Hi all, I finally got around to upgrading the stereo in my camaro. I replaced the stock radio with an alpine head unit, the sail panel speakers, and dash speakers. I now want to put subwoofers in the trunk for better bass as the speakers i chose distort at higher volumes. I ordered a box that holds 2- 12" subwoofers that go in the trunk area. I am going to use older (practically brand new) alpine swr1242d subwoofers because i have them from my dd berfore i sold that. I also have an amp from my dd that i used to power ONE of these subs. Was wondering if that one is powerful enoiugh for BOTH subs now? in the pictures its the one that says ssl and is 800 watts. I purchased a kenwood KAC-8105D as well because the guy at the store said that would be better for the dual subwoofer installation. I have included pictures and some info on the items in question. Im basicly looking for input of with the mish-mosh of items i have will it all work in limbo? If you are feeling really generous would you give me some input into wiring or maybe even a diagram with my items? that would be swell lol.... Thanks in advance for your time/help, Al III

Subwoofers Alpine SWR1243D
Key FeaturesCar Speaker FunctionSubwooferSize12"TypeComponentElements1-WayPoweredPoweredRMS Power600 W
Technical FeaturesMin Frequency Response23 HzMax Frequency Response400 HzImpedance4 ohmSensitivity85 dBPeak Power Handling1800 watt


New Amp Kenwood KAC-8105D

Highlights:

• mono subwoofer amplifier
• 300 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (500 watts x 1 at 2 ohms)
• CEA-2006 compliant
• variable low-pass filter (50-200 Hz at 24 dB per octave)
• bass boost (0-18 dB at 40 Hz )
• subsonic filter (15/25 Hz, 18 dB/octave )
• Class D design
• speaker-level inputs with signal sensing turn-on
• preamp inputs and outputs
• fuse rating: 30A x 2
• 8-gauge power and ground leads recommended — wiring and hardware not included with amplifier
• 11"W x 2-3/8"H x 9-1/2"D
• warranty: 1 year
• Our 60-day money-back guarantee
  
  
  Old Amp SSL 800 Watts Max, not much more info on this guy:
  

 

rockford fosgate website has a wiring wizard feature that should tell you what you want to know. just pay attention to your amps capabilities. most amps can only do a 1 ohm load stereo (stereo=one load per channel) and 2 ohm bridged (bridged= one load across 2 channels). Also pay attention to peak and RMS power. Peak is unrealistic and RMS is actual power.

 

In order to use both subs AND get the most power from them, you would need an amp that is one ohm stable. The Kenwood amp you purchased is not one ohm stable. You can either use one subwoofer and wire it in parallel to present a 2 ohm load to the amp, thus drawing 500W RMS, or you can wire both subs in parallel (independently) and run your wire from that to present a 4 ohm load to the amp, thereby sending 300W RMS from the amp, but each speaker will only utilize 150W RMS. Keep in mind it is just as dangerous to underpower a speaker as it is to overpower it.

Parallel means you will connect a speaker lead from negative to negative, and positive to positive. Series means negative to positive. If you REALLY want to use both subs, you will connect leads from negative to negative and positive to positive on both speakers independently, then you will run ONE set of leads from ONE negative and ONE positive to your amp. I would suggest if you want to use both speakers, buy a monoblock amp that is 1 ohm stable and puts out 1000 W RMS at 1 ohm. I can assist you with wiring up both speakers to present the required 1 ohm load to the amp, and thus get the full amount of RMS power to each speaker.

Feel free to ask me here or PM me if you get stuck. I'll be more than happy to help.

EDIT Here's the full specs on your subs. http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/swr-1242d/Specs

 

Plum i appriciate your repsonse but still kind of out there to me.

Soul, thank you for your repsonse as well. I can understand what your saying to an extent. I have included a haphazard photo of what i think you mean. besides looking like a first grader drew it, is that what you are saying?

If this is correct, what would you suggest for a amp? Im not looking to go into audio competitions, so dont need anything crazy.

 

Your drawing would be correct if you were wiring up two single voice coil subs in parallel to drop the load your amplifier sees. Since your subs are dual voice coil, I busted out my high-tech CAD program to draw you a picture of what you would need to do if you wanted to use BOTH of your dual voice coil subs.



