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What you need to know about sub and amp selection

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  • What you need to know about sub and amp selection

    Might make this a sticky.

    What ohm subs and amp?When you pick out subs and an amp you need to keep your risistance in mind. Resistance being ohm load. It is probably best to pick the subs and amp at the same time so you will get the correct power and the correct ohm load. When figuring out the ohm load this is the best way I know. A dual 4 ohm sub can be wired either series or parellel. Parallel will put you at a 2 ohm load. Series will double the resistance getting you to 8 ohms. Why would you want a sub to ba at 8 ohms? Well this is for if you have 2 dual 4 ohm subs and your amp makes most of its power at 4 ohms. Run each sub in series then parallel the subs together. If your amp makes its power at 1 ohm then run both of the subs in series. Then you are at 1 ohm. When there is less resistance you will be running hotter so keep that in mind too. I prefer to be at either 2 or 4 ohms in my setups. If your amp makes most of its power at 2 ohms then you would either want a single dual 4 ohm sub or 2 dual 2 ohm subs.

    What is parallel and series?

    Parellel is just + to + and - to -. Easy enough

    Series is for dual voice coil subs. so hook the + of vc1 to the + of the amp, Then the - of vc 2 to the - of the amp. Then hook the - of vc1 to the + of vc2.

    This might be easier to read.
    VC1=+ to amp, - to +VC2
    VC2=- to amp, + to - of VC1

    What are some good brands?
    This is dependant on what you want to spend. People will swear by what they know and have heard. There are very few known brands that I have not heard. When I buy stereo equipment I look at a couple of things. Can I buy it at circuit city or best buy? If so I wont bother. When these companies sell out and begin mas producing they lower the prices and the quality of the product just to sell more. Not worth it. Alpine just did this recently. Look at the quality they have now. Garbage compared to their previous stuff. If you find it on ebay and it is a 2000 watt amp for 50 bucks you will end up with a 50 watt amp. This crunch sony or whatever stuff is garbage. You get what you pay for most of the time. Stick with the bigger names like my fav JL audio, JBL, Alpine subs, kicker, RE audio, Infinity, MTX, RF, Eclipse, Focal, MB Quart, Orion. well the list will go on forever but these are some of the safe bets in system quality. If you get some sony xplode then you wont get much out of it. Honestly you would get more from 1 decent sub and amp than you would with a pair of sony anything. Plus less weight and you wont get laughed at when you pop your trunk and show someone your system.


    Sealed or ported?
    This debate will go on forever. Figure it like this, Gangsta bass is better suited for a ported box. If you are a rocker or techno buff then I would go with a sealed box. Now different subs like different boxed but you will be louder and hit lower in a ported box. You will need to be sure you are tuned to the proper hz level and have enough power to run the subs, With a ported box and too little power your subs will be sloppy and actually you will hurt your subs. If you have no choice but to underpower the subs make a nice sealed box and you are good for the most part.

    Where to mount the Amp?
    The best place is honestly a flat spot what gets plenty of air, when you begin mounting the amps at different angles then you mess with the amps ability to dicipate heat. The #1 killer of amps is heat. Look at my cardomain page in my sig. Note the placement of my amps. Mids and highs amps tent to not work as hard as your big bass amp. Well unless you are overworking it, so you can mount these with less risk. You might also want to keep it in a place where it wont be subjested to excessive vibration. Ive seen amps mounted to boxes that broke the soldering on the inside. So the top and back of the box isn't my fav place to put amps. I have done it but prefer not to.

    Facing the subs?
    Just face them to the rear of the car. Look at almost every DB drag setup and you will see that is the way to go. Ive messed around with it plenty and rear facing systems have sounded louder and better all around.

    If you have any questions post em and we will get it figured out.

