What kinda amp?
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Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Whittier, CA
Vehicle: 2003 Turbo Elantra
What kinda amp?
I'm gonna be hookin up three 12's in my ride and I have no idea what kinda amp I should get. Should I get a 2 channel bridgeable or have three one channel amps? What do channels mean anyway? And do any of yall know if Visonik , Legacy, and Power Acoustik are good companys?
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What ohm are your speakers?? That will play a big part in your amp type choice. Those brands you mentioned are kinda like the "Yugos" of the car industry, they work but you really wouldn't be happy. A "channel" is basically a output for the power. Generally a 4 channel can run 4 speaker. It does go way more in depth than that too, but it would be way too hard to explain to you on a computer.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 54
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From: Whittier, CA
Vehicle: 2003 Turbo Elantra
The speakers say 3 ohm or 12 ohm operation. So what channel amp do I need? I'm thinking about getting some Pyle 12's but I don't know if they're good speakers or not.
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Joined: May 2001
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ok so u can either get a 1 ohm load or a 4 ohm load mono at 4 ohms id go with a mmatts d300hc, or us300x both great amps, at 1 ohm, crossfire 1000d, dei 1100d, the new mtx 81000 has been testing well, any of these amps should be sufficent. as for the speakers and amps uve listed i dont now what u are going for but speaking from a car audio stand point they all are junk.
[ June 16, 2001: Message edited by: chrometib ]
[ June 16, 2001: Message edited by: chrometib ]
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Well my suggestion is to wire them to give a 1 ohm load the mmatts, Fosgate, and kenwood excelon all have one channel amps that are stable at 1 ohm (give me time I can get the model numbers). But deffinatly wire for a 1 ohm load less resistance = more power more power = more BOOM. If you really want to spend alot of money get an orion they are the best at creating 1 ohm stable amps not to say the others are bad there actually great but don't have the same technology behind them. And with getting a 1 channel amp (mono in other words ) you won't have to worry about bridging.
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Erk.
Okay... When your speakers say they'll go in 12 ohm, or 3 ohm, that must mean that they are dual voice coil, 6 ohm coils. This is a common setup for JL DVC subs. You can run all three of them from ONE amplifier channel, at 4 ohms.
The next bit is a bit technical, so try to stay with me. You really do need to know this stuff if you want to get the most from your audio system. (Or at least whoever does the install has to know it.)
Resistances in series are added. That means that if you hook the amp to the (+) terminal on one coil, then hool the (-) terminal on that coil to the (+) terminal of the other coil, and the (-) terminal of the second coil to the amp, you get R1 + R2. Thus the R1 (6 ohms) + R2 (6 ohms) give 12 ohms total load.
Resistances in parallel have a more complicated formula to follow: (Parallel means that you hool BOTH (+) ends to the amp, then both (-) ends to the amp as well) It goes R=1/((1/R1)+(1/R2)...)
Thes means that your final resistance=1/(1/6 ohms)+(1/6 ohms)) = 3 ohms.
Now, let's go over how to get 4 ohms out of this...
The most basic way is to run each individual sub in series, giving you 3 12 ohm subs. Then run all three of these in parallel.
You get R=1/((1/12)+(1/12)+(1/12)) = 1/(3/12) = 1/(1/4) = 4 ohms. This is the best way for 1 channel (mono) operation.
For 2 channel (stereo) operation, you would choose 1 sub to be "center" and one each for left and right.
The left and right subs are run in parallel, giving you a 3 ohm load each. Each of these is run in series with 1 voice coil on the "centre" sub (6 ohms)
Each load then becoms R = 1/((1/6)+(1/3)) = 1/(3/6) = 1/(1/2) = 2 ohms. If your amp isnt' 2 ohm stable, then run the left and right subs in series, and you get each load R = 1/((1/12)+(1/6)) = 1/(3/12) = 1/(1/4) = 4 ohms. Almost any car amplifier will drive this as a stereo load.
As for what amplifier is best, get one that is stable to 2 ohms in stereo, 4 ohms bridged (mono) Stay away from cheap amps. The "rule of thumb" last time I was amp shopping is that a good amplifier will cost ~$1/watt AT LEAST.
Do not get an amplifier that is rated at MAX watts, or PEAK watts, get one that is rated at RMS Watts. A 40W RMS amplifier will KILL a 150 Watt MAX amplifier just about every time. Pick up a couple of car audio mags, and read reviews. The money that you save will be well worth it.
As for manufacturers, there are too many good ones to name 'em all, but I've had good luck with my Alpine V12 amps (I have 2) and I've done installs with good success using Phoenix Gold, Kicker, Infinity, Pioneer, and Alpine amps. I'm not saying these are the BEST, but those companies make decent stuff. They also make some crap, so be careful which you buy.