This would be the proper way to wire up a system consisting of two 4 ohm dual voice coil subwoofers to present a 1 ohm load to your amplifier. Every time you connect voice coils together, the total impedance halves. By connecting one sub's coils, you go from two smaller and separate 4 ohm voice coils, to- for the sake of this post- one larger, 2 ohm coil. Then, by connecting TWO subwoofers wired in this manner, you will then have one "bigger" coil that will be one ohm. This is in a perfect world. Realistically, the load your amp sees will still probably be closer to 2 ohms than 1 ohm unless you drop big $$$ on competition subs with better voice coil winding and material. That's just the way electricity is. Just by guessing I would say your subs will most likely present a 1.5-1.7 ohm load to your amp, which with properly set gain and at 14.6V, will most likely result in anywhere from 800-925W RMS, depending on the amp you get.

I liked this amp for your setup-http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_39672_Cerwin-Vega-Stroker-1000.1-STKR1000.1.html

Cerwin-Vega makes good stuff. If you want to further your research, I would stick with Kicker, Cerwin-Vega, Rockford Fosgate, or MB Quart for your amps with a higher-powered setup like what you're looking at. You'll also want to do your Big 3, and maybe even consider upgrading your alternator.

 

Looks like we have the same high-tech cad software lol... I understand what you are saying it makes sense to me. I am basicly going to do whatever you say lol. what i dont know is this: "You'll also want to do your Big 3". As for the alternator, is that nesesary? This is turning into alot bigger task then i want. I didnt even want to do the dual subs but the rear double box everyone uses seemed like the only one i could find. The car only has 58k miles on it i dont wanna go hacking sh*t up, just wanted alittle more bump when the tops are off.

 

You're going to have a lot more bump when the tops are off. 1000W RMS in a hatchback is nothing to shake a stick at. If you have a carbed vehicle with no additional electronic aftermarket accessories AND the 94 amp alternator, you can probably get away without upgrading your alt as long as it's healthy. My system is ~750W RMS and since doing the Big 3 upgrade the lowest my charging system has went, at 800 RPM with every electrical accessory wide open, was 13.7V, but my alternator is refurbished and about two years old.

"Big 3" refers to upgrading your vehicle's charging system wiring- Alternator to Battery wire, Battery to Ground wire, Engine Ground to Chassis Ground wire. I used 4GA wire on my upgrade.

If you want something more mild, I suggest you look into the subwoofer setup I went with. I spent about $500 between the sub, box, amp, and wiring. My sub is 500W RMS and it has plenty of thump without being too much. It's not one of these prefabbed boxes that fit into the well of our trunks either...which if you want to pursue using your subs and getting the full RMS power to them will be another issue you will have to tackle since I very much doubt the box you have will let those subs breathe at rated power.

 

Ughhhh this is turning into a nightmare lol... It's an 89 iroc 350 tpi, very original not a lot of mods done to it. And yes went with one of those prefabed boxes and already purchased it :/ .... But I think I'm just gonna stick with it because I'm already in over my heels lol... Can I port the box by cutting holes in it someone how to let them "breathe" as you say?

 

You'll want to upgrade your alternator. 1000W RMS at 14.4V results in a constant ~70 amp draw, and since you're on TPI you have additional electronics to worry about (fuel injectors, ECM, MAF, etc). I think TPI cars came with a 110 amp alternator??? You'll want to get at least a 150-170 amp unit.

By "breathing" I meant that the subwoofer would have to have proper airspace in the box. Each brand, make, and model of subwoofer has specific internal box volumes it has to have in order to perform at its best. Pulling the specs, it looks like your sub needs to have a box that has an internal volume of .8 cubic feet, if you wanted to use a sealed enclosure. If you cut "holes" in your box, it would amount to freeairing which is no good.

And we haven't even gotten to upgrading your battery yet, either. What kind of battery do you currently have?

 

NO! it will ruin the box. In a properly built boxes ports are a specific size/length that tunes it to a certain frequency for best sound. if you just cut holes in your box it could ruin the sound of the box. there is nothing wrong with a sealed box.

 

soul justice is right on his game and offering excellent info. i get the impression your not looking for an extreme or professional set up. You can use what you have. no it's not ideal but it will work to use your subs with your kenwood in your box without any additional work. Just wire as drawn above. you shouldnt need to upgrade the big 3 unless your keep it CRANKED all the time. i don't believe your amp is capable of much over 600w anyway.