    Wiring diagrams
    Originally posted by Nikki
    You are an e-pimp.
    Originally posted by beitodesstrafe
    I tried too, my penis way too big
    07 GTP Coupe, Black, GT-R Exhaust #1, Dr speed Cold air box, GM STB, White Face Gauges, Intigrated Ipod, Altezza tails, Painted headlights with black reflectors and no amber turn signal cover and Nokya Ultrawhite bulbs all around, VMS ECM Tune Beotches, With the TCM tune soon to come.
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  • #2
    Will 2 alpine 12'' 2 ohm type R's be better then 1 L7 15'' 2 ohm

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    • #3
      Originally posted by BigV11
      Will 2 alpine 12'' 2 ohm type R's be better then 1 L7 15'' 2 ohm
      Yes. But you could have posted that in your original topic.



      Nice work Joey.

      Comment


      • #4
        There is alot more to cover but I got tired of typing. These just seem to be popular questions. And to answer dudes question 2 type r's will sound way better than the freakin square solo. I don't care much for them and the sq sucks. I had a 15 l7 for a bit and a pair of 12l7's for about 2 days and traded them off.
        Originally posted by Nikki
        You are an e-pimp.
        Originally posted by beitodesstrafe
        I tried too, my penis way too big
        07 GTP Coupe, Black, GT-R Exhaust #1, Dr speed Cold air box, GM STB, White Face Gauges, Intigrated Ipod, Altezza tails, Painted headlights with black reflectors and no amber turn signal cover and Nokya Ultrawhite bulbs all around, VMS ECM Tune Beotches, With the TCM tune soon to come.
        My youtube. http://youtube.com/user/joebro82
        The old hooptyhttp://www.cardomain.com/ride/2412743

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        • #5
          Ok thanks.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by disposablehero
            There is alot more to cover but I got tired of typing. These just seem to be popular questions. And to answer dudes question 2 type r's will sound way better than the freakin square solo. I don't care much for them and the sq sucks. I had a 15 l7 for a bit and a pair of 12l7's for about 2 days and traded them off.
            Ok, I made it a Sticky. Edit your original post to add information and to correct your spelling.
            G6P member 340

            G8 GT 334 0f 1st 888
            Pedders Street II suspension. Pedders Strut Tower bar. VMS HSRK, VMS PCM/TCM tune, Forged and Stroked LS3, Garrett Turbo
            Borla Cat back. SLP underdrive pulley. FAST ported 102 intake and TB ported. BMR trailing arms, Circle D 3200 stall converter.
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            • #7
              But I kant spel gud.
              Originally posted by Nikki
              You are an e-pimp.
              Originally posted by beitodesstrafe
              I tried too, my penis way too big
              07 GTP Coupe, Black, GT-R Exhaust #1, Dr speed Cold air box, GM STB, White Face Gauges, Intigrated Ipod, Altezza tails, Painted headlights with black reflectors and no amber turn signal cover and Nokya Ultrawhite bulbs all around, VMS ECM Tune Beotches, With the TCM tune soon to come.
              My youtube. http://youtube.com/user/joebro82
              The old hooptyhttp://www.cardomain.com/ride/2412743

              Comment


              • #8
                Awesome write-up, but i have to nit-pick one thing--speakers and amps and whatnot are rated in ohms of impedance, not resistance.

                The "why" is explained below...<geek alert>

                Looking at a standard cartesian-coordinate XY graph, in an AC circuit (which, by their nature, audio signals are), resistance is the X-coordinate--which is always positive. This is the resistance in the wires, any ressitors in the circuit, etc. The reactance is the Y-coordiante, which can be positive, negative, or 0. If the reactance is 0, then the circuit is purely resistive--you can see this most commonly in the AC circuit of the standard house lightbulb.

                If the reactance is negative, the circuit is capacitive--which causes the voltage to lag the current by a 90 degree phase shift (assuming there's no pure resitance load, only capacitative load). We'll not touch on this more because the audio signal circuit is not capacitive overall--although there is a capacitive load--it's not a capacitive cirtcuit overall).

                If the reactance is positive, the circuit is inductive, which causes the voltage to lead the current by 90 degrees phase shit (in a purely inductive circuit).

