Question on draining the power

[WoodysX]

I was wonder how many watts can a stock alternator, newer batterey supply my amp. In other words whats the largerest amp can I or others run without running into problems, 50-700watts???

 

[WoodysX]

Also another question which subwoofer would you rather have??

Audiobahn 10" High Excursion that I could push about 500watts into it (dual 4 ohm)

or

Power Acoustik 10" FURB series that I could push 700 watts into it (dual 2 ohm)

?????................

 

[jimbo74]

this is a relative question that will larely depend on climate, what is powered on in your vehicle and several other variables.... there is no right or wrong answer...... a good start would be to get the biggest amp possible and iff it kills your charging system, upgrade it until it works fine.... deep cycle battery, hi output alternator, capacitor for the amp are good places to start

 

[Rscotts1]

Divide the RMS power rating of the amp by the voltage your electrical system will produce, i.e., 12 volts or around 14 or so when engine is running. For example: 500 Watts divided by 14 volts =35.7 amperes of current. Your X would need to produce an additional 35.7 amps of electrical current to power the Sub/amp at a reasonable level. If your alternator puts out approx 60 amps, than you can see that you have added that much more of a load to your electrical system. But keep in mind that trucks/SUV's usually come with higher output alternators......I think around 90 or 95 amps maybe more. Also, how would you plan on wiring that Audiobahn Sub? With dual 4 ohm voice coils, if wired in parallel, you will get a 2 ohm load, just like the Power Acoustik. I think you should be okay either way though....good luck.

 

[leenjen]

and i just wanted to add that you should steer clear of poweracoustik. their power handling (and output for the amps) is seriously overrated, and they create distortion. some people buy them because they are cheap. but when they start smoking a year later, you have to spend more money to replace them.

 

[Klowns]

Well I have a 1748 watt amp, pushing 4 400 watt 12's and I push them to the max, and I've never had a problem with stock alternator, I've had it in my explorer for 9 months, and had the same setup in my trooper for 3 years. Both times just running on stock alternator, regular battery, etc.

Some people may say I'm an idiot, but, it's worked for me, so I don't see any reason to change it.

The only thing that happens when a result when I push it, is that my headlights "bounce" whenever the bass hits. Looks like I'm turning em off almost if I'm pushing it hard.

 

[WoodysX]

Thanks everyone I think Ill get the Audiobahn AW1000 10" sub, it has really good ratings. And as for the amp its the Audiobahn A2800E, yes its 2 years old but its really cheap and I like the "real" look of it, its really shiny. The amp puts out 200x2 @ 4ohms (thats what the sub is) will I be able to run 2 channel amp, 1 channel to each voice coil of the sub?? I think I can, Leegen said that in a previous thread a while back... I'am I correct??

 

[leenjen]

yes you can. or you can just wire the coils in series and bridge the amp. it will put out the same power but in mono.

 

[WoodysX]

Lee... how would I do that if the sub is Dual 4 ohms?? Could you paint a picture for me?? ThankZ

 

[leenjen]

it's easy. just wire the amp bridged mono.
connect the + on the amp to the + on one voice coil.
then connect the - of that coil to the + of the other coil.
then connect the - of the second coil to the - of the amp.
now it will be wired in series

 

[WoodysX]

I knew i saw that somewhere, it was in a crutchfield mag! Thanks and what kind of load will that give me?? A 2ohm or 4ohm load...???

 

[leenjen]

it will give you an 8 ohm mono load. that's the same impedance as a 4 ohm stereo load

 

[nonameputs]

I wouldn't suggest running a channel to each voice coil. First of all, there's no point because you've only got one cone, second (and much more importantly) it can create a lot of stress on the cone and ultimately distortion because you have one cone trying to do the job of two. For example, say voice coil 1 is running off of the left channel and voice coil 2 the right. If there is a bass guitar coming through the left channel, then voice coil 1 is trying to reproduce that. That's all fine and dandy until the bass drum starts playing and is panned to the right. Then you've got voice coil 2 doing something different then voice coil 1. Now that would be all fine and dandy if we had two different cones, but we don't, we only have one, and it's connected to both voice coil 1 and 2. So if voice coil 1 is doing something different than voice coil 2 you could get them working against eachother, which is bad for the cone. The cone is what actually makes the sound, not the voice coil.

Dual voice coil subs are not made to be played on two separate channels, they are meant for flexability in wiring. Overall there really is no point in wiring subs in stereo because low frequencies are so unidirectional that it is inaudible whether it is coming from the left or right.

So, my advice to you is to find out the lowest impedence that your amp can handle while bridged. If it's 2ohms then wire it in parallel. If it's anything more than that, either wire it in series or only wire one vioce coil, run the amp in stereo (the second channel being unused) and turn the gain all the way down on the second channel.

 

[leenjen]

Originally posted by nonameputs


only wire one vioce coil, run the amp in stereo (the second channel being unused) and turn the gain all the way down on the second channel.

that is the worst possible thing you could do to a subwoofer

 

[WoodysX]

Well thanks for the help everyone I think ill go for a single 4ohm sub such as the Audiobahn AW150Q or AW150X there both the same 15" EXCURSION subwoofer just a few years apart.

 

[bates]

nonameputs-if u switch the amp for stereo to mono, its not trying to do the job of 2 cones. like lee said, only hooking up one voice coil is very bad.

 

[nonameputs]

I know, I'm talking about leaving the amp in stereo and hooking up the left channel to one coil and the right channel to the other. Then it is trying to do the job of two cones because you are running it off of two separate channels. And unless every sound that the speakers needs to reproduce is panned perfectly center, one coil will be doing one thing and the other coil doing another. But if you run the amp in mono you only have one channel to use so both coils will be reproducing the same thing, whether it's coming from the left or right because in mono the left and right channels are combined. Like I said though, there is no real point in running subs in stereo because low frequencies are unidirectional and the human ear can't tell the difference between left and right. Also, the subs are probably not pointing towards you, and even if they are, they are so close together it would make no difference anyway. The only time I would run subs in stereo is when you have one on each side of you (like door speakers) because then they would be so far apart that you would actually be able to tell the difference between left and right. And about the only using one coil thing... you're right about it being bad for them if you run it with the same wattage as you would with both coils. It wouldn't hurt them at all if you ran them with half the suggested wattage, because the wattage rating on DVC subs is of both coils combined, if you only used one you would have to cut that number in half. I apologize for not making that clear earlier. And, now that I think about it, there is no point in using only one coil because wiring them in seires would also cut the wattage in half (if you used the same amp that is).

 

[bates]

ok thats better, much more clear