 

exactly, this turned from just installing speakers becuase my stock ones were shot from blasting it around town back in high school. Turnes out with the bose delco you cant just change the speakers... I wanted to keep everything stock and use the stock speaker locations, as stated above the car is all orig with under 58k. Well good luck finding 4 1/2 speakers that are less then 2 inches in dept. So i decided to rip the dash off and put the 4x6 there, 6x9 which was pretty strait foward in the sails. Then i had to put in a new headunit to go along with the speakers that dont work off the delco system. of course i see my old sub so i want to throw that in. No one makes a box for a single sub so i invest in a new box, a second sub and now a new amp hahah... oy-veh

Plum, your correct eveything soul says adds up and is very simple. And as you said about cranked nah im not gona have it cranked i mostly listen to country anyway lol. but i do get the urges to listen to other genres now and then so hopefully i will be safe.

I am going to return the amp tho and get the one soul suggested. Just getting all my things in order and waiting for the ups guy and will let u guys know how it goes. Thanks again immensly to the both of you for your input in getting me up to this point.

P.s what do i use for the wires for the subwoofers as the blue and red wires in soul's pic?

Thanks again, Al III

 

Here are a couple more super high tech cad wiring diagrams. Glad your going with a more suitable amp. if your amp is not stable @ 1ohm bridged then you will have the use the 2 ohm stereo option. Make sure you use decent size speaker wire, at least 12gauge. You don't have to use 4 individual wires from the subs to the amp, you'll find the usual double wires will work. If you haven't already bought an amp you should check out rockford fosgate power series amps.

As for the big 3 upgrade its very easy and always a good idea even if you don't "really" need it. There are already wires in these places you would just be upgrading. If you can solder you can do it yourself. measure out the length of the wires already there. order 0g or 4g wire that length(maybe a lil extra just in case) and the 6 ring terminals for each end. think about what size hole your going to need in each ring terminal. i used my bench vise to crimp my 0g terminals (one ear then the other)and then soldered them by gently heating the terminal/wire end with a torch and touching the solder to it. then install the wires new wires. i installed them right along with the stock wires. Not sure if this is good idea or bad but i though, what could it hurt.

Just for a reminder: alt to +battery, engine ground to -battery, and -battery to body. Take a look, you'll see the stock wires already there.

 

Plum thank your for the high-tech drawings as well lol.....Of the two you have give, which suits my set-up best? On the other hand i have taken all the wiring diagrams from plum and soul and smooshed them together to make possibly the winning combo for me?



Blue Wire: Connects the positive terminals on each sub together.
Grey Wire: Joins the two subs together through the positive terminals
Pink Wire: Takes all 4 positive terminals that were tied together and goes to amp on pos. side

Green Wire: Connects the negative terminals on each sub together.
Burgundy Wire: Joins the two subs together through the neg. terminals
Yellow Wire: Takes all 4 neg. terminals that were tied together and goes to amp on neg side

Does this work? hopefully its explained to you guys correctly. As for the big three, i think im just going to see how the car runs once the weather breaks. If i can get away with changing as litle as possible i would like to do that to keep it original. Thanks again greatly for your input, Al III

 

your diagram is another way to wire 1 ohm bridged. you, me, and soul are all drawing the same thing just differently. Of course i would choose my way for several reasons. mostly because your box is most likely a sealed box which should mean the subs will be separated or have a divider in it which will make it difficult to wire one sub to the other.

which wiring set up you use will depend on what the amp is capable of. like i said if its not stable at 1ohm bridged then 2 ohm stereo is your only other option to get any power out of the amp. somewhere in the literature it will say what the amp is stable too.

either way, wire the two + and two - together on each sub then run a pair of wires from each sub to the amp. this way you can decide 1 ohm bridge or 2 ohm stereo at the amp.

 

As an example, look at your second pic of the kenwood amp box. it says 2 ohm capable. so with that amp you would have to use the 2ohm stereo wiring. 1 ohm bridged or stereo(you would need 2ohm dual voice coil subs for 1 ohm stereo) would have problems and eventually fry that amp.

