3 ohm speakers bridged - Will amp be okay?

  • 3
    Participant count
  • Participant list

Steve16Accord

CarAudio.com Newbie
4
0
I have scoured the Internet and searched for an answer on here, but cannot find one. It could be me and the search criteria I am using, but if not I'm hoping you all can help. So I understand what happens with ohm loads when wiring two speakers either parallel or bridged, but I need your help determining potential issues by bridging two 3-ohm speakers. I have recently completed an audio upgrade on my Honda Accord Sport, and while it's taken me a year and sounds better than stock, I still want to figure out how I can make it sound even better.

So before I go further, here's my setup thus far.

Pioneer AVH-2440NEX

Soundstream PN5.640D (5-channel amp)

Infinity Primus 6.5" Components (Front) - wired to channels 1 & 2

Infinity Reference 6.5" Coaxials (Rear) - wired to channels 3 & 4

Rockford Fosgate 12" DVC subwoofer in sealed box - wired to channel 5 (sub wired to 2-ohms)

Now, the other day I started wondering what it would sound like if I disconnected the rear deck speakers, and wired the components bridged to channels 1/2 and 3/4. I am aware that rear speakers "fill the space" so to speak, but I know some people chose to not run them altogether. The amp is 2-ohm stable and classified as a Class D unit. Bridged, channels 1/2 and 3/4 put out 160 watts RMS each, which according to the specs on the components, is still well within recommended RMS operating range. The thing I cannot wrap my head around though, is that this rating is based on a 4-ohm load. Per the manual, by running the amp in a 3 channel setup, channels 1/2 and 3/4 show a recommended ohm range of 4 to 8 ohms. If the components are 3-ohms and I bridge them, would I cause damage to the speakers or amp? My gut says no since the amp is stable down to 2-ohms, but the 4 to 8 ohm reference in the manual has me thinking otherwise. The components, of course, come with a passive crossover, which I will keep connected. I have a high pass set at 100Hz at the HU, to filter out lower frequencies prior to the audio signal hitting the amp. I know the passive crossover is suppose to do that job, but from my understanding, you can still use a crossover on the source unit if you want. I figure, weed out the unnecessary lower frequencies first, then let passives take over. It sounds better to me doing it this way as well. Here are the links to the products in question from Crutchfield.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_530PN5640D/Soundstream-Picasso-Nano-PN5-640D.html?search=PN5.640D&skipvs=T

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108P6500CS/Infinity-Primus-PR6500cs.html?search=infinity+primus+pr6500cs&osp=infinity+primus+pr6500cs

I appreciate your help.

Steve

 
I have scoured the Internet and searched for an answer on here, but cannot find one. It could be me and the search criteria I am using, but if not I'm hoping you all can help. So I understand what happens with ohm loads when wiring two speakers either parallel or bridged, but I need your help determining potential issues by bridging two 3-ohm speakers. I have recently completed an audio upgrade on my Honda Accord Sport, and while it's taken me a year and sounds better than stock, I still want to figure out how I can make it sound even better.

So before I go further, here's my setup thus far.

Pioneer AVH-2440NEX

Soundstream PN5.640D (5-channel amp)

Infinity Primus 6.5" Components (Front) - wired to channels 1 & 2

Infinity Reference 6.5" Coaxials (Rear) - wired to channels 3 & 4

Rockford Fosgate 12" DVC subwoofer in sealed box - wired to channel 5 (sub wired to 2-ohms)

Now, the other day I started wondering what it would sound like if I disconnected the rear deck speakers, and wired the components bridged to channels 1/2 and 3/4. I am aware that rear speakers "fill the space" so to speak, but I know some people chose to not run them altogether. The amp is 2-ohm stable and classified as a Class D unit. Bridged, channels 1/2 and 3/4 put out 160 watts RMS each, which according to the specs on the components, is still well within recommended RMS operating range. The thing I cannot wrap my head around though, is that this rating is based on a 4-ohm load. Per the manual, by running the amp in a 3 channel setup, channels 1/2 and 3/4 show a recommended ohm range of 4 to 8 ohms. If the components are 3-ohms and I bridge them, would I cause damage to the speakers or amp? My gut says no since the amp is stable down to 2-ohms, but the 4 to 8 ohm reference in the manual has me thinking otherwise. The components, of course, come with a passive crossover, which I will keep connected. I have a high pass set at 100Hz at the HU, to filter out lower frequencies prior to the audio signal hitting the amp. I know the passive crossover is suppose to do that job, but from my understanding, you can still use a crossover on the source unit if you want. I figure, weed out the unnecessary lower frequencies first, then let passives take over. It sounds better to me doing it this way as well. Here are the links to the products in question from Crutchfield.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_530PN5640D/Soundstream-Picasso-Nano-PN5-640D.html?search=PN5.640D&skipvs=T

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108P6500CS/Infinity-Primus-PR6500cs.html?search=infinity+primus+pr6500cs&osp=infinity+primus+pr6500cs

I appreciate your help.

Steve
Hi there.

The idea behind selling "3 ohm speakers" is that the wiring and connector resistance makes up about 1 ohm, bringing the load on the amp closer to 4 ohm nominal. 

