Questions about wiring and watts

[Andrewbe 10+ year member]

So I have 2 4 ohm 600 watt RMS DVC subs and a 600 watt amp @ 2 ohms. If I wire them parallel, they will be 4 ohms and the amp will pushing ~400 watts. If I wire them in a series, the amp will be sending out 600 watts to 2 ohms.

If I wire the speakers in 2 ohms, are they each getting 300 watts or are they each getting 600? The subs peak is rated at 1800 watts. I'm wanting a lot of headroom, so I can turn up the volume and they can still deliver, but I'm just wondering about the wiring and difference in wattage sent to each speaker.

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[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Peak rating isn't useful at all. Only RMS.

Your amp doesn't match your subs. The only way you can wire those subs to a single channel is 1 ohm or 4 ohms.

Therefore your amp is only really useful to fully power one of those subs. Trying to wire both at 4 ohms means your

amp is probably only going to push ~300w total, or 150w a piece.

You really need a bigger amp to extract the most of your subs.

 

[Andrewbe 10+ year member]

Okay so I want to get 2ohm subs, I misread the wiring diagram, I thought they used 2 4ohm DVC subs for a 2ohm load, but they have 2 2ohm subs. Just saved me from a head ache, thanks. Luckily, I haven't bought the subs yet. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

So would I better with just 1 sub at 2 ohms than 2 subs at 2 ohms? I know I'd be powering the sub to the fullest if I just had one, but would it sound the same or better than having 2?

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

If you get one sub, you'll want to get a DVC 4-Ohm sub, and wire it down to 2-ohms. If you get 2 subs, you'll want to get DVC 2-ohm subs to be able to wire them down to 2-ohms.

It depends on what you want out of the system. You could go either way. Its a good possibility that 2 subs in the right enclosure and half powered will be just as loud if not louder than 1 sub in a proper enclosure receiving full power. This is because the relationship between loudness and power input is not linear.

Which setup will sound better? Depends on your vehicle and how its setup. Can't really answer that question.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

If you wire those DVC 4ohm subs together in parallel- you will be in a 1ohm load,and hopefully your amplifier is 1ohm stable????Series/parallel with both subs will be 4ohm stable,in which just about every amp on the market can handle.Series/series with both subs will be 16ohms.If you want to be at 2ohms stable with the subs that you have ,,,you are only going to be able to hook up 1only if your amplifier is 4/2ohms mono-bridged stable,otherwise... look forward to buying a new amplifier and or speakers if you hook both up Parallel/parallel as you have stated.Before wiring up,go to sonic electronics.com and find your subs,and amplifier,and wire them properly..its free information,and you can print out and utilize.????What subs do you have,and amplifier??Alot of todays amps are severely under rated &at 14.4v peak.Most vehicles cant stay at or reach the13.6v the 14.4 v,range? unless you buy ho alternator and spend some$ on upgrading the electrical??You may never reach todays amplifier specs??not on a stock alternator.I use old school 11.6v Zed Made amps.Rms is what you are trying to achieve for the most not PEAK! Of course this is all that I have experienced...So my opinion as well with respect of others?? Yet ,look up the ohms stability of your amp,then how to achieve the ohms value you wish,and wire or utilize the use of the subs you have.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

If you wire those DVC 4ohm subs together in parallel- you will be in a 1ohm load,and hopefully your amplifier is 1ohm stable????
No. There is probably less than 10 2ch amplifiers in the world that can handle bridged operation at 1 ohm. This means each channel is good down to 0.5ohm.

Series/parallel with both subs will be 4ohm stable,in which just about every amp on the market can handle.Series/series with both subs will be 16ohms.If you want to be at 2ohms stable with the subs that you have ,,,you are only going to be able to hook up 1only if your amplifier is 4/2ohms mono-bridged stable,otherwise... look forward to buying a new amplifier and or speakers if you hook both up Parallel/parallel as you have stated.Before wiring up,go to sonic electronics.com and find your subs,and amplifier,and wire them properly..its free information,and you can print out and utilize.????What subs do you have,and amplifier??Alot of todays amps are severely under rated &at 14.4v peak.

No again. "A lot" of today's amps "Severely underrated" ? More like a lot of today's amps are spot on to their ratings, and the cheaper amps are often overrated.

Most vehicles cant stay at or reach the13.6v the 14.4 v,range? unless you buy ho alternator and spend some$ on upgrading the electrical??

