Tri Mode

[TommyBoy24 10+ year member]

Can someone explain what Tri mode is and how to wire something in tri mode? Thanks

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[Alaxan 5,000+ posts]

Ummm Tri-mode for what?

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Tri-mode just means running 3 speakers off 2 channels.

It's pretty simple -- you just hook up two speakers regularly -- 4 ohms stereo. The 3rd speaker is wired as if you're running it in bridged mode, but it has to be an 8 ohm speaker, or a dvc 4 wired in series. The configuration presents a 2 ohm stereo load to the amp so if the 3rd speaker is less than 8 ohms you'll probably have problems.

IMO, tri-mode is, for the most part, a useless feature. If you're trying to run mids and a sub you lose use of the crossover b/c all 3 speakers have to run at the same frequency, plus the power to the 3rd speaker is probably not going to be enough, especially if it's some kind of sub. Any amp can operate in tri-mode. It's the kind of feature the more expensive amps don't even advertise.

 

[TommyBoy24 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help, I was planning on running my 6 x 9's and powering a small (8" or 6.5") sub under the front passenger seat. How would I make a 4 ohm sub into 8 ohms so I could mabye pull this off? Thanks again

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

You wouldn't. If you really want to do this you could probably just hook it up and be careful, knowing you're pushing the amp pretty hard. Ideally though, you just need to look around for an 8 ohm sub. They're pretty easy to find. Probably as little as $30-40 for something of reasonable quality. For what you're trying to do there's no need to have a $100 8".

My biggest concern is that you'll be running the sub full range, which means you can't expect much sq. Probably not even worth the stress on the amp.

Honestly, if I were you I'd just go with the 6x9's for now. Save up for a 2nd amp and a decent sub. You could do a decent sounding budget amp and 10" for $150 or so.