Also note that the impedance of a speaker system is not constant, but instead varies with frequency.  You have spikes around Fs and then spikes due to coil inductance and crossover effects.  So what we consider "nominal" is more like "minimum". 

You are using the head unit HPF correctly.  The passive crossover only provides a low pass for the woofer (around 4,000Hz) and a high pass for the tweeter (around the same point).  The passive crossover does not provide a HPF for the woofer.  You are correct to apply a HPF around 100Hz (even down to 60-80Hz is fine with some setups). 

 
Thank you for the reply.  I’m going to try it out. I went ahead and lowered the speaker levels at the rear speakers all the way down. With just the sub and components, it didn’t sound bad at all. I realize this isn’t the best representation of what it might sound like, but figured it would at least provide me with an idea. I do plan to swap out the Infinity tweeters that are hard dome, to a set of soft down tweeters. So many ideas. So little time.

 
When you bridge 2 channels on a given speaker, each channel effectively "sees" half the load.  So with a typical 4 ohm speaker you'd have 2 ohms per channel.  With the 3 ohm speaker you'd theoretically have 1.5 which, obviously, is lower than the amp's 2 ohm minimum.  But as KHA pointed out - the time spent at or near minimum impedance would likely be very low so it would be reasonable to expect the amp to handle it fine, especially if you're not blasting it at or near full volume very often.

You can always just run the rears with the HU's speaker outputs.

 
Over the weekend, I disconnected the rear speakers at the amp and am only running the components up front now. I re-tuned the amp, adjusted the crossover again, and fine tuned the sub and everything sounds great so far. I haven't pushed the system enough to cause the amp to go into protect mode, but I'll keep an eye on things.

In the past, I loved having that higher bass output, but as I'm growing more knowledgeable, I have started to change my focus towards the SQ spectrum. Now it's trying to find that "perfect" balance. This recent change surprised me. The lack of rear speakers isn't as noticeable as I thought it would be. Sound staging has improved, but the "brightness" of the hard dome tweeters up front are a bit much. Once I put in soft domes, I am sure I will like what I hear even more. I am also trying to figure out how I can best move the tweeters lower, out of the sail panels and closer to the mid. I know this would require some moderate to extensive custom work, but I'm confident it will only improve the SQ and staging. I am also planning on getting a DSP at some point within the next year. I am trying to decide between the AudioControl DM-810 or the Audison Bit One (leaning towards the latter). No matter which route I go, I am going to ditch the 5-channel amp in favor of a 4-channel to drive the tweeters and mids up in the front, plus remove the passive crossovers and go active via the DSP. For the sub, I'll find a monoblock amp that offers an equal amount of power output in relation to the 4-channel.

In the meantime, I have contemplated what would happen if I connect the rears to the speaker outputs on the HU as you mentioned. Since I have a high pass crossover set at 100Hz right now on both front and rear outputs (left and right component set respectively), connecting the rears to the speaker leads from the HU would mean the filter on the rear output would apply to these as well, am I right? If so, this would be fine since I don't want anything lower than 100Hz going to coaxial speakers anyway. Plus, the lower wattage would help to reduce the sound output from them, which I would think would help offer a subtle to moderate fill from the back. Keeping the 5-channel amp in play for now, I have even considered the doing this, and then unbridging the front speakers and running the tweeters on channels 1/2 and mids on 3/4. The only roadblock with this plan is that there isn't a way to crossover the tweeters at anything above 250Hz at the amp or the HU, and since the passive crossover would be removed in this scenario, I would have no way of setting a 2-3k Hz crossover. Plus, I'd also have to run a second speaker line into the door, which I was planning to upgrade any way.

At this point, I'm just trying to figure out what I can and can't do based on my current parameters, outside of purchasing the new equipment. I know once that happens, I'll have greater flexibility, but at the end of the day I'm enjoying the learning experience.

 
Activity
No one is currently typing a reply...
Old Thread: Please note, there have been no replies in this thread for over 3 years!
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Similar threads

I don't think it's that easy to answer "for a complete beginner". amp and speakers ratings are those peak or RMS? Are these already installed...
3
1K
What is the impedance of each set of terminals,assuming they represent each of the two dual voice coil subs (4 coils total)? How many sets of +/-...
2
110
Not all chargers are the same and charge and different rates. Any battery will deplete in that type of weather if you do not crank the vehicle for...
10
757
Brand new 210 shipped TECHNICAL INFORMATION OPERATION CLASSClass D NUMBER OF CHANNELS01 MAXIMUM POWER@ 12.6 VDC - 1 OHM: 3000W RMS @ 12.6 VDC -...
0
451
This is what I usually do before I put my main gear in. For my temp setups, Ill thrown in what I have close by out of my stash.
10
886

About this thread

Steve16Accord

CarAudio.com Newbie
Thread starter
Steve16Accord
Joined
Location
Start date
Participants
Who Replied
Replies
4
Views
5,299
Last reply date
Last reply from
Steve16Accord
IMG_0632.jpg

just call me KeV

    Apr 19, 2024
  • 0
  • 0
IMG_0629.jpg

just call me KeV

    Apr 19, 2024
  • 0
  • 0

Latest topics

Top