ohms vs distortion

[reclessantics 10+ year member]

The higher the ohms 8, 4, 2. the less distortion.. i guess higher sq?

But also more strain on the electrical system, more resistance.

but lower, like 1, .5 ohms, is more distortion but easier on the electrical system, and amp.

my example is an SAZ 3000d. id like to run it at 1 ohm. but how would it sound at .5? (pushing two hdc3 15's dual 2ohm subs)

second possibility would be to get an aq1200 per sub, and daisy chain them. so 2200watts for both subs (1200 per sub) @ 2 ohms.

would it be a big difference? (obviously different rms)

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[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

more ohms is not more strain.. other way around

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

its more resistance.. not strain

 

[reclessantics 10+ year member]

word yeah i think i understand. i had it backwards in my head.

how about the sq? would it be "sloppier" the lower the ohms?

 

[Dak446 10+ year member]

no. resistance allows energy to flow easier/not as easily. if your sub cannot handle that power, then yes it will get "sloppy", but for other reasons.

 

[reclessantics 10+ year member]

can sundown SAZ 3000d's take .5 ohms all day?

 

[reclessantics 10+ year member]

word. i guess how would hdc3 15's (2) take an saz 3000d @ .5?

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

no. resistance allows energy to flow easier/not as easily. if your sub cannot handle that power, then yes it will get "sloppy", but for other reasons.

The general rule is that every time you reduce that load by a factor of 2 (8 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to 1, 1 to .5), distortion rises to double the power output, current draw doubles, and your damping factor is cut in half! If all you listen to is slowed down, distorted cRap (commercial rap) music, damping factor won't mean jack to you. If you listen to metal where those double bass pumps come in at 170, or more, beats per minute, they will get lost as the damping factor goes down to nothing.

Another by product of this "free flowing" energy is HEAT in addition to the components in the amp that will have to work twice as hard and possibly have their useful life reduced due to excessive heat and additional work.

I've personally heard my JL Audio 10w3v2s tighten up on my Crossfire BMF 1000d just by wiring them at 4 ohms versus 1 ohm. The increase in SQ was worth wiring them @ 4 ohms over giving them more power @ 1 ohm.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Even if a low DF was inherently a bad thing, the output impedance of most solid-state amps are low enough that the other factor (the impedance of the load) really isn't going to make that much of a difference.

Especially for subbass.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

Actually, the DF on most class D amps is low by their design and if you listen to cRap, it doesn't matter. Throw some All That Remains in there and things sometimes change!

The other thing I have noticed about Class D amps in general is that they tend to clip hard and FAST. That wave squares off like you would not believe when looking through an oscilloscope and I think that is one of the things I have mistaken for crappy DF or crappy SQ when hearing other setups. I believe their gain levels are set sooooo close to clipping, that certain songs I play will actually drive their sub amps into clipping. That, and many of them are aggressive with their bass boost in addition to using loudness and the bass controls on their head units.

 

[Xprime4 10+ year member]

so let's say i'm running a ma audio amp under it's stable ohm ( stable at 2 running it at 1ohm atm), can it explain why my fi Q 18 sound not that good? the amp is rated 400 @ 4, 800@ 2 but that's way overrated. 50amp fuse can't lie

yeah that's a temp setup but it keep my wondering

 

[reclessantics 10+ year member]

would it be worth it to daisy chain a set of SAZ 1500d's? that way i could run it at 2 ohms, and still have it push 1500 rms per sub.

but someone told me it was too much hassel or somethin.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

Why not run one SAZ 1500 per sub since your subs are both 2 ohm DVC?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

The general rule is that every time you reduce that load by a factor of 2 (8 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to 1, 1 to .5), distortion rises to double the power output, current draw doubles, and your damping factor is cut in half!

In a decent amplifier, the THD & DF will not change to a degree that will cause an audible difference, assuming the amplifier was designed to competently handle said load.

If all you listen to is slowed down, distorted cRap (commercial rap) music, damping factor won't mean jack to you. If you listen to metal where those double bass pumps come in at 170, or more, beats per minute, they will get lost as the damping factor goes down to nothing.

No.

I've personally heard my JL Audio 10w3v2s tighten up on my Crossfire BMF 1000d just by wiring them at 4 ohms versus 1 ohm. The increase in SQ was worth wiring them @ 4 ohms over giving them more power @ 1 ohm.

You heard a difference in power not damping factor or THD

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

You heard a difference in power not damping factor or THD

I actually need to repeat the test because I did this prior to obtaining an oscilloscope. I would be willing to bet that I was entering clipping @ 1 ohm and that is the SQ difference I heard at full tilt. Most of the class d amps that I have had the pleasure of playing around with clip really, really fast! It is funny how a little micro turn on the gain can send that wave from a nice pretty wave into a horrific square wave