okay, i have 3 10" audiobahn subs. The middle one is going to be upside down. some people have told me that they are connected to each other and only one goes to the amp, and then someone has told me they each individually go to the amp. So.. which is it? Also, something about reversing polarity? please explain this to me!

Thanks in advance,
Audrey

 

It depends on what amp u'r running and the configuration of the voice coils. So let's start w/ the subs... are they dual voice coil or single voice coil? Are the coils 4ohm, 2ohm, or what? What's the power rating for the subs?

What amp are u gonna run? How many channels does it have and what is the RMS power output and the range of ohm loads it can handle? It would be helpful if u could get the model # of the amp and subs, look them up online, and post a link w/ the specs.

As far as reversing polarity, that will be necessary for the middle sub. Keep in mind that sound is nothing but alternating high and low pressure. When the cone of the sub moves away from the magnet, that creates + pressure in front of the speaker and – pressure behind the speaker. If u put a sub in backwards (magnet end outside of the box), it will be creating + pressure when the other subs are making - pressure and vice versa. These + and – pressure areas will cancel each other out and substantially reduce bass output. If u reverse the speaker wire going to the sub that is facing down, it will "reverse the reversal" and put it back in phase w/ the other subs. The way to hook this up will vary depending on the wiring scheme.

 

wow so many questions. lol But seriously thanks for taking the time to help me.

The Amp is Audiobahns A2801X, but its only temporary, until i save up the money to buy the one i really want. This amp is older i think, i cant really find any information on it. All i know is that its a 2 channel amp, well because it says it on the back. lol

The subs are Audiobahn AW100T, it's a single 4 ohm coil excursion sub. RMS is 400 watts, and peak is 800 watts.
here is a site with more info on them: http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNAW100T

 

Here's an eBay auction w/ specs for the amp. It's a 2ch amp rated for 200WRMSx2 into 4ohm or 560WRMSx1 into 4ohm.

Unfortunately, this amp is a terrible match for those subs. U could hook them all up in series and bridge the amp into that, but that would make a 12ohm load and u'd get less than 190W total or about 65WRMS for each sub. But that should be ok for temp setup... when u get a new amp, try to get a Class D monoblock that puts out 1200WRMS into 1ohm. That will be a much better match.

Anyway, for now, here's how to wire your subs: look at the speaker outputs on the amp and u'll see where it says "bridged" -- it will indicate 1 + terminal and 1 - terminal. Run wire from the bridged + to the + of Sub1, then another wire from - of Sub1 to - of Sub2 (Sub2 is the upside sub). Then another wire from + of Sub2 to + of Sub3. Then another wire from - of Sub3 to the bridged -.

U could also run the amp in stereo and hook up 2 subs to 1 channel and 1 sub to the other channel... u'd get more power, but also more distortion. To do this, connect + of Ch1 to + of Sub1 and + of Sub3. Connect - of Ch1 to - of Sub1 and - of Sub 3. Then connect - of Ch2 to + of Sub2, and + of Ch2 to - of Sub2.

Oh yeah, this will all have to be rewired when u get a new amp.

 

Thanks for all your help.

Yeah i was told that amp was bad for them speakers as well, I'll probably get the one i want around christmas.

Ill be hooking it up this weekend, ill let you know how it went.

Thanks again.

 

I know this topic is really old but i need some more help, and i thought it would be better to just bring this back up, than to make a whole new topic.

I decided not to hook up my system because i didnt want to bother with it when i got my new amp.

Okay, so here goes. i just want to know if this amp will work good with the 3 10"s.
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNA1300HCT

I know it was said to get a class D amp, and this is a high current one, i dont really know the difference. but will it be just as good, or will it make a huge difference?

I really want the flame amp, so thats the whole reason.
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I also have 2 of these. http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNAW1251T

And im going to put them in my cavalier, so it doesnt have to sound terrific, so im just looking for a cheaper audiobahn amp that it will sound okay with. I upgraded from Jensen to Audiobahn so im sure it will sound better either way.

So my choices for the 2 12"s are
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNA8000T
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNA12005DN

or any other suggestions will be fine for this setup.

Thanks for any help. I really appreciate it. This wiring stuff just isnt my area. I have no idea whats compatible with what.

 

this whole ohm thing is kind of confusing to me as well.. So any speaker can run at 1 , 2 , 4, 6, 8 ohm it just depends on how you wire them up?

 

yeah im gonna also need to know how to wire them with the middle speaker being upside down.

I have no idea about any of this. lol

 

If this is your sub:

http://www.thezeb.com/p-Audiobahn-Pe...00T-100443.htm

then it has a single 4 Ohm voice coil. Wiring all three in parallel will yield a 1.33 Ohm load. Basically, wire the (+) on the left and right subs to the amp's (+); same deal with the (-). For the middle sub, wire the sub's (+) to the amp's (-) and the sub's (-) to the amp's (+). Note that from what I can tell, that amp will put out ~900W to a 1.33 Ohm load, but that's without any real math -- just a guess.

