Do I run the sub in series or parallel?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Do I run the sub in series or parallel?

s.joseph

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#55470 5-Jan-2010 12:52

ive got a 4ohm dual voice coil (2000w) running into a mono block amp rated at 4ohms 250 watt rms mono or (600w max at 2 ohms) in parallell.

Is that right or should it be bridged in series? its just for one subwoofer.

Thanks, kinda new to this stuff.

8d52797c436

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#287186 5-Jan-2010 16:09

I believe they should be in series. By placing them in parallel you are lowering the overall resistance of the circuit, meaning that it would be rated at 2Ohms instead of 4, which can blow you amp as it will draw twice the current.

Saying that I havent dealt with dual-coil subs before, the rating they give may be taking into account running the coils in parallel.

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#287200 5-Jan-2010 17:11

in series/parallel with what?

from your description you're connecting the sub to an amp only. that does not constitute series or parallel. it WILL however determine the phase of your sub if you connected it one way or other.

hmm ...

8d52797c436

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#287203 5-Jan-2010 17:14

I think what he's getting at is that the dual-coil sub has 2 sets of plugs, one for each coil, and he is currently running each seperate coil in parallel in relation to the sub. I actually think the best option would be to look up the installation guide for the sub as that would hopefully tell you how to hook it all up.

s.joseph

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#287216 5-Jan-2010 17:48

correct its a dvc, the instructions just say to wire it either way ... :S

8d52797c436

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#287284 5-Jan-2010 22:29

I still think that series would be best as I believe the only reason they have seperate plugs is if you want to run the sub off 2 seperate amps, but to be honest the best idea would be to ring up a professional sound installer. Mostly you find they dont mind telling you those sort of things, and it could save you a lot of money.

illicit

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#289525 13-Jan-2010 08:59

By the sounds of it its a dual 4ohm sub (two 4ohm voice coils) I doubt its a 2000w (that will be the peak figure - pay no attention to it, there should be an RMS figure on it somewhere ie: 500w RMS. Your amp specifies a rating of 600w at 2ohm so therefore is capable of a two ohm load, so you can connect them in parallel, which will give the biggest power output.

In saying that, if your new to all this - get someone who knows what they are doing, its very easy to blow car audio equipment!

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grant_k

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#289532 13-Jan-2010 09:18

Because your amp is capable of 2 ohm operation, it will be best to wire the two voice coils in parallel.

- Obviously, you will get more power output this way

- But also, the voice coils will be better damped because they will each be driven by the very low impedance of the amplifier output directly, rather than being driven in series with the other voice coil. This results in better control of resonance within the enclosure or vehicle, giving a "tighter" overall sound to the bass which is produced.