Amp help
 

Ok, just need some info on how big of an amp to order. I've ordered 2 memphis 10" subs, * Peak: 500 watts * RMS: 250 watts 4ohm. Most of the amps I've seen are 2 channel, 1000 watt but they are only doing 2 channels at 4 ohms for 175 per channel, which is no where close. Can you guys suggest a decent amp?

-William

I'm no expert on this, but in doing my recent research/shopping/Q/A it really depends on how you wire the system. Assuming you ordered dual voice coil subs and to quote Crutchfield.com, "A dual 4-ohm voice coil subwoofer with its coils wired in parallel presents a 2-ohm load to your amplifier. Since an amplifier produces more wattage at a lower impedance, the parallel connection ensures you'll get the most output from your amp. In the same fashion, if you have a stereo amplifier and two DVC subs, wire both subs for 2-ohm impedance (one per channel) for maximum output." Look for the 2-ohm rating on the amp to determine what you can really get out of it.

I'm not sure what a good two-channel amp is, but my Kicker mono block is pretty nice.

Ahh so I'm just reading it wrong then.

So if the amp says this

# RMS Power (4 ohms) 150 watts x 2 channels
# RMS Power (2 ohms) 225 watts x 2 channels

then it would push the 2 10" that say * Peak: 500 watts * RMS: 250 watts 4ohm

-William

Always look at the RMS of an amp and at what OHMS that is power is being produced. A amp that does 800 watts at 1 ohms is not going to help you if you are running a DVC 4 ohm sub.

What sub do you have? What ohms is it? How much do you want to spend on a amp?

Since I blew close to $200 on the box (shipped) I've had to go cheaper than I wanted to on subs and amp.

Went for 2 of these
15-PR10D4 - Memphis 10" DVC Subwoofer

As for amp I'll spend what I need to, the cheaper the better, without sacrificing quality. Dont want an amp that's going to overheat or something stupid. Would like to keep the amp under $200, but if it's not possible, it's not possible.

-William

I think you could go safely with a kicker or a hifonics amp and still meet a good budget. I will have to look into what models a little later.

Here are a few that you might want to consider.

BXI 610 - Hifonics 600W Class A/B Mono Amplifier

ZX500.1 - Kicker 500W 1 Channel Amplifier

P300-1 - Rockford Fosgate Punch 1 Ch 300 Watt Amplifier

Thanks for the links, I'll buy one. The Hifonics seems to have the highest output, but it's also the cheapest which makes me thing the other might be better choices. Since those are all 1 channel or mono amps will I need to run in bridged mode to support 2 subs? As usual forgive the beginner questions, just trying to help myself understand what does what.

-William

I did not know you were running 2 subs. In that case you are going to need a bigger amp and more output from them.

Yeah that was the problem I was running into, picking a higher watt amp that the RMS matches those on the speakers. It seems like I would need 1200 watt amp to push 2 10s, because apparently they mark it was 1200 watts but thats for 1 ohm, 1 channel.. Split that to 4 ohms 2 channels it's like 200 watts per channel, still not even getting the 250 per speaker.

Maybe I'm understanding it wrong, any help would be appreciated.

-William

You could get a 4-channel amp and bridge it to 2-channels @ 4 ohms for 325W x 2 channels. For instance, Kicker has this one:

ZX650.4 - Kicker 4 Ch 650 Watt ZX Series Amplifier

I have seen this on on Ebay for around $265...just a suggestion.

Not sure if this works with the DVC but again...I'm not a pro.

You are not going to need 1200 watts to run 2 of those subs. There RMS is like 300 so the max RMS you should look for is like 750.

So look for something that puts out around 600-800 watts RMS at 1 ohms

http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/wo...s.asp~Q~2~I~42

I do not recommend a 4 channel amp for running subs. They are not made to run subs does not mean they can not but class D amps run subs better and run cooler as well.

GM-5400T - Pioneer 2 Channel 760W Amplifier

760 watts, but it shows 4 ohms: 125 watts x 2 chan. So each channel only gets 125watts? Or am I reading this all wrong. Thanks for all your help guys.

-William