Need help with bridging subs
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Need help with bridging subs
I'm looking for some help with wiring up my subs to my amp. My amp is rated 200W x2 max power into 2 ohms, 75W x2 RMS power into 4 ohms. I have two 10" subs rated 150W RMS each, and they are 4 ohm subs.
My question is can I bridge the two 10's in parallel to run them at 2 ohms, and if I can do this, are my subs getting enough power from my amp? I know 200 W per channel should be fine to power one sub, but if they are running at 2 ohms, will it still work?
Will bridging my subs to run them at 2 ohms be the way to wire them that gets the best sound out of them? As you can probably tell, I'm quite new to car audio, so I've been trying like crazy to read all I can about it, but the wiring can certainly get confusing in a big hurry! Thanks again,
-Dustin
My question is can I bridge the two 10's in parallel to run them at 2 ohms, and if I can do this, are my subs getting enough power from my amp? I know 200 W per channel should be fine to power one sub, but if they are running at 2 ohms, will it still work?
Will bridging my subs to run them at 2 ohms be the way to wire them that gets the best sound out of them? As you can probably tell, I'm quite new to car audio, so I've been trying like crazy to read all I can about it, but the wiring can certainly get confusing in a big hurry! Thanks again,
-Dustin
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Car: 85 firebird
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http://www.carstereo.com/help/Articles.cfm?id=35
Heres a cool web site that has answers to many car audio questions, look though it if you like, im sure you'll find alot of cool stuff.
Heres a cool web site that has answers to many car audio questions, look though it if you like, im sure you'll find alot of cool stuff.
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From: Canada
Car: 90 Integra
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Yes I have read through that entire page and many other on that site already. I'm trying to find answers to my specific way to wire subs. What is the best way to wire the two 10" subs that I have in the configuration I have listed that would work? Bridged in parallel and hooked up to the amp in mono? Bridged and hooked up to only one channel? One sub per channel and not bridged at all? Bridged in series? etc... Please help me out with this if you have any ideas for me. Thanks.
-Dustin
-Dustin
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From: Topeka
I would go unbridged and one to each channel. In the end it will probably be the same as putting them both on the same channel but without the extra stress of running at 2 ohms. Unfortunatly the subs and amp you have are not setup to get the most out of each other.
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you can run subs off 25 watts if you want, however, you'll experience distortion sooner with that much power, the saying is its better to over power your subs than under power, think about it, an amp is say rated at 200 watts RMS @ 4ohms bridged. now that is with FULL gain, turn that stuff up with a 200 watt RMS sub rated at 4 ohms, its goign to start to sound ****ty at say 8 out of 10 on the amp scale, because at 10 out of 10 you get distortion, now you use an amplifier that is rated at 300 watts @ 4ohms, turn it up to 8 out of ten (just using this as the boarder of quality of sound and distortion for an example), the amp is not working as hard as it is a capable, meaning you'll get cleaner sound, and also at 8 out of 10 with that amp, your pushing 200 watts for example, exactly what your subs want.
if you still dont get it, just imagine using a house reciever, how often do you actually crank that hting to full blast, one of few people do and with certain equipment or just out of luck. but roughly wher is it that it sounds as loud as possible without having to modify bass etc and sound controlled, probably 7-8 out of 10 correct?
i've used this saying ever since i got into pro audio, because thats even on a more serious leven that car because of the high power and sensitivity of the speakers.
cheers
Blake
ps, anyone wanna buy dual 18" cabinents and matching amps in British colubmia?
:lala:
if you still dont get it, just imagine using a house reciever, how often do you actually crank that hting to full blast, one of few people do and with certain equipment or just out of luck. but roughly wher is it that it sounds as loud as possible without having to modify bass etc and sound controlled, probably 7-8 out of 10 correct?
i've used this saying ever since i got into pro audio, because thats even on a more serious leven that car because of the high power and sensitivity of the speakers.
cheers
Blake
ps, anyone wanna buy dual 18" cabinents and matching amps in British colubmia?
:lala:
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Engine: 350, Vortecs, 650DP
Transmission: TH-350
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While your overall intention of explaining that was good, the path you chose isn't. 
The reason it's better to run more power to a sub than too little is simple...
The average Joe is a frikkin' idiot.
He wants 500 watt sound out of a 50 watt amp, so he cranks up the gain on the amp, cranks up the volume on the HU, and cranks up the bass all the way trying to get more boom boom.
The amp trys to do what it can't and ends up acting like an escaped retard at a petting zoo. It sends nasty, constant voltage spikes to the sub similar to hooking the sub straight to the car battery.
The constant voltage causes the sub's coil to overheat and melt itself together.
Any questions?
