Wasted HU Power

[JPWynn 10+ year member]

I just bought a 4 channel amp which will power some front comps and rear coax. Initially I figured I would just run the 85W RMS x 4 into each speaker and be done. This would in turn make my 22W RMS x 4 HU power wasted...

Right now I'm leaning towards bridging the 4 channel down to 2 channels for the comps and running the coax off the HU. This will give me 200W RMS x 2 for the front comps but only 22W RMS x 2 for the rear coax.

I've read a few posts about people bi-amping speakers or somehow bridging the 4 channel HU power down to 2 channels to get the most out of it. Is this possible?

Is there a way to modify a set of coax speakers so I can run the full 22W x 4 into them or do the speakers actually have to be bi-ampable to accomplish this?

Would there be really any benefit into doing this? Essentially we are talking 44W RMS versus 22W RMS, correct? Would it really make that big of a difference?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

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[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

I just bought a 4 channel amp which will power some front comps and rear coax. Initially I figured I would just run the 85W RMS x 4 into each speaker and be done. This would in turn make my 22W RMS x 4 HU power wasted...
Right now I'm leaning towards bridging the 4 channel down to 2 channels for the comps and running the coax off the HU. This will give me 200W RMS x 2 for the front comps but only 22W RMS x 2 for the rear coax.

I've read a few posts about people bi-amping speakers or somehow bridging the 4 channel HU power down to 2 channels to get the most out of it. Is this possible?

Is there a way to modify a set of coax speakers so I can run the full 22W x 4 into them or do the speakers actually have to be bi-ampable to accomplish this?

Would there be really any benefit into doing this? Essentially we are talking 44W RMS versus 22W RMS, correct? Would it really make that big of a difference?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

to answer your questions

no

no

no

no

no

 

[hrtbrk1 5,000+ posts]

dont worry about ur head unit power and just run speakers of amp

 

[l7runner 10+ year member]

Most HUs that I know of cannot be bridged.

Amps are relatively cheap anyways...you can pick up an additional 100ish x 2 for around $70 used.

If you want more power I would look into additional amps over HU power.

 

[FurbiesAndBeans 10+ year member]

Bridging ur HU will most likely turn into a fried HU lol

 

[JPWynn 10+ year member]

Ok so using all 22W RMS x 4 of the HU isn't happening...

So I'm on the right track using 200 x 2 for my front stage comps and then HU power for the rear coax? Everything I've heard so far is Front Stage >>>>>>>> All other speakers.

Thanks for those that replied.

P.S. I wouldn't just tie some wires together and fry my HU trying to bridge the power...LOL

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Ok so using all 22W RMS x 4 of the HU isn't happening...
So I'm on the right track using 200 x 2 for my front stage comps and then HU power for the rear coax? Everything I've heard so far is Front Stage >>>>>>>> All other speakers.

Thanks for those that replied.

P.S. I wouldn't just tie some wires together and fry my HU trying to bridge the power...LOL

Hey Sparky, you aint readin so good. They said forget about the HU entirely. Use the 4 channel on all your speakers. That HU output is dirty and weak. You are right that Front stage is all that matters, however you went and bought rear speakers anyway, so that tells me you have a habit of not reading or just not listening.

 

[JPWynn 10+ year member]

Hey Sparky, you aint readin so good. They said forget about the HU entirely. Use the 4 channel on all your speakers. That HU output is dirty and weak. You are right that Front stage is all that matters, however you went and bought rear speakers anyway, so that tells me you have a habit of not reading or just not listening.

Yeah I also read this forum isn't doing so hot. Perhaps it's from 22k posters like yourself treating noobs like this?

 

[CrysisMaker 10+ year member]

Yea, theres plenty of them on here JP. However there still are good people here that will help you. Ive met a few of the bad and good. People will disagree with you or decide that they want to bash you because your a noob. I think one thing they forget is that they themselves were once a noob and maybe were treated that way, thus now they want to treat the other noobs as they were treated. I dont know why, but it is what it is man. Ignore it.

You can run your 2ch and you rear off the HU. And when you can do a 4ch or 2 2ch amps, do it. Til then use what you have, nothing wrong with that as long as you do it right.

 

[JPWynn 10+ year member]

Yea, theres plenty of them on here JP. However there still are good people here that will help you. Ive met a few of the bad and good. People will disagree with you or decide that they want to bash you because your a noob. I think one thing they forget is that they themselves were once a noob and maybe were treated that way, thus now they want to treat the other noobs as they were treated. I dont know why, but it is what it is man. Ignore it.
You can run your 2ch and you rear off the HU. And when you can do a 4ch or 2 2ch amps, do it. Til then use what you have, nothing wrong with that as long as you do it right.

Thanks for that. I probably shouldn't feed the trolls but 22k posts and a reply like that? Wow.

I have a good idea of what I'm going to do. Thanks for those that replied in a serious matter.

 

[CrysisMaker 10+ year member]

Jus so you know, I wasnt trying to be like them JP. You jus need to know that there are people like that one here. And no I'm one of them. Ill help you out the best way I can. I was only tryin to take your side unlike others that want to tell you that you cant read and dont listen. Im only sayin this because I dont know how you took what I said.

Wish you the best with your setup. If you have questions, ask them. And the ones who do care, like me will help you.

Try what you have in mind and let me know if it works out. If not Ill try to help you figure out something that will.

 

[SCcobra4me 10+ year member]

I say go for it, rear speakers are mainly just for fill anyways. See how it sounds and if you don't like it, run the front and rear speakers off the amp. I do agree with the HU power being dirty and weak and when I had the amp capability, never did this but to each their own. How many watts are your fronts rated for? 200 watts seems like a lot to fronts.

Just play around and see what sounds best to you.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for that. I probably shouldn't feed the trolls but 22k posts and a reply like that? Wow.
I have a good idea of what I'm going to do. Thanks for those that replied in a serious matter.

I did give a serious reply. Using the HU to power anything is seriously retarded. If you don't have thick skin and can't handle a little sarcasm with advice then I don't give **** if you like it or not. Fact is, you got really good responses, but you come in and totally disregard them and say you are going to do it anyway. Well if that is the case then don't fucking ask for help.

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

I have two kicker zx 150.2 amps pretty well brand new. Ill give you both for 125 plus shipping, PM if you want them.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Rear fill should be bandpassed and attenuated. 500hz-5kz (approx), output decreased to keep listener attention on front stage. If your h/u is capable of that, try it. If its not, dont. Also, rear fill does not need a tweeter, so those coaxes could have been simple mids.

The only h/u's capable of being bridged (that I know of) are the MOSFET powered pioneer models.