Bridged 4 channel Amp to one dvc Sub?

[benny105]

hi everyone,

just brought a 4/3/2 channel clarion amp and a single dual voice coil 12" sub. (thinking of running more speakers in the future)

the amp can bridge the 4 channels into two, but i then cant go ahead and bridge it into one for the sub can i?
if i cannot do this can i leave one channel free and just run the sub off the one channel?
or do i have to either get a mono amp or another sub the same?

(amp is 2ohm stable, 320w bridged at 4ohms.)

alot of info sorry.

Ben

[Pickle']

Mate i dont have much experience with sterio installs but from what i know a monoblock runs a sub alot better than a 4 channel amp even if it is bridgeable. ive got 1 clarion monoblock running 2 clarion 12'' subs with a 4 channel shneider amp running 2 6'5 splits and 2 6'5 speakers and a third audioline amp running 4 vibe 6x9s and the thing cranks i the thing has cost about 2.5k in total but it was worth it. if you want the quality man id go with the monoblock if you can get one.. even if you get one off ebay for cheap anything is good...

[holdenboy]

We will need model numbers (of the amp and the sub) to be able to give you an accurate answer.

[benny105]

Clarion XH5410 AMP
Clarion WQ3010D 12" Sub

thanks

[benny105]

unfortunately already have the 4 channel amp, will see what happens. thanks heaps

[holdenboy]

OK so that sub is a dual voice coil sub (so two pairs of terminals) and the amp produces 320wrms x 2 when bridged (like you wrote).

In short you'll have very little problems powering that sub with that amp. All you will need to do is connect two pairs of speaker cables (one pair to each set of terminals on the sub) and run them to the amp. One pair of speaker cables go to the "front outputs" of the amp, bridged ofcourse. The same goes with the other pair of speaker cables but they are connected to the "rear outputs" of the amp.

Set both gain controls (front and rear) to the same level. Also set the low pass filters (LPF) to the same level. This is where you may have a problem, if the amplifier only has a LPF for the rear channels, you'll need to connect the RCA cables at the head-unit to the subwoofer preout and set the LPF via it (if your head-unit allows this).
You can easily tell if your amp has low pass filters for both the front and rear by looking at the input side of the amp, it should have two separate LPF dials.

Sorry if i got abit complicated there.....it isnt really

[benny105]

Thanks for all of this.

i have found a picture of the inputs.....

if it does not have split lpf's and the head deck does not support it, can i run the sub off one channel?
and i also heard running two channels to the two ports on the sub is bad because its two differnt signals?

Thanks.

[benny105]

dont know if it worked but here is the link....

Clarion XH5410 - 4-Channel Amplifiers - Sonic Electronix

[holdenboy]

Yep sweet, the amp has LPFs on both front and rear channels. So just connect the sub how i described and try to get the "F GAIN" and "R GAIN" the same (or close enough) along with the LPFs (set it about halfway in between 55 and 100 on the dial and select LPF on the switch for both).

You'll also need to split the subwoofer or rear RCA preout on your head-unit into two sets of RCA cables (two left and two right plugs) to connect to the amp. These splitters work fine.

[benny105]

mate thats perfect thanks

[benny105]

just another question sorry,

if i was only to use one channel can i use another on a different sub? or would it have to be the exact same sub to keep the power distribution the same?

[holdenboy]

You can use only one "pair" of channels to power the sub, but it will be underpowering the sub and you run the risk of cooking the sub.

Your sub is rated at 500wrms and the amp produces 640wrms....pretty much perfect. It will not be much louder using two subs off that amp, so save yourself the money / space