The reason it's better to run more power to a sub than too little is simple...
The average Joe is a frikkin' idiot.
He wants 500 watt sound out of a 50 watt amp, so he cranks up the gain on the amp, cranks up the volume on the HU, and cranks up the bass all the way trying to get more boom boom.
The amp trys to do what it can't and ends up acting like an escaped retard at a petting zoo. It sends nasty, constant voltage spikes to the sub similar to hooking the sub straight to the car battery.
The constant voltage causes the sub's coil to overheat and melt itself together.
Any questions?
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From: Philly
Car: 85 firebird
Engine: Pos 2.8 pulled and replaced with a 350 tpi motor converted to carb.
Transmission: 700r4, vette servo,shift kit, hayden 15"x8" trans cooler.
Originally posted by AJ_92RS
While your overall intention of explaining that was good, the path you chose isn't.
The reason it's better to run more power to a sub than too little is simple...
The average Joe is a frikkin' idiot.
He wants 500 watt sound out of a 50 watt amp, so he cranks up the gain on the amp, cranks up the volume on the HU, and cranks up the bass all the way trying to get more boom boom.
The amp trys to do what it can't and ends up acting like an escaped retard at a petting zoo. It sends nasty, constant voltage spikes to the sub similar to hooking the sub straight to the car battery.
The constant voltage causes the sub's coil to overheat and melt itself together.
Any questions?
While your overall intention of explaining that was good, the path you chose isn't.
The reason it's better to run more power to a sub than too little is simple...
The average Joe is a frikkin' idiot.
He wants 500 watt sound out of a 50 watt amp, so he cranks up the gain on the amp, cranks up the volume on the HU, and cranks up the bass all the way trying to get more boom boom.
The amp trys to do what it can't and ends up acting like an escaped retard at a petting zoo. It sends nasty, constant voltage spikes to the sub similar to hooking the sub straight to the car battery.
The constant voltage causes the sub's coil to overheat and melt itself together.
Any questions?
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From: Topeka
I used to belive that but after some research have been corrected. Not trying to flame but to share some of the top guys in car audio have to say on what clipping actully does.
Hi all,
Power is power. The speaker doesn't know if it's clipped, clean, or what. It knows there is power. And power is what kills speakers.
One thing to correct - a clipped signal does NOT create DC; this is an oft-repeated myth that should be eliminated. When you clip a signal, you actually INCREASE the HIGH frequency content! DC would be the opposite - removal of high frequency signal content.
In fact, the ultimate clipped signal would be strikingly similar to a square wave. A square wave is nothing more than a set of harmonically related sine waves - there is no DC component present. It is all AC.
This is, in fact, why clipped amps are literally murder on tweeters. Clipped signals contain much more high frequency energy than unclipped signals. This is readily passed by the high pass filter of the tweeter, and means the tweeter can receive 2-10X as much power as anticipated, and quickly blows out.
Anyway, too much power - clipped or unclipped - is what kills speakers. You can toast an speaker with clean or clipped signals. Just give it too much power.
To answer the original question, you can push the driver to its full limits with that amp, so I'd recommend running the gains down a bit, and if you hear nasty bumps/distortion from the sub, turn it down even more.
Note that you won't get more SPL from ANY driver once you're at its limits, regardless of how much more power you pour on. The nice thing about larger boxes is that you need less power to reach the limits. Would you rather hit full output with 100W or 1000W? Personally, I'll take the 100W, since it's less thermal strain on the driver and amp, and less draw on the alternator.
Once you're at the limit, you're there. More power won't help.
Dan Wiggins
Adire Audio
Dan Wiggins, CEO Adire Audio
suggest that everyone download and read the following paper, from the excellent Rane website.... this is as close to the truth on the "power or distortion blows speakers" discussion as you will get...
http://www.rane.com/pdf/note128.pdf
Regards,
Manville Smith
JL Audio, Inc.
Manville Smith, JL Audio
Wow. Doesn't anyone here recall that the recommended gain structure for 99% of all car audio system calls for a 3:1 voltage overload at the amp - speaker? This means that if the amp clips at 2 volts, we recommend feeding it 6 volts at the wide open, full pop level. Not only do we recommend "clipping" the amp, we recommend that it be super clipped.
Clipping doesn't damage speakers. A speaker is just a piece of paper driven by a coil of wire suspended in a permanent magnet. How could a speaker ever know the difference between a clipped signal and an unclipped signal? It's just a speaker.
David Navone. Carsound Magazine
Power is power. The speaker doesn't know if it's clipped, clean, or what. It knows there is power. And power is what kills speakers.
