Speaker wiring?

[Jimmyswan 10+ year member]

I think I've confused myself to the point that I'm lost. I'm wanting to hookup my front and rear speakers and cant figure out how to wire or if i need a different amp. Here go's in the front door's I want to hook up 1 6x8(4ohm) 1 8"woofer (4ohm) and a set of 5.25 componets in the rear deck(4ohm) as well. Obviously the same on the other side. I have a 2 channel amp I was going to use but its only stable at 2 ohms. This is where I'm confused, can I somehow use what I have or am I better off buying a 4 ch amp? Sorry for the long post, just getting frustrated.

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[Einzee 10+ year member]

I think you should clarify what your intentions are. Are the doors getting the 6X8 and the 8"? Or is the 8" going in the rear deck with the components? Either way it goes.... I would suggest a 4 channel amp to run it all or another 2 channel amp to run with the amp you already have. IMHO you will want to power your woofers and mids at different levels because I am sure that the power handling capacity of each speaker is different.

As for your amp.... I dont ever recall seeing an amp that is ONLY stable at 2 ohms tho I may be incorrect. Usually the specs of an amp will state that it is 4 ohm compatible and stable down to 2 ohms.

 

[9seconlives 10+ year member]

I think you should clarify what your intentions are. Are the doors getting the 6X8 and the 8"? Or is the 8" going in the rear deck with the components? Either way it goes.... I would suggest a 4 channel amp to run it all or another 2 channel amp to run with the amp you already have. IMHO you will want to power your woofers and mids at different levels because I am sure that the power handling capacity of each speaker is different.
As for your amp.... I dont ever recall seeing an amp that is ONLY stable at 2 ohms tho I may be incorrect. Usually the specs of an amp will state that it is 4 ohm compatible and stable down to 2 ohms.

This is very true.....also if you're using the x-over on the amp then you wouldn't want the midbass 8" subs running at the same frequency as the 5.25's and/or the 6x9's i don't think there is an amp that is "only" stable @ 2 ohms......they start out at 4 but there are SEVERAL that are ONLY stable down to 2 ohms.

 

[Jimmyswan 10+ year member]

Sorry I should have been more clear, the amp runs at 4ohms but will go as low as 2 ohms. Yes the 8's will be used as midbass, i have a 12 in the back for the lows. If I use a 4 channel amp can two channels be driven at 2 ohms while the other 2 are at 4ohm? My thoughts were 8's on 2 channels bridged and the front and rears on the other 2 channels. Sound right or am I way off?

 

[SRim23 5,000+ posts]

yes you can run 2 channels at 2 and 2 channels at 4 as long as the amp is 2 ohm stable.

 

[Jimmyswan 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help. Any reccomendations on a 4 ch amp? Around max $200.

 

[MikeATL 10+ year member]

I've got a Cadence TXA-6004. It's a beast of a budget amp @179 shipped:

150X4 @4ohm

300X4 @2ohm

600X2 @4ohm bridged

It's got low pass and high pass crossovers (@18db) as well as bass and treble boost. It would likely drive your 8's decently w/a low pass as well as the 6X8's (keep the gain down). You could then use the 2 channel you have now to drive the rears. With that setup you'd have a lot of control over your system. You could potentially drive your whole system off that one amp. You could run your full range speakers at 2ohm on the second set of channels, but 300watts per channel would be overkill. You could wire them in series instead for about 75X4 at 8ohms on the 2nd set of channels. I don't like sharing channels from front/rear much as you'd lose fade ability though.

I've been VERY happy w/mine and will be listing here soon for sale. I bought it direct from CadenceStore about 2 months ago and would sell for 130+ shipping. PM me if you're interested. Only reason I'm looking to sell is b/c I picked up a JL 300/4 and am going to use it to run my front components active. I'll probably be pulling it out of my car tonight.