 

Sooo i could have used that amp? lol i returned it yesterday and was going to go with the one soul suggested. As for your way of wiring i dont mind doing that way at all, i dont wanna sound concieted that i gotta use my idea im open to anything. But my question is, with your diagram to me (again i hate audio) it looks like your giving two different wiring diagrams? Are you saying once i finally pick my amp i will then decide by which amp i have is which diagram to use? Not sure on the box as its still in the delivery stage. I also saw you comented on rockford fosgate and again i know nothing about audio so i was just going to go with the one soul said because it was right there bam= u suck at this so buy this one lol... if u dont mind can u share a link for possibly another one? Thanks again for ur time and help!

 

Dont really know much about them but i basicly took the two items and compared the specs side by side. I found this rockford fosgate:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-R1000-1D.html

would this one work? looks similar and i actually found it cheaper then advertised on the site i gave the link to which is almost $100 cheaper then the cerwin one.

 

yes you could have used that amp but it wouldn't have been enough power. IMHO you did the right thing returning it. i missed what amp soul suggested, from your pic i gathered you have alpine type S 4ohm Dual voice coil subs capable of 600w rms. RMS is real power handling. this is the numbers you need to go by with any stereo equipment. if your running 2 subs @ 600wRMS each you should look for an amp that is capable of 1200wRMS(600wx2 or 1200wx1 @ 2 ohms would be ideal for you). a few more watts is ok you just won't turn the gain up as high. a few less watts would be ok too cause your car will be THUMPIN' with those subs on 1200w. Ignore any Peak power numbers as they are unrealistic and mostly false advertisement.

yes i gave two different wiring diagrams, the only difference is how it hooks to the amp and the load it puts on the amp. very few amps are stable at 1 ohm bridged. it will probably be easier and cheaper to get an amp that makes the power you need @ 2 ohms cause most amps are "happy" at 2 ohms. to sum up both paragraphs and answer your question, don't buy an amp and then figure out how to use it with your speakers. find out what your speakers need and then buy the amp that matches.

Rockford fosgate power series is my favorite. they power ratings are underrated. You would love one. Kicker and alpine are a couple others that come to mind. woofersetc.com is a good place to look around. either way with your subs and

if you got a custom box for the well it is most likely sealed and separates the subs. this is mandatory in a sealed box cause if the 2 (or more) subs share air space in a sealed box they will destroy each other.

 

that looks good. from what i can see, i think you will be very pleased with that amp. i'm not familiar with cervin vega car equipment, i know they make excellent home equipment. Did you notice that RF rates their amps by RMS? they don't play with that peak bs.

Do you think you'll attempt the big 3? Its much easier than you think. You won't regret it, and its not that expensive.

 

ok latest problem lol.. i jumped the gun and the second sub i picked up is actually a little different then my other hahah im rushing to much with this and scr*wing up all over the place. I know im being a pain in the nuts and driving you crazy but would you mind looking at these two specs and telling me if i have 1 each of the following and are going to be using them together?

I have one of these:

Features and Specification

SPECIFICATIONS

Power Handling

• Power Range: 200 - 500 Watts
• RMS Power Handling: 500 Watts
• Peak Power Handling: 1500 Watts

Dimensions

• Mounting Depth: 195 mm (7.7'')
• Mounting Diameter: 275 mm (10.9'')
• Displacement: 0.071 cu. ft (Front Mount)
• Added Volume: 0.085 cu. ft. (Reverse Mount, Magnet Out)

General

• Frequency Response: 25Hz - 500Hz

FEATURES

Diaphram

• Material: Kevlar Reinforced Pulp Fiber
• Design: 2-Piece Structural Parabolic

Surround

• Material: Injected Molded SantopreneA?
• Design: High Amplitude Mutli-Roll

Spider

• Material: NomexA?
• Design: Mirrored Progressive

Voice Coil

• Material: 180A?C High Temp Wire on Spiral Cut Aluminum Former
• Design: 4-Layer Dual Voice Coil

Motor Structure

• Pole Geometry: Compound Radius Curve (Patent #6,639,993)
• Configuration: Radial Vented VC Heat Sink and Airflow Management System (Patent Pending)

Frame

• Material: Cast Aluminum
• Design: Perimeter Vented Heat Transfer (Patent Pending)

Terminals

• Layout: One Side
• Design: Heavy Duty 8 gauge Push with Housing, Banana Plug Jumper

Tinsel Leads

• Design: Reinforced Layer Spider Integration (Patent #6,810,988)

