The Ohms Question

[redneck_racr8]

I guess as a teen I didnt really care just as long as it made noise. Now I'm putting a system together and just trying to figure things out. What all does 1, 2, 4 Ohms mean and bridging? Normally you put numbers together like 4 ohm sub with 4 ohm amp, but as i have been looking at other post I'm finding 4ohm subs with 1 ohm amps or monoamps.

[CptMorgan]

each speaker has an ohm rating. It gives you more options when it comes to wiring them if you have multiple subs. for instance if you have 2, 4ohm subs, you can wire them in series and then the amp will see a 2ohm load, therefor you want to run a 2ohm amp that outputs the power you need to run the subs. Mono amps are single channel, - +. 2 channel amps you can bridge +-+- (outside + and -) to run in series or parallel to get more power out of your amp. most people who are running heavy hitting equipment run mono D class amps.

 

first off, what are your goals for a sound system? SQ or SPL? Match the number of subs (pay close attention to the ohm rating) and wire them to the lowest ohm load that your amp can handle. and if you dont have an amp picked out yet, make sure that it will handle a 2ohm, or 1 ohm load...whatever the subs that your wiring together will drop down to (in ohm ratings)

 

rockford fosgate's website has a wiring generator where you can put in what subs, how many, and what ohm load it will equate to depending on how you wire them, match that to a solid amp and you should be in business..

 

hope some of this helped

[24v]

Ohms is the measure of resistance. The less resistance, the more power the amplifier can flow. Post up some items that you are looking at, and we can better guide you on what will work well together.

[saxdogg]

1. go here: http://www.bcae1.com/

 

2. read all day

[redneck_racr8]

this is what I'm looking at and if I'm correct it should work:

 

Alpine MRP-M500

Alpine SWS-1023D

[24v]

this is what I'm looking at and if I'm correct it should work:

 

Alpine MRP-M500

Alpine SWS-1023D

 

You want the SWS-1043D sub if you are going to run that amp. If you run a dual 2 ohm sub in parallel, the amp sees a 1 ohm load. That amp is not rated for 1 ohm. It would probably work, but it would more than likely have overheating issues. If you run the sub in series, it would be a 4 ohm load. Which is not taking advatage of the fact that the amp makes more power at 2 ohms.

 

If you run the 1043 you can wire the coils in parallel and have a 2 ohm load.

 

Parallel means connecting the positives together, and the negatives together.

 

 

This is series.

 

[24v]

for instance if you have 2, 4ohm subs, you can wire them in series and then the amp will see a 2ohm load

You have that backwards. Parallel cuts the ohm rating in half, series doubles it.

[redneck_racr8]

thanks for the help! i greatly appreciate it.

[24v]

thanks for the help! i greatly appreciate it.

No problem, good luck in your quest for more bass.

[jaylebert]

easy equation to figure out resistance, take the resistance of each voice coil you want to hook up, and plug in:

 

Series = simply go from + to - to + to - Resistances Add together.

ex. dual 2 ohm voice coils = 2+2 = 4 Ohms total

 

Parallel = + to + and - to - Resistances add as follows --- Product over sum (Resistance X Resistance) / (Resistance + Resistance)

ex. Dual 2 ohm voice coils = (2x2) / (2+2) = 1 ohm