Whats the deal with 4 ohms??

[Bellmeister]

Hello all, so I have read a ton and heard a ton from users and I swear...it seems 95% go 1 ohms.
the rest are 2 ohms.

I read that higher resistance is better for quality of sound and defintely amp performacne...how hot they get.So I got a Skar 8" SVR 400 RMS and a Skar rp1200 that runs at 500 RMS at 4 ohms.
So that seemed perfect. Then I got an LC2i to up the clean signal going into the amp and its killer in my Mazda 3 hatchback.

So why is that? Everyone doing 1 ohms?

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[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

Hello all, so I have read a ton and heard a ton from users and I swear...it seems 95% go 1 ohms.
the rest are 2 ohms.

I read that higher resistance is better for quality of sound and defintely amp performacne...how hot they get.So I got a Skar 8" SVR 400 RMS and a Skar rp1200 that runs at 500 RMS at 4 ohms.
So that seemed perfect. Then I got an LC2i to up the clean signal going into the amp and its killer in my Mazda 3 hatchback.

So why is that? Everyone doing 1 ohms?

As far as I know, input power equals output power. I'll mention efficiency to spare myself the lectures.

The important thing is to match your speaker impedance to your amp's power output at that impedance.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Running at a higher Ohm load is generally cleaner/ clearer and more effecient

 

[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

Running at a higher Ohm load is generally cleaner/ clearer and more effecient

Why and how?

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Do some research on THD

 

[Bellmeister]

Why and how?

Cos when its at 1 ohms its running balls to the wall wide open.
1200 watt amp, running 1200 watts at 1 ohm. At 2 ohms like 800 watts, 4 ohms 500 watts.

So, if you're running a 1200 watt amp at 500 like I am, its pushing the amp a lot less which makes for cleaner sound and cooler temperatures. Amp lasts longer

 

[YourNameHere 10+ year member]

I would run at 1ohm and dial gains way back before trying to max my amp out at 4ohms to get 500rms....your not going to notice any difference in SQ with sub frequencies unless your clipping your amp trying to make power that isnt there....always better to have more power and dial it back than not enough to avoid distortion...but thats just my opinion

 

[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

Do some research on THD

Back up your claims.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

I would run at 1ohm and dial gains way back before trying to max my amp out at 4ohms to get 500rms....your not going to notice any difference in SQ with sub frequencies unless your clipping your amp trying to make power that isnt there....always better to have more power and dial it back than not enough to avoid distortion...but thats just my opinion

This^^^^

 

[Bellmeister]

I would run at 1ohm and dial gains way back before trying to max my amp out at 4ohms to get 500rms....your not going to notice any difference in SQ with sub frequencies unless your clipping your amp trying to make power that isnt there....always better to have more power and dial it back than not enough to avoid distortion...but thats just my opinion

But if I run it at 1 ohm that will be everything the amp can put out right? 1200 watts. Vs the 500 Im running at now.
For a single sub with 400 Watt RMS, isnt that way too much?
And btw, I also have a LC2i hooked up so I'm not pushing the amp a lot. Gain on amp is like 30%.

 

[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

But if I run it at 1 ohm that will be everything the amp can put out right? 1200 watts. Vs the 500 Im running at now.
For a single sub with 400 Watt RMS, isnt that way too much?
And btw, I also have a LC2i hooked up so I'm not pushing the amp a lot. Gain on amp is like 30%.

Your amp CAN produce the most power at its lowest rated load, but that doesn't mean it WILL produce that much. Use the gain to choke it back to a power level your subs can handle.

 

[Bellmeister]

Your amp CAN produce the most power at its lowest rated load, but that doesn't mean it WILL produce that much. Use the gain to choke it back to a power level your subs can handle.

Ok wewll shoot...last question. I have the LC2i hooked up to it too. Should I turn those boosts down too?