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picking the right amp?

2dee11

2dee11

Member
alright guys, so i have two 12" subs. they are in two single boxes. so wiring them in parallel can be done but it would be sort of difficult IMO but maybe not.

my friend gave me these subs for free, so dont tell me theyre crappy or whatever because you cant beat free. especially at the age of 16.
sub 1
Pioneer TS-W301R 12" 4-ohm subwoofer at Crutchfield.com
sub 2
Pioneer TS-W302R 12" 4-ohm component subwoofer at Crutchfield.com

both are SVC
both are 50-150 RMS (800 peak)
both are 4ohm

so what amp do i need?

From what i understand...
about a 300W amp is what is preffered as far as wattage
2 channels would be easiest as far as wiring because theyre each in a single box

the amp ive been looking at was this one
Orion - Cobalt Series 300W 2-Channel Amplifier with Variable Crossover - CO3002
any advice or anything is greatly appreciated! i dont want to ruin any of my stuff and want to get the most out of it, also money is an issue. thanks guys!
 


Wiring them parallel will be easy seeing they're both SVC. Just wire them as you normally would and bridge them at the amp. Those are basically the same subs, except one is a series newer. Im not sure about the amp, because there is very limited details about it. Is the amp 300 x 2 or 150 x 2? Is that RMS or Peak? And at what load are those numbers 2 ohm or 4 ohm? I'd point you toward some amps, but Im not sure what your budget is.
 
I don't really have a "budget" I'm just trying to find what will work the best for the cheapest price. my friend also said he would sell me his Rockford fosgate amp for $50 I think he said it's 300 watts but I have no idea which one it is.. I'm trying to get all the details
 
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So you have two subwoofers that both have a single voice coil rated for up to 150 watts RMS each at 4 ohms, so when you wire them in parallel you will half the impedance to 2 ohms. So you are looking for one of two amplifiers. Either an Single channel amplifier or two channel amplifier bridged (combining both channels) which has a power output of around 300w RMS at 2 ohms (IMPORTANT) OR a 2 channel amplifier (not bridged, 1 channel for 1 woofer) which has a power output of around 150 Watts at 4 ohms.

All three configurations would be safe for both the amplifier and the subwoofers.

As for the amplifier you have posted, although it would work, it may be under powering the subwoofers by only providing 60 watts at 4 ohms for each channel (and woofer).

Let me know if you have any more questions!
 
this would be a good amp for ~100$. its cheap but its built pretty good compared to other cheap amps. Wire your subs parallel for 2ohm load. Youll have ~200 watts to each sub. Leave bass boost off and keep gains on low side and you should be fine. Its better to overpower than underpower anyways. You shouldnt have to worry about a clipped signal at all this way either. Most tend to find a cheap amp and overdrive it creating clipped signals that will destroy subs.

MB Quart FX1.400 (fx1400) 400W RMS, 1-Channel Monoblock Formula
 


wouldnt it be easier to just get a 2ch amp and wire them like this?
2_subs_SVC_4_ohm_2ch.jpg
 
THe picture you have is the correct way to setup an 2-channel amplifier with two 4 ohm subwoofers. Although this is simple, you can achieve more power by hooking up both subwoofers in parallel to achieve a 2-ohm load to a mono- amplifier. Think of ohms as being resistance, the higher the amount, the harder the electricity has to work to achieve the same power. If you wire the subwoofers in parallel, you can have this resistance to 2-ohms. Not only this but for most mono amplifiers, they have two speaker outputs, so hooking them subwoofers up would be no different then your picture describes, except you would be getting more power. Long story short is if you have a 2-channel amplifier, this is the correct way to hook it up but, the better setup is a mono amp with both subwoofers in parallel. Theoretically, half the resistance, twice the power.
 
IMO that amp I800 posted is way to much of an amp for what you need. Id still take a look at the amp i linked however. MB Quart makes decent amps.
 


2dee11 said:
so the preferred way would be to get a mono amp?
Click to expand...
It doesnt have to be a mono-block, you can achieve the same thing with a two channel by just wiring both subs across both channels (bridge)


2_subs_SVC_2_ohm_2ch_bridged.jpg


EDIT** This is actually the wrong picture, this is showing them wired in series.
 
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KeithGTP03 said:
It doesnt have to be a mono-block, you can achieve the same thing with a two channel by just wiring both subs across both channels (bridge)

2_subs_SVC_2_ohm_2ch_bridged.jpg
Click to expand...

Yup, this is the third option I presented. This however my be difficult because most 2 channel amplifiers are not 2ohm stable when they are bridged. So this may be difficult to find.
 
When you wire them in Parallel it knocks the ohms down to 2ohm. That's why they say you want a 2ohm stable amp.
 


so i am looking at some mono amps now and all the ratings i want to look at are @2ohms right? so i want one that is 100-300w x 1 @ 2ohms
and the diagram would look like this right?
2_subs_SVC_4_ohm_mono.jpg



OH and any amps from best buy would be preferrable cause my bestfriend can use his employee discount! lol
 
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Yup. That is completely right. I also think someone else mentioned that you should be on the higher side of what your subwoofers RMS rating is, rather than the lower. That and you can even go a little over if you need to without damaging them. Also, one thing is that when you actually do the wiring itself, MANY mono-amplifiers have two sets of speaker terminals. These are there for your convenience and you should most certainly feel free to take advantage of them because they wire up the speakers the same way your picture describes.
 
That amp is rated 225W at 4ohms. It didn't mention anything about running at 2 ohms so I can't say much about it's power delivery. May I make a recommendation for an amplifier I have worked with and enjoy. Its an infinity REF1300A and can be found for less than $150 online. Its a great amplifier at a great price and would work with your two subwoofers wonderfully.
 
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