 

A speaker has an ohm rating...
most car ones are 4, most home ones are 8...
The lower the number the more efficent the speaker...
But the more powerful the amp has to be to handle low ohm loads...

Depending on how you wire the speakers, you can "change" the ohm load the amp sees...

Parallel: if you have 2 4 ohm speakers. Each speaker has a + and - Wire. Connect both + to + of amp and both - to - of amp.... Amp now sees 2 ohm load (because 2 4 ohm speakers are hooked up in parallel).

Series: + of amp goes to + of speaker 1. - of speaker 1 goes to + of speaker 2. - of speaker 2 goes to - of amp. The circuit goes from one side of the amp, through a speaker to another speaker and back to the amp. Now the amp sees a 8 ohm load (2 4 ohm speakers wired in series)...

Hope this helps... Speaker ohm ratings vary... also a sub may be a dual voice coil... basically, 2 speaker inputs into 1 speaker... these give more options when hoooking up 3 or odd speaker systems.

 

phlaxus you said that wiring all 3 parallel will run at 1 ohm. But if you run 2 speaks parallel they will not equal 1 ohm?

 

...

 

The three will be a 1.33 Ohm load. You can figure it out a few different ways, but one which is pretty easy to explain and should always work for you is this formula:

R1 x R2
-------
R1 + R2

So if you were figuring for two 4 ohm speakers, R1 & R2 would both be equal to 4:

 

As I said before, there are different ways of calculating for x number of speakers, but with the method below you only have to remember one formula for any combination/quantity of parallel components; even if the speakers are all of different impedances. This method is a bit lengthier, though...

For instance, you can take expand the formula a bit further since you just calculated for two of the three subs. Take the figure for the two subs in parallel; which equals 2 Ohms and then factor in the last sub which by itself equals 4 Ohms:

 

okay, i was told that these speakers need to go from one to another. not each one to the amp, and remember, that the middle speaker will be upside down.


But anyways, first will that amp work with the flames? no one clarified that.

And what about the 2 12"s? What cheap amp can i get?

I really am dumb when it comes to this stuff, lol. I guess i could use the excuse that im a chick, but really i just never took the time to learn any of it.

 

Here's a link that will give you an education on speaker impedance and wiring:

SVC woofer wiring: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=160
DVC woofer wiring: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=161

If you're trying to hook 3 4 ohm subs to a bridged 2 channel amp, forget about it. There's no good way to do it.

If you parallel wire the subs, you'll have a retardedly low impedance and you'll either smoke the amp or trip it's protection circuits.

If you series-wire the subs, you'll get a 12 ohm impedance, which certainly isn't bad, but the amp will only make 1/3 of it's power, and since that audiobahn crap is so overrated in the first place, it sure isn't going to get loud.

 

Oh! Haha...I was looking for a good JL Audio link to post and then I noticed that's what you used...

Yeah, JL makes some good amps which will put out their rated power at 1/1.33/2/4 Ohms, if I'm not mistaken. Something like that would definitely be the way to go for this setup. That way, you'll get the full rated power output from the amp and if you change out/add more subs later, you will have MUCH greater flexibility in what to buy.

 

I really dont want a mismatched setup, especially with it being displayed in the hatch for everyone to see.

I could careless if it was loud enough to pop my eardrums, really im more interested in looks, but i didnt want to buy an amp that would make it sound horrible.

This car is pretty much a show car, and audiobanh makes the prettiest stuff!

Also, im pretty sure that the audiobahn flame amp isnt a 2 channel amp? Did you click on the link, or were you going by the old post?

 

yes the flame amp will work for you. and there are lots of other companies that mak "pretty stuff" look up fusion or alphasonik alphasonik is more low end though and if you want a really clean look, look into clarion or MB quart

 

finally someone answers my main question. Thank you, you get a gold star!

I know there probably is some other pretty stuff, but I got a really good deal on audiobahn stuff.

 

It should be pretty hard to tell if the impedances are mismatched from a quick look at an install. Normally, you'd need to look in a lot of strange areas to check for that...and that's really only if the impedances are printed in clear sight on every component. For instance, all the subs I've seen print the impedance on the inside somewhere near the basket. You'd have to mount the sub with the basket visible AND mount the amp in a manner which will show the minimum load rating. I don't know if it would work with the flow of your car, but you could build a lucite case around an amp and make it look a bit better -- just be sure to vent it somehow for heat.

 

That's not what i meant at all.

I said i didnt want audiobanh subs, with a different brand amp.