Gasket

• Design: Concealed Mount Gasket System

And one of these:

Features and Specification

SPECIFICATIONS

Power Handling

• CEA-2031 Power Rating: 600 Watts
• Power Range: 1800 Watts
• RMS Power Handling: 600 Watts
• Peak Power Handling: 1800 Watts

Dimensions

• Mounting Depth: 162mm (6-3/8'')
• Mounting Diameter: 275mm (10-13/16'')
• Displacement: 0.100ft^3
• Added Volume: 0.090ft^3

General

• Frequency Response: 23-400Hz

FEATURES

Diaphram

• Material: KevlarA? Reinforced Pulp Fiber
• Design: 2-Piece Structural Parabolic w/ H.A.M.R Surround (Patent Pending)

Surround

• Material: Injected Molded SantopreneA?
• Design: High Amplitude Multi-Roll

Spider

• Material: NomexA?
• Design: Progressive

Voice Coil

• Material: 180A? High Temp Wire on Spiral Cut Aluminum Former
• Design: 65mm 4-Layer Dual Voice Coil

Motor Structure

• Pole Geometry: Compound Radius Curve (Patent #6,639,993)
• Configuration: Radial Vented VC Heat Sink and Airflow Management System (Patent #7,634,101)

Frame

• Material: Cast Aluminum
• Design: Perimeter Vented Heat Transfer (Patent Pending), Integrated Shorting Sleeve and Airflow Management System

Terminals

• Layout: One Side
• Design: Heavy Duty 8 gauge Push with Housing, Banana Plug Jumper

Tinsel Leads

• Design: Reinforced Layer Spider Integration (Patent #6,810,988)

Gasket

• Design: Concealed Mount Gasket System

 

so if that amp looks good i will go with that one. As for the big 3 like i said this allready took me WAY farther then i wanted to go with this ordeal. Im more into keeping as much stock as possible (you couldnt tell with this sound system i am in the process of doing). So im going to get it all buttoned up, and see how the car is once i drive it more when the weather gets better. Im assuming i will have to watch for dead battery if i dont do the big three correct? or is there more by not doing it?

 

poor guy probably wishing u never stumbled accross this thread lol... but i appriciate the time your taking to help me out alot

 

the big three is about increasing your cars current capability. basically not doing this would be like having one bathroom in your house and adding two or three more without increasing the feed pipes size to accommodate.

 

lol no, stereos is fun for me. i enjoy helping.

 

about your subs not being the same, are they the same brand/make/model? i assume they are and the new one has just been updated/changed slightly since you bought the first one. Im not 100% sure but i as long as they are both 4ohm DVC you should be able to use them but they will not perform the same cause they have different power handling. I asked a guy i work with(electrical whiz)what he thought. He said if you run them bridged or on a single channel amp it may be bad for the amp. We both agreed that your best option is to sell the old sub use the money to buy a second like the new one so you have a matched set.

 

yes, or like building a wicked engine and puting the stock air cleaner, exhaust manifolds and stock exhaust on it. it will run. it will be more powerful. but it won't be at its full potential.

 

The problem with running two different subs is they are made out of different materials, have different dimensions, power handling, and displacement. Therefore they will not sync with each other and you'll probably have issues with "muddy" bass- frequencies will either get cancelled out or overpowered by the other sub. Sell the old sub, buy a second sub that is the same as the new one you bought. Electrically, you'll most likely be fine as long as the total combined impedance of both subwoofers does not exceed what your amp is capable of handling.

If you choose not to do the big 3, you won't have to worry about dead batteries. You will, however, have to worry about your equipment not performing at its peak because current flow isn't optimized, and you will more likely than not buy a new alternator, sooner rather than later.

Putting in a system does get quite a bit more complicated than "run wire, throw in subs, crank to 11". Feel free to ask as many questions as you need to. If we can't answer it, I guarantee someone in the forum will find it on google just stick with us and we will help you through it.

