Is there a point to mono amps???

[req 5,000+ posts]

2 channel amps, on average, are cheaper, and will put out some good power @2ohm stereo \ 4ohm mono.

but dont forget, you will ONLY get that power at 2ohm STEREO or 4ohm MONO.

classD amps, can be ran at 4, 2, and 1ohm. they have just as many convienent wiring options.

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

most of that is true when going into higher frequencies, but who in the right mind would cross their subs over that high?

i mos def herd a difference when doing my friends install with 2 idq's.

i first herd the 2 subs same enclosure, same everything with my viper 1200.1D

the next day , heard the same 2 subs with a usamps I/S 4085 a class a/b. With the a/b the subs were much more snappy, and cleaner sounding. i guess its just me.

 

[Justintoxicated 10+ year member]

Hmmm How about dual mono?

DLS A3's Twin mono amp that can be used for sterio, or bridged and is 1 ohm stable (even when bridged)

Takes 2 4ga inputs and 2 4ga grounds for each mono amp.

Where does this amp fit in?

I heard that a class A/B can also be more clear for your subs depending on install. So what would you buy the A3 for? Subs or COmponents hehe. Maybe I jsut need to get 2 of them. lol

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

but dont forget, you will ONLY get that power at 2ohm STEREO or 4ohm MONO.

classD amps, can be ran at 4, 2, and 1ohm. they have just as many convienent wiring options.

The old Soundstream "Class A" amps were 1/4ohm stereo, 1/2ohm bridged stable and were 2-channel class A/B amps //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif My Soundstream Rubicon 702 is 1ohm stereo/2ohm bridged stable and it's a 2-channel class A/B

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

and iceteebone is also correct...subs aren't supposed to be run in stereo...

There's nothing inherently wrong with it. Not necessary; but not bad if someone wants to try it either.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Funky info in this thread...

"Mono" amps are just that. Single channel. They could be Class A, A/B, or D.

Useful for powering subs, or bi-amping components.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Funky info in this thread...
"Mono" amps are just that. Single channel. They could be Class A, A/B, or D.

Useful for powering subs, or bi-amping components.

Also, 2-channel amps can be Class D. Eclipse has one. I believe Xtant and Infinity used to. Alto Mobile currently does aswell.

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[mrray13 10+ year member]

and u tend to lose the effiency gain of a d class at higher volumes....though still more efficent, they tend to equal out....

and if u get the same power at 4 ohm that u can at 1 ohm....ur car will love ya for it...

and yes, my spelling sucks

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

My point for the previous page was, generalizations > teh ****.

And it's Kent, gracing us with his presence!

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[mrray13 10+ year member]

Class D amps are still typically 10+% more efficient at full power before clipping. So, the gap does narrow, but it's still not generally equal. Only exception I can think of are the JL Audio Slash series which aren't very efficient for class D amps.
And I've seen amps of the same class that make X power @ 1 ohm that are more efficient than amps that makes X power @ 2 ohms or 4 ohms. The amplifier design has more to do with efficiency than the impedance it makes X power into.

10%? maybe so, but only by using ur second paragraph and the design of the amp. i've seen (used) several amps that at full tilt before clipping draw more current then an a/b amp of similiar power.

and in the same breath, seen from my own experience many a/b's and class d's which are just way easier on the system at 4 ohm then at 1. at 4 ohm, less current is needed to produce the same power then at 1 ohm.

but then again, maybe ur talking super efficient 1 ohm amps..which i may not of used ...

those i have include

memphis

orion

lightning audio

sure, not a big list...but definietly some of the bigger names in mainstreme amps...

jim, i'm not gracing anything...lol....more like bringing down..

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[mrray13 10+ year member]

Which amps produce the same power @ 1 ohm and 4 ohm (other than the JBL BPX, PG Xenon, and JL Audio Slash lines) ?
I know that all of the amps listed above are all at least slightly less efficient at lower impedances, but I wasn't talking about the same amp (nor did I think you were) ...

Other than the few amps I mentioned above, I can't think of any amps off the top of my head that are capable of producing the same amount of power at 4 ohms as they are at 1 ohm. I might be missing a few, but the fact remains that there aren't many on the market capable of that feat ...

Do you have the efficiency numbers for the amps you've used ? I've honestly yet to see an A/B amp capable of over 80% peak efficiency (and I've actually only seen a few in the 70s), but I've seen quite a few class D amps with over 80% peak efficiency and most are over 65% peak ...

i wasn't talking about the same amp. what i am trying to say is that for instance, an rf power 800.2 compared to a rf1000bd.....

and i believe ur correct about regulated power supplies and the companies who use them...

i don't have numbers off the top of my head, but i will look tomorrow (fixing to go to work, so this is my last post of the day //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif ) and to be honest..real world applications will almost always differ from what is on paper...and i usually speak from experience, not a tech sheet. not saying that i'm 100% right, but speaking from my experience ie; memphis pr1000d, mc1000d, both do 1000wrms+ @ 1ohm, orion 2500d does 1200wrms@ 4ohm and the orion at 4 ohm is like not having an amp back there compared to the others, even compared to a mc1500d which was ran at 2 ohm...the orion at 4 is a lot easier on the truck's electrical system. and yeah, this example is class d vs class d...

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[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

for 1 efficiency difference between an a/b and class d is overated

And as far as running subs of 2ch stereo......LOL

...its just a wiring config at that point....what does it matter once the amp is running low pass signal ? Just about all information that low will be mono anyways, they will play what the signal dictates-not do their own thing exclusively because they have a channel to themselves

 

[thch 10+ year member]

for 1 efficiency difference between an a/b and class d is overated

well, if you run full out. but running a 900W class AB amp at 1/3rd power is signifigantly inefficient. getting down into the lower 30s.

 

[Goldenknob 10+ year member]

sterio bass can actually reproduce some sounds better. like the sound of an explosion or thunder. not alot of music has these sounds in it, like 3.54Max was saying most music plays the same bass notes out each channel so it really dosn't matter if you have them dedicated to their own channel or bridged together.

my 2 channel amp puts out the same amount of power at 2ohm bridged or 2ohm sterio as long as I have it bridged down to that ohm rating.

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

sterio bass can actually reproduce some sounds better. like the sound of an explosion or thunder. not alot of music has these sounds in it, like 3.54Max was saying most music plays the same bass notes out each channel so it really dosn't matter if you have them dedicated to their own channel or bridged together.
my 2 channel amp puts out the same amount of power at 2ohm bridged or 2ohm sterio as long as I have it bridged down to that ohm rating.

x2

Considering I dont know too many people running 8's up front for mids, the majority of people cannot play their 6.5's and 5.25's lower than say 80hz, some even 100hz....

So they have to xover their sub at that point. There's a good amount of STEREO bass in the 55 hz and up region in alot of music. This is where running 2 subs off a 2ch stereo amp comes in handy and they still will play what they have to once they receive a mono signal, running mono doesnt do much for you at this point to stay true to the signal.