QuestionQUESTION: Ok i recently purchased two Audiobahn Eternal 12'' subs in a custom-made enclosure.. and i'm running a Sony Xplod 1200 watt amp.. and im wondering if im gettin the full potential out of my sound system. The specs on the subs are 180oz magnet, 1100 RMS, 18Hz-500Hz, 3" dual 4 ohm voice coil, 2 or 8ohm oper. and the Sony Xplod amp is
* 1200 watts max power
* 200 watts x 2 RMS into 4 ohms
* 500 watts x 1 RMS into 4 ohms
* Built-in variable LPF (low-pass filter) and bass-boost circuit (up to +10 dB at 40 Hz)... so you tell me, am i getting what i can out of my subs.. and if not what should i look for in another amp to get the most out of my subs.. but still safely without damaging anything?
ANSWER: Hi Artie.
The amp that you have i dont really think its gonna cut it, so i would recommend you to get a 2 channel just like the one that you have right now that will do 4ohms stereo, or a monoblock that will do 1ohm, those subwoofers are just too big for that little sony when buying an amp always stick to name and well known brands, that will show their power on RMS power not peak or max, let me know when you get the amp and ill give you the right wiring configuration on the subwoofers for your amp.
regards.
Ed.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Ok so i really dont follow what ur saying.. sorry im not new to the car audio world but im a DIYer im not really good with all the technical terms so idk really what u mean by 4 ohms stereo n what not.. how bout an example of an ideal amp or like what to look for in the specs of the amp i kno to look for a 2 channel, but the rest, i wouldn't know what im looking at. I appreciate your patience and help Ed.
AnswerOk not a problem, see an amplifier will do its max power at a certain impedance (ohms), there are 2channel amps and monoblocks (1 channel),
Some 2 channel amplifiers are bridgable, when you bridge a 2 channel amplifier its called "mono" signal, when you use both channels, lets say one subwoofer on each one, it would be called "stereo" signal, so bassically you will need a 2channel amplifier that will do X number of watts x 2 RMS @ 4ohms, or a monoblock amplifier that will do X number of watts x 1 RMS @ 1ohm, notice its a monoblock not a 2channel amp can be easily confused.
Everytime you bridge a 2 channel amplifier you are cutting the impedance in half, lets say you have a dual voice coil 2ohm subwoofer, you got one of 2 choices, you can either lower the impedance to 1ohm or go to 4ohm, if you go to 4ohm and then bridge it you will be sending a 2ohm load on the amplifier, amplifier will be dependable on the sub, higher ohm load less power but higher quality sound, less ohm load more power but less quality.
Its kinda hard to explain and to understand how ohms, voltage and watts work but i hope you get an idea, if you are interested on learning more about this let me know and i can elaborate a little bit more, sorry if its a little bit confusing to read, tried my best.
Regards.
Ed.
