Saab 2 Ohms Amp

[dspargo]

I have a factory amp in my Saab that puts out 40 watts X2. It is a 2 ohms amp.

Do I have to use 2 ohms speakers. The choices are limited.

In the Saab forum they say you must use 2 ohms speakers but I thought I would come to the experts.

I understand that 4 ohms ones will be quieter but are there any other negatives like running my amp a bit hot, etc.?

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[fly_marlin]

To get the most out of that amp, yes, you should get 2 ohms speakers. At 4ohms, it wouldn't be putting out much power. Would you be willing to upgrade the amp as well? This will open up your options quite a bit.

 

[dspargo]

The issue with upgrading the amp is that the car uses a fiber optic system and system sounds run through that amp. Yesterday I installed some Boston Acoustics SE 65 that sound good to me but it bugs me that there is a mismatch for ohms.. I wish there was a Boston Acoustics 6 1/2 that was lower for ohms AND didn't need so much power. I had some CDTs installed per recommendations from the forum and they sounded excellent. I blew one of them and I think it was from being underpowered.

 

[fly_marlin]

I'm not sure how much time/money you're willing to invest into this, but I think there should be a way to tap into its signal.

 

[dspargo]

I could from the output of the amp but would rather not do that if possible.

I guess my question is this...is it just the volume that is lowered by using my setup? Any other sound related issues using my amp with 4 ohms speakers?

 

[fly_marlin]

You're thinking about it wrong. Your amp is 2 ohm stereo stable. Means it can safely drive multiple 2 ohm speakers. This also means it can safely drive any speaker with higher resistance - anything above 2 ohms. You just lose output if you run 4 ohm speakers since your amp puts out no more than 20 watts into 4 ohms. So your resistance isn't "mismatched," you're just lacking power in your amp.

 

[dspargo]

Makes total sense now...thank you! I've yet to see someone describe it that way for this particular Saab setup...much appreciated.