                In an audio circuit, the speaker driver by it's very design is inductive--it's a coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field. The fluctuation of the input signal causes the coil to vibrate propotionally to the current of the signal. this coil is attached to the cone, and thus, you get the sound. anyhow, the coil causes a positive reactance, which modifies the overall mpedance of the circuit.

                If we have an audio circuit, in which the resistive load is 6 ohms, and the reactance is 8 ohms, then the total impedance, base on vector mat, comes out to 10 ohms of impoedance and the pahse shift is 53.13 degrees (found by converting the overall reactance and the overall resistance into an x-y rectangular coordinate into the polar coordinates. the vector distance is the total impedance, the phase shift is angle between 90 and -90 representing the voltage lead or lag--positive is inductive, negative is capacitive).

                </geek alert>

                How does this enter into it? Well, if you put an ohmmeter acroos the speaker driver, you'll likley get a number that is not 2, 4, 6, or 8 ohms. It likley will be more since the ohmmeter measures purely resitive loads.

                Anyhow further geeky reading on the subject--i'll get off my soapbox now.

                "Cross creviced chasms vast, and endless plains of unshaven ass"
                ~~GWAR's description of Hell
                Skaði: 2008 Pontiac G6 GXP Street Edition

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by disposablehero
                  But I kant spel gud.
                  You did a great job Joey, I didn't mean anything by my comment. I use Firefox to find my spelling errors all the time.
                  G6P member 340

                  G8 GT 334 0f 1st 888
                  Pedders Street II suspension. Pedders Strut Tower bar. VMS HSRK, VMS PCM/TCM tune, Forged and Stroked LS3, Garrett Turbo
                  Borla Cat back. SLP underdrive pulley. FAST ported 102 intake and TB ported. BMR trailing arms, Circle D 3200 stall converter.
                  20 percent tint by Scott's tinting and graphics.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hey, I may still have a 3 12" box at my parents house I could throw in my 6er. What subs/amp would I want to do for 3 12"s if I find it?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      You would need to find the amount of airsoace the bax is and figure in driver displacement and if it is ported figure the tuning then go from there. I would go with 3 jl w3v3"s. And get a 1000/1 to run it. I doubt it is gonna fit in the 6er though. It is easier and smarter to just build your own box.
                      Originally posted by Nikki
                      You are an e-pimp.
                      Originally posted by beitodesstrafe
                      I tried too, my penis way too big
                      07 GTP Coupe, Black, GT-R Exhaust #1, Dr speed Cold air box, GM STB, White Face Gauges, Intigrated Ipod, Altezza tails, Painted headlights with black reflectors and no amber turn signal cover and Nokya Ultrawhite bulbs all around, VMS ECM Tune Beotches, With the TCM tune soon to come.
                      My youtube. http://youtube.com/user/joebro82
                      The old hooptyhttp://www.cardomain.com/ride/2412743

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I dunno how the hell you would fit that box into the 6, but if you manage post pics.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Well through some very difficult cramming I used to have it in my Honda Prelude, the 6er has oodles of trunk space compared to that thing. Measuring the size would be hard because they're triangular inside. The one fires straight back and the other two go left and right at about 30 degree angles.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: What you need to know about sub and amp selection

                            hey i just have a quick questoin or 2. If i was to run 1 kicker L7 which is dual 2 ohm what kind of amp should i get, also if i was to run 2 L7's dual 2 ohms, what kind of amp should i get, and how should i run the subs. Also would it be better to get a ported or sealed box, listen to a varitey of music. so i am not sure. Also will to L7's fit in the trunk between the tire wells? My last question would be, would one MTX 9500 be lounder than 2 L7's?

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                            • #15
                              Re: What you need to know about sub and amp selection

                              I listen to death metal and usually only death metal I'm talking insane blast beats and double bass at 300+ bpm (Beneath the Massacre and blah blah I could go on for days naming off bands)...what would be my best selection for subs?
                              "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"

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