One thing to correct - a clipped signal does NOT create DC; this is an oft-repeated myth that should be eliminated. When you clip a signal, you actually INCREASE the HIGH frequency content! DC would be the opposite - removal of high frequency signal content.
In fact, the ultimate clipped signal would be strikingly similar to a square wave. A square wave is nothing more than a set of harmonically related sine waves - there is no DC component present. It is all AC.
This is, in fact, why clipped amps are literally murder on tweeters. Clipped signals contain much more high frequency energy than unclipped signals. This is readily passed by the high pass filter of the tweeter, and means the tweeter can receive 2-10X as much power as anticipated, and quickly blows out.
Anyway, too much power - clipped or unclipped - is what kills speakers. You can toast an speaker with clean or clipped signals. Just give it too much power.
To answer the original question, you can push the driver to its full limits with that amp, so I'd recommend running the gains down a bit, and if you hear nasty bumps/distortion from the sub, turn it down even more.
Note that you won't get more SPL from ANY driver once you're at its limits, regardless of how much more power you pour on. The nice thing about larger boxes is that you need less power to reach the limits. Would you rather hit full output with 100W or 1000W? Personally, I'll take the 100W, since it's less thermal strain on the driver and amp, and less draw on the alternator.
Once you're at the limit, you're there. More power won't help.
Dan Wiggins
Adire Audio
Dan Wiggins, CEO Adire Audio
suggest that everyone download and read the following paper, from the excellent Rane website.... this is as close to the truth on the "power or distortion blows speakers" discussion as you will get...
http://www.rane.com/pdf/note128.pdf
Regards,
Manville Smith
JL Audio, Inc.
Manville Smith, JL Audio
Wow. Doesn't anyone here recall that the recommended gain structure for 99% of all car audio system calls for a 3:1 voltage overload at the amp - speaker? This means that if the amp clips at 2 volts, we recommend feeding it 6 volts at the wide open, full pop level. Not only do we recommend "clipping" the amp, we recommend that it be super clipped.
Clipping doesn't damage speakers. A speaker is just a piece of paper driven by a coil of wire suspended in a permanent magnet. How could a speaker ever know the difference between a clipped signal and an unclipped signal? It's just a speaker.
David Navone. Carsound Magazine
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From: Philly
Car: 85 firebird
Engine: Pos 2.8 pulled and replaced with a 350 tpi motor converted to carb.
Transmission: 700r4, vette servo,shift kit, hayden 15"x8" trans cooler.
Originally posted by AJ_92RS
That's all fine and well, but who said anything about clipping?
That's all fine and well, but who said anything about clipping?
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From: Topeka
Originally posted by AJ_92RS
It sends nasty, constant voltage spikes to the sub similar to hooking the sub straight to the car battery.
The constant voltage causes the sub's coil to overheat and melt itself together.
It sends nasty, constant voltage spikes to the sub similar to hooking the sub straight to the car battery.
The constant voltage causes the sub's coil to overheat and melt itself together.
In reality that amp on those subs isn't that bad he just needs them in a slightly oversized box to compensate for the lack of power.
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Engine: 350, Vortecs, 650DP
Transmission: TH-350
Axle/Gears: 8.5", 3.42
Originally posted by 9177
Sorry I guess I should point out exactly what was wrong. Its not like hooking up your sub to a battery which is DC current. You make it sound Like a 50 watt amp can kill a solo x which it can't.
In reality that amp on those subs isn't that bad he just needs them in a slightly oversized box to compensate for the lack of power.
Sorry I guess I should point out exactly what was wrong. Its not like hooking up your sub to a battery which is DC current. You make it sound Like a 50 watt amp can kill a solo x which it can't.
In reality that amp on those subs isn't that bad he just needs them in a slightly oversized box to compensate for the lack of power.
It's like plugging the frikkin' speaker into the wall. :lala:
And yes a 50 watt amp CAN blow something like a solo x (whatever that is).
Ask me how I know
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From: Philly
Car: 85 firebird
Engine: Pos 2.8 pulled and replaced with a 350 tpi motor converted to carb.
Transmission: 700r4, vette servo,shift kit, hayden 15"x8" trans cooler.
Originally posted by AJ_92RS
OK. Then I'll re-word it so it makes sense to you.
It's like plugging the frikkin' speaker into the wall. :lala:
And yes a 50 watt amp CAN blow something like a solo x (whatever that is).
Ask me how I know
OK. Then I'll re-word it so it makes sense to you.
It's like plugging the frikkin' speaker into the wall. :lala:
And yes a 50 watt amp CAN blow something like a solo x (whatever that is).
Ask me how I know
But this is like the "how useful are caps" arguement and probably will last forever.
Last edited by br()bert; Mar 29, 2004 at 03:34 PM.
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