What? My '98 Grand Cherokee's stock alternator (115A) held up to a 1600w+ RMS system just fine with minimal dimming. Know what you're doing and you can make the most out of a stock electrical system. Telling people they need to upgrade their entire electrical system for 600w RMS is asinine.

You may never reach todays amplifier specs??not on a stock alternator.I use old school 11.6v Zed Made amps.Rms is what you are trying to achieve for the most not PEAK! Of course this is all that I have experienced...So my opinion as well with respect of others?? Yet ,look up the ohms stability of your amp,then how to achieve the ohms value you wish,and wire or utilize the use of the subs you have.

See red lines above...

 

[Andrewbe 10+ year member]

I would be installing these in an Audi A4 in the trunk. And I'd probably have a car audio shop make the box for me. The sub I'm thinking about is the Alpine Type-R 12"

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

In that case I'd probably go with 1 sub. I've heard of people throwing 1,000w on Type-R's successfully. A single R ported in a trunk with 600w will still get plenty loud. Remember to grab the DVC 4-ohm sub. Wire it in parallel and you'll have 2-ohm final impedance.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

yes sir..if you wire 2 dvc4 parallel up together you will be in a 1 OHM Load???One of those subs alone wired parallel is 2ohms?? I guess that I have the few of the 1ohm stable amps of the world- Autotek Mean 99,66,44-Audiobahn HCT 4125/HCT2200/1801DT Audioart hc 100/Crunch 100hc.I guess they are worth alot of money by now then??And yes sir.. Most amps today are underated.You go buy an amp that says 100 watts on it,and see if you achieve that 100 watts rms at the below 14.4v rating?My 150watt amp pushes 2 Audiobahn aw1008t DVC2ohm 1000rms subs at a 2 ohm load at 12 Oclock beyond 135db! A 150 watt amp???Id like to see a todays 150watt amp do that????I dont think I have ever seen a stock alt stable at 14.4v either..If you want to achieve the 14.4 v you need to UPGRADE!Minimal dimming??Not hurting your electrical system??Try no dimming??Reason it s dimming at all due to electrical starvation!!! You will not achieve the 600watts rms out of your amplifier with a stock alter,if that were true.. I would have left my electrical system stock with my 140 amp alt on my 4x125,and my 1800 in my truck!!!

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

yes sir..if you wire 2 dvc4 parallel up together you will be in a 1 OHM Load???One of those subs alone wired parallel is 2ohms?? I guess that I have the few of the 1ohm stable amps of the world- Autotek Mean 99,66,44-Audiobahn HCT 4125/HCT2200/1801DT Audioart hc 100/Crunch 100hc.I guess they are worth alot of money by now then??And yes sir.. Most amps today are underated.You go buy an amp that says 100 watts on it,and see if you achieve that 100 watts rms at the below 14.4v rating?My 150watt amp pushes 2 Audiobahn aw1008t DVC2ohm 1000rms subs at a 2 ohm load at 12 Oclock beyond 135db! A 150 watt amp???Id like to see a todays 150watt amp do that????I dont think I have ever seen a stock alt stable at 14.4v either..If you want to achieve the 14.4 v you need to UPGRADE!Minimal dimming??Not hurting your electrical system??Try no dimming??Reason it s dimming at all due to electrical starvation!!! You will not achieve the 600watts rms out of your amplifier with a stock alter,if that were true.. I would have left my electrical system stock with my 140 amp alt on my 4x125,and my 1800 in my truck!!!

good lord separate your thoughts...

but anyway, running 600 watts on stock electrical is very doable and it done constantly.

also im thinking you have overrated and underrated backwards. are you really saying that sony and all the stuff they are selling at bestbuy are underrated? aka do more than what they say they will.

and 135 with a pair of 10s really isnt that impressive, especially since the single 8 on 400rms is doing a 130 in my gf's ride.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

good lord separate your thoughts...

no kidding...

many amps are 1 ohm stable. 1 ohm power is cheap nowadays - about $.25 per watt. Good Class AB is between $.50 - $1 per watt.

10 years ago 0.5 ohm stable wasn't uncommon.

in your first post you said you "have" these, but it sounds like you haven't bought them yet.

a pair of 4 ohm DVC subs can be wired for 1 ohm or 4 ohms. an amp that is 1 ohm stable is easy to find. Powerbass ASA1000.1dx for example.