Car Stereos: 5-Channel amp specs & wiring diagram, load impedance, amplifier output

Question
Got a 5 channel amp the question I have is I believe the rating is 100x4/300x1 on a 2ohm load. I have a 4 door f-150 that will get 4 new 100 watt 4ohm speakers. whats the best way to drop ohm load on 4 speakers. Should we bridge the 4 channels.. the sub shouldn't be a problem because I'm gonna use a dvc 4ohm. Thanks

Answer
Hi Robert,

There's really no practical way to change the impedance of a 4-ohm speaker.  Your best option is just to use the amp in 5-channel mode, and settle for the 4-ohm output of the amplifier.   The difference between the 4-ohm power and the 2-ohm power from the amplifier really won't make a very big difference in the overall sound.

Bridging the amplifier isn't really a good option.  You'll end up with a 3-channel amp, but most likely the bridged channels will be limited to a load impedance of 4 ohms or higher.  This would prevent you from combining two speakers on the bridged output, because you'd end up with a 2-ohm load.  Usually, amps that are stable with 2-ohm speakers in multi-channel mode won't work safely with anything below 4 ohms when bridged.

My advice is to just go ahead and connect a 4-ohm speaker to each channel, and don't worry about the difference between the 2-ohm and 4-ohm amplifier output ratings.  Even if you're not getting the full 100 watts for each speaker, I'd be very surprised if you weren't able to make them play loudly enough for your needs.

Hope this helps!

Brian