Car Stereos: buying the right amp...., mono amp, mono block

Question
QUESTION: I am buiding my stereo one component at a time for my Lincoln. I wont install it untill I am finished. right now I have Two Mmats 12" Juggernauts dvc rated for 2 ohms, max wattage 1500 each. Upon purchasing the right amp, what should i be looking for? Name brand not so much important as lowest frequency range and lowest thd level. Should I purchace a two cannel amp, or a mono, and am I able to correctly hook up both subs to one mono Amp?

ANSWER: Hi David,

If the amplifier's sole purpose will be to power subwoofers, you'll be fine with a mono block amp.  If you wire the subs in series, then you'll need an amp that handles 4 ohms.  If you wire them in parallel, then you'll need an amplifier that can handle 1 ohm.

Justin

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QUESTION: Ok in this case, I own an amp that I think should be powerfull enough to run these. This amp is a one channel mono. It can handle one ohm. I looked at a parallel wiring diagram. I only have one speaker output on this amp. Can this be done? Do you know of a different diagram I can check out?

ANSWER: Hi David,

All you need is one output for both speakers.  2x2ohm subwoofers wired in parallel to the same circuit will provide 1ohm of resistance, which your amp is designed to handle.

Connect the negative terminal from both subwoofers to the negative hookup on the amplifier, and the positive terminal from both subwoofers to the positive hookup on the amplifier.  That will have them wired in parallel, and you'll be good to go with a 1ohm subwoofer circuit.

Make sure you don't hook either of them up backwards, though, or you'll get weird imaging and your bass will be inaccurate, muted, and subdued.

Justin

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QUESTION: Thank much for your patience and time. I appreciate you bearing with me on this. just to make sure I have this correct I am running two leads of wire from my one output on my amp to my speakers. Positive to positive on one voice coil. Negative to negative one the other of each speaker. This should leave me with an open terminal on Each voice coil on each speaker? without drawing a diagram this is what I have. Sub(1) VC1+ VC1- VC2+ VC2-. My output form my amp+  goes to VC1+. My output from my amp- goes to VC2-. And so forth for my other sub. Am I suppossed to run a lead connecting the (VC) voice coils of VC1- and VC2+ together on each speaker?

Answer
Hi David,

I'm sorry, I didn't know they were dual coil subwoofers (I misread your original post).  That changes things.

From what I'm reading, they're rated for 1.4 ohms per coil (correct me if I'm wrong.)

If that's the case, I'd suggest wiring the subwoofer coils in series, and then the subwoofers in parallel, creating a 1.4ohm circuit across the entire channel.

To do this, here's how the wires will go:

AMP(-)    -> SW1VC1(-)
SW1VC1(+) -> SW1VC2(-)
SW1VC2(+) -> AMP(+)

(This puts the single subwoofer in series on the circuit, creating a 2.8 ohm load.)

AMP(-)    -> SW2VC1(-)
SW2VC1(+) -> SW2VC2(-)
SW2VC2(+) -> AMP(+)

(This puts the second subwoofer in series on the circuit, and puts it in parallel to subwoofer #1, creating a 1.4 ohm load [ 1 / (1/[1.4 + 1.4]) + (1/[1.4 + 1.4]) ].

Justin