Strapping Amps + Sub Wiring Question

**stockfox91** · 01-02-2009, 03:10 AM

I have two kenwood excelon X1R mono-block amps. They are rated at 1200w rms at 2ohms and 600w rms at 4ohms. I am having difficulty finding a 2ohm woofer that is able to run at 1200w rms. However, both the Alpine X-series and MTX 9500 are rated at 1000w rms and 3000 peak. My problem is, the Alpine X-Series and MTX 9500's only come in a 4 ohm woofer. How would I be able to wire my amps in order to power 2 4ohm woofers as 2 2ohm woofers?

My initial thought would be to run each amp in a parallel circuit. One amp being attached to one voice coil and the other amp being attached to the other voice coil.

I am open to any and all suggestions. I have been working on figuring this out for days. Any help would be appreciated.

**scatebase** · 01-02-2009, 10:56 AM

Check out this wiring guide on crutchfield:
http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/lea...rs_wiring.html

specifically this one:
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/...4-ohm_mono.jpg

**stockfox91** · 01-02-2009, 03:17 PM

Thank you for the diagram! That helps explain a ton. Do you know how to wire strapped amps running in parallel? I have a kenwood excelon owners manual that tells me how to strap them but I am not sure how to strap them and run them in parallel?

What do you think about running these amps strapped to a pair of 12" 9500 series mtx woofers?

**HyperZulu** · 01-03-2009, 01:56 PM

Strapping is kind of like bridging two channels. Not all amps can do this though. You basically go + on one amp and - on the other amp. So, all your +'s go to first amp + and all your -'s go to second amp -. I'd seek some help from the manufacturer if possible though. Power ratings may change when strapped.

**scatebase** · 01-03-2009, 07:22 PM

Sorry, I didn't notice that you said you had 2 amps. To simplify the setup, you could wire each sub and amp separately.

This diagram shows a 2 channel amp, but you could treat each channel as a different amp:
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/..._4-ohm_2ch.jpg

Kinda like having two of these setups:
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/...4-ohm_mono.jpg

I hope that helps. If you still want to strap the amps, I would follow HyperZulu's advice and talk to the manufacturer.