle what they're rated that amp might be ok for one of them...it's nowhere near enough power for 2 of them though. Did you get the dual 2 ohm or dual 4 ohm?

 

[Morts 10+ year member]

Check wiring of the subs again.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/learningcenter/car/subwoofer_wiring/2DVC_2-ohm_mono.jpg

I didnt realize it was a mono amp before

 

[Mr.Ronin_2U]

Hey man,sorry to say but those Kenwood amps ****,I had one and it also went into protect.If your trying to,buy another amp I have a Sundown SAE-1200D,that I'll sell ya.It would be perfect for your subs.

 

[tinmanchris217 10+ year member]

If you're running the Kenwood amp on 2 woofers, the subs are probably wired to 2 ohms. In which case, you have less than 200wRMS on each woofer. That is only 1/3 of the power they can handle.

I'd unhook the setup, and wire it to 1 of your subs, with that sub in parallel. That means the amp + goes to both subwoofer + terminals. Similarly, for the -.

This will use 1 woofer, wired to 1 ohm, maximizing your amp's output, and fully powering 1 sub. You'll move plenty of air with that one woofer.

If you do upgrade amps, your looking for something that will do 1000-1200 @ 2 ohms

Kicker zx1000.1

Hifonics bxi1610d

Alpine pdx-1.1000

 

[toledokid 10+ year member]

thanks everyone, im running one of them parallel into my system right now, It cuts out if I turn it up too loud tho (protect mode), so I'll have to deal with using one till I buy a new amp.

 

[toledokid 10+ year member]

Is the Hifonics bxi1610d any good?

I notice it's about half the price as any of the other amps most people have been suggesting.

also, what about AudioQue AQ1200?

I'd rather buy something that has a great reputation, so I don't mind spending a bit more on quality gear.

 

[tinmanchris217 10+ year member]

Check your gains, on that Kenwood amp. You shouldn't be going into protect, unless it's overheating, underpowered (electrically), or just abusing it.

You should see around 30V AC across your speaker terminals, on a 60 Hz tone at full burp... or 35V if your electrical is proper. Don't expect miracles from your "old reliable" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

The reason I chose the amps I did was your sub configuration. You'll want 1000-1200 @ 2 ohms.

The Hifonics will get the job done, and generally is a good amp. If cash is tight, get it. It's a great value amp.

Alpine is a great amp, solid build, clean power, and flexible ohm load. You can power many different woofer configurations/setups. This is what you'd buy if you want something to last til you're old and gray.

Personally, I'd probably get the Kicker, since their product is underrated, reliable, reasonably priced, and will resell for most of it's value.

 

[toledokid 10+ year member]

Check your gains, on that Kenwood amp. You shouldn't be going into protect, unless it's overheating, underpowered (electrically), or just abusing it.
You should see around 30V AC across your speaker terminals, on a 60 Hz tone at full burp... or 35V if your electrical is proper. Don't expect miracles from your "old reliable" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

The reason I chose the amps I did was your sub configuration. You'll want 1000-1200 @ 2 ohms.

The Hifonics will get the job done, and generally is a good amp. If cash is tight, get it. It's a great value amp.

Alpine is a great amp, solid build, clean power, and flexible ohm load. You can power many different woofer configurations/setups. This is what you'd buy if you want something to last til you're old and gray.

Personally, I'd probably get the Kicker, since their product is underrated, reliable, reasonably priced, and will resell for most of it's value.

Ok, yeah, I was actually looking at the Kicker amp, but since it's underpowered what does it run at? Wouldn't it actually be overpowering them a bit? Thanks for all the help.
Also, I'm probably gonna do the big three soon, I've still got my stock alternator, should I replace the alternator with a high amp alternator before I even do the big three upgrade? (My battery is an optima yellow top, so that should be fine)