sub and amp question help

[DmanVT]

Hi all, i Am upgrading to 2 subs shortly and i need an amp to run them,

The subs are type s alpines ( 300w rms each) DVC @ 2ohms per VC

I have a couple of options and i want to get some opinions on what would be better,

1st option is:

1x 300w rms ( min ) @ 2ohms mono block amp and have each sub voice coil in series ( 4 ohm) and then the subs in parallel ( 2 ohm load )


2nd option is:

1x 600w rms ( min ) @ 2ohms mono block amp and have each sub voice coil in parallel ( 1 ohm ) and then the subs in series ( 2 ohm load)


What would be the difference in running the subs in either options?

Would there be no difference between the two options or would there be a massive difference or a massive problem?

Please help me, Thanks Darcy

[HCVP]

Don't mix series and parallel wiring. The lower the impedance level (for subs) the better. Basically the less resistance, the more power an amplifier will make.

Wire them all in parallel and you will have a 0.5 ohm load. Any good 1 ohm stable amp will run lower.

[DmanVT]

what price range am i looking at to get a 1 ohm stable amp? can you suggest me an amp please?

[kcpwns]

OAK1200 1200wrms option audio mono block 1ohm stable. A bit more power then you need but you should be able to get one cheap

[DmanVT]

thanks, i will keep that in mind,

Today i made the custom box, i took my sub out of the old box put it in mine, sounded better i believe anyway i turned the car off after about 20 seconds and then i started undoing the sub out of the box ( took be about 5 mins, then i heard a phhht sound and looked across and noticed smoke pouring out of my amp, i grabbed it and ripped the wires out.

I think its F***** but im going to take it somehwere to test it coz im too scared to plug it in.

I didnt touch any settings, wires or anything between puttin the sub in the second box.

Why would it just decide to blow up?? :'( i'm shattered

[kcpwns]

Did you disconnect the battery?

[DmanVT]

no :/ was i supposed to?

[kcpwns]

Yeah...lol...did it blow the fuse at the battery though?

[DmanVT]

no it didnt, was i supposed to disconnect the battery just to take the sub wires off?

coz the power was off to the amp, well the red light wasnt on or anything :/ god damn it i never knew you had to take the battery off just for sub :/ i thought that was just for when your dealing with power wires :'(

[kcpwns]

Wait was the amp disconnect from the power wire or?
Yeah you should always disconnect the battery man

[DmanVT]

the amp was still connected to power, F***!!!!! i've never heard of taking battery off or disconnecting it from power just for changing speaker wires

now i know for the future :/

this will hurt my pocket :/

[kcpwns]

Yeah I always do it man. I don't know the technical info on this stuff but if there was still a connection to the battery the power will arc across and shit causing damage. I think anyways.
Just for future reference always disconnect your battery and make sure the fuse is the right rating near the battery.
Also did you check your amp for blown fuses? Fuses should have blown

[DmanVT]

i got it all installed and its a 50 amp at the battery and both blew on the amp

:/ im so pissed off now ahhhhhggggghhh!!!!!!

Thanks heaps though,

i dont get it though coz it happened while the wires were still connected to the sub and i hadnt touched anything :/ oh well im not a happy chappy :/

[kcpwns]

Replace ya fuses and it should be fine? The fuses are there to protect it from instances like this

[DmanVT]

but what about all the smoke that poured out of it for like 5 minutes :/

[kcpwns]

Oh...yeah not good :/
Well on a positive note werent you gonna buy a new monoblock?

[DmanVT]

yes haha, but that was running my front speakers as well :/ but yer i guess so, i was going to get a kicker zx300.1 or 400.1 for the 2 subs and have each in parallel at 4ohms, but everyone says have them at 1 ohm and run them at .5 :S so i cant use a kicker if i want to do that

[kcpwns]

Yeah you'll be paying a bit more for an amp that's 0.5ohm stable. You want a reliable one too man so may as well lash out and get a decent one.

[DmanVT]

what would be the different in getting an amp thats .5 ohm stable in comparison to one thats 2 ohm stable? i mean i only have 2 alpine subs so is it even worth running each sub at 1 ohm?

[kcpwns]

I think it's mentioned above. Lower ohm means less resistance and the amp will put out more power.

[DmanVT]

but if the amp is already putting out 3oow @ 2 ohms or 400w @ 2 ohm and my subs are only 300w each then is there any point in getting higher power?

[HCVP]

A sub in a sealed enclosure will handle a bit more power anyway. Plus if you want your subs to perform at their best, then you need a bit of head room. (this has been covered)

Matching a 300rms sub to a 300rms amp means the amp would have to work at 100% and the sub still wouldn't reach it's full potential. Factor in any small voltage drop and those power numbers will go down even further. The amp will also run at higher temps as a result. Finally the harder you run an amp the more audible distortion you get.

Something like the OA amp mentioned above would be working at about 50% of it's capacity, provide a cleaner signal, and run at much lower temps.

I can't beleive you didn't disconnect the battery. You wouldn't pull something out of the wall at home without turning the mains off first would you?

[DmanVT]

i understand,

And no i wouldn't but i thought when them amp is turned off, there is no power going to the sub/ speakers so disconnecting them wouldn't matter

[HCVP]

It's still connected to a 12V battery.

[DmanVT]

i understand that the amp is, but i thought taking the speaker wires out wouldnt do anything to the amp, and the amp started smoking when everything was back in and normal, so i don't understand it, but anyway as i said, i thought if the amp was off, ( still connected to battery ) and you undid the speaker cables it has nothing to do with the amp basically blowing up? i've seen it done heaps of times,

anyway everyone learns from their mistakes and im feeling pretty sh** right now so i understand now what i have to do in the future.