 

Again thanks for the awesome responses guys even though i keep saying this is a bigger pain then i wanted, coming back to tgo and talking it all over with you all makes it easy and im learning something i was always throwing off to my friends. As for the sub situation, i placed an order tonight for a second (or should i say third) subwoofer. I went with the 1243D which is the same as the new one i got, it seemed like the better choice. For the big 3 i really dont see myself really cranking this system to even 50% for most of the time. For the first few weeks maybe ill hit it hard every once in awhile, but after a few weeks it will be old news to me. Thx again for all you help everyone

 

ok getting towards the end lol thankfully.... went to audio store didnt have 12 like you guys suggested. So went to best buy, for some reason wasnt paying attention or was arguing with my girlfriend one or the other and bought 16 instead of 12 lol... of course my luck and lack of paying attention. I have 14 gauge that i have from wiring the speakers and just used that. Please tell me i will be fine lol im sooooo over this i gave up tinkering with cars years ago now i just like to get in and drive. I understand its not the best but like i said this thing is not going to be bumping constantly. If you tell me that it will be ok just maybe not as clear or not as good ill be fine with that at this point idgaf. If you tell me it will start a fire or cause like actual physical damage then ill change it. Also only have one sub for now waiting on the other should be here tomorrow. Working everything one step at a time as it comes in so i dont have to spend a whole day once everything comes in. Again this is with 14 AWG wire... I have + jumped to the other +, - jumped to other -, and the final wire that goes under the two hoop looking jumpers is my wire going to the other sub. Hows this look? thanks again guys and or gals!

 

14 should be ok. i Definitely wouldn't go any smaller. remember when you set it up DO NOT turn the gains all the way up. It can cause signal clipping.

Did you get the rockford amp? if you got the rockford we discussed you have to go with the 2 ohm wiring as shown in my diagram. If you look it says right on the amp above the speaker terminals 2 ohm minimum. DO NOT wire the subs together it will drop the ohm load to 1ohm. Let me know if you want me to draw another diagram with more detail.

Less ohms=draws more watts
More ohms=draws less watts
You can't wire your subs for less ohms then the amp is rated you will burn it up.

 

For some reason the photo didn't come up last night... Yes I went with the Rockford amp. Should be in today.

 

 

looks great.

 

ok plum, now im going to wire the second sub (recieved today) the same way with the hoops? and also taking the wire from the other sub i did yesterday and putting that on - and +? Then run another speaker wire from that sub up to the amp and put it to "speakers" on the amp below?



Theres two spots for + and two for -. Im only going to be using one side of each + and -?
GND would be ground wire running to body,
REM is the little blue wire I ran to the head unit to remote wire
B+ is the red wire i ran to battery?

On the opposite side i have this:

I dont know what input or pass thru are. I ran the two wires with these connectors to the back of my headunit and put it to the red and white connectors like these but they were the only ones. On the amp i have input and pass thru im not sure where to put the wires.

Gain is at 1 right now, what should that be set to?

Bypass is on 180* from factory is that what it should be?

FREQ Hz is 40 again factory not sure what it should be on.

Punch bass is all the way to min from factory.

Finally punch level control is the wire with that goes to the little box with the dial on it to control the bass. I know what that is as i had that in my old DD.

Thanks again sooooo much for your help man its awesome i feel like i gotta send u a check for all your help lol

 

Don't get to thankful yet. Sorry i took so long to respond but i've been doing a little research and i may have made a mistake. I missed before that the amp is internally paralleled. If i'm not mistaken that will drop your ohm load to 1 ohm which is too low for the amp and will damage it. i've never run a single channel amp before so i'm not 100% sure. PLEASE double check my electrical math with someone that knows single channel amps. Maybe soul justice could say for sure. If it does make your current subs a 1 ohm load because of the internal parallel then you have two options. wire the subs you have to a 4 ohm load (i can get you through that) which will draw less power from the amp or exchange your 2 new subs for the same speakers but 2ohm dual voice coil. I apologize for any problems i've caused you. i'm just glad i caught it before something bad might happen.

Here is the rest of the info for set up. From the head unit hook the rca's up to either rear or sub out.Hook the RCAs to input on the amp. pass thru is for running multiple amps on the same signal(multilple sub amps usually). I don't know what the bypass is, see what the manual says. the freq Hz is your crossover. with subs its best to start with the gain and crossover all the way down. turn your favorite jams on, turn the crossover/freq hz up to about 80hz to start. then turn the gain up till it blends right with the rest of the music sitting in the drivers seat. set the gain with your bass setting on the head unit at 0. and hatch open will change sound. you can just lower but not latch it for this. Once the gain is set you can adjust the freqHz more if you want to. if the subs aren't playing high enough turn it up. i don't reccomend setting it higher than 100hz-120hz. if you start to hear other sounds (guitars, drums other than the bass drum) you have it too high. i think the punch bass is a bass boost. turn it up last. see what sounds good to you. usually those are to boost really low tones/frequencies that tend to get quieter. as always, any questions, just ask.

