Best way to wire subs to 4-Channel Amp.

[thunder2012 10+ year member]

Hi, I have 2 Kicker CVR12's DVC 400rms/800 peak. I'm not sure on the resistance. I also have an 840 Watt Power Acoustik 4-Channel Amp. I was wondering what would be the best way to wire my subs to my amp for max power. I know some people wire each voice coil to a separate channel, but I just want to get some advice. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

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[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

you will need to know the ohms and what the amp is capable of for ohms.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

^ Word.

We need that before we can help you. Voice coil config of the speakers, and how low the amp can take an ohm load per channel, and bridged.

 

[thunder2012 10+ year member]

Okay, well could you tell me how if the subs are 4 ohms and if they are 2 ohms? The manual for my amp says:

Max Power at 2ohms is 840 Watts

RMS at 4ohms is 80Wx4channels

RMS at 2ohms is 95Wx4channels

Bridged power is 190Wx2channels

 

[Robert 2001 10+ year member]

If they are d2 ohm u can wire each voice coil to a channel of the amp or wire them in series and bridge 2 channels to each . sub at 4 ohm if u have the d4 ohm voice coils u will only be able to run each coil to a channel for max power.be sure to set it up with a dmm to avoid clipping as the amp will only push between 160 to 190 per sub if it does its rated power.

 

[thunder2012 10+ year member]

Okay, thanks! I really appreciated it!

 

[Robert 2001 10+ year member]

Hope this helps

 

[thunder2012 10+ year member]

I checked and they are 4 ohm dvc. I was wondering if you could explain the whole clipping thing and why I would need a meter?

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

If they are d2 ohm u can wire each voice coil to a channel of the amp or wire them in series and bridge 2 channels to each . sub at 4 ohm if u have the d4 ohm voice coils u will only be able to run each coil to a channel for max power.be sure to set it up with a dmm to avoid clipping as the amp will only push between 160 to 190 per sub if it does its rated power.

i would HIGHLY advice against running each voice coil on a sub on different channels... it can be done, but the tuning is goin to be very difficult, and can cause cancellation issues, and could end up destroying a sub...

OP... your amp is only going to hold a 4 ohm load when bridged... EDIT: saw what you posted before - reference below:

you can wire each sub to 2 ohm, or 8 ohm loads... so that amp is pretty much out. i would say your best option would be to pick up a new amp... a 2 channel at minimum... you REALLY want to wire both voice coils of a sub to the same channel, and its just not feasable with that amp (you could wire them to 8 ohms, but you REALLY wouldnt get ish out of it then)

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

I checked and they are 4 ohm dvc. I was wondering if you could explain the whole clipping thing and why I would need a meter?

clipping... well... do you want the long version, or short?

 

[thunder2012 10+ year member]

Short please And right now, the voice coils are ran in parallel and the subs are ran in series and bridged on the amp. They seem to be running fine right now so I'm not too worried about damaging them. I probably won't change anything, I'll just get a new amp.

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

clipping, in short, is the point at which your amp begins to "distort" (and i use that term very loosely, as explaining it fully would take alot more typing) the signal that it is sending to the subs. this "distorted signal", can in turn damage your voice coils... like i said tho, it is actually alot more then that... just trying to make it as simple as i can for you.

the reason you need a DMM to tune it properly, because tuning it by ear is impossible (i dont care what any idiot out there tells you, you CANNOT tune a gain properly by ear)... clipping starts way before the octaves are loud enough or even at the right frequencie for the human ear to pick up. that is why you need a DMM... and even that isnt really the "proper" way to tune a gain, but it will work

 

[Robert 2001 10+ year member]

I was not saying runnin to all four channels was ideal just that with that amp possible a good 800 wrms 1 ohm stable class d amp would be ideal as most 2 channel amps dont like running 2 ohm loads for long durations. I have a set of retired 10 inch dual 4vc and have ran them several different amps and configurations. I ran these 2 subs rated 300 rms on my current amp at 1 ohm no problems but only running 800 wrms to them.my previous amp was rated 290 rms x2@2 ohm load even set with dmm this setup would sound great for 1_2 hr then would start clipping due to amp getting hot after extended play unless set for around 250 rms.class d is the way to go if u can afford or find used I got my current amp at a pawn sho ok with 6 month warranty for $128 us amps xtd 2000d. I would definately upgrade the amp hes running but was only offering options not knowing coil config.

 

[Robert 2001 10+ year member]

Most of us dont own an oscope as needed to properly check for clipping.

 

[thunder2012 10+ year member]

Okay, I have my levels zeroed out on my head unit and my sub level at 15(max) on my head unit. Then I have my level on my amp turned completely down and my subs are still pounding extremely loud. When I was out testing today, I got yelled at by a cop who heard them from over 150 feet away. I have to be getting more power then 95W each sub. It's at least 200-300. They can't be that loud with so little power.