Running two subs on one channel of a two channel amp? Help!

[WaCk071]

Okay so I have two Kenwood KFC-W300S which have a 150 watt rms rating, so I decided to buy the Boss R6002 1200 Watt Amp which is (stated on Boss' website) 225W x 2 RMS @ 4 Ohms, which from my understanding, is plenty. Well I installed my system tonight and I plugged it all in and I just didn't get the sound I liked with my sealed box, so I decided to try to turn the box around in my trunk to see if I could hear it better, turns out one of the wires in the terminals came loose, and only one sub was playing, but it sounded way better than with two subs. So I did research, thinking that it was a power issue, and figured out that this amp can support 450W x 2 RMS @ 2 Ohms, but my question is, if I ran my subs in parallel causing them to drop to 2 ohms final impedance, can I just run both of them off of one channel and not two? Because bridging on this amp only supports up to 4 ohms. And I know I should have bought a monoblock, but I didn't really understand ohms and watts and stuff until I did a ton of research tonight, because I thought I'd had known enough that two channels with 225 W each would be good but apparently not.

Click to read more...

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

That Boss amp has inflated ratings. I wouldn't bother with it. You want a real amp, start looking for one or ask us on here or look on CL.

 

[WaCk071]

That Boss amp has inflated ratings. I wouldn't bother with it. You want a real amp, start looking for one or ask us on here or look on CL.

Which amp should I get then? What one could run my subs in parallel really well? Preferably cheaper then $200. I wouldn't assume any amp that only needs 300 watt rms would be that expensive anyways lol
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

[quote name='WaCk071']Which amp should I get then? What one could run my subs in parallel really well? Preferably cheaper then $200. I wouldn't assume any amp that only needs 300 watt rms would be that expensive anyways lol

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

nah, 200 bucks is something to start with. There's someone on here @bigblank69 that has some amps that he tested I'm sure he can work out a deal with ya.

 

[WaCk071]

[quote name='Boomin_tahoe']nah, 200 bucks is something to start with. There's someone on here @bigblank69 that has some amps that he tested I'm sure he can work out a deal with ya.[/QUOTE]That would be cool but I would like to just buy one on Amazon preferably. Any ones you would recommend? My subs are pretty low rms so I didn't think I would need a super expensive amp.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[shredder2]

Amp power is like money in the bank... nice to have but you don't need to spend it all... here is my favorite... $200 shipped... and it's gonna let you upgrade eventually... I had great luck with mine... the flexibility for the price is hard to beat...

* NEW * CAB-1600.1 Amplifier - Car Audio Bargain

Hey... we ALL upgrade eventually... lol

Another thing is the sealed boxes... ever heard a low tuned ported box?.. even cheap subs come alive with a lower tuned ported box...

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-rvN3WGKL4Zg/p_113KFCW300/Kenwood-KFC-W300S.html

Yep... thats a cheap sub and it can be ported... I'm sure it'll sound worlds apart from sealed.... louder and lower

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

That would be cool but I would like to just buy one on Amazon preferably. Any ones you would recommend? My subs are pretty low rms so I didn't think I would need a super expensive amp.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

You def don't need a cheap amp either because you want something that will last awhile rather than 3 months and an amp with reasonable to rated watts. You know the old saying goes....you get what you pay for.

 

[moparnut]

I got my Pioneer gm-d8601 for $60 at a Pawn shop. It was in great shape and is 1 ohm stable as well as makes rated power. Pawn shops are hit and miss but worth checking out.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

You could run the amp you have for speakers and it'll do a lot better than a head unit. For a 1 ohm stable monoblock there are a ton out there for $200. Not great amps, but good enough. A good quality used amp is my usual recommendation.

The Boss AR4000D has been dyno'd to do a legit 1kW @ 1ohm mono and 1% THD. I ran this amp in the $150 challenge two years in a row and still have it on a shelf. It's under $95.

 

[WaCk071]

You could run the amp you have for speakers and it'll do a lot better than a head unit. For a 1 ohm stable monoblock there are a ton out there for $200. Not great amps, but good enough. A good quality used amp is my usual recommendation.
The Boss AR4000D has been dyno'd to do a legit 1kW @ 1ohm mono and 1% THD. I ran this amp in the $150 challenge two years in a row and still have it on a shelf. It's under $95.

Dang that's a good deal I'll have to check it out. I figured out the problem was a phase issue, so they run now, and I'm not the best at detecting distortion, but at about 2/3 input gain I think they start to distort, which sounds reasonable since my amp gives out 225 watts each sub on each channel, but people are saying that is an inflated rate and that it runs way lower, so I'm not sure if they are distorting or just really loud lol.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Dang that's a good deal I'll have to check it out. I figured out the problem was a phase issue, so they run now, and I'm not the best at detecting distortion, but at about 2/3 input gain I think they start to distort, which sounds reasonable since my amp gives out 225 watts each sub on each channel, but people are saying that is an inflated rate and that it runs way lower, so I'm not sure if they are distorting or just really loud lol.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

lack of power and dissatisfaction of output overdriving the amp causes distortion. It doesnt take much power for subs to get loud. Again you are at best getting 50-75 watts a channel AT BEST lol. Most likely a lot less, people vastly overestimate the power they think they have. What you think is loud now, you'll be blown away with real power.

If you play a 40hz test tone, go up the gain and you hear the 40hz change into a higher pitch then its distortion.

 

[WaCk071]

lack of power and dissatisfaction of output overdriving the amp causes distortion. It doesnt take much power for subs to get loud. Again you are at best getting 50-75 watts a channel AT BEST lol. Most likely a lot less, people vastly overestimate the power they think they have. What you think is loud now, you'll be blown away with real power.
If you play a 40hz test tone, go up the gain and you hear the 40hz change into a higher pitch then its distortion.

Okay I'll try that when I get home in like 30 minutes and see if it works. But I mean they are flexing a lot for old subs so I'm concerned I'll break the coils, but again you have way more experience then I do.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Okay I'll try that when I get home in like 30 minutes and see if it works. But I mean they are flexing a lot for old subs so I'm concerned I'll break the coils, but again you have way more experience then I do.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

just keep feeling the dustcap to see how hot they get after a jam session. If they are hot then you need to back it down. If they are warm to room temperature after 10 mins then you are fine.

 

[WaCk071]

just keep feeling the dustcap to see how hot they get after a jam session. If they are hot then you need to back it down. If they are warm to room temperature after 10 mins then you are fine.

Okay. It's really cold where I live right now but I don't notice any temperature changes
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Okay. It's really cold where I live right now but I don't notice any temperature changes
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

you should be good to go then. Do the same test when its warmer.