Some confirmation on some things I've researched.

[AnthonyXJ]

This will all be reguarding the optimal setup for 2 R1's.

As of now my setup goes as follows. There are 2 RF R1's wired to 2ohms, RMS at 300, Max at 600.

Now here's where my questions are. I dont know much about the amp they're running on. It is a 600w 3/4 channel sony xplod. (got for free) As of now im only running the 2 r1s off the amp. The thing is, I dont know how much that amp is pushing on one channel. I've looked online and cant get a definate answer for much much its pushing at 2 oms/1 channel.

Another thing is the amp seems to over heat a lot at higher volumes. Sometimes after only a minute or 2. As far as I know the amp is 10+ years old. I know a possible problem might be the power wire I have ATM, it's pretty small, i'd probably say 12 or 14 gauge. Im going to upgrade that in the next few days to come. But could that be a possible culprit of the problem?

Ideally, I should get a 300w mono amp. Maybe one from RF which is perfect match for these subs. They're pretty loud right now as it is, but if it's only running at a fraction of what it could be running at, i would love to bump it up a little.

Just a little bit of backgroud information. I'm 17. Got my first car this past Febuary. Knew nothing about car audio. Researched it a little. Saved up some money for a decent system. Bought and installed everything on my own, with the supervision of my uncle. Was very intrigued by car audio. As of now I've installed subs, speakers, amps, stereos for a few friends. I love it.

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[quackhead 10+ year member]

you are on the right track so far. With regards for what you should be running is a 600-700 watt RMS monoblock at 1 ohm, using 4ga power wiring...that sony is prolly doing all it can muster trying to feed those sub about 150w rms each...those subs need twice that each.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

Whats the model on the amp? Sony did make decent equipment 10 years ago or so.

The small power and ground wire should be upgraded. I wouldnt use anything less than 4 gauge EVER.

Its also possible that amp is bridged running at 2 ohms and is only stable down to 4 ohms bridged. Are the sub wires wired into the same terminals at the amp or does each sub have its own channel on the amp?

 

[AnthonyXJ]

The amp is a Sony XM-554ZR. I must be blind, it was right on the top of it.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

The sub wires are wired into a single terminal on the box. From there it runs to one terminal on the amp.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

The amp is a Sony XM-554ZR. I must be blind, it was right on the top of it.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif
The sub wires are wired into a single terminal on the box. From there it runs to one terminal on the amp.

That amp is not very strong. Its rated at 65 watts per channel at 2 ohms. Both subs combined are probably seeing somewhere around 30 a piece. What is the coil configuration of each sub? I would run 1 sub to its own channel at the lowest possible ohm load you can thats safe for the amp while your waiting to upgrade the amp.

 

[jungstah 10+ year member]

this ^^ and also new power wire asap. 12g is speaker wire

 

[AnthonyXJ]

That's what I thought. Seems like almost no power. But why are the subs so loud? I mean, on some songs there's so much bass it rattles pocket change I have laying around?

Unless.... On the amp it says 3/4 channels. There's 4 physical channels. But what if 2 channels are ran together on the inside? Like on mono amps with 2 physical channels even though there's one power output. Just a thought

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

That's what I thought. Seems like almost no power. But why are the subs so loud? I mean, on some songs there's so much bass it rattles pocket change I have laying around?
Unless.... On the amp it says 3/4 channels. There's 4 physical channels. But what if 2 channels are ran together on the inside? Like on mono amps with 2 physical channels even though there's one power output. Just a thought

My guess is you have bass boost all the way up on your amp and headunit and your gain isnt set right and your clipping your subs causing your amp to get hot.

 

[AnthonyXJ]

I knoww. About to order a wiring kit. Would 8g be alright? Or should I really be using 4g?

 

[AnthonyXJ]

Makes sense.. Gain and clipping my subs? Please define.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I knoww. About to order a wiring kit. Would 8g be alright? Or should I really be using 4g?

Nothing less than a true 4 gauge wire. Some companies will claim 4 gauge, but are really a 6 or 8 gauge wire with mostly rubber instead of actual wire content.

Makes sense.. Gain and clipping my subs? Please define.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-reference-database/534215-how-set-gains-dmm.html

 

[jungstah 10+ year member]

Makes sense.. Gain and clipping my subs? Please define.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

For that amp 8g will do but 4g will be more ideal.

Clipping means the amp is being over driven and in order to boost the bass it literally chops off the top and bottom peaks of the signal(song) hence the term clipping. This causes yo shiz to get hot and kills subs

 

[AnthonyXJ]

When you say "chops off the top and bottom peaks of the signal(song)" does that effect the sound output?