 

You cannot run both your subs paralleled with this amp. Looks to me it is a 2-channel monoblock amp, which means it has two outputs but the outputs are "bridged" inside the amp. You will smoke it and have an expensive paperweight on your hands. Box it back up and send it back.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...MF2000-1D.html Order this. All your problems will be solved.

FWIW on that amp "Bypass" is probably a user selectable cutoff. Probably reads from 15Hz-60Hz. The amp I run has an internal cutoff at 23Hz. This is used to prevent your sub from playing frequencies lower than it was designed to reproduce. Most amps use a 12dB/octave crossover, as such I usually set my sub crossover at 100Hz. This way the sub starts to attenuate signals that it cannot faithfully reproduce and start letting your mid drivers start handling those frequencies.

Once you have the right amp, I'll walk you through how to set your gain. The "by ear" method works in a pinch but I prefer to set my gain using a multimeter.

 

Thanks for stepping in soul. I was a lil stuck on this. Is changing the amp the only option you suggest? Wouldn't it be easier to exchange the subs for 2ohmDVC? of the options i suggested what would you do if you were iroc89al3? exchange amp or exchange subs? I think both of us would pass on wiring to 4ohms and running at half power.

I'm anxious to see your post on setting gain with a multimeter. I understand that concept on tuning 2 subs on separate amps to run equally but never was shown what to look for when tuning one amp.

Iroc89al3-Soul confirmed it. i was wrong, i apologize. the amp he suggested looks like a great amp.

 

Exchanging the subs for two 2 ohm DVC subs would just complicate things, as we would then need an amplifier that would be stable at .5 ohm and those are really expensive. There really is no "easy way" with what OP is trying to do since he does not want to get rid of the box he has. This is why I suggested he make his own box or get someone to make one for him earlier in the thread as trying to match subs to the box he has will prove near impossible, and I am worried that with the power range he is looking for he will blow anything he puts in there.

Using the box he has, I would take the two DVC subs back, and buy two 300 W RMS 4 ohm SINGLE voice coil subs. Wire those in parallel to present a 2 ohm load to the amp and problem solved. Granted, 600 W RMS is a far cry from what he is looking at with the Alpine subs, but with the box he's using I doubt he will get anywhere near 1000W RMS before those subs overheat.

 

No soul, your forgetting if he wires 2 2ohmDVC speakers each to 4 ohms then to the amp it will be a 2ohm load. yes parallel would be .5ohm.

here is a diagram of what i'm saying. with this wiring, wouldn't you agree that 2 2ohmDVC subs would work with the amp he has?

As for the box, yes most mass production boxes for our cars don't have enough air space, he claims he isn't going to be bumping the pictures off the walls of peoples houses as he drives down the street. I'm taking him at his word on this. 1000w is a lot of power for somebody who wants a little extra bump in their system but if he uses it as he says "a little extra bump" he'll be fine right? especially if he only turns his gain up to match his other speakers, which will probably only be half way.

 

I see what you're saying. Yes, that would work fine.

1000W RMS is a lot more than "a little extra bump". My sub is 500W RMS and it shakes the cups in my cabinets when I pull in my driveway. I would feel much more confident if OP could tell us what the internal dimensions of one side of the box is.

 

Thanks again for the replys guys. Yes like i said earlier not looking to set off alarms, shake glass. I was happy with jusgt the single subwoofer i had but could not find a box to custom fit the car. Jumped on the prefab one because i have seen them before and thought they worked good. When im home from work i can get demensions of one side of the box.

At this point in time with everything back and forth one i dont want to go thru the hassle of returning stuff, and two highly doubt as with other electronic/electrical equipment/parts they are not returnable once opened. If anyone can come up with some wiring for what i have that wood be great.

Al

 

Here is the wiring diagram for the equipment you have. I have run a prefab box for 10 years. i have no complaints. yes the air space is on the small side of what most sub manufacturers recommend but you'll be fine with what your doing and it'll sound just fine too. i think you'll be satisfied with what you have.