A good amp will always list THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) Watts RMS, frequency response, and load handling. Amps that are stable below 4 ohms (Which brigable amps always are) will also list those paramters for 4 ohms, and separate parameters for 2 ohms. Note that in bridged mode, the amp will not list specs for 2 ohms, unless it is stable to 1 ohm. In bridged mode, the load seen by the amp is 1/2 what the speaker actually is, because the separate amp channels each do only 1/2 the work.
Do NOT run the amplifier into a load that is lower than it is rated for. It will result in either the slow but certain, or sudden death of your amplifier. Some amplifiers are good to beyond their ratings, but never assume this unless you know EXACTLY how to determine the amplifier's capability.
And BTW, do yourself a favor and don't crank it all the time. Going deaf isn't a joke, and it isn't fun.
Okay... When your speakers say they'll go in 12 ohm, or 3 ohm, that must mean that they are dual voice coil, 6 ohm coils. This is a common setup for JL DVC subs. You can run all three of them from ONE amplifier channel, at 4 ohms.
The next bit is a bit technical, so try to stay with me. You really do need to know this stuff if you want to get the most from your audio system. (Or at least whoever does the install has to know it.)
Resistances in series are added. That means that if you hook the amp to the (+) terminal on one coil, then hool the (-) terminal on that coil to the (+) terminal of the other coil, and the (-) terminal of the second coil to the amp, you get R1 + R2. Thus the R1 (6 ohms) + R2 (6 ohms) give 12 ohms total load.
Resistances in parallel have a more complicated formula to follow: (Parallel means that you hool BOTH (+) ends to the amp, then both (-) ends to the amp as well) It goes R=1/((1/R1)+(1/R2)...)
Thes means that your final resistance=1/(1/6 ohms)+(1/6 ohms)) = 3 ohms.
Now, let's go over how to get 4 ohms out of this...
The most basic way is to run each individual sub in series, giving you 3 12 ohm subs. Then run all three of these in parallel.
You get R=1/((1/12)+(1/12)+(1/12)) = 1/(3/12) = 1/(1/4) = 4 ohms. This is the best way for 1 channel (mono) operation.
For 2 channel (stereo) operation, you would choose 1 sub to be "center" and one each for left and right.
The left and right subs are run in parallel, giving you a 3 ohm load each. Each of these is run in series with 1 voice coil on the "centre" sub (6 ohms)
Each load then becoms R = 1/((1/6)+(1/3)) = 1/(3/6) = 1/(1/2) = 2 ohms. If your amp isnt' 2 ohm stable, then run the left and right subs in series, and you get each load R = 1/((1/12)+(1/6)) = 1/(3/12) = 1/(1/4) = 4 ohms. Almost any car amplifier will drive this as a stereo load.
As for what amplifier is best, get one that is stable to 2 ohms in stereo, 4 ohms bridged (mono) Stay away from cheap amps. The "rule of thumb" last time I was amp shopping is that a good amplifier will cost ~$1/watt AT LEAST.
Do not get an amplifier that is rated at MAX watts, or PEAK watts, get one that is rated at RMS Watts. A 40W RMS amplifier will KILL a 150 Watt MAX amplifier just about every time. Pick up a couple of car audio mags, and read reviews. The money that you save will be well worth it.
As for manufacturers, there are too many good ones to name 'em all, but I've had good luck with my Alpine V12 amps (I have 2) and I've done installs with good success using Phoenix Gold, Kicker, Infinity, Pioneer, and Alpine amps. I'm not saying these are the BEST, but those companies make decent stuff. They also make some crap, so be careful which you buy.
A good amp will always list THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) Watts RMS, frequency response, and load handling. Amps that are stable below 4 ohms (Which brigable amps always are) will also list those paramters for 4 ohms, and separate parameters for 2 ohms. Note that in bridged mode, the amp will not list specs for 2 ohms, unless it is stable to 1 ohm. In bridged mode, the load seen by the amp is 1/2 what the speaker actually is, because the separate amp channels each do only 1/2 the work.
Do NOT run the amplifier into a load that is lower than it is rated for. It will result in either the slow but certain, or sudden death of your amplifier. Some amplifiers are good to beyond their ratings, but never assume this unless you know EXACTLY how to determine the amplifier's capability.
And BTW, do yourself a favor and don't crank it all the time. Going deaf isn't a joke, and it isn't fun.
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Joined: May 2001
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Rockford isn't that good! If you can get it at Best Buy it probably isn't good. Or at least it surely isn't HIFI. Just depends on how much you want to spend and if your a audiophile or not. Also I would put the three companies you mentioned in the first post in my car if they were given to me.
If you want some other opinions go to www.caraudioforum.com they'll take care of you
Erik
[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: Smthnfishy ]
If you want some other opinions go to www.caraudioforum.com they'll take care of you
Erik
[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: Smthnfishy ]