Parallel vs. Series

[tehon3299 10+ year member]

Hey guys -

I just got (2) 12" Kenwoods (4 Ohms) and a 600W Kenwood amp (stable to 2 Ohms). I wanted to know if it would be better for me to wire these subs in Parallel or Series. I thought Parallel because I can take the 4 Ohms from each and make it into 2 Ohms. Is this true? And would this be better? And how would I do it if so?

Thanks Guys

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[Unregistered]

yea wiring them in parallel allows each sub to get theh same amount of power. Therefore if the amp puts out 600 watts mono at 2 ohms, each sub would get 600 Watts. In series you would be lookin at an 8 ohm load (which means less power, not sure how much), and what ever power is being put out, say 500 watts at 8 ohms, you would be splitting it, each sub would get 250 watts. I think that is the correct breakdown. Resistance in series = R1+R2 (4+4), Resistance in parallel = 1/R1 + 1/R2 (2 ohms). Lower Impedence = more power.

 

[mr4pto 10+ year member]

What the guy above me said is right if the amp is 600 watts mono at 2 ohms but make sure your amp is stable at 2 ohms bridged. If it is a 2 channel amp, there isnt many amps that can run 2 ohms stable bridge (ie mosfet amps run only 4 ohm bridge stable). I am pretty sure that no kenwood 2 channel amp is stable 2 ohms bridged which in the case of 2 4 ohm subs ur screwed in trying to stably get max power so go buy yourself two more subs ... if its a 1 channel amp nevermind all this....

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

what model amp do you have?

by the way... if it puts out 600w mono, then each of your subs would share the watts, 300 each not 600 each. tell me what you have (subs and amp) and i will tell you how to wire it up.

 

[tehon3299 10+ year member]

I have a Kenwood KAC-829 Amp with (2) 12" KFC-W3005 Subs. The amp is not mono and it's 2 channel 600W total.

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

i looked at the amp on line and it is rated as 600w MAX... probably around 300w RMS (it is not listed on the kenwood site) in bridged mode into a 4ohm load. the subs you have (i have last years version... see my avatar - kfcw3003) are 4ohm and are rated as 700w MAX and are probably around 300w RMS. therefore with the amp you have you would be underpowering your subs. your amp will NOT handle the 2ohm load bridged, and will only put out 100w X 2 @ 4ohms. it will bump, but not to thier full potential. i would suggest either buying a second KAC-829 amp and run one bridged for each sub or buy a class D amp powerful enough to drive the subs in parallel (a 2ohm load). i currently have 2 MTX 280w RMS amps, one for each sub and it kicks pretty hard.

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the information. Now if I buy another amp of the same type, how do I go about wiring both of them in bridged mode? I just need to know where all the wires go. Thanks again!

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

just follow the amp's diagram for bridging - one amp for each sub.

 

[Larrydehp920r]

IMRAL3,

You are a car audio GOD.