Sub wiring

[c0rowe]

Hello people.

I was hoping someone on here could give me a detailled description of how to wire up a pair of subs to a two channel amp. Specifically how to wire 'in series', 'parallel' and what implications these methods will have on my subs and my amp.

I did post something about this a while ago, but I became a little confused when attempting to put the suggestions into practice.

The subs are 2 x Rockford 12". 3412, which if I remember correctly are single voice coil and 4ohms.

I have two amps I could use, a Rockford 2 channel amp - 100a2 or maybe 150a2. Or the Dragster 602 (two channel) I mentioned in the original post.

My friend (who calls himself an expert, but I'm not very eager to believe him) believes I should wire them in parallel, whereas somebody else has told me to wire them in series. What does each method entail and would the equipment be able to handle either method?

Thanks

Chris

[smithrc]

I would guess that all the amps you listed support 'bridged' mode. if they do, wire the subs up in parallel. this means the amp will 'see' a 2 ohn load rather than a 4 ohm load (single sub) or an 8 ohm load (in series).

This will alllow the amp to drive more power to the subs.

The amp will probubly be setup to drive 2 ohm so when putting 4 ohms across it you wont get the full potential from it.

Hope this helps.

[ab3]

smithrc is spot on, heres a good link which explains it in more detail and a piccy of how the subs are wired....

Sub Wiring Link.... (http://www.jlaudio.com/tutorials/wiring/2svc.html)

Adam

[c0rowe]

Right, thanks for the help people. I think it is beginning to click!

I now have my subs wired up as in the diagram for 4ohm subs. This means my amp will be seeing 1ohm (per channel?) doesn't it?

Does anybody know off the top of their heads whether the Rockford amp mentioned above can stably run this way?

It currently works very well this way, a decent lot of power to the subs. But is it doing any damage long term?

[ab3]

No, You bridge the amp, so that both channels are combined to give you one powerful channel. You then connect both subs to this channel in parallel. If you have 2 x 4ohm subs and you connect them in parallel you end up with a load of 2ohms.

I'm not sure whether the amps support 2ohms, i would of thought so, most do these days, but a quick check on the manufacturers web site will tell you....

Adam

[c0rowe]

Oh ok, I know it can run at 2 ohms no problem.

I was just concerned that I would be doing some damage to the amp or subs running them this way, but as it seems to be a very standard method of wiring 2 subs I will stick with it. Saves me buying a bigger amp for now anyways!

Thanks for all your help.

Chris

[prc]

Originally posted by c0rowe
Right, thanks for the help people. I think it is beginning to click!

I now have my subs wired up as in the diagram for 4ohm subs. This means my amp will be seeing 1ohm (per channel?) doesn't it?

Does anybody know off the top of their heads whether the Rockford amp mentioned above can stably run this way?

It currently works very well this way, a decent lot of power to the subs. But is it doing any damage long term?

If you've got the 2 12's in parallel then you've got 2ohms not 1. The formula is:

1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 .... or RTotal = (R1*R2)/(R1+R2)

The 100a2 or 150a2 will only allow a 4 ohm load when brigded.