Wiring a DVC sub

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

I have a Lanzar OPTIdrive 500.2 amp and a Fosgate HX2 12" DVC 4ohm sub. The amp is rated at 250rms x 2 @4ohms, 450 x 2 @2ohms, or 900 x 1 @ 4ohms bridged. So it looks like my only option is to run it 4ohms stereo, this sounds pretty good considering the sub is rated at 500 rms. Can anyone see any issues with running this setup this way?

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[meanman101 10+ year member]

Wire the sub down to 2 ohms and just use 1 channel of the amp to get 450 @ 2ohm

 

[kyleg94cavy 10+ year member]

yeah that is correct. mofo word up'

 

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

Wire the sub down to 2 ohms and just use 1 channel of the amp to get 450 @ 2ohm

why do you say that?

 

[meanman101 10+ year member]

If your only going to be using 1 sub, and its a 4 ohm dvc, then you can wire the + to the + and - to the - to make a 2 ohm load. Your amp is stable at 2 ohm stereo which means that you can get 2ohms from each channel. You previously stated that your amp can put out 450 x 2 @ 2ohms, that is telling me that it will put out 450 to 1 sub on 1 channel and 450 to the other. In this case there is only 1 sub so just use 1 channel which you can say is 2ohm stereo.

 

[Trixter 10+ year member]

Yep, makes sence to me.

 

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

If your only going to be using 1 sub, and its a 4 ohm dvc, then you can wire the + to the + and - to the - to make a 2 ohm load. Your amp is stable at 2 ohm stereo which means that you can get 2ohms from each channel. You previously stated that your amp can put out 450 x 2 @ 2ohms, that is telling me that it will put out 450 to 1 sub on 1 channel and 450 to the other. In this case there is only 1 sub so just use 1 channel which you can say is 2ohm stereo.

I'm no noob to car audio, im very familiar w/the terms and whatnot so you can speak to me like you would to an installer or someone.
So my question remains. Why do you think it's better to run it at 2ohms stereo w/the sub wired in parallel which will give the sub 450 watts, instead or running it at 4ohms stereo and get 500 watts rms to it?

Yep, makes sence to me.

read my post above and you'll see that running the sub like he said actually doesn't make any sense.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Run it 8 ohm mono. Same power as the 4ohm stereo option and no chance of the two coils getting a different signal from each other.

 

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

Run it 8 ohm mono. Same power as the 4ohm stereo option and no chance of the two coils getting a different signal from each other.

4ohm stereo-500 watts rms, 8ohms mono=450rms

 

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

so can anyone explain why you shouldn't run a dvc sub in stereo?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

4ohm stereo-500 watts rms, 8ohms mono=450rms

How do you figure? Each channel "sees" half the load, so each channel should be putting out its 4 ohm power at this load. 250+250=500. This is the way MOST amps work. 450, 500 even if it does make less power, you can't hear 50 watts at that level anyway.

You seem dead set on running the thing in stereo, so why did you come in here and ask the question. Now, given, some of the responses given have been stupid and rather ghetto like only using one channel of the amp. Don't want to be talked to like a newb, don't act like one.

Sorry if I'm a bit terse, it's been a long day.

 

[Trixter 10+ year member]

so can anyone explain why you shouldn't run a dvc sub in stereo?

By running a DVC sub in stereo you are giving each vc a different signal which can eventually ruin the sub. That was kind of the point of only using one channel. Yes the amp with be in stereo mode because it's not bridged, but the sub will only have a mono left or right signal going to it. You could bridge the amp and run the sub in series to get a 450w 8ohm load like it was stated and get the same outcome. The choice is yours. An option to get the 500w would be to split the L or R of the RCA before the amp so each side has the same signal and wire each vc to it's own side. (Chances are your not altering your balance anyways. This is the way a lot of mono amps are; sometime they look like thay have 2 channels but really it just a matter of where you split the signal.)

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

My point was that you SHOULD get 500 watts at 8 ohms bridged if the amp is rated at 250x2 @ 4 ohms. You really should run the sub off one channel, how you derive that channel is up to you. The easiest way to do it without running the risk of losing any information is to just bridge the amp.

 

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

How do you figure? Each channel "sees" half the load, so each channel should be putting out its 4 ohm power at this load. 250+250=500. This is the way MOST amps work. 450, 500 even if it does make less power, you can't hear 50 watts at that level anyway.
You seem dead set on running the thing in stereo, so why did you come in here and ask the question. Now, given, some of the responses given have been stupid and rather ghetto like only using one channel of the amp. Don't want to be talked to like a newb, don't act like one.

Sorry if I'm a bit terse, it's been a long day.

It's not about me "figuring" anything, I just know how to read. And in my owners manual and on every site I have found listing the specs on this amp, it shows them as being:
250rms x 2 @4ohms

450rms x 2 @2ohms

900rms x 1 @4ohms bridged

Now do you see how I "figure"?

I'm not dead set on anything yet, I asked the question to find out if there were any reasons I shouldn't run it at 4ohms stereo. I didn't realize that bass had variances from left to right. I'm gonna hit up a few shops around town tomorrow and get some more opinions.

Acting like a noob is asking someone why they recommend a certain setup?

 

[94uhkord 10+ year member]

By running a DVC sub in stereo you are giving each vc a different signal which can eventually ruin the sub. That was kind of the point of only using one channel. Yes the amp with be in stereo mode because it's not bridged, but the sub will only have a mono left or right signal going to it. You could bridge the amp and run the sub in series to get a 450w 8ohm load like it was stated and get the same outcome. The choice is yours. An option to get the 500w would be to split the L or R of the RCA before the amp so each side has the same signal and wire each vc to it's own side. (Chances are your not altering your balance anyways. This is the way a lot of mono amps are; sometime they look like thay have 2 channels but really it just a matter of where you split the signal.)

I should have gotten a 2ohm dvc sub //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/verymad.gif.3f39c5c2fd57527b